188 EEPLY TO MR. BLANFORD's CRITICISMS 



Marquess was in error. He may liave been wronoTj but I failed 

 to detect this when I examiued all the original authorities 

 referred to by him which I have not by me to do now. 



Siphia tricolor. — I am quite aware that this species mai/ 

 probably prove to be only the female of liicomelanura, and no 

 doubt females of this latter continually do duty as tricolor ; 

 but I am by no means certain that the true tricolor, that 

 originally figm'ed by Hodgson is not nevertheless distinct,* 

 and hence 1 preferred not to print the latter as yet in italics, 

 thouo-h I duly prefixed a note of interrogation to show that 

 the question involved 'a doubt. 



This is not the place to discuss a question involving the 

 arrangement of a group like the Thrushes. I can only say 

 that in my opinion the grounds for separating Cyanocinclus are 

 quite as strong as those for separating Monticola and Petrophila, 

 o-enera both commonly accepted. But all this is a mere 

 matter of opinion. Thus Mr. Dresser suppresses Merula and 

 unites it with Turdus, and he might, with equal justice, suppress 

 most of the genera into which the Thrushes are commonly 

 divided. Were he to do this, I for one should not be prepared 

 to dispute his action, but if you keep Petrophila, Monticola j 

 &c., you certainly require a Cyanocinclus. 



I begin to believe that Mr. Blanford's name, Pellorneum 

 mandelli, must stand, and Mr. Hodgson^s name, P. nipalensis, 

 fall. From a pencil mark attached to the plate I inferred 

 that Hodgson had published this name ; and I still believe 

 that he must have done so, but as I cannot discover ivhere, the 

 publication of anything beyond the name took place I shall 

 ultimately, if I cannot find it out, drop Hodgson's name. For 

 the present it seemed best to retain it. 



Jerdon's poiocephalus may probably, as pointed out by Mr. 

 Blanford, have been taken from Swainson's, and it is possible 

 theoretically that this latter might have been compounded 

 as Mr. Blanford's classical friend suggests. It would be an 

 unusual and novel, and I may add not commendable, or very 

 rational compound. But the fact is, the explanation will not 

 liold water ; the type^ of Swainson's genus is P. senegalensis, 

 LeVaill., pi. 116, and that represents " Le Perroqvet a tete 

 grisey showing clearly enough that by his poicephala, Swain- 

 son, like Jerdon, meant " grey headed'^ and not " some kind 

 of headed.". The word, who ever coined it, Swainson or 

 Jerdon, is a blunder, a sort of A lice-in- wonderland portmanteau 

 reminiscence of poliocephalus and phcBocephalus, and can only 

 letyitimatelj'' be treated as a nonsense word, and spelt as the 

 originators spelt it, poiocephalus. 



" I believcj that if distinct, Hodgson himself confused the two. 



