222 Journal of the F.M.S. Museuns.  [Vor. X, 
The specimens constitute a new record for Java. I 
have no hesitation in including them in Chibia for there 
seems to me no reason why those birds which have been 
placed in Dicruropsis should be excluded from the earlier 
genus : all link up too closely to be separated. Sharpe long 
ago expressed the same opinion with regard to the genus 
of these birds (P.Z.S. 1879, p. 247). 
Since Mr. Stuart Baker published the results of his 
study of continental material of the species Chibia 
hottentotta (Nov. Zool. XXVI, 1919, p. 44), I have ‘been. 
able to examine, side by side with the specimens in the 
F.M.S. Museums, the collection of these birds belonging 
to the Indian Museum. 
On the whole this material confirms Baker’s 
conclusions (except that being smaller the series shows a 
smaller range in dimensions and presents one or two 
anomalies'), viz., that in the North of India from the 
Northwest to the Eastern Himalayas and Assam—and 
perhaps North Burma and the Shan States—the birds are, 
on the whole, larger ; whereas in Bombay, Central India, 
Bengal, South Burma and Siam to Cochin-China and Annam 
they average not so large. 
But investigation of material should go hand in hand 
with investigation of literature and Baker has omitted a 
study of the latter. It is certainly a less interesting pursuit. 
It is open to anyone to select a type locality for a form 
which has been described without one and often, of course, 
it is largely a matter of chance whether the choice made 
is anywhere near correct : but the selection should at least 
have the appearance of probability. As the type locality 
for a bird known to Brisson and Linneus Sikkim seems so 
improbable that the fixation may be disregarded. 
But in this case there is another reason for rejecting 
it. As a type-locality the region including Sikkim is 
preoccupied. Baker considers birds from Nepai, Sikkim 
and Bhutan to be alike and the Nepal bird has be2n described 
by Gould as Hdolius chrishna (P.Z.S. 1836, p. 5) and by 
Hodgson as £dolius casita (Indian Review, 1, 1836-7, p. 
324). Until the longer-winged, longer-billed northern birds 
are separated into races by some reviser the name they must 
all bear is Chibia hottentotta chrishna (Gould). 
Other places which are perhaps debarred from selection 
as type localities of the original form are Borabhum and 
Dholbhum, Chota Nagpur, (Criniger splendens Tickell, 
Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal II, 1833, p. 574) ; and Bengal 
(Calcutta), the locality given by Latham for his Crishna 
Crow (Gen. Hist. Birds, III, 1822, p. 51, pl. XI) which is 
Saar as Edolius barbatus Gray (Zool. Mise., 1831, 
p. 34). 
_ *Specimen from Upper Burma, wing 166, bill from nostril 26 ; 
from Loisampa, Shan States, wing 180, bill from nostril, 26 (it is 
possible that more material may show these to be the Chinese 
form) : from South of Irawadi, wing 179, bill 29 mm, 
