30-1 Lord Walden on a Collection of Birds 



The two males in full black plumage. The female pecu- 

 liarly coloured and marked, and different from all peninsular 

 Indian and Ceylon individuals I have had opportunities of 

 examining. They agree well with Naga-Hills, Thayetmoo, 

 and Malaccan examples, which I assume to be identical with 

 Sumatran. 



17. Cuculus micropterus, Gould, P. Z. S. 1837, p. 137, 

 " Himalayas." 



"S. Andaman: S, December 31; 2, January 9; not 

 sexed, January 24, iris yellow, legs and feet yellow ochre, 

 bill dark brown above, yellow below; <$ , January 29, iris 

 yellowish brown, legs and feet yellow, bill dark brown, yellow 

 at base/'' 



These four examples belong to one species. Two <$ and 

 one not sexcd are, above deep bluish slate-colour ; chin, 

 throat, and upper breast pale ash, with tawny brown fringe to 

 some of the feathers ; the remainder of lower surface broadly 

 barred in all four alike. The fourth example ( 2 ) differs by 

 having the upper plumage of a rich brown, with traces of 

 plumbeous on the uropygium only, by the head being ashy 

 brown, by the skin and throat only being ashy, much tinged 

 with tawny rufous, and by the rectrices having the charac- 

 teristic dark brown terminal band. That the first three are 

 not in completely full plumage is shown by several of the 

 secondaries being brown, more or less tipped, fringed, and 

 indented with pure white and with pale ferruginous, and 

 by the tawny fringings to the breast-feathers. The female 

 (as sexed) also exhibits signs of immaturity, many of the 

 secondaries and of the nuchal feathers being banded or 

 otherwise marked with pale ferruginous and tawny. Provi- 

 sionally I refer these Andaman individuals to C. micropterus, 

 Gould ; for a far more more comprehensive examination 

 and comparison of the Cuckoos of the Indian region than 

 I have had opportunities of making would be requisite to 

 determine the species with any degree of certainty. It has 

 been suggested to me by my friend Mr. Blanford that the 

 brown plumage of the example (sexed as a female) I have 



