482 NOTES ON SOME BIRDS IN MR. MANDELLl's COLLECTION 



apprehend that in strictness we ought to retain the Dame rufus 

 for the Indiau and Burmese birds. 



A. 0. H. 



foics on some iirbs in gtr. gjtonMlt's Collection from 

 J&ifeRim, gljntan, gnb fifat. 



By W. T. Blanford. 



At Mr. Mandelli's request, I have written out a few notes 

 on some of the birds lately procured by him. The specimens 

 mentioned have, in all doubtful cases, been compared by Mr. 

 Hume with skins in his own collection. 



A. nisus. 



A. melanoschistus. 



The following are the lengths of the wings of 23 Sparrow- 

 Hawks in Mr. Mandelli's collection. The specimens are not 

 sexed : — 



Eight smaller specimens, supposed males, with wings respec- 

 tively 8-35 ; 8-35 ; 8'4 ; 8 4 ; 84 ; 865. 



Seventeen larger supposed to be females; 9*55 ; 9*55 ; 9*6 ; 

 9-6; 975; 975; 975; 9 8 ; 98 ; 98; 985 ; 10 ; 10; 10-05 ; 

 10-05; 10-05; 10*1. 



Several of the birds are very dark coloured. 



The question whether A. melanoschistus is really distinguish- 

 able from A. nisus appears far from solution. If the typical 

 male of the former, with a wing 975 and tail 8'5, was correctly 

 sexed (and it was determined by Captain Marshall, see Hume, 

 Scrap Book, pp. 129, 131) there is an end to the matter, since the 

 difference in size between the sexes would be so very much 

 smaller in A. melanoschistus than in the European Sparrow-Hawk 

 that the two must, I think, be considered distinct. Bnt there is 

 no point concerning birds, at least this is my experience, in which 

 there is greater liability to error than in sexing ; and unless Mr. 

 Hume has additional specimens of large males, correctly sexed, 

 1 should be inclined to class the original male as doubtful. It 

 will then be seen that the above measurements, taking those of 

 the supposed females, only go a long way towards bridging 

 the difference between the average European Sparrow-Hawk 

 with a wing 9'5, according to Sharpe (Cat. Ac. Brit. Mus., p. 

 134) and the types of A. melanoschistus, with wings from 10 - 12 

 to 10 - 5, (Scrap Book, pp. 129-130). The variation is further 

 shown in the opposite direction by the series of females from the 

 British Islands, measured by Sharpe and Dresser (Birds of 

 Europe, Pt. IX). In these the wings measure 88 to 9*3. 



