36 A SECOND LIST OF THE BIRDS 



The only differences that I can discover between the two 

 species are that kinnisi is smaller — wing about 4*5 against 5*0 

 in simillima, and that it is also distinctly darker in colour above 

 and below. Blyth, in the Ibis, 1867, p. 304, gives the following 

 description : — 



" Male. — Jet black, with orange-coloured legs, bill, and orbital 

 skin. 



Female. — Above ashy -black, below rather paler ; bill and 

 feet bright yellow. 



Length about 9 inches ; wing, 4*5 inches ; tail, 4 inches ; 

 bill to gape, 1'82 inches ; and tarsi, 1*82 inches. First 

 short primary 1-25 inches shorter, and second 05 inches 

 shorter than the fourth, the last character distinguishes this 

 species readily from M. simillima of Southern India." 



Now I must say that I do not think that the male can 

 properly be called jet black. It is no doubt much darker than 

 the Nilgheri birds, but it is never more than slatey black. As 

 to Blyth's dimensions for the primaries, these are all wrong. 

 Taking a series I find that the 1st primary averages 2*55 

 inches shorter than the 4th, and the 2nd, 0*6, and the 3rd, 0*1. 

 Moreover, this is much the proportion of the primaries that 

 exists in simillima, and it is not at all possible to separate the 

 two species with reference to this point. 



The Travancore bird is as dark as any of my Newera Elia 

 ones, but it is slightly larger, the wings measuring 4*7, while 

 in my Newera Elia birds the wings only vary from 4-45 to 4*6. 



390 bis. — Alcippe bourdilloni, Hume. S. F., IV., 485. 



Another specimen of this interesting species precisely re- 

 sembles the type. It is a female, and measured in the flesh — 

 Length, 5*24; expanse, 6'5 ; tail, 1*89; wing, 2'25 ; tarsus, 

 0'9 ; bill from frontal bone, 0'63. Bill, above black, below pale 

 slatey ; legs and feet dull brown ; irides, white. 



423 Us. — Trochalopteron fairbanki, Blanf. S. F., 

 III., 413 ; V., 404. 



This species, Mr. Bourdillon tells us, is found in the same 

 places as M. kinnisi, and is there pretty abundant. He records 

 the following dimensions of two specimens : — Length, 8*5, 8'75 ; 

 expanse, 10-28 ; tail, 35, 3-62 ; wing, 3'25, 3-32 ; bill from 

 gape, 0-9, 0-98. 



Judging from the description (for I have never yet succeeded 

 in obtaining a specimen of the Banasore bird), fairbanki differs 

 from T.jerdoni in having no bluish tinge on the head, in 

 having the feathers of the foreneck and breast more or less con- 



