358 On a new Genus and Species of Biilhul. 



Cerasophila *, gen. nov. 



Like Hypsipetes^ possesses short legs, with a non-scutellated 

 tarsus and a forked tail, but differs in having a more curved 

 culmen, a hare unfeatJiered 2^<^ic^ of skin round the eye, and 

 the under tail-coverts of a colour different from that of the 

 rest of the underparts, as in Molpastes, Otocompsa, &c. 



Cerasophila Thompsoniy sp. n. 



The whole head and neck snow-white, the white of these 

 parts abruptly defined from the colour of the back and breast, 

 and extending further down on the upper back than on the 

 sides of the neck and breast ; the back^ rump, upper tail- 

 coverts, wing-coverts, scapulars, the outer webs of the two 

 inner tertiaries, the breast, sides, and stomach a clear ash- 

 grey; the primary wing-feathers, the secondaries, the tertiaries, 

 witli the exception noted above, and the tail hair-brown ; 

 vent and under tail-coverts light bright chestnut ; the under 

 wing-coverts and axillaries, the lower portion of the stomach, 

 and some of the lower feathers on the thighs pale grey with 

 a wash of light chestnut. 



Bill, legs, and feet coral-red, claws horny ; a bare patch of 

 skin round the eyes, conspicuously wider below the eye than 

 above it, greyish tinged with yellow, the eyelids with a rim of 

 bright vermilion-red. Iris whitish yellow to pale yellow. 



The sexes are alike in plumage and differ only very slightly 

 in size. 



cJ . Length 7'8 inches, wing 3*8, tail 3'8, tarsus 0*7, bill 

 from gape 0*85. 



? . Length 7*8 inches, wing 3*7, tail 3*85, tarsus 0"7, bill 

 from gape 0*85. 



These measurements were taken in the flesh. 



Hab. Loi-San-Pa, 6500 feet, Mong Kong State, Southern 

 Shan States, Upper Burma. 



I know of only one Hypsipetes that approaches the above 

 species in coloration, that is //. leucocephalus, Gmelin, from 

 China, which also has a white head as its name implies, but 

 tlien, apart from the structural differences pointed out above, 

 Gmelin's species is a much larger bird. A skin in the Indian 

 Museum collection measures: — Length 9*5 inches, wing 4'8, 

 tail 4, tarsus 0'7, bill from gape 1"1. Also, except the white 

 head and neck, its plumage is black and the under tail-coverts 

 are concolorous with the stomach, as in all known species 

 of Hypsipetes. Cerasophila Thompsoni bears a superficial 



* »ce/3air(js=a cherry -tree. 



