1849.] in the Asiatic Society's Museum. 801 



Inhabits the Kandyan country, in Ceylon. Nothing can exceed the 

 harmony and delicate beauty of its colouring. 



No. 1820. Loriculus asiaticus ; Psittacus asiaticus, Latham, 

 and Ps. indicus, Gmelin, — both founded on Edwards, pi. '6, which is a 

 good representation. The names, however, are bad, as the race would 

 seem to be wholly confined to Ceylon : while L. vemalis inhabits all 

 India, and the countries bordering the eastern shores of the Bay of 

 Bengal, as far as the Tenasserim provinces where it abounds, and also 

 Java ; whereas in the Malayan peninsula there appears only to be L. 

 galgulus. L. asiaticus differs from L. vemalis in having the crown deep 

 red, passing to a saffron hue on the nape, and in some specimens over 

 much of the back ; while the fore-part of the neck is tinged more or 

 less deeply with verditer. The nearest affinity of these Loricules is with 

 the genus Eclectus ;* and there are other species in the Philippines and 

 probably the south of China. 



No. 99. Micrastur — ? Size of full grown young male Astur 

 palumbarius, and plumage scarcely differing ; but the tail shorter, and 

 the tarse longer and more slender. The markings of the under-parts 

 are also less narrow, forming pear-shaped drops, small and rounded on 

 the belly, lower tail-coverts, and tibial plumes, — much as in the young 

 M. badius : under surface of the primaries (as seen in the closed wing) 

 almost unbarred ; their emarginated portion plain brown ; the rest of the 

 inner webs having narrow bars, which are distinct from the fifth in- 

 wards and throughout the secondaries and tertiaries ; above, the prima- 

 ries are albescent-rufous at base, with their outer webs barred from the 

 third inwards : tail with numerous (8 or 9) transverse dark bands, 

 narrow towards its base and broadening to the last ; the longer upper 

 coverts of the tail also distinctly banded. Length of closed wing 13 in. ; 

 of tail 9 in. ; and tarse 3 in., the latter plumed for about J. Habitat 

 unknown : not improbably American. 



No. 171, d; p. 340 : and No. 172. Strix pusilla, nobis. Distin- 

 guished at a glance from Str. jiammea by its general smaller size, con- 

 spicuously smaller facial ruff, and shorter and more slender tarsi and 

 toes. A specimen received from England (but not supposed to be Eng- 



* Psittacus sumatr anus, Raffles, erroneously referred by Mr. G. R. Gray to this 

 genus, seems merely to be the female of Tanygnathus macrorhynchos, which is close. 

 ly affined to Palaornis. 



5 L 



