164 Mr. E. Hargitt on the Genus Gecinus. 



Young female. Less golden green on the sides of the neck 

 and the chest, which are uniform ; under surface of the 

 body brownish white, more smoky brown on the thighs and 

 under tail-coverts, the dark intermarginal line and shaft- 

 streak on the feathers being more dusky, the centres of the 

 feathers more or less white. 



Mallierbe, in his monograph, gives Picus bengalensis of 

 Horsfield, in the ' Transactions ' of the Linneau Society (xiii. 

 p. 176), as a synonym of the present species ; but Horsfield^s 

 description does not answer to G. viftatus, and, further, the 

 latter author gives it to be understood that his P. bengalensis 

 is the same as that of Linnaeus. Malherbe also remarks that 

 the male of the present species figured by Reichenbach 

 (Handb. Scans. Picinae, pi. dcxxi. fig. 4141) "is inexact, the 

 striations on the underparts ascending too high," and he 

 further adds, ^^ In the figure of the female. No. 4142, the 

 striations ascend as far as the throat, and one cannot doubt 

 that it is the female of G. striolatus, of whicli the male 

 is figured. No. 4143.''' In my opinion the figure of the male, 

 fig. 4141, has been taken from G. vittatus, but carelessly done ; 

 where the mistake occurs is in having varied the side of the 

 neck with the same markings as on the breast and abdomen, 

 instead of having left it uniform; the figure of the female is 

 evidently taken fi'om G. viridanus of Blytli, and not from 

 G. striolatus, as Malherbe says. The present species differs 

 from G. viridanus in having the whole of the neck and the 

 chest uniform ochi'cous yellow (sometimes with a green tinge) 

 even in its first plumage. In G. viridanus the chest always has 

 squamate markings, more or less distinct, similar to those 

 OM the under surface of the body, and the throat and sides 

 of the neck are varied in a like manner, except in very old 

 birds. Having examined Raflfles's figures of the male and 

 female of his Picus ajjfinis, I think there can be little doubt 

 that they must be referred to G. vittatus. The draughtsman 

 has represented the birds as having the Avhole of the neck and 

 the chest uniform, clearly showing that they are not G. viri- 

 danus ; but unfortunately there is so little of the breast and 

 abdomen shown, that the artist has not thought it necessary 



