PTERORHINUS DAVIDI, Swinh. 



Pere David's Pterorhinus. 



Pterorhinus Davidi, Swinh. in Ibis, 1868, p. 61. 



Some time during the year 1869, Mr. Swinhoe placed in my hands a skin of the bird which forms the subject 

 of the accompanying drawing, and stated that it was an inhabitant of China and that he had dedicated it to 

 the Abbe Armand David, a gentleman who with much credit to himself has paid great attention to the orni- 

 thology of that part of the " Celestial Empire " in which he is located ; and it affords me much pleasure to 

 extend the scientific reputation of this worthy French priest by giving a representation, in the present work, 

 of the highly curious bird named in his honour. 



I have, of course, nothing to communicate of my own knowledge respecting Pere David's Pterorhinus, and 

 must therefore avail myself of what has been placed on record by Mr. Swinhoe in ( The Ibis' for 1868, p. 60, 

 which I append below. The bird appears to me to be a Crateropine form, the habits and economy of which 

 will probably assimilate to those of some of the species of that group which frequent the low forests and 

 brushy coverts of the sterile portions of India ; but this is merely a surmise, and one which may not prove 

 to be correct. 



" On the 25th of June, 1867," says Mr. Swinhoe, " I received a letter from the Abbe David, enclosing 

 two hird-skins. The Abbe writes :— ' Je profite de l'obligeance de M. Conolly pour vous envoyer deux peaux 

 d'oiseaux ; c'est tout ce que j'ai maintenant de disponible. Votre Pomatorhinus stridulus est fort abondant 

 et sedentaire dans nos montagnes, de meme l'autre oiseau que je vous envoie et dont je vous prierais de me 

 faire savoir le nom. Ce dernier habite les memes localites que le Pomatorhinus et en a les memes 

 habitudes.' 



" These two birds were quite distinct from any thing Chinese that I had seen before ; and I wrote to the 

 worthy priest for permission to describe them. M. David's permission, dated Peking, 31 July, 1867, I 

 received on the 4th of September. The so-called Pomatorhinus belongs, in my opinion, to the Timaliinw. 

 At a first glance you might pronounce it to be a plain-coloured Pomatorhinus \ but on second inspection you 

 notice its feathered and bristled nostrils. Hence, what should it be a member of but a new genus ? which I 

 propose to style Pterorhinus. 



"The type of this genus in the shape of the bill approaches Pomatorhinus ; in the clothing of its nostrils 

 it is an exaggerated Garrulaw ; in the sober uniformity,of its coloration it resembles Malacocercus, and in 

 the comparative slenderness of its legs and feet exceeds Leucodiopterum" 



In some notes with which Mr. Swinhoe has recently favoured me, he says: — 



" This species forms a connecting link between the plain-coloured CrateropodhwE of Africa and the curved- 

 billed Pomatorhini of Asia. It was discovered among the hills near Peking, by the Abbe Armand David 

 (after whom I have named it), Missionary of the Lazarist Mission, and is noted in his ' Catalogue of Chinese 

 J3irds ' as Pomatorhinus stridulus^ with the remark that ' it is common and resident in our mountains ; cries 

 and sings at all seasons.' On my visit to the mountains, in the autumn of 1868, I noticed that these birds 

 had many of the habits of the South-China Song-Thrush, wandering in small parties from bush to bush 

 on the sides of the hills, hiding among the leaves and chattering to each other, a male occasionally isolating 

 himself and pouring forth a well-sustained song." 



The following is Mr. Swinhoe's description of this rare species : — 



General plumage amber-brown ; the downy or basal half of each feather bluish grey, a short superciliary 

 mark of brownish white passes over each eye, and some of the frontal feathers are edged with the same colour ; 

 cheeks and under neck pale ; abdomen, tibiae, and under tail-coverts deep umber ; a ring on the tarsal edge 

 of the tibial feathers whitish; chin black, giving out divergent black vibrissa ; near the symphysis of the 

 lower jaw a few small whitish feathers occur, and below the black chin-spot the feathers are inclined to whitish 

 grey; quills brown, edged with greyish white; tail umber-brown, on the two middle feathers deepening 

 towards their tips, where faint cross bars appear ; the other rectrices blackish brown ; bill (in the dried 

 specimen) pale ochreous yellow, brownish on the upper mandible, except at its edges ; legs and claws (of the 

 same specimen) liver-brown. On the ticket was inscribed in pencil " 12 April, 1867; Pekin, fern, adult." 

 Iris clear brown. 



The figure is of the natural size. 



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