58 A FIRST LIST OF THE 



brown ; the nape and the back of the neck, black. The whole 

 upper surface, including" wing's and tail, dull black, with numerous 

 broad, close, transverse, white bars becoming spots on the outer 

 webs of the primaries, and the tips of some of the coverts. The 

 bird is somewhat like Macei, but is much smaller, and may be 

 distinguished at once by having the upper tail coverts and all the 

 tail feathers conspicuously barred with white ; whereas in Macei, 

 the upper tail coverts, and at least the four central tail feathers, 

 are unbroken black. The cheeks, ear coverts, a stripe extending 

 over the posterior half of the eye and sides of the head and the 

 chin, are white or nearly so, the ear coverts exhibiting a little 

 dusky striation, due to the bases of the feathers showing through. 

 From the gape on either side extends a gradually broadening stripe 

 of black, which ultimately merges in the black of the basal portion 

 of the sides of the neck, the upper portion of the sides of the neck 

 being like the cheeks. The rest of the lower parts a dull, fulvous, 

 or yellowish white, each of the feathers of the breast with a con- 

 spicuous (when the feathers are lifted) dark brown, central, linear, 

 lanceolate stripe. The lower tail coverts are delicately tinged with 

 a ruddy pink, and have each a more or less conspicuous brown, 

 triangular, subterminal spot. The abdomen and flanks are very 

 faintly, transversely barred, or in some specimens streaked with 

 pale brown. In some specimens the red feathers of the forepart 

 of the head, each bear a tiny whitish spot near the tip. 



Mr. Oates says : " This species does not appear to me to be very 

 common. A female that I shot in some brushwood, measured — 



"Length, 6*7; expanse, 12*1; tail, from vent, 2*2; wing", 

 3*9 ; bill, from gape, 0* 97 ; tarsus, 0*72; the bill, bluish black, 

 paler at the base ; irides, brown ; eyelids, purplish brown ; legs, 

 plumbeous ; claws, bluish horny/'' 



As I have never been able to examine specimens from Java 

 and Sumatra, I cannot say whether these birds from Thayetmyo 

 are really the same as Horsfleld J s. I merely follow Gray, Jerdon, 

 and others, in uniting them. How they differ from their nearest 

 ally, Picus andamanensis, Blyth, I have already pointed out in 

 Stray Feathers, 1874, p. 187. Further south in Tenasserim the 

 present species is replaced by atratus, Blyth. 



160.— Picus mahrattensis, Lath. Picus Blanfordi 



Blyth. — (Journal, Asiatic Society 1863, p. 75.) 



Mr. Blyth, when characterizing this species, remarked : 

 " Very like Picus mahrattensis of India ; but the white markings 

 generally more developed, especially as shown on the wings and 

 tail ; it is just barely separable as a race." I myself quite concur 

 that it does not merit specific separation. I also doubt whether 

 it does show more white on the wings and tail than some 

 Indian specimens ; these vary inter se very much. A specimen 



