BIRDS OF TENASSEEDf. 271 



Eyton, P. Z. S., 1839403, described two species as follows : — 

 " Malacopteron magnum. 



Male.— With the forehead and tail ferruginous ; nape, black ; 

 back and a transverse band on the chest ashy; wings brown ; 

 bill yellow. 



Total length, 6 inches ; bill, -V inches ; tarsi, f inches. 



Female. — Smaller than the male ; head and nape ferruginous, 

 spotted with black. 



Malacopteron cinereus. 



Male, — Similar to the female of the preceding species, but 

 much smaller. 



Total length, &£. inches ; bill, T \ inches ; tarsus, ~\ inches." 



Eyton was clearly describing from indifferently prepared 

 native skins. 



Looking through the whole paper it is clear that he only as- 

 sumed the sexes indicated in this case. 



What he did is very apparent. He got a female of the large 

 species, of which native skins are about six inches in length, 

 a bad skin, with the throat and breast jumbled up together, such 

 as may be bought to this day at Malacca, thus producing the 

 effect of an ashy band on the breast, whereas in the fresh 

 bird, with the throat and breast in their natural condition, these 

 are seen not to have one transverse band, but numerous longi- 

 tudinal ashy stria?. This female he assumed to be a male, anr*. 

 described as Malacopterun magnum. It had, as already explain- 

 ed, no black spots on the crown. He took at the same time a 

 male of the smaller species, which is slightly inferior in size 

 to thefemales of the larger one, and described this as the fe- 

 male, it having of course, as both sexes of the smaller species 

 have, a conspicuous intermixture of black, with the red of 

 the crown. This was his female magnum. 



Then he got the female of the smaller species exactly similar 

 to the male, but very much smaller, assumed this to be the 

 male of a distinct species, and described it as Malacopteron 

 cinereus. 



Notwithstanding all the errors, these names of his have pri- 

 ority, and the large species must henceforth stand as magnum, 

 of Eyton, and not majus, of Blyth, and the smaller as cinereum 

 and not magnum, Eyton. 



I will now give full measurements, colors of the soft parts, 

 &c, recorded in the flesh from a large series of both species : — 



M. magnum, Eyton ; M. majus, Blyth ; Male. — Length, 7*12 

 to 7-5 ; expanse, 10'25 to 10-82; tail, 3- to 3'12; wing, 3-35 to 

 3-7; tarsus, 0'9 to 0'95 ; bill from gape, 0'9 to 1*05 ; weight, 

 1 oz. or a little over. 



