412 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



This description, as well as that in the Supplement to his 

 ' General Synopsis ' (p. 254), and ' General History of Birds,' 

 vol. ix. p. 343 (1824), is hased on that of Brisson, given in the 

 second volume (p. 234) of his ' Ornithologia ' (8vo ed. 1763), 

 which runs as follows : — 



" Pluvialis minima indica. 

 " Pluvialis superne fusca, inferne sordida alba; summo pectore 

 duabus t;eniis transversis fuscis distincto ; primoribus reinigibus 

 fuscis, cseteris nigricantibus; rectricibus in exortu albis, versus 

 extremitatem fuscis. 



" Le petit pluvier des Indes. 

 " Cum Adauda crassitie fere convenit. Ipsius longitudo 6 

 pollices sequat. Rostrum 9 lineas longum est; cauda 2£pollices; 

 pars crurum plumis denudata 1 1 lineas; digitorum medius 9 lineas, 

 extimus 7 lineas, intimus omnium brevissimus. Extremitates 

 alarum 5^ pollicum intervallo distant ; ala3 complicatae ad ex- 

 tremam caudam extenduntur. Rostrum pedesque nigricant. 

 Habitat in India Orientali." 



This description of a small two-banded Plover, although 

 applicable to no species known to inhabit India at the present 

 time, applies in part to the specimen labelled indicus in the 

 Leiden Museum. But it is evident that that is not the species to 

 which the description was intended to refer, for the bill and feet 

 are described by Brisson as dark, and the tail-feathers white at 

 the base, dusky towards the extremity. Now, if Brisson had had 

 before him the specimen now at Leiden, the distinctly barred tail 

 would not have escaped his attention. On the colour of the bill 

 and feet too much stress, of course, cannot be laid, for we know 

 that a considerable alteration of colour often takes place in the 

 process of drying, and in the course of years. Yet it is noticeable 

 that the legs of the Leiden specimen are still light-coloured, 

 notwithstanding so many years have elapsed since it was pro- 

 cured, while Brisson expressly states that his bird had dark 

 legs. 



Now, Von Heuglin, who met with JE. tricollaris in pairs on 

 rivulets along the Abyssinian coast, and procured specimens, has 

 described the legs and feet as "greenish grey" ('Ibis,' 1859, 

 p. 345), a colour which would become much darker in drying. 



