27G ADDITIONAL NOTES ON BIRDS COLLECTED BETWEEN 



Hodgson's types. I have seen the little Flycatcher Dr. Jerdon 

 gave Mr. Hume ; and if it were mine, I would soon describe 

 it as new. Hodgson's Muscicapa terricolor is not a Hemicheli- 

 don, or Hood-billed Swallow-like Flycatcher, but has a bill inter- 

 mediate between that genus and Butalis. The drawing gives 

 a plan of the bill, and it is impossible to apply the generic 

 term of Hemichelidon to this species. Flycatchers, with this 

 shaped bill, are known as Alseonax. Against the identification 

 of A. terricolor with A. latirostris I have only to say that 

 Mr. Swinhoe identified the distinct M. cinereoalba with 

 A. latirostris. The careful determination of what bird A. 

 latirostris, Raffles, is, is a very interesting question, which 

 probably no one will ever care to work out. Nothing but a 

 reference to Raffles's types (if they exist) would settle the 

 matter. I don't think that because A. terricolor has been procured 

 in the same part of the world from which Raffles got his A, 

 latirostris, that it is therefore identical with Raffles's bird. 



I lately re-examined the two Chinese examples of Mus. cinereo- 

 alba in the Indian Museum, and they are most decidedly dis- 

 tinct from any examples of Alseonax terricolor that I have seen, 

 especially as regards length of tail — that of the latter bird aver- 

 aging one-fifth of an inch longer. The shape of the bill is also 

 different. 



I do not consider Mr. Hume's reason for identifying A. 

 terricolor and A. cinereoalba satisfactory. That he, Lord 

 Walden, and Mr. Swinhoe compare specimens from various 

 countries and find them identical is all very well, but my im- 

 pression is, that they overlooked the important difference of 

 length of tail. It is also quite possible that both species occur 

 in China. I have shot many ludian examples, but never got 

 one with so short a tail as the Chinese ones referred to. I 

 therefore, for the present, prefer to consider the two birds as 

 distinct, until the types of A. latirostris and A. cinereoalba have 

 been carefully examined. 



ErythrOStema leUCUra, p. 105, is an African species- 

 Our Indian bird is A. albicilla, Pallas. 



CorVUS inSOlenS, Hume, p. 144, is clearly distinct from 

 the Indian species. I saw this Crow at Rangoon and Moulmein. 

 Even if it did interbreed with the Indian bird in its geographi- 

 cal confines, it would not affect the question ; for we have 

 instances on record of the Pheasant interbreeding with the 

 Black Grouse. 



Even whei'e intermediate forms or races do occur, bridging 

 over, as Mr. Hume expresses it, the differences between two 

 species, I do not think they affect the validity of the species. 

 Mr. Hume complains that it is difficult, and often impossible, 



