HIEROCOCCYX. 4] J 



and the head barred with rufous white. Bill dark horny black; legs yellow; 

 irides brown. 



Length 12-5 to 13 inches ; tail 6-4 to 6-8 ; wing 7-5 to 8-5 ; tarsus 0-85 ; 

 bill from gape 1*3. 



Hab. Central Asia, China, Cochin-China, and the Malay Peninsula. 

 It occurs in the Indo-Burmese countries and the greater part of Peninsular 

 India and Ceylon. Gates says it is distributed over Pegu both on the hills and 

 in the plains It extends to Assam and the Malay countries. Jerdon says it 

 is rare in the South of India, but common in the North ; rare on the Malabar 

 Coast and in the Carnatic ; it is also rare in Ceylon, but tolerably common in 

 the jungles of Central India, as at Nagpore, Chanda, Mhow, and Saugor, and 

 moderately common in Lower Bengal and on the Himalayas. Habits the 

 same as other members of the genus. 



Gen. HieroCOCCyX, Muller. 



Bill as in Cuculus but stouter, wider at gape and much deeper; wings with 

 the 4th quill longest, the 5th subequal with the 2nd ; tail nearly even, broad 

 and barred ; plumage barred. 



992. Hierococcyx sparverioides (Vigors), Jerd., B. ind. i. 



p. 331, No. 207; Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 135; Blyth, B. Burm. 

 p. 79; Hume, Sir. F. iii. p. 80 ; Armstrong, Sir. F. iv. p. 311 ; Hume and 

 Dav,, Str, F, vi. p. 137 ; Hume, Sir. F. viii. p. 89 ; Scully, Str. F. viii, p. 256. 

 Cuculus sparverioides, Vigors, P. Z S. 1831, p. 173; David et Oust. Ois. 

 Chine, p. 63. Cuculus strenuus, Gould, B. Asia, pi. viii. The LARGE 

 HAWK CUCKOO. 



Forehead, crown, occiput, nape, sides of the upper neck, head and hind 

 neck dark ashy ; back, scapulars, wing coverts, and tertiaries brown ; primaries 

 and secondaries brown, banded with white on their inner webs, and obscurely 

 BO on the outer ; rump and upper tail coverts ashy brown, the latter barred 

 and tipped paler; tail grey, crossed with 4 5 dark broad cross bars, the 

 subterminal one rufous ; tip whitish or pale rufous ; chin ashy ; throat white, 

 streaked with ashy ; under parts from the breast, including the under wing 

 coverts, white, barred with brown ; vent and under tail coverts pure white, with 

 in some specimens some dark bars on the longest of the latter. The young 

 have the upper plumage brown barred with rufous ; the wings barred with 

 rufous on both webs ; chin ashy ; throat and breast pale buff, streaked with 

 brown, and the abdomen and vent barred, interruptedly, with brown ; bill with 

 the upper mandible dark brown ; the lower greenish ; irides yellow. 



Length, 15 to 16 inches; tail 9; wing 8*5 to 9; bill from gape 1-4; 

 females smaller, 



Hab. The Indo-Burmese countries, ranging into China, Amurland, and 

 Malacca. Spread over a great portion of India, also over Pegu, Arracan, and 



