Miscellaneous. 313 



and deep brownish-red legs are conspicuous characteristics of the 

 Akool. By the way, Mr. Jerdon's Rallus i-nfescens is merely a young 

 female of Gallinidu hujubris, Horsf., vel phimbea of Vieillot. 



I have also had the luck to obtain, yesterday and today, two new 

 Bats, in addition to several others which I have to describe of this 

 group ; and if a party of shikarees and stufFers had returned, as they 

 should have done by this time, from a ten or twelve days' hunting 

 expedition which I have sent them upon, it is probable that I should 

 have some more novelties to inform you about. Of the gigantic 

 heron formerly noticed, I may remark that the back-line of A. cinerea 

 barely reaches to the belly-line of the new species, which will convey 

 a somewhat definite idea of the magnitude of my splendid Ardea no- 

 bilis. This morning I obtained a fine new Mullet, allied to Mugil 

 cephalotits, but having much larger eyes, and in other respects ap- 

 proximating M. parsia, Buch. ; it is described neither by Buchanan 

 nor by Russell, but I have not leisure now to refer to Valenciennes. 



I remain, very truly yours, 



E. Blyth. 



ON THE TRUE SITUATION IN THE SYSTEM OF TALEGALLA AND MENURA ? 



Whilst prosecuting my examination of the Foreign Anoplura (an 

 investigation intrusted to me by the British Association), I felt anxious 

 to see the Parasites of some birds of rather doubtful character, or 

 more properly speaking, whose place in the system had caused no 

 little diversity of opinion amongst naturalists, from a conviction that 

 tliese might throw some light upon the subject ; having found from 

 experience that certain genera were only found upon particular fami- 

 lies of birds. I therefore applied to my friend Mr. Gould, who, from his 

 intimate connexion with the ornithology of Australia, had better op- 

 portunity than perhaps any one else of supplying some of my desi- 

 derata*. This, with his accustomed zeal for furthering science, he 

 immediately complied with, and transmitted me parasites from Tale- 

 galla Lathumi and Menura superbu. 'I'he first of these was placed by 

 Mr. Swainson amongst the Vultures, from certain characters which 

 he considered confirmed his views. The general appearance of the 

 bird however is decidedly Rasorial, and such its parasites declare it 

 to be. The}' are of two genera, Goniodes and Lipeurus, the former 

 of which, if not both, infest I believe almost every Rasorial bird. The 

 latter genus is also parasitic on the Raptores, Grallatores and Nata- 

 tores, but the former never. Had Talegalla been Rasorial, we should in 

 all probability have found the genera Lcemobothrion, Colpocephalum, 

 Docophorus and Nirmus, as well as Lipeurus, which teas not the case. 

 With respect to Menura, the parasites would indicate this bird to be 

 truly Insessorial ; here two genera also were found, Ninnus and Me- 

 nopon, the former almost exclusively confined to the Insesso7'es, Gral- 

 latores and Natatores. One or two are certainly found among the 

 Raptores, and about the same number in Rasores, as the Nirmus ca- 

 meratus on moor game, and Nirmus quadrulatus on the wood grouse ; 

 but these are by no means characteristic of the Rasores, as is the case 



* Mr. Denny would be thankful iu\- similar aid from Mr. Blyth. — R. T. 



