15S W. T. Blanford— On Birds from SiMcim. [No. 2, 



from Z. palpebrosus is very slight, being precisely, as mentioned by Mr. 

 Swinhoe, Ibis, 1870, p. 348, tbe smaller size of Z. simplex, and the greener 

 tinge of tbe upper parts. I find otber specimens from tbe Western Himalayas 

 in tbe Indian Museum also referable to tbe Chinese race, whilst, as so frequent- 

 ly happens, specimens from the base of the Himalayas are intermediate in 

 colour. But as there is no distinction either in hue or size between birds from 

 China and others from the Himalayas, and as those from the plains of India 

 appear equally constant, I think these two races are fairly distinguishable, 

 and that the intermediate forms are hybrids. I append the dimensions (in 

 inches) of the Himalayan birds and of two specimens of Z. palpebrosus. 





wing 



tail 



tarsus 



billfi 



■om for ©head, 



Z. simplex, Sikkim, 



1-95 



133 



0-6 





0-37 



Do. Do. 



1-95 



145 



062 





035 



Z. potf/pebrosus, Godavari £ 



21 



1-5 



0-6 





0-35 



Do. Do. 



2-15 



1-65 



062 





035 



The Niigiri race is a little larger than Z. palpebrosus, and of the same 

 colour as Z. simplex, but the difference is not great, and I have but one 

 specimen for comparison, (Confr. J. A. S. B. 1869, Pt. II, p. 170). 



308. CtOESTTS M'AGISTROSTRIS, Blyth. 



A female of this rare bird is amongst Mr. Mandelli's specimens, and I 

 find a male in tbe Indian Museum collection, also from Darjiling. The latter 

 agrees well with Major Godwin- Austen's description, J. A. S. B. 1870, p. 100. 

 The central tail feathers are the same colour as the black. Mr. Blyth Ibis, 

 I860, p. 371, compares tbe coloration with that of Cyomis rubeculoides, 

 but 0. onagnirostris has not the blue throat of that species, on the otber 

 hand the coloration approaches so closely to that of O. Jerdoni, that the 

 two species can only be distinguished by the rather darker blue of the back, 

 and tbe larger size and powerful bill of C. onagnirostris. 



The female has, I think, been described by Jerdon from tbe rather 

 faded type specimen in the Asiatic Society's collection, the following is an 

 account of the coloration in a fresh specimen. Upper parts olive, forehead 

 and lores rufescent, feathers around eye pale ferruginous, tail browner than 

 back, with a ferruginous tinge on the margins of the feathers ; quills dark 

 brown, all but the first two broadly margined with dull rufous. Major 

 Godwin- Austen has overlooked Mr. Blyth' s description of the male of this 

 species from Hodgson's drawings, Ibis, 1866, p. 371. 



Under parts ferruginous, deepest on the breast, flanks olive, lower 

 abdomen and under tail coverts white. 

 The dimensions are, in inches. 



wing tail tarsus bill from forehead bill from gape. 



Male 3-25 2-45 07 055 77 



Female 3-17 22 07 0-55 075 



