124 THE BIRDS OF THE WESTERN HALF 



In conclusion it must be distinctly understood that besides 

 these birds we have specimens of the ordinary Indian 

 P. -ptilorhynchus shot near Singapore, &c. 



73 nov. A. — Scops rufescens, Horsf. 



About this species there is some difficulty. Horsfield's 

 original brief description is simply valueless, and he gave the 

 dimensions as " total length, 8 inches." 



Lord Arthur Hay, having obtained a very large Scops Owl at 

 Malacca, Jerdon identified it with rufescens, but Blyth hesitated 

 to endorse this identification in consequence of the small 

 total length assigned by Horsfield to his specimen. 



Blyth apparently (J. A. S. B., 1845, Vol. XIV., p. 181) 

 sent the specimen home to Strickland. At auy rate he savs 

 that he determined Lord A. Hay's specimen with Strickland's 

 assistance, who examined the original specimens of the birds 

 described in Dr. Horsfield's Javanese list. There seems there- 

 fore no possible doubt that the specimen obtained by Lord A. 

 Hay was really identical with Horsfield's type of rufescens* 

 This specimen Blyth describes as follows : — i( Length 

 about eleven* inches, of which the tail measures four 

 and three quarters ; wing, six and three quarters. General 

 color ferruginous brown, much paler below, the forehead and 

 lower part of the disc and aigrettes in part, conspicuously 

 white with a few minute dark speckles ; upper parts marked 

 with whitish spots along the shaft of each feather ; the lower 

 variegated with dusky and whitish in cross stride ; primaries and 

 tail with numerous and broad dusky bars, amounting to about 

 twelve in number in the latter ; tarsal feathers not continued 

 over the base of the joint over the toes." 



On the other hand Mr. Sharpe, (Cat. B. M., II., 102) 

 adopting Horsfield's name rufescens, describes a specimen (said 

 to be the tj^pe of mantis of Temminck and Schlegel,) with 

 the following dimensions : — " Length, 9*4 ; culmen, 0'9 ; wing, 

 5-2; tail, 2 6; tarsus, 1-05." 



Now but for the great difference in the lengths of the tails, 

 the total lengths of Blyth's bird and Mr. Sharpe's bird would 

 not be widely different, but wings of 5*2 and 6-75 in birds of 

 this genus are utterly irreconcilable. Clearly unless the wing 

 of the specimen of mantis measured by Mr. Sharpe was en- 

 tirely undeveloped, (and if it had been so, he would scarcely 

 have given the dimensions without comment), or unless Messrs. 

 Blyth and Strickland blundered inconceivably, mantis of Tern, 

 and Sch. is a different and altogether smaller bird than rufescens 

 of Horsfield. 



* The italics are mine.— A, 0. H. 



