110 BIRDS OF BRITISH BURMAH. 



494. HIEEOCOCCYX NANUS. 



HUME'S HAWK-CUCKOO. 



Hierococcyx nanus, Hume, S. F. v. p. 490 ; Hume fy Dav. S. F. vi. pp. 157, 502 ; 

 Hume, S. F. viii. p. 88. 



Description. Male and female. " The whole of the lower parts are 

 white, tinged creamy on the lower throat and breast, and more feebly so 

 on the middle of the abdomen and tibial plumes ; and all these parts with 

 conspicuous black central stripes ; chin, upper throat and lower tail-coverts 

 pure unmarked white ; forehead, crown, occiput and nape deep brownish 

 slaty; sides of the neck ferruginous, the feathers dark-centred; nape 

 similar, but the feathers feebly margined with pale ferruginous, and one 

 or two of the feathers on each side white-tipped ; entire mantle, wings 

 and back deep brown ; the feathers, some of them very obscurely margined 

 with dull ferruginous, showing that the birds are not quite adult, and 

 spots of the same colour on the outer webs of the quills ; the inner webs, 

 except towards the tips of the primaries, with broad triangular buffy white 

 bars, coalescing at the margin towards the bases of the feathers ; tail tipped 

 with sordid white, then an 0'8 subterminal blackish band, then an 0'6 to 

 O8 pale grey-brown interspace, the next succeeding 0'5 blackish-brown 

 band cuspidate on its lower margin, then an O5 pale interspace, then an 

 O45 dark bar, also cuspidate on the lower margin, then an 0'5 interspace, 

 and then another dark bar ; the whole of which, as well as half of the last 

 interspace, hidden by the upper tail-coverts ; the entire wing-lining and 

 edge of the wing at the carpal joint uniform cream-colour/ 5 (Hume.) 



Irides brown; the lower mandible, gape and base of upper mandible 

 greenish yellow ; upper mandible and extreme tip of lower mandible dull 

 black; eyelids, legs, feet and claws orange-yellow. (Davison.) 



Length about 11 inches, tail 5*5, wing 5'6, tarsus '75, bill from gape 1*1. 

 Judging from Mr. Hume's figures, the sexes do not differ in size. 



Hume's Hawk-Cuckoo was discovered in Tenasserim, and, judging from 

 the description and size, it appears to be a very distinct species. It occurs 

 in the southern portion of the Division from Bankasoon to Tavoy and 

 Nwalabo mountain. 



H. fugax, from the Malay peninsula, is very similar in colour, but is 

 very much larger, the wing being 7 inches or more in length. Both it and 

 H. nanus may be recognized by the white under plumage, streaked with 

 brown or black ; and while H. fugax has the whole of the sides of the head 

 uniformly grey, H. nanus, according to Mr. Hume (I have never seen a 

 specimen), has the sides of the head striped with white and grey in, as I 

 gather, alternating bands. 



H. variusy from India, is said by Mr. Blyth to be likely to occur in 



