1845.] or little known Species of Birds. 553 



The Parus (?) minutus, Jerdon, (p. 944,) is probably identical 

 with Erpornis zantholeuca, Hodgson, XIII, 380. ^i & - 



P. nuchalis, Jerdon, is a new species from Southern India. Length 

 about five inches, of wing two inches and three-eighths, and tail two 

 inches ; bill to gape nearly half an inch, and tarse five-eighths. Colour 

 black above, as also a broad mesial stripe from throat to vent ; cheeks, 

 sides of neck, and of the breast and belly, with the under tail-coverts, 

 white ; a white spot also at the nape, as in P. ater, &c, a band of the 

 same across the wing, and the tertiaries very broadly margined exter- 

 nally and tipped with white ; outermost tail-feather white, except its 

 inner border, the next with the outer web and contiguous portion of 

 the inner web white, and the third with the outer web white at tip and 

 for most of its basal half: bill black ; and legs plumbeous. Inhabits 

 the Eastern ghauts. 



Of Ploceus philippinus, (p. 944,) Mr. Strickland writes me word, 

 that the Indian bird, and not Dr. Horsfield's Javanese species, is the 

 true Loxia philippina of Linna3us. It extends its range to Malacca. 



Passer montanus (p. 947,) proves to be the more common species 

 of Sparrow in Arracan generally, about 60 of this species occurring to 

 one of P. domesticus, var. indicus : Lord Arthur Hay has also re- 

 ceived it from Malacca ;* and hence a doubt arises whether it be not 

 the Siamese Sparrow mentioned by Crawfurd. P. montanus is also 

 the common Sparrow of Afghanistan. 



The division Gymnoris, Hodgson (p. 948), I shall now adopt, on 

 the authority of a second species sent on loan by Lord Arthur Hay, 

 and believed to be from S. Africa. 



G. superciliaris {$), A. Hay. Length about six inches and three- 

 quarters, of wing three and three-quarters, and tail two and a half; 

 bill to gape eleven- sixteenths of an inch, and tarse three-quarters. 

 Plumage as in G. Jlavicollis, with the same yellow spot in front of the 

 neck ; but there is no maroon colour on the shoulder of the wing, the 

 anterior whitish bar crossing the wing is narrower, there is a conspicuous 

 whitish supercilium, and the dorsal feathers have the terminal third of 

 their inner web dull dusky-brown, imparting somewhat of the streaky 

 appearance common to most Sparrows : the crown and upper portion 



* 1 hear that a Sparrow of some species, most probably this one, abounds in Singa- 

 pore. — The Society has just received Ploceus philippinus apud Horsfield from Java. 



