WITH ADDITIONS, TO THE AVIFAUNA OF THE ISLAND. 373 



brown ; there is no post-frontal black- band ; the tertials are very 

 long, in good feather much exceeding the primaries in the 

 closed wing, and much exceeds the present bird in size. This 

 little Plover, I have just discovered frequenting the large inland 

 tanks of Miuery and Kandelay, where it was breeding. I did 

 not succeed in indentifying the eggs or finding a nest, though 

 I searched very hard, and must have been often close to one. 

 I got some doubtful eggs on the island in Kandelay tank, 

 where ^Eg. cantianus was breeding in numbers, but I was unable 

 to trace them satisfactorily to their proper owners. The chief 

 distinguishing features of the bird are its small size, short 

 bill, with the basal half of lower mandible yellow, and a yellowish 

 spot at the base of the upper, its enormous carunculated bright- 

 yellow eyelid and its plumbeous legs and feet. As it was 

 in full breeding plumage, and as I have not seen the larger 

 bird in nuptial dress, I cannot speak of differences in colora- 

 tion. It has in common with the latter the shaft of the first 

 primary white, and an equally large black spot across the apical 

 half of the inner web of the lateral rectrice. Therefore Blyth's 

 description of the " three outer tail feathers white''' will not 

 apply to it. Two males measured 6'2 and 6 - 4 in length had 

 wings of 4'3 ; tarsi of 1*0 and "95; bill at front, 0*45; tails 

 from vent, 2 - 3 ; mid toe and their claws, 7. A female measured 

 6-2 ; wing, 4*05 ; tarsus, *95 ; bill at front, 0*45 ; the iris is 

 dark brown. It has a broad white forehead, a broad post- 

 frontal black-band, black lores and ear-coverts, and a dark 

 line under the eye joining these parts ; the broad black pectoral 

 band is continued round the hind neck below the white ring, 

 and the cheeks and throat pure white. There is a yellowish 

 appearance beneath the skin at the centre of the tarsus, and 

 in the dried specimen the leg turns slightly yellow. This is a 

 point to be dwelled upon, as in the dry examples the legs of 

 both the species here would appear yellow. The larger bird 

 frequents, in the cool season, various localities near the coast, 

 but I have never seen the new bird anywhere but on these 

 two great inland tanks, and during the months of June, July 

 and August. 



898.— Himantopus intermedius, Blyth. (258.) 



Great numbers of these birds were breeding at Minery, 

 and Kandelay tanks this year. At the latter place I found 

 many fresh eggs as late as the 4th of August ; many others 

 were hard set, but no young were, up to that time, to be found. 

 In the south I have found young as early as the end of 

 June. The spot chosen, to breed in, at Kandelay is an island 

 in the tank ; the ground is partly shingly and partly overlaid 

 with soil, rock cropping out in one or two places. I found the 



