202 Notices and Descriptions of various new [No. 159. 



perceptibly from one to the other. In the hue of its upper parts, this 

 species is intermediate to the two others, but approaches nearer to the 

 Bengal one. Its entire head has often a distinct ashy cast, not seen 

 in the others. Length fifteen or sixteen inches, the tail eight or nine 

 inches, its outermost feather three inches and a half less ; wing five and 

 a half to six inches ; tarse an inch and five-eighths, but considerably less 

 robust than that of T. infuscata. Inhabits the peninsula of India.* 



Centropus, Illiger. The variations of plumage exhibited by the 

 birds of this genus are very remarkable, and appear oftentimes to be 

 independent of age or sex. Having ascertained the identity of my C. 

 dimidiatus, J. A. S. XII, 945, with C. lepidus, Horsfield, but which 

 species will bear the prior name of C. Lathami, (Shaw), I was subse- 

 quently led to suspect that C. sinensis) (Shaw), J. A. S. XII, 247, 

 might prove to be analogously identical with C. philippensis ; notwith- 

 standing the great difference of plumage in both cases : and upon more 

 minutely examining the Society's Chusan specimen of C. sinensis, I 

 found, on turning aside the feathers of the nape, some glossy steel- 

 black ones just put forth, different in texture from the old plumage, 

 and exactly according with those of ordinary adult philippensis ; more- 

 over, the two entirely correspond in size and proportion, and I feel 

 now perfectly satisfied of their being one and the same. 



In my description of C. philippensis, J. A. S. XL 1099, it was men- 

 tioned that some of the young birds, in their first or nest dress, were 

 throughout unbarred, being coloured much as in the ordinary adult, 

 except that the rufous is less bright and is deeply infuscated upon the 

 back, while most others of the same age are conspicuously barred 

 throughout, as in a youDg Cuckoo. In general, these moult into the 

 usual adult dress, figured by Horsfield as C. bubutus ; but some 

 would appear to assume a peculiar second dress (in which state it is 

 C. sinensis ) , analogous to that of ordinary occurrence in C. Lathami, 

 and which seems likewise to be analogous to the hepaticus plumage of 

 Cuculus canorus, more frequent in Cue. poliocephalus (v. himalayanus, 



* These three species of Taccocua appear more decidedly distinct, when seen toge- 

 ther, than perhaps would be inferred from the above descriptions : some might deem them 

 local varieties merely of the same, in which case intermediate specimens should occur 

 in intermediate districts ; but even then races so nearly allied might perhaps have in- 

 termingled, like Coracias indica and C. affinis ; but to me they certainly appear as 

 distinct as Alcedo grandis, A, ispida, and A. bengalmsis. 



