7 : [ Vol. xxxvill. 
In the great work on the Birds of Madagascar by Milne- 
Kdwards and Grandidier, the large size of the Madagascar 
Herons has already been mentioned. ‘“‘ Firasa” is the 
native name for herons in parts of Madagascar. The larger 
measurements are from a specimen in the British Museum, 
the smaller from the type in the Tring Museum. Un- 
fortunately neither has the sex indicated. 
Aithopyga seheriz tonkinensis, subsp. nov. 
g ad. Differs at a glance from 4. seherie seherie by the 
much wider and less elongated middle rectrices, darker red 
back, aud more greyish, less greenish abdomen. Its nearest 
ally is A. seherie owstoni RKothsch., from Nauchau Island, 
off the coast of south-western Kwang-tung (cf. Bull. B. O. 
Club, xxv. p. 32, 1909), and from the latter it differs only 
in the brighter green forehead (if held against the light), 
which is more purplish bronzy-green in owstoni, slightly 
brighter red throat, and brighter and more greenish edges 
to the middle rectrices. 
Hab. Tonkin. 
Type. § ad. Yen-bai, Tonkin, 8.xi.1911. S.Tchuchiya 
coll. : 
I have only examined two males, sent to me by Mr. 
Nagamichi Kuroda of Tokyo, with the request to describe 
them, if new. Mr. Kuroda, m a careful and interesting 
article on the Birds of Tonkin, in Annot. Zool. Japon. im 
pt. 3, pp. 250, 251, has already poiuted out differences of 
both sexes from 4. seherie seherie, andersoni and cara, 
but has not mentioned the nearest ally owstont. I am 
inclined to think that all these forms are subspecies of 
siparaja, which latter would then be the specific name, being 
twelve years older than seherie. 
Mr. E. C. Sruart Baxer described the following new 
subspecies of Indian and Siamese birds, the latter collected 
by Mr. E. G. Herbert and presented by him to the British 
Museum :— 
