332 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXIII. 



PoMATORHiNTis NXJCHALis, Tweeddale. 

 Tweeddale'' s Scimitar Babbler. 



P. nuclmlis, Tweeddale, A. M. N. H. (4), xx., p. 535 (1877), Sharpe, Cat. 



. M., vii., 413; Gates, F. B. 1., i., p. 117 ; Bingham, Ibis. 1903, p. 588. 



Bescnption. — As in Gates, F. B. I. 



Distribution. — Thayetmyo District, Toungoo hills and Karennee, and 

 the Southern Shan States. Ool. Bingham in the " Ibis " notes that birds 

 from this last locality vary greatly in size and colouration. 



POMAXOBHINUS OLIVACEUS OLIVACEUS, Blyth. 



The Tenasserim Scimitar Babbler. 



P. olivaceus, Blyth, J. A. S. B., xvi., p. 451 (1847) ; Sharpe, Cat. 

 5. M., vii., p. 414 ; Gates, F. B. I., i., p. 118. 

 Description. — As in Gates, F. B. I. 

 Distribution.- — Tenasserim. 



PoMATORHiNus OLIVACEUS EippoNi, Haringtou. 



The Shan States Scimitar Babbler. 



P. ripponi, Harington, Bui. B. O. C, xxvii., p. 9, 1910. 



Description. — Most closely allied to P. olivaceus, Blyth from Tenasserim^ 

 but with the general colour of the upper parts olive-brown instead of 

 rufous-brown ; the tail similar in colour .to the upper parts ( in P. olivaceus 

 it is much darker, blackish towards the tip and rufous towards the base) ; 

 the chestnut patch on the sides of the neck somewhat paler ; and the bill 

 usually more slender. Total length about 8-3 inches ; wing 3-4 ; tail 3-7; 

 tarsus 0-85. 



Distribution. — The Shan States, Burma. 



I believe its nest and eggs have lately been taken by Captain Venning. 



POMATORHINUS HORSFIELDI, 



This sub-group has a wide range over the Peninsula of India and Cey- 

 lon," and extending to Sumatra and Java, it appears to be very subject to 

 climatic influences, and falls into the following well-marked races :— 



(i) In Rajputana, about Mt. Abu and Seoni, we have a very pale race. 

 P. horsfieldi obseurus (Hume), noticeable for its very pale upper plumage 

 and total absence of any black on the sides of the breast. 



(ii) In the Deccan and extending across to Bombay, Mahableshwar, 

 Kandalla, and Kanara, and down to the plains of Mysore and Madras, we 

 have typical P. horsfieldi horsfieldi (Sykes). The original locality from 

 which this sub-species was described, being the Deccan. 



This bird is slightly darker than P. h. obseurus and has only faint traces 

 of a black band on each side of the breast. Dr. Sharpe considered that 

 Syke's types really belonged to the pale race (P. obseurus). They are 

 certainly very pale, but when a large series from the above localities are 

 taken, the diflferences at once become apparent. Dr. Sharpe seems to 

 have been inclined to consider these two forms as the same, and to sepa- 

 rate the more southern form. I consider it best to keep the two distinct, 

 and to create another sub-species out of the Southern Indian birds, which 

 are quite distinct from those of Mt. Abu and the Deccan. 



(iii) In Travancore, the Nilghiris, at Goty and Coonoor, and in the 

 Pali HiUs, we get a very dark, almost melannistic form, for which I pro- 

 pose the name of C. horsfieldi travancoreensis sub-sp. nov. 



(iv) Ceylon is inhabited by P. h. melanurus, Blyth, which, I think, con- 

 sists of two well-marked geographical races, which I hope will be recognised 

 and described by Ceylon ornithologists. 



