HIEROCOCCYX NISICOLOR. 97 



of wing. Mr. Hodgson figures it with white irides ! Horsfield's 

 only specimen of R. fug ax in the India Museum is in immature 

 plumage, and quite resembles that figured as Cuculus spar- 

 verioides by Von Schrenk ; Mr. Swinhoe showed me a similar 

 specimen from China, and Mr. Wallace has one from Borneo, 

 while Dr. Sclater's supposed H. varius from Borneo (P. Z. S. 

 1863, p. 203) is sure to be no other; again, it is the Chinese 

 H. nisicolor, nobis (J. A. S. B., XXX., 93) ; and I consider that 

 C. flaviventris, Scopoli (founded on Sounerat's Coucou a ventre 

 raye de V Isle de Panay), C. radialus, Gm., H, pectoralis, 

 Cabauis, and H. hyperythrus, Gould (B. of As., Pt. VIII.), 

 represent the mature plumage of the same species, which should 

 accordingly stand as H. flaviventris (Scop.), from China, Philip- 

 pines, Borneo, and Java, being probably, also that noticed from 

 Malacca by Mr. F. Moore (P. Z. S., 1859, 459.)" 



Now I have read and re-read this passage repeatedly without 

 being able to make quite certain whether Blyth meant that 

 nisicolor and flaviventris were identical or not. On the whole, 

 from his reference to his Chinese nisicolor and from his 

 omitting the South-East Himalayahs from the list of localities 

 from which flaviventris had been recorded, I conclude that he 

 really considered the two distinct. 



I may here note that Mr. Swinhoe, P. Z. S., 1871,395, 

 speaks doubtfully of the occurrence of the species which, follow- 

 ing Blyth, he calls flaviventris in China ; but Blyth records (J. 

 A. S. B.,XXX., 93, 1861) Mr. Swinhoe as having himself sent a 

 specimen to him from Amoy, and in the passage first quoted, 

 Mr. Blyth refers to another specimen received in 1843, from 

 Macao, of which he gives the dimensions, so that this matter 

 would not appear at all doubtful. 



Moore and Horsfield (Cat. B. Mus. E. I. C, 701) unite 

 nisicolor with varius, and so does Cabanis (Mus. Hein. IV., I., 

 29) but none of these authorities can possibly have had a series 

 of both birds before them, or they could never have made such 

 a mistake. 



In the first place, there is the difference in size, nisicolor being 

 altogether a slighter and slenderer bird. 



Varius varies in total length in adults (in the fresh bird) 

 from 1 3 in the smallest female to about 14*7 in the largest male — 

 and in wing from 7 "4 to 8- 2. Young birds are often smaller. 



Nisicolor varies similarly from 10*6 to 11 '5 in total length 

 and in wing from 6 '8 to 7*2. 



Then there is an essential difference in the markings ; in 

 varius at every stage, except quite the young bird just out of 

 the nest, the markings of the sides are transverse ; in adults, the 

 abdomen, sides and flanks are all more or less conspicuously 



