206 Mr. C. Boden Kloss on Birds [Ibis, 



is that the northern wing-series is 50-55, that of the 

 eastern 52" 5-5 7. 



In describing M. g. minor, Gyldenstolpe either ignored or 

 was unaware of the fact that the Mixornis of the South Shan 

 States had already been described by Rippon as Stachy- 

 ridopsis sulphurea. Gyldenstolpe's name is thus almost a 

 pure synonym for this, since it is practically impossible 

 that birds of such small adjacent areas as northern Siam and 

 the South Shan States can be distinct. 



M. r. sulphurea differs principally from M. r. rubricapilla 

 (topotype from Manbhum, west of Calcutta, examined) in 

 having the black stripes of the fore-neck and breast much 

 finer — reduced to mere shaft-lines. This form, or one closely 

 allied to it, seems to occupy an eastern area extending 

 through Yunnan to Tonkin (vide Oustalet, Bull. Mus. Paris, 

 1896, p. 184 ; id. Nouv. Arch, du Mus. (4) v. p. 92). 



M. r. rubricapilla extends from Bengal through Burma 

 and down the coast oi: Tenasserim to a few miles south of 

 Tavoy, but at Mergui another race commences (vide Hume 

 & Davison, ' Stray Feathers,' vi. pp. 266-267). 



In going into the question of Mixornis I have examined 

 about a hundred examples ranging from northern Siam to 

 western Sumatra, and I find that the birds occurring at 

 Mergui, Bangkok, Cape Liant, and down the Malay 

 Peninsula differ from M. r. rubricapilla, as noted in ' Stray 

 Feathers,* in having the black stripes heavier and produced 

 further down the breast, a longer more robust bill, a deeper 

 rufous crown, a rather narrower yellow supercilium, and 

 rather darker back ; they are separable at a glance from 

 M. r. sulphurea with its pale "Sudan brown" crown, 

 olivaceous upper-parts, and bright yellow under-parts where 

 the mere shaft-stripes are confined to throat and fore-breast. 

 They extend about as fai* south as Penang and Singgora, 

 and to the islands adjacent, chief of which are the Bandon 

 Group, Terutau, and the Lang Kawis — as with several 

 mammals and other birds, northern forms range further 

 down the west coast of the Malay Peninsula than down the 

 east, and southern forms further up the east than the west 



