A REVISION OF THE GENUS GENN^US. 67S 



Type in Indian Museum, Calcutta, No. ? 



Bescription : adult male. — This bird differs from Jiorsfieldi in having 

 numerous small white bars to the back, scapulars and wing coverts, 

 making the general appearance of these parts a very dark grey, 

 rather than black as in that bird. At the same time, the contrast 

 between the broad white bars of the rump and the rest of the upper 

 plumage is very striking. 



From oatesi it differs in having the white of the upper parts less 

 prominent, it is in fact exactly intermediate between horsjieldi and 

 oatesi, as the latter bird again is intermediate between cuvieri and 

 lineatus. 



Female. — Cannot be distinguished from that of horsfieldi. 



Bistribution. — Q. h. cuvieri extends from a little North of Akyab 

 in a narrow line along the lower hills of Northern Arakan up to 

 near Falam and Fort White and West of theManipur Kiver about as 

 far North as latitude 24-75°. On the East of the same River it runs 

 North along the foot of the hills, past the South of the Logtak Lake 

 and thence North-East to Tazone and East to Nanywa and Kama- 

 ing, and thence South again over a considerable tract of country as 

 far South as the 24? latitude. It is with a great deal of hesitation 

 that I have admitted this sub-species to its present rank, and it is 

 evidently one which is still not far advanced in evolution, as 

 throughout the area it inhabits, the number of specimens obtained 

 which show unmistakeable signs of hybridization is very large. 

 It is a sub-species forming the intermediate link between h. 

 horsfieldi and three other sub-species. Thus, on the South- 

 West it comes between that bird and oaiesi, then on the West 

 and North-West between horsfieldi and wilUamsi, and finally, 

 on the North-East of its range between horsfieldi and rufiijes. 

 Throughout, however, this long, narrow stretch of country we 

 get birds which show no signs of hybridization, and which agree 

 perfectly with the type of bird described by Temminck, but the 

 position of the country it inhabits, i.e., low hills just above the usual 

 habitat of horsfieldi and just below that of the other sub-species, is 

 one into which incursions of other forms from above and below 

 must be constantly occurring. We should, therefore, expect to find 

 that even if the climatic conditions are such as to render some 

 modification of colour probable, the confined width of country 

 occupied would make hybridization with the adjoining forms very 

 frequent. 



The original type of cuvieri came from Arakan. 



Gates' obscurus, type c? , Gates' Coll., No. 1910. c? 7.5.102 appears 

 to be nothing but cuvieri, and might well have been the original of 

 Temminck's picture of this bird. The $ as already noted is a 

 cJ horsfieldi, 

 11 



