118 CUCULID^, 



Sub-Family, CENTEOPODIN^, Pp.— Coucals or Crow 



Pheasants. 



Bill strong, deep, compressed; wings rounded; tail long, graduated; 

 tarsi long; hallux lengthened in some; tarsi scaled. 



Gen. Centropus. — Illiger. 

 Bill well curved^ high at base ; claw of the hallux lengthened, 

 nearly straight. 



Centropus maximus, Eume^ Str. F. vol. i. 454; vi. 169. — The 



Ceow Pheasant. 



Head, neck, lower bact, upper tail-coverts and entire under parts 

 richly empurpled black, duller towards the vent; feathers of the 

 forehead bristly, and those on the neck and breast with spiny shafts ; 

 tail dusky black with a greenish gloss ; wings deep rufous bay or dark 

 red ; bill black ; irides crimson ; legs black. 



Length. — 19 to 20 inches, wing 9 to 10, tail 10 to 10-5, bill at front 

 1-25. 



Eah. — Sind, Punjab, N. W. Provinces and Burmah. Hume {S. F. 

 vol. vi. page 170) says it is not yet possible to define accurately the 

 limits of rufipennis, maximus and intermedius. Bufipennis, he says, 

 appears to be a South and Central Indian species ; maximus, Western 

 and N.- Western continental India; and intermedius, Eastern continent- 

 al India and the whole of Burmah. 



Gen. Taccocua, — Lesson. 



Bill short, of moderate length ; culmen arched ; commissure and 

 gonys straight or concave; nostrils basal, longitudinal; 4th and 5th 

 quills nearly equal and longest. 



Taccocua sirkee. Gray, III. Ind. ZooL pi. 28; Jerd. B. Lid. i. 

 353, No. 220; Str. F. v. 219; Murray, Hdblc, ZooL, ^c, Sind, 

 p. 132. — The Bengal Siekeeb. 



Head, neck, sides of the face, entire upper parts, including upper 

 tail-coverts and tail sandy brown with a slight satiny sheen ; barbs of the 

 feathers of the forehead, crown, lores and sides of the face very lax and 

 with stiff bristly black shafts. Bye-lashes also with black bristles, which 

 arebasally white. Chin yellowish brown, the feathers black shafted; 

 throat, sides of the neck and breast concolorous with the back, the 

 feathers lax and black shafted; scapulars the same. Primaries and 

 secondaries plain sandy brown on their outer webs, their inner- webs 

 slightly darker, their shafts dark brown. Secondaries and tail feathers 

 with obsolete bars. Lower breast, abdomen, flanks, tibial plumes, under 

 wing-coverts and vent ferruginous ; under tail-coverts brown, tinged 

 with ferruginous. Bill cherry red, the tip yellowish. Orbits purphsh. 

 Legs dusky greenish. 



Length.— 17 inches, wing 56 to 6-2, tail 9'2 to 9-5, bill from gape 1'5. 

 Fat.— Sind, (Jacobabad) Punjab, N. W. Provinces, Bengal, Kutch, 

 Concan, Deccan and Central India. 



