128 THE BIRDS OF THE WESTERN HALF 



Blyth, and it is undoubtedly both in structure and in habits a 

 true Alcippe. On the other hand Malacopteron cinereum of 

 Eyton is a true Malacopteron ; and, as I have already shown con- 

 clusively, S. F., Vl.y 271, is nothing else than the bird to which 

 Blyth, and others hastily following him, errorneously assigned 

 Eyton's other name magnum, which latter, as I have also shown 

 loo. cit., really applies to the species re-named majus by Blyth. 



So far therefore as Eyton's sponsorship for the name of the 

 present species is concerned, the bird is nameless ; but we may 

 fairly accept it, I think, as an original name of Blyth's, and 

 retain the bird under the designation heading these remarks. 



The following are the dimensions, colors of the soft parts, and 

 description of this species : — 



Two Males. — Length, 5*5, 5*9 ; expanse, 8-5, 8*6 ; tail from 

 vent, 24, 2*3 ; wing, 2*75, 2*8 ; tarsus, 0*8 ; bill from gape, 

 0-61, 0*60; weight, 0-62, 0-6 ozs. 



Lower mandible, legs, feet, and claws dark fleshy, strongly 

 tinged with brown, to pale plumbeous brown ; upper mandible 

 dark brown ; irides pinkish grey. 



One Female. — Length, 5'5 ; expanse, 8*25 ; tail, 2*35 ; wing, 

 265 ; tarsus, 0*8 ; bill from gape, 0*65 ; weight, 0*5 oz. 



Legs, feet, and claws pale dirty plumbeous ; upper mandible 

 slaty brown ; lower mandible pale brown, yellowish white at 

 base ; gape dull yellow ; irides slaty. 



Unfortunately we only moaoured 3 specimens in the flesh : — 



The lores and feathers immediately in front of the eye grey- 

 ish white ; the cheeks and ear-coverts a pale grey brown, the 

 latter more or less obscurely pale shafted. In good specimens 

 this same pale grey brown extends as a narrow band over the 

 eye, but this is often not visible. The entire forehead, crown, 

 occiput, and nape dull brown, with more or less of a smoky 

 sooty or grey shade ; this varies in different specimens. The 

 entire mantle and visible portion of the closed wing olive brown, 

 more rufescent on the wiugs and towards the rump. Tho 

 rump has a decided, though not strong, ferruginous tint, 

 shading into the ferruginous brown of the upper tail-coverts. 

 The tail a dull reddish ferruginous brown, more rusty along 

 the outer margins of the feathers. Though not very sharply 

 defined in most specimens, there is always a strong contrast be- 

 tween the grey or sooty brown of the occiput or nape, and the 

 olive brown of the back. The inner webs of the quills are a dark 

 hair brown. The sides of the neck behind the ear-coverts 

 are much the same colour as these latter, but in some speci- 

 mens there is a shade of olive here. In specimens in which the 

 head is of the darker or sooty brown type (it is never really 

 dark) the ear-coverts look a good deal paler, but where the head 



