ON AN OVERLOOKED SPECIES OP REGULOIDES. 131 



with brown. We have in both these points cool coloration 

 against one inclined to warm. 



3. The peculiar dark lateral bands on the side of the 

 head of the Eastern bird, and the well-defined greenish grey- 

 coronal streak, also the lateral expansion of this dark colour 

 at the nape, forming a narrow half-collar. No such appearance 

 ever being visible in the North-West bird, the head of which 

 is a plain olive brown, often more brown tban olive, blended 

 into the colour of the back, and having the coronal streak 

 very faintly defined, often not visible. 



This difference of crown of head is alone, to my mind, 

 conclusive. 



4. The very superior greenness of the back, wings, and 

 tail of the Eastern bird or Reguloides superciliosus. 



5. The brighter yellow of tips to greater coverts in 

 R. superciliosus ; in fact, wherever both birds are yellow, that 

 of R. superciliosus is much purer. 



I remember seeing last year the English-killed example of 

 R. superciliosus, in the Museum of my friend John Hancock. 

 This is identical with my Calcutta birds, and has the pale 

 lemon-coloured supercilium and the generally greenish head. 



It appears first to have occurred to Mr. A. 0. Hume that 

 we had two distinct birds under the one name ; so with his permis- 

 sion I propose calling the North-West bird 



Reguloides humei, the Brown-headed or Hume's 

 Meguloides. 



Like R. superciliosus, but has the supercilium pale brownish 

 buff to brownish white, as in P. tristis ; cheeks strongly tinged 

 with pale ruddy buff, and seldom having an admixture of 

 yellow ; they are mottled as in the affined species with dark 

 brown ; top of head, brown, rather inclined to olive ; coronal 

 streak very faint, often not visible ; colour of top of head at 

 all times blended into colour of back ; back wings and tail as 

 in superciliosus, but of less bright green, and yellow tips to 

 wing-coverts not so pure ; in other respects the plumage much 

 resembles that of superciliosus. 



An examination of a series of Siberian and Russian ex- 

 amples would be interesting, to show whether both birds have 

 a similar migratory range. Perhaps R. humei does not 

 go north of the Himalayas and ranges adjacent to them. 

 The Chinese bird will be R. superciliosus most probably. 



The separation of this Reguloides will, I know, be ques- 

 tioned by European ornithologists ; especially by those who 

 follow Darwin and believe in the mutability of species ; but 

 all I can say is, let any one who likes try and prove identity 

 in the present case with the facts that I have pointed out before 



