132 THE BIRDS OF THE WESTERN HALF, &.C. 



entire tail, except the outer tail feather, the same grey as the 

 back. Others, about one-fourth, have these parts white, or quite 

 as nearly white as in the majority of English minuta, (which 

 very often have an excessively faint grey shade over these parts,) 

 and every intermediate amount of grey on rump and tail 

 occurs in these specimens. Again in some the back is a much 

 paler grey than in others. 



Take again saundersi, here, in the not perfectly mature birds, 

 the whole back, rump and tail is grey, of a darker shade than in 

 any of my European specimens of minuta, but in more mature 

 birds, killed oif the eggs, many are quite as pale as any English 

 specimens, and one has become nearly entirely white on the 

 upper surface, the whole of which is quite as white as the rump 

 in many specimens of minuta. But for the slender bill and the 

 very black shafts of the first three primaries, a blackness observ- 

 able in nestlings which have not left the nest, it would be diffi- 

 cult to separate &aundersi in some cases from minuta. No doubt 

 typically the rump and tail of saundersi are grey, those of: minuta 

 white, but a good many English minuta have a distinct, though 

 very pale, grey tinge on the rump, upper tail-coverts and 

 central tail feathers, while on the other hand every here and 

 there a saundersi has no more than this. 



As regards the number of dusky feathers amongst the earlier 

 primaries, although this seems to be quite constant iu perfect 

 adults, in full breeding plumage, namely, three in saundersi, two 

 in gouldi, one in sinensis, still it is useless as a diagnosis, because 

 in somewhat younger birds there are always more than in the 

 adults. Thus I have sinensis with two, gouldi with three, and 

 saundersi with four and five dusky primaries. 



This is I fear a very tedious paper, but it has been written to 

 a great extent in the hopes of eliciting information. 



I am working very hard to get together, pro bono publico, a 

 really correct list of the birds of the western half of the Ma- 

 layan Peninsula, (a matter of considerable interest and impor- 

 tance,) and I hope it may not be considered unreasonable if I 

 entreat ornithologists elsewhere to aid me by sending me the 

 names — 1st, of all species which they know certainly to occur 

 therein, not yet included in my accepted list, as now revised, 

 with such particulars as may enable me so to include them; and, 

 2nd, of all species, not included in either of my lists either as 

 accepted or doubtful, which they know to have been recorded from 

 the Malayan Peninsula, with a reference to the place of record. 



I should be exPremely grateful for any such assistance or for 

 any corrections, and should most promptly and thankfully 

 acknowledge them. A. 0. H. 



