the Birds of the Province of Fohkien. 605 



We obtained 25 specimens, and note a good deal of variety 

 in the colour of the " necklace/' which varies from pale ash 

 to dark iron-grey and black, these colours being often mixed 

 and shading into one another. 



Young birds are much smaller than the old ones. They 

 ■want the white streaks on the ear-coverts, and the "neck- 

 lace,'' where it crosses the chest, is narrow, blackish, and 

 unbroken. Their irides are pale straw-colour, while in the 

 old birds it is usually crimson. 



The average length of wing in 21 adult skins (from Kuatun 

 and Ching Feng Ling) is 5*4. In five young birds it is 4'75. 



Trochalopteron cinereickps, Styan. 



This bird is common in the Ching Feng Ling country. 

 We found it in jungle on the outskirts of woods, into which, 

 however, it did not penetrate far, unless the cover happened 

 to be very thick. It was generally seen in small flocks 

 feeding in the company of the common " Hwamei'-* [T. ca- 

 norum). Like all its relations, T. cinereicejJS is cunning and 

 is very careful to keep well hidden if at all suspicious of 

 danger. We often heard parties noisily pecking among dead 

 leaves, &c., in the cover quite close to us ; but tiiey would 

 seldom show themselves, and even then only for a second or 

 two, just flitting across the path to dive quickly into the 

 shelter of the neighbouring brushwood. On the first day 

 that we came across them, however, we found these grey- 

 capped "Hwamei"' to be very tame, and one of us had a 

 good view of several parties. 



One of the specimens procured on this trip has an almost 

 pure black cap, a very few of the feathers showing traces of 

 the grey edging; a few specimens have dark-grey caps, with 

 blackish centres to the feathers, but many of the other 

 examples have this part of a greyish brown, not much darker 

 than the back. Our Kuatun skins have mostly dark-grey 

 caps, mixed in some specimens Avitli black. 



Paradoxornis GUTTATicoLLis, David. [301.] 

 Numerous, but not often seen, as the flocks keep closelv 

 hidden among the rank " sword-grass. '' Now and then one 



