Letters, Extracts from Correspondence, Notices, 6fc. 357 



before the bird begins to breed, and those in the youngest garb 

 are doubtless the produce of late nests last year. 



Amongst the ordinary birds brought, two specimens oi Lanius 

 shah had the frontal black mark reaching to beyond the centre 

 of the crown, and an example of Garrulax taivanus had the tip 

 of its upper mandible protracted about '25 inch more than 

 usual. 



On the 30th of March, H.M. gunboat 'Flamer^ returned to 

 harbour, from a cruise after pirates, to Lung-kiaou Bay, forty 

 miles south of this place. My interpreter, who accompanied 

 this expedition, brought me a live Ground-Pigeon, of the genus 

 Chalcophaps. This bird answers to the description of C indica 

 of India, rather than to that of C. javanica of the Archipelago 

 (Bp. Consp. Av. ii. p. 91). The notable difference in our bird 

 is in the colour of its under tail-coverts, which are black, while 

 in the Indian they are greyish-brown varied with chestnut. I 

 designate it as 



Chalcophaps formosana, sp. nov. 



Similis C. indica, sed subcaudalibus nigris nee fusco-cinereo cas- 

 taneoque variis. 



Hah. In Formosa meridionali (Lung-kiaou), 



Mantle beautiful bronze-green ; basal and hidden parts of 

 feathers, together with the quills, black. Outer shoulder vina- 

 ceous-brown, margined with grey, and tipped with white. Cheeks, 

 sides of the neck, and breast fine vinaceous, becoming paler and 

 tinged with grey on the under-parts. Crown of the head, streak 

 down the occiput, and dorsal edge of the vinaceous bluish-grey, 

 cinereous on the front and sides of the crown. The bluish-grey 

 band unites one shoulder with the other. Forehead and thin 

 streak over the eye white ; chin very pale. Back greyish-black 

 with two bands of pearly-grey, the lower one deepening into 

 the blackish-grey rump. Tail-coverts broadly tipped with black. 

 Tail purplish-black, the outer feathers on each side being marked 

 with grey, somewhat on the inner web, and on the outer web 

 for the greater part of its length. All the rectrices, except the 

 central pair, with more or less bluish-grey. Under tail-coverts 

 nearly the length of the tail, the shorter ones being blackish- 



