NO. 14 THE RACES OF PELLORNEUM RUFICEPS — ^DEIGNAN 3 



Although a great number of skins have been available to me from 

 the Indo-Chinese countries, it will be noticed that my material from 

 India has not been equivalent ; the Indian forms are nevertheless dis- 

 cussed, since certain changes in the accepted nomenclature are required 

 by the rules of priority. 



1. PELLORNEUM RUFICEPS OLIVACEUM Jerdon 



P [ellorneum], olivaceum? Jerdon, Madras Journ. Lit. and Sci., vol. 10, 

 "Oct." 1839, p. 255 ("jungles of Trichoor, Wurguncherry and Manan- 

 toddy"; type locality here restricted to Trichur, Cochin State, southwestern 

 India). 



Pellorneum ruficeps granti Harington, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, vol. 33, Dec. 23, 

 1913, p. 81 (Mynall, Trivandrum District, Travancore State, southwestern 

 India). 



Diagnosis. — No specimen has been examined, but granti was dis- 

 tinguished by Harington from ruficeps as "an altogether much darker 

 and more richly coloured form." 



Range. — Southwestern India (Travancore and Cochin States). 



Remarks. — Pellorneum olivaceum was placed in synonymy with 

 ruficeps by Jerdon himself (Birds of India, vol. 2, pt. i, 1863, p. 27) 

 and has been left there ever since. The type specimens came, how- 

 ever, from Trichur (lat. io°3i' N., long. y6°i^^ E.) and Wadak- 

 kancheri (lat. io°40' N., long. 76° 15' E.) in Cochin State and from 

 Manantawadi (lat. 11 "48' N., long. 76°oi' E.) in the Malabar 

 District of the Madras Presidency ; in Cochin only the richly colored 

 form of Travancore occurs (see Whistler, in Ali, Journ. Bombay Nat. 

 Hist. Soc, vol. 38, 1935, pp. 78-79), while in Malabar some specimens 

 are intermediate between ruficeps and the Travancore race (see 

 Whistler and Kinnear, Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc, vol. 35, 1932, 

 p. 747). To avoid fixation of the name upon an unstable population 

 dwelling within a stone's throw of the type locality of ruficeps, the 

 type locality of olivaceum must be restricted to one of the Cochin 

 proveniences, and I have selected Trichur as the one farthest from the 

 range of true ruficeps. 



2. PELLORNEUM RUFICEPS RUFICEPS Swainson 



Pellorneum ruficeps Swainson, Fauna Boreali-Americana, pt. 2, The Birds, 

 Appendix No. i, Feb. 1832, p. 487 (India; type specimen probably the one 

 from the Nilgiri Hills, ex Gould Collection, recorded by Bowdler Sharpe, 

 Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum, vol. 7, 1883, p. 521 ; type 

 locality here restricted to Coonoor, Nilgiri Hills District, Madras Presi- 

 dency, India). 



