32 BIRDS OF BRITISH BURMAH. 



427. HEMICERCUS SORDIDUS. 

 EYTON'S BUFF WOODPECKER. 



Dendrocopus sordidus, Eyton, Ann. Nat. Hist. ser. 1, xvi. p. 229. Picus sor- 

 didus, Sundev. Consp. Av. Pic. p. 10. Hemicercus brookeanus, Salvad. Ucc. 

 Born. p. 44. Hemicercus sordidus, Salvad. Ucc. Born. p. 4G ; Tweedd. Ibis, 

 1877, p. 291 ; Hume $ Dav. S. F. vi. p. 128 ; Hume, S. F. viii. p. 87. 



Description. Male. Forehead and the whole crown crimson, tapering to 

 a point on the occiput ; the sides of the head, the whole neck, the hinder 

 part of the elongated nuchal crest, chin, throat and breast olive slate- 

 colour; back, scapulars, wing-coverts and tertiaries black, each feather 

 broadly edged with yellowish and also with a yellowish bar across the 

 middle ; lower back olive-grey ; rump and upper tail-coverts buffy yellow, 

 the longer feathers of the latter black tipped with yellowish ; tail black, 

 the outer feathers barred with yellowish ; primaries black, the inner webs 

 broadly edged with yellowish at the base ; secondaries black, notched with 

 yellowish on both webs ; abdomen, flanks and under tail-coverts black, the 

 feathers edged with yellowish ; under wing-coverts uniform pale buff. 



The female differs in having no crimson on the head, the whole crown 

 being of the same olive slate-colour as the other parts. 



The young male has the crown buff narrowly barred with black, and the 

 occipital crest dull scarlet varied with slaty grey. 



The young female has the crown and occipital crest plain dull buff. 

 Length 5'5 inches, tail T5, wing 3'4, tarsus '6, bill from gape I'l. The 

 female is of the same size. 



The above descriptions are taken from birds in Mr. Hargitt's museum. 

 Mr. Hume thus describes the head of a bird which he says is obviously 

 young and just from the nest : " The entire crown brownish ruddy buff, 

 each feather narrowly tipped with dark brown; crest similar, and similarly 

 tipped; basal two thirds of elongated crest-feathers dull crimson; the 

 margins and shafts coloured like the terminal portion. }> 



H. brookeanus was based on specimens which exhibited a lemon-yellow 

 tinge on the rump and under tail- coverts ; and Mr. Hume states that this 

 yellow tinge is present in many specimens of undoubted H. sordidus. 



H. concretus from Java, and probably from other localities, differs from 

 H. sordidus in the male having the entire crest red. The females appear 

 to be inseparable. 



H. hartlaubi, as figured by Malherbe, has the whole crest red, and is cer- 

 tainly nothing but H. concretus in adult male plumage. 



Eyton's Buff Woodpecker occurs in the extreme south of Tenasserim as 

 a mere straggler. Mr. Davison appears to have got only one specimen in 



