43G 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 



No. I.— THE IDENTIFICATION OF BIEDS. 



Since the publication of my volumes on the Birds of India, I have been 

 pained to find that some ornithologists in India do not agree with many of my 

 conclusions which were arrived at after much investigation and labour. I am 

 the more grieved at this, because my critics in some cases do not appear to 

 peruse my book with attention, and in others they impute ignorance to me 

 which would be quite inexcusable in a child, I will give recent instances to 

 show what I mean and to demonstrate that my work is not so full of errors 

 as these same critics would have us believe. 



In a recent number of the Society's Journal (vol. ix, No. 2, p. 116), Mr. E. C. 

 Stuart-Baker tells us that he believes Pericrocotus fraterculus to be a bad 

 species and that it should be suppressed. He appears to have procured a 

 considerable series of mini vets of this type in North Cachar, and he seems 

 to have laboured hard to make them into two species. It is improbable that 

 the two species, P. speciosus and P '. fraturculus occur together in that country. 

 In any case, he proceeds to measure wings, and to note the colour of the tails. 

 These characters are of subsidiary importance, although undoubtedly useful in 

 their way. But why did not Mr. Baker look at my key to these birds (vol. i, 

 p. 478,) before expressing a. hasty opinion on the validity of the two species? 

 He would there have found the really important and unfailing character for 

 discriminating the two birds, viz., the length of tail. Let me assure Mr. Baker 

 that the two minivets of this type are perfectly distinct species or races, if he 

 prefers the latter term. 



Again, some months ago Mr. H. A. Hole published a list of birds in the 

 " Asian " with charming illustrations. Writing of Dicrurus ater, he states that 

 I have described the young of this common species quite wrongly, and he 

 proceeds to describe what he considers is the young of the Black Drongo. 

 Will it be believed that the bird he describes is Surniculus lugubris, the Black 

 fork-tailed Cuckoo ? 



EUGENE W. OATES. 



Mandalay 15th January, 1895. 



No. II— ON THE OCCURRENCE OF GERARDIA 

 PREVOSTIANA IN BOMBAY. 



In the Fauna of British India (Reptilia) it is stated that the only authen- 

 ticated habitat of this snake is Pegu, and consequently it is worthy of record 

 that the four specimens in our collection have all been obtained from the 

 neighbourhood of Bombay, as follows : — 



2 Collected by Mr. W. F. Sinclair,. i.c.s., at Alibag. 



1 Collected by Mr. J. Mason (our Curator) on the shores of Back Bay. 



1 Collected by Mr. A. Corrodi in the Varsova Sands, Bandora. 



H. M. PHIPSON. 



