1877.] THE MARQUIS OF TWEEDDALE ON BATRACHOSTOMUS. 437 



Batrachostomus javanensis (Horsf.), Walden, J. A. S. B. 187.T, 

 pt. ii. ex. no. p. 84, partim, "ex Malacca, Borneo," nee Horsf., $> . 



Batrachostomus stictopterus. Cab. Walden, /. c. " ex Malacca, 

 Borneo," S . 



Batrachostomus affinis, Blyth, Hume, Str. F. 1876, p. 376, nee 

 Blyth ; Blanford, Ibis, 1877,'p. 251, nee Blyth. 



Hab. Malacca, Borneo, Sumatra, Java (?). 



Mr. Everett has noted on the label of a rufous bird from Bedi, 

 Borneo (jnus. nostr.), and marked a male, that the iris is " light 

 yellow," the feet ochre, and the bill pale brown. Doria (Salvad. 

 /. c.) gives the colour of the iris of a Sarawak example as being light 

 yellow (giallo chiaro). 



The British Museum possesses a single specimen of this species in 

 brown plumage, which is labelled " Sumatra." Its occurrence in 

 that island is probable ; but the correctness of the locality on the 

 label is not beyond question ; the skin is of the characteristic 

 Malaccan make. The figure given by Professor Schlegel (l. c.) of 

 P. purvulus undoubtedly represents B. stictopterus. It is stated to 

 have been taken from an old male from Sumatra. The wing-coverts 

 are spotted ; and there are no white throat- or breast-markings. 



The type of P. stellatus, Gould (PI. XLVIL), now in my collection, 

 is marked " Java " on the label. In the original description the length 

 of the wing is stated to be four inches, whereas in the type specimen 

 it is five. Beyond the word "Java" on the label, there is nothing 

 to confirm its Javau origin. It has, however, no appearance of being 

 a Malaccan trade-skin. Mr. Gould informs me that the prominent 

 white spots on the major coverts suggested to him the specific 

 designation of stellatus. The description of B. stictopterus, Cab., 

 was taken from a Malaccan individual in the rufous-brown phase of 

 plumage. 



Without having the advantage of the observations of field collectors 

 to assist us, it is difficult to select from a large series of this species 

 any one example as illustrative of the adult bird. When compared 

 with fully-plumaged rufous adults of the other species, the absence 

 of their finished white markings and the decided coloration on the 

 under plumage lead to the inference that B. stellatus, as it always 

 seems to come to us from Malacca and Borneo, represents an inter- 

 mediate stage of plumage. For long it was considered by several 

 Indian writers, myself among the number, to be the young stage of 

 B. javanensis, the pallid rufous-margined lower pectoral and ab- 

 dominal feathers being very similar to what we find in B. affinis 

 juv. Assuming that birds with the caudal bands complete, the chin 

 and throat uniform rufous, and the back unfreckled are the most 

 adult, I will describe the following example : — 



$ (?) adult (?), ex Malacca. General aspect above bright rufous. 

 Frontal plumes tawny rufous, also supercilium. Crown, occipital 

 crest-plumes, auriculars, cheeks, back, wing-coverts, and uropygium 

 rich deep chestnut, A series of nuchal plumes grey at the insertion, 

 lower down slightly tinged with rufous, then a narrow transverse 

 blackish line, followed by a broader pure white band edged with 



