FURTHER NOTES ON REGULOIDES SUPERCILIOSUS, &C. 237 



Of the dark variety of "Reg. humei, I have obtained a few 

 in the plains here, nearly as dark on the head as the Shillong 

 birds, and one quite as dark. Taking both the dark birds 

 and the more fulvous North-West bird to be Reg. humei, 

 I should conclude that it is a Himalayan bird that, as 

 a rule, migrates in the cold weather to the plains of 

 India ; but all of them don't migrate, for a few may be obtained 

 in the hills all through the winter. The other, and very distinct 

 species, Reg. superciliosus, is not, I should say, a Himalayan 

 bird; but, like Erythrosterna albicUla and parva, comes to 

 the plains of India from Siberia and the far north. This is, 

 however, only conjecture on my part, and may be taken for 

 what it is worth. 



On two occasions I heard the note of R. superciliosus, and it 

 was not the clear shrill bell-like call of R. humei, but a single 

 sibilant note, something like that of Phylloscopus tristis, but 

 louder and clearer. 



There is this very great difference between the two species, 

 that whereas humei is an active noisy bird, always calling, and 

 generally in an angry and excited manner if disturbed by the 

 report of a gun, its congener is so silent that I have only twice 

 heard it. Having never found superciliosus by its note, and 

 having this season shot more than one hundred of humei by its 

 note, and the same note always producing the same bird, I think 

 it quite certain that the voices of the two species differ. 



I noticed certain differences in my former paper between the 

 two birds, but since then several others have occurred to me, so I 

 shall give the points of difference one by one again, and if they 

 are not thought sufficient to separate the two birds, there is an end, 

 altogether, of attempting to discriminate closely-affined species. 



The distinctive points are : — 



1. The supercilium being lemon coloured, or yellow in 

 superciliosus, and brownish white or buff in humei. In each 

 case it would, very probably, wear in summer to what Mr. 

 Dresser calls " dirty white/'' 



2. Greenish white cheeks or sides of face more or less tinged 

 with yellow in superciliosus, against the pale brownish cheek 

 of the other bird. In each case the cheek is minutely mottled 

 with brown. 



3. The third distinction of the dark head, set forth in my 

 former paper, does not hold good, so I substitute the silvery white 

 lower parts of superciliosus. In humei these are greyer and 

 much more washed with yellowish or buff. 



4. The very superior greenness of the upper surface of 

 superciliosus. It might be called the green Reguloides, while 

 humei is the olive Reguloides. The almost grassy green of 



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