from Western Szechuen. 373 



PoMATORHINUS GRAVIVOX. 



There are two examples in the collection of this very dis- 

 tinct species, which was described in 1873 (David, Ann. Sc. 

 IVat. xviii. Art. v. p. 2), and figured in 1877 (David et Ous- 

 talet, * Les Oiseaux de la Chine/ pi. 49). 



When Mr. Wardlaw Ramsay wrote his monograph of the 

 genus Pumatorhinus (Ibis, 1878, p. 143) he had had no op- 

 portunity of examining an example of P. gravivox, otherwise 

 he would never have united it with F. macclellandi from 

 Assam, nor would Dr. Sharpe have repeated the error in the 

 seventh volume of the ' Catalogue of the Birds in the British 

 Museum.' 



I have already had occasion to point out how absolutely 

 distinct P. swinhoei is from P. erythrocnemis (Proc. Zool. 

 Soc. 1890, p. 342). I have now much pleasure in vindicating 

 the character of another of the species of I'Abbe David, and 

 of pointing out its true affinities. It may be somewhat 

 closely allied to P. swinhoei and P. erythrocnemis, but is 

 quite distinct from both of them, and differs still more 

 widely from P. macclellandi. 



It differs from its Assam ally in many ways, but the two 

 points which catch the eye at once are its much larger size 

 'and the blackness of the spots which are so conspicuous on 

 its breast. It is one of the largest species in the genus : 

 wing 3*7, tail 4'6, culmen 1*4, and tarsus 1*4 inches. In the 

 colour of its upper parts it certainly does resemble P. mac- 

 clellandi, but there the resemblance ceases. In the colour 

 of its underparts it resembles P. erythrocnemis, except that 

 the throat is nearly white and the lower throat and upper 

 breast are spotted with nearly black. 



So far as is known, there are only three species of Poniato- 

 rhinus which combine the two characters of having no white 

 eye-stripe, but possessing nearly black pectoral spots. As 

 P. swinhoei was omitted by accident from the key to the 

 species of its genus in the Catalogue of the Birds in the 

 British Museum, I append diagnoses of these three species, 

 which scarcely differ in size : — 



