8§ MR. R. SWINHOE ON NEW AND [Mar. 24, 



of Malherbe's ' Monograpli.' The form of this bird, found in the 

 north-west Himalayas, and described by Jardine and Selby as P. 

 himalayanus, and Hodgson's species, P. majoroides, from the south- 

 west Himalayas, both appear to have the red breast-spot which, in 

 the adult dress, adorns the breast of the Chinese bird. I will here 

 add some remarks on our Chinese bird, made after a careful com- 

 parison of my series from China with the plates and descriptions in 

 M. Malherbe's work. 



Picus MANDARiNUS, Malherbe.— -P.wjo/or, L.,apudVon Schrenck 

 and Middendorff. 



M. Malherbe has described and figured four species of true Picus 

 from China : of the exact locality of one of these only he speaks 

 with confidence — his type of P. mandarimis from Whampoa in the 

 Museum at Berlin. I have in my collection a specimen from Wham- 

 poa, three from Canton, three from Foochow, and one from Pekin. 

 .From Whampoa and Canton I have two skins which answer to the 

 brown under-plumage of his P. hiciani, but have broader and more 

 black bands on the lateral rectrices. I have two from Canton an- 

 swering to P. mandarinus, but with a less bright red spot on the 

 breast. My three birds from Foochow correspond nearly to his P. 

 gouldi, which I presume is from Shanghai, but are browner on the 

 under parts, and also have indications of the red spot on the breast. 

 My example from Pekin is of the bright under tints of P. cabanisi, 

 with an equally bright red breast-spot ; but has more white on the 

 wings, and the almost white lateral rectrices of P. luciani. From a 

 careful comparison of the skins of this variable Woodpecker in my 

 possession, I have come to the conclusion that they are all cer- 

 tainly of one species ; for if we were to go on such nice specific di- 

 stinctions as those pointed out by M. Malherbe, every bird even out 

 of a number from the same locality might be regarded as a distinct 

 species. In one of my Canton birds the secret of the very brown 

 under plumage is developed ; it is a young male with the crown 

 red. Hence I gather that the special brown plumage in this species 

 is a mark of the young, the red pectoral spot showing itself and 

 intensifying as the bird advances to maturity, while the under plu- 

 mage at the same time whitens. The white on the wings and tail is 

 always less in the young individual, and widens considerably with 

 advancing age. No two specimens agree precisely in the size or 

 distribution of the white on the wings or the bands on the tail. The 

 further north the locality whence the birds are derived, the larger 

 their sizes generally, and more conspicuous the white markings. My 

 Foochow specimens are larger than those from Canton and Wham- 

 poa, and have more white on the wings and tail ; while the bird 

 from Pekin is as light on the under parts as P. major, though, being 

 adult, it carries the characteristic bright red pectoral spot. At the 

 same time, being from a northern locality, the white spots on its 

 wings and the white bands on its tail are very largely developed. 

 Had M. Malherbe known the exact localities of the individuals he 

 describes from, and had he had a larger series of skins to examine. 



