460 Mr. E. L. Layard on the " Tchagra " of Le VaillaiU. 



like Mr. Gould's P. australis, must therefore be held synony- 

 mous with the well-known P. cristatus. 



But it is still probable that we have in this country a distinct 

 race of the Crested Grebe, distinguishable by the underparts 

 being of a uniform rufous-grey, instead of silvery-white, stained 

 with chestnut on the sides. I treated this bird as P. hectori in 

 another state of plumage, although expressing doubt on the 

 subject. I cannot discover that P. cristatus in any condition, 

 sexual or seasonal, presents this peculiarity, which is constant in 

 all Dr. Hector's specimens from certain localities. 



Dr. Hector considers the dark-breasted Grebe (of which there 

 are specimens in the Colonial Museum at Wellington) a totally 

 distinct bird, and states that he found it inhabiting the lakes of 

 the interior, while the white-breasted one was confined exclu- 

 sively to the lakes bordering on the coast. If this should here- 

 after prove to be a distinct species, I must claim from naturalists 

 its recognition as P. hectori. 



Wangauui, New Zealand, 



March 16, 1870. 



XXXIV. Note on. the "Tchagra" o/Le Vaillant. 

 By E. L. Layard, F.Z.S. &c. 



In my ' Birds of South Africa ' (p. 160) I have, following 

 Swainson's lead, identified this bird as Lanius erythropterus, 

 Linn. [Telophonus erythroi^terus, Swains.); but I have always 

 been puzzled that no specimen with a black croivn ever came to 

 hand from any of my correspondents; neither could I per- 

 sonally find one so distinguished, either at Nclspoort or Zoe- 

 tendals Vley, the only two places where it had occurred to me. 

 Not without serious misgivings, therefore, I came to the con- 

 clusion that I had never received (or procured) a full adult 

 male in breeding-plumage, and I let " Le Tchagra " stand as a 

 synonym of T. erythropterus. 



Some few weeks ago I received a specimen from Mr. Ortlepp, 

 procured at Port Elizabeth July 29th, which again revived all 

 my suspicions. Surely this bird answered closely to Swain- 

 son's Telophonus longirostris (Anim. Menag. p. 282) ! What 



