REMARKS ON THE GENUS PERICROCOTUS. 189 



I think about its extreme southern limit, and, as far as my present 

 experience goes, a line drawn from the mouth of the Taptee to 

 that of the Mahanuddee, represents its ordinary southern limit. 

 Eastwards I have it from Shillong, Cachar, Sylhet, Tipperah, 

 Chittagong, Arracan and possibly the northern portion of the 

 Tenasserim Hills, but the single specimen there obtained is 

 rather doubtful. Anderson says he obtained it in Upper 

 Burmah and various localities en route to Yunan, but it is not 

 impossible that this may be the next species. 



Pere David's brevirostris " which passes Pekin in migration, 

 but does not breed in the Cheelee Province/' will doubtless, when 

 critically examined, prove distinct. 



8.— Pericrocotus neglectus, Sp. nov. ^ a. /// 



I have only five specimens of this species, and all from the 

 Central Hills of Tenasserim, from Moolyit, Meetan, &c. It 

 is clearly a minature representative of brevirostris, and like 

 it has the first four primaries in both sexes plain on the outer 

 webs. 



The total length varies from 6*5 to 6'8 ; the tail from 3 to 

 3-25 ; the wings varied,— ^'s 325, 3*3 ; ? 's, 3*2, 3*37, 332. 



Seeing however that the Eastern form of brevirostris is smaller 

 than the Western, I should not have separated these birds, though 

 much smaller than the smallest Sikhim and Shillong specimens, 

 merely on account of difference of size. Nor would the propor- 

 tionally much larger bill have satisfied me of their distinctness, 

 nor even the fact that in both my males the black of the throat 

 appears to descend further on the breast than in any one of 

 46 males of brevirostris, as this might be due to some stretch- 

 ing of the skin in preparing it ; but when with these differ- 

 ences is coupled a female of a wholly different type, with the 

 upper surface of a much darker grey and with the chin, throat, 

 and entire lower surface of the rich bright hue of adult female 

 speciosus, a hue not approached, as regards chin and throat at 

 any rate, by any one of the 27 $ brevirostris now before me, I 

 could not avoid recognizing what is clearly a distinct species. 



The male is larger considerably than that of igneus (the 

 females of course differ toto coelo) and is not of the flammeus 

 type as igneus male is, but of the colour of eastern breviros- 

 tris, and has like it the axillaries and wing lining and patch 

 on the lower surface of the quills (this latter paler of course) 

 red instead of as in igneus, orange yellow. 



This species we have only from the Central Tenasserim Hills. 

 How far it extends I cauuot say. I believe that our single speci- 

 men, a male from the Northern Tenasserim Hills, is brevirostris, 



A 1 



