OF THE GENUS VOLVOCIVORA. 205 



This has the whole upper surface precisely like the bird 

 first described, but has the ear-coverts and cheeks streaked 

 with greyish white ; lores brownish dusky, aud the entire under 

 surface greyish white, closely barred with greyish dusky ; only 

 the vent feathers aud lower tail-coverts pure white with black- 

 ish dusky arrowhead subtertninal spots. In this bird the ex- 

 ternal lateral tail feathers are 0*65 shorter than the central 

 ones. 



It may be well now to make a brief l'eview of all the 

 Indian species of this genus with which I am acquainted or 

 which have been described. 



First we must take V. fimbriata, Tern., which occurs in the 

 Malay Peninsula, aud with which I erroneously at one time 

 identified the present species. This species agrees with neglecta 

 in having a much less graduated tail than melaschistus, but it is 

 a larger bird — the wing in the male being as much as 4'3 to 

 4*$; it is much darker coloured, the whole head being nearly 

 black, and the tail, instead of being conspicuously white tipped, 

 has only a comparatively narrow grey tipping to the exterior 

 laterals on either side ; the rest of the tail feathers are paler 

 towards the tips, but have no regular tippings. 



Volvocivora melaschistus, Hodgs. ( lugubris, Sund. ) is 

 much larger and much deeper coloured than neglecta. The 

 w r ing in the adult male is often close upon 5 inches, and never 

 I think in the full-grown bird less than 4*75; the exterior lateral 

 tail feather is from 1*2 to 1*6 shorter than the central ones. 



V. avensis has already been described, Vol III, p. 93. In 

 this species the colour, sex for sex, is alwaj^s paler than in our 

 neglecta, and, a fortiori, much paler than in melaschistus. In 

 this the wing varies from 4*2 to 4*4, and the external lateral 

 tail-feathers are about an inch shorter than the middle ones. 



Then we have in Tenasserim, most abundant in the hills, but 

 extending in the cold weather to the sea-board aud the plains 

 of Pegu, a race of melaschistus, which I will, for convenience 

 sake, denominate Volvocivora intermedia. 



It is very close to melaschistus, and as such I originally 

 identified it, but with 24 specimens before me I find that sex 

 being ascertained no specimen of it can be mistaken for a speci- 

 men of the corresponding sex of melaschistus, but it is much 

 the same size, and the old males are as nearly as possible the 

 same colour as the females of melaschistus. 



Except as regards colour I can point at present to no unfail- 

 ing and absolute diagnosis between it and melaschistus. But, 

 as a rule, the exterior lateral tail feather is longer. In no 

 specimen is this latter more than 1*2 shorter than the middle 

 one, and as a rule it is only about one inch shorter. Usually 



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