252 NOTES ON SOME BURMESE BIROS. 



latter merely a narrow slit ; in the length of the tail and the 

 relative proportions of the reotriees and primaries it corresponds 

 exactly with nigriceps, the type of the genus. The bold 

 coloration of the two species is also of the same character. A 

 year ago Lord Walden pointed out that the bill of the bird 

 figured by Tickell appeared to be that of Timalia. Now the 

 bills of Timalia and Stachyrhis are quite the same with one 

 exception — a point which can hardly be shewn in a drawing of 

 a small bird. In the former the nostril is quite open ; in the 

 latter it is covered by a peculiarly-shaped membrane nearly 

 entirely closing it. It must have been this that induced 

 Hodgson to name the genus Stachyrhis orayys from the 

 resemblance of the membrane to a grain of corn. Sundevall 

 Meth. Nat. Av. Disp. Tent., p. 10, adopted Agassiz's change 

 of the name to Strachyrhis, and since that time it seems to be 

 the practice so to spell it.* Nothing can be urged in defence of 

 the alteration.! 



To return to my bird. It was shot at Malewoon in South 

 Tenasserim on the 29th December and is sexed as a male. The 

 length of the skin is 62 ; tail, 2' 2 ; wing, 265 ; tarsus, "95 ; 

 bill from gape, "94; the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th quills are sub- 

 equal ; the 1st is 1*17, the 2nd # 6, and the 3rd *35 shorter 

 than the longest. The tips of the outermost rectrices fall short 

 of the tips of the central pair by "5; the bill is a dark bluish 

 horn colour, and the legs are brown. 



The plumage is very firm, and the feathers of the neck are 

 more or less lengthened. 



[We found this species very common at Meetan in February, 

 and secured numerous really fine specimens. 



The following are the dimensions and colours of the soft parts, 

 recorded in the flesh from a large series of both sexes : — 



Sex Length Expanse Tail from vent Wing Tarsus Bill from gape Weight. 

 $ 6*5-6 9 90-93 21-2 3 27-2 9 10-105 9-0 92 M2-r3oz 



? 6 3-6 7 89-90 23 27-2'8 10 85-0 9 10-1 25oz 



The legs, feet, and claws are pale dingy green ; the lower 

 mandible and edges of upper mandible are pale plumbeous ; 



* As instances of the reckless way in which some persons alter other peoples' 

 names, I may mention the attempt of the late Professor Sundevall to substitute 

 Sadropezus for Turdinus, Entomoletes for Chaptia and SmiJony.v for Ketupa. 



f Except, that as far as I can make out it was Hodgson himself who first in 

 1844 named the genus " Cilathora" and " Strachyrhis," and it was only in 1845 

 that he changed the name to " Stachyris." Whether even he had the right to do 

 this will depend upon whether either of the former names were well defined, not 

 implying a false proposition likely to propagate important errors and not errone- 

 ous in transliteration. 



It should not be forgotten that the British Association endorsed De Candolle's 

 famous dictum. " L'auteur meme qui a le premier etabli un nom n'a pas, plus 

 qu'un autre, le droit de le changer pour simple cause d'impropri<;te. La priori te 

 en effet est un terme fixe, positif, qui n'admet rien, ni d'aibitraire, ni de partial."— 

 Ed., S. F. 



