VOL. XVI 



)"'] PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 617 



(14!(i) Gallicrex cinereus (Gm.). 



So far this species has only been obtained onee in Japan, viz: a 

 specimen collected by Mr. Ringer at N^agasaki, Kin-Siu. We have now 

 to record a specimen from Hondo, which was purchased in the flesh in 

 Nagoya during the winter 1890-'91 by Mr. ISTarazaka, who is connected 

 with the Educational Museum i)i that city. Dr. Ijima found it there 

 and secured it for the Science College Museum in Tokyo (Ko. 2188). 



^strelata hypoleuca Salvin. 



The bird which last year (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., xiv, 1891, p. 490) I re- 

 corded as ^-Estrelata leucoptera is really the present species, and I hasten 

 to correct the mistake. 



I will say in my own defense, however, that the mistake was not due 

 so much to a blunder on my part as to an unfortunate lack of type speci- 

 mens of these difficult birds, and to various other circumstances, as 

 will be seen from the following explanation: The specimens of alleged 

 JE. leueoptera with which the Japanese bird was compared werePeale's 

 types of his jE. brcvlpes, a name which everybody has considered 

 synonymous with ^'E. leucoptera of Gould. There were differences, but 

 owing to the fact that thence were still greater apparent differences be- 

 tween the Japanese bird and Mr. Salvin's diagnosis of uE. hypoleuca I 

 adopted the former name. But circumstances have changed since then, 

 Mr. Witmer Stone having kindly undertaken to compare the specimens 

 with Gould's types of .Tii'. leucoptera and Rev. ( 'anon Tristram most 

 generously lending me an authentically identified specimen of ^. tor- 

 quata (in Salvin's handwriting), the species with which Salvin compares 

 it. Now it turns out that J^^j. torqiiata is nothing else than JE. hrevipes, 

 the species (under a wrong name) with which I compared it. It will 

 be observed that Salvin says (Ibis., 1888, p. 359) : '■'■jE. torquata', Macg., 

 affinis, sed i)au]o major, cauda multo longiore distinguenda," while 

 the difference in the tail-feathers as measured on my specimens only 

 amounted to 10'"™. 



Although the proportional differences are thus reduced to nothing, a 

 careful observation shows that there are enough color characters to be 

 relied upon, although not readily appreciated when reading the orig- 

 inal description. 



The differences as they now rev^eal themselves upon a comparison of 

 the above material and an additional Japanese specimen mentioned be- 

 low are as follows : 



(1) In J^j. hrevlpes {torquatm) the lining of the wing is much whiter, 

 only a broad margin along the anterior edge being slaty, while in JE. 

 hypoleuca most of the under primary coverts are lighter or darker gray. 



(2) In ^E. hypoleuca all the tail-feathers, including the exterior pair, 

 are uniform blackish slate, the concealed extreme bases being more or 

 less white, while in ^. brevipes the tail is much lighter gray, from slate 

 color on the middle pair gradually becoming lighter toward the outer 



