1846.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 303 



L. erythronotus apud Jerdon and others, of India generally ; extend- 

 ing to Scinde on the west, and eastward it would appear to inhabit 

 Assam, as Dr. Horsfield remarks of the Assamese bird that — " compar- 

 ed with the figure in Gould's ' Century of Himalayan birds,' it is con- 

 siderably smaller, and the colours are more dull than in the Himalayan 

 bird." It also occurs in Arracan, and in the Rajmahl hills in Bengal, 

 but not lower towards the mouth of the river. 



Col. Sykes remarks, of the L. erythronotus of his list of Dukhun 

 species, that " this bird differs from L. bentet, Horsf., only in the crown 

 being ash- coloured instead of black, and in the defined black bar across 

 the forehead." L. schach (v. bentet) , however, as described by Dr. 

 Horsfield, has no black crown, but a black forehead ("L./ronte lateribus 

 colli alls cauddque nigris, vertice dorsoque griseis," %c). L. erythronotus 

 and L. bentet are successively larger than L. caniceps, with a suc- 

 cessively broader black frontal band : but in other respects all three 

 bear a near resemblance ; L. nigriceps chiefly differing in its black cap, 

 which indeed constitutes its only marked distinction from L. erythro- 

 notus ; and among some birds which Lord Arthur Hay collected in the 

 vicinity of Benares, is a specimen which has every appearance of being 

 a hybrid between these two : it has the cap mingled fuscous and ashy, 

 and the forehead above deep black as in L. erythronotus. We may ac- 

 cordingly look for the latter species at that distance from the Himalaya, 

 probably as a cold season visitant. 



6. L. phoznicurus, Pallas : L. cristatus, Lin., founded on Edwards' 

 figure (but the species is not crested) ; L. rutilus, var. A., and L. 

 super ciliosus, var. A, Latham : L. melanotis, Valenciennes : and L. 

 ferrugiceps, Hodgson, Ind. Rev. 1837, p. 446. Brown, with more rufous 

 head, tail, and its upper coverts ; streak over the eye and the throat 

 white, and the rest of the under- parts whitish with a fulvous tinge : lores 

 and ear-coverts, forming a broad band through the eye, dull black. 

 Females and young much rayed. This is one of the commonest of Indian 

 birds, and as its particularly harsh chattering affords one of the earliest 

 intimations of the advent of the cold season in Calcutta, its note is then 

 far more acceptable than is warranted by the music of it. A few indi- 

 viduals, however, are procurable at all seasons within a few miles. This 

 species is also common on the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal, ex- 

 tending southward to the Straits : where it is found together with the 



