222 Mr. E. Hargitt on the 



summer dress ; the rest are all in winter garb. Two, male 

 and female, are from Elba ; and one was shot in August near 

 Palmaria (Spezia) . 



PoDicEPs AURiTus (Linn.). 



A very rare species with us, and, I believe, has only oc- 

 curred in winter. Our collection possesses three specimens 

 — one from Genoa, the other two shot at Massaciuccoli on 

 the 1st of December 1878 ; they are male and female. Most 

 Italian authors have applied the name of this species to our 

 common P. nigricollis. 



XVI. — Notes on Woodpeckers. — No. I. On the Piculets of the 

 Old World. By Edward Hargitt. 



(Plate VII.) 



The present paper is the first of a series of small articles 

 which I trust to be able to contribute to the pages of ' The 

 Ibis ' on the family of Picidse, in which I have been for years 

 interested, and of which I have managed to get together a 

 considerable collection. Not long ago, in examining some 

 of the birds at the British Museum, I discovered among the 

 specimens of Vivia an example from China which was evi- 

 dently referable to a new and hitherto undescribed species ; 

 and in giving a description of this interesting bird, I have 

 added some notes on the other Piculets of the Old World, 

 with a view to determine the present state of our knowledge 

 of this little group. There are now five species known, 

 which, in my opinion, may be referred to three well-charac- 

 terized genera, which may be diagnosed as follows : — 



a. digitis 4. 



a. regione oculari plumosa ; Cauda longiore, ultra remi- 

 gum extremitates extensa ; cauda longiore quam 

 tarsus cum digito medio ungueque conjunctus . . Vivia. 



v. regione oculari nuda ; cauda breviore, alas liaud at- 

 tingente, et tarsum cum digito medio ungueque 

 conjunctum vix gequante Verreauxia. 



b. digitis 3, 



regione oculari nuda Sasia. 



