1863.] MR. R. SWINHOE ON THE BIRDS OF CHINA. 303 



Abundant also in Formosa. Is found also in the Philippines, whither 

 it is said to have been conveyed originally for the destruction of 

 locusts. The members of this genus are closely allied, but very local 

 in their distribution. Great confusion exists in their nomenclature ; 

 but the description of Linnaeus doubtless refers to the Chinese Star- 

 ling so called, though he describes it as a bird from Bengal. 



There is quite a peculiar species in Siam, which I have received 

 from Sir Robert Schomburgk, H. M. Consul at Bangkok. This in 

 coloration is a good deal similar to the Chinese bird, but has the 

 bill a bright yellow, instead of light lemon-colour ; its vent is pure 

 white, instead of black tipped with white ; its nasal crest is much 

 smaller, and the pointed feathers on its crown much longer, than in 

 ours ; its rectrices are, moreover, much more largely tipped with 

 white. In size and other respects the two nearly agree. For this I 

 would now propose the name A. siamensis. 



219. Gracupica nigricollis. 



Gracula nigricollis^ PaykuU. 

 Pastor bicolor, Gr. 

 Pastor temporalis, Wagl. 

 Sturnus temporalis, Blyth. 

 Gracula melanoleuca, Sonnerat. 

 Gracupica melanoleuca. Less. 



A resident species in South China, from Canton to Foochow ; ex- 

 tends in its distribution as far south as Siam. Its bare cheeks, when 

 alive, are bright yellow, and not red as stated in Bp. Consp. Av. 

 p. 421. The immature bird has the head and neck light brown, 

 and its general colours are much lighter than in the adult. 



Corvid^. 



220. Pica caudata, Ray, var. media. 



P. media, Blyth. 

 P. sericea, Gould. 



The Magpie is an abundant resident throughout China, A moor- 

 land, Kamtschatka, Japan, and Formosa. On specimens procured 

 from these different regions two additional species have been created, 

 founded on the variation of the length of wing and expansion of alar 

 white, — P.japonica, Bp., and P. media, Blyth. My specimen from 

 Pekin seems entirely to agree with British skins ; but the majority 

 of those from Amoy differ in the tints of the tail, and in having much 

 less white on the quills. I have, however, from that locality one 

 which is identical with the Pekin bird. On examining nestlings 

 and young birds, I find that the alar white is again much less ; and, 

 on carefully comparing my large series of Amoy skins, I find great 

 variation in length of wing, in the tints of the tail, and in the size of 

 the white band on the rump, this last, in some, being scarcely 

 visible. I therefore cannot help reducing the so-called species 

 again into the original one ; for, as the Magpie is not a migratory 

 bird, one can scarcely suppose that the true Pekin race would oc- 



