156 



8 



killed some clays later, have plenty of the brown winter dress still remaining. The hen bird, however, from 

 Palestine is one of the most interesting specimens we have yet examined; and by this bird we have been 

 enabled to trace the first development of the mottled plumage towards a blue dress. It was shot at Marsaba, 

 in Judaea, on the 15th of January 1864, and is apparently in the usual mottled plumage of the immature 

 female, with a slight bluish shade on the lower back and wing-coverts ; but on the head there is one blue 

 feather, showing that the bird would at least have attained to a partially blue livery in the ensuing spring. Total 

 length 8 - 7-8 - 9 inches, culmen L05, wing 4"7— 48, tail 3 - 4, tarsus 1:15. 



Egypt. In our own collection we have three specimens from this locality, — one collected by Mr. Rogers 

 during the visit of the Rev. O. Pickard Cambridge to that country, and two from Dresser's private collection, 

 given to him by the late Mr. S. Stafford Allen; about these specimens there is nothing particular to remark. 

 Captain Shelley has hut us three specimens out of his collection, obtained on the 9th and 12th of March 1868. 

 Two arc males, and one is a female in mottled plumage ; the former are only just beginning to lose their 

 winter dress. Total length 8-l-9 - inches, culmen l'05-l'l, wing 4 - 8-5T, tail 32-3 - 5, tarsus L1-1T5. 



Africa. 



Abyssinia. Since we wrote our article on the Blue Rock-Thrush, we have received two specimens from 

 North-eastern Africa, the only part of the Ethiopian Region visited by the species. One of them has been 

 lent to us by Captain Sturt, \\ ho obtained it during the Abyssinian Expedition ; it is emerging from the winter 

 fills-, as already signs of the coming brilliant blue are apparent on the head and throat, a few remains of 

 white cross markings being apparent on the lower parts of the body and also on the centre of the back. The 

 other example was recently scut to Sharpe by M. Jules Verreaux, and is now in his collection of African birds. 

 Not only is it in lull winter dress, but it is thickly covered both above and below with cross markings of 

 dingj lii'o" n ami narrow bars of black , some of the feathers also having a whitish tip. This looks as if the 

 specimen were a young bird of the previous year in its first winter dress; and it is much to be regretted that 

 no date is attached to the label, whereby we might determine the age of this bird, which is in rather interesting 

 plumage. Total length K\'» 8 - 5 inches, culmen LO-LOj, wing 4'6-4"85, tail 3'2-3'4, tarsus 1T-T15. The 



ger bird is the one which has the smaller measurements. 



Asia. 



Central Asia. A male specimen from Turkestan, in Lord Maiden's collection, belongs to the European 

 species. It is in perfect breeding-plumage, and measures as follows: — Total length 8 - 4 inches, culmen TO, 

 \\ ing I'?, tail 3"3, tarsus L'15. 



India. Although to the eastward of the Indian peninsula the Blue Rock-Thrushes are easily deter- 

 minable, there is a vast amount of difficulty in making out correctly the specimens from different parts of 

 India; and the reason of this confusion will best be understood by giving a history of the species in that 

 country. In his list of the birds of the Deccan (P. Z. S. 1832, p. 87), Colonel Sykes described his Petrocincla 

 pandoo as distinct from the Blue Rock-Thrush of Europe in the following terms: — "This bird differs from the 

 Solitary Thrush of Europe (Turdus cyanus, Linn.) in its smaller size, slighter form, brighter crerulean tint, 

 want of orange eyelids, and white tips to the feathers." On the next page (/. c. p. 88) he describes another 

 species as /'. muni, which he seems to consider may be the female of the foregoing P. pandoo ; and in this he is 



inly correct. Next, Mr. Blyth, in the ' Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal' (xi. p. 460), after giving 

 the synonymj i if P. manillensis, with which he unites P. pandoo and P. maul, writes : — " Accordingly this species 

 would extend to the Philippines, Tenasscrim, and peninsular India ; but I am not yet certain that the Indian 

 bird has ever any rufous on the undcrparts." After giving a description of a bird from Luzon in blue-and-red 

 plumage, he compares with it a specimen from Tenasserim, "minutely agreeing in all other respects;" but it 

 " has the leathers of the upper parts less bordered, the axillaries and under surface of the wing have merely a 

 leu slight traces of the rufous colouring, which is replaced by cyaneous, the large under tail-coverts are partly 



