1849.] in the Asiatic Society's Museum. 807 



penultimate 1 in. less, and ante-penultimate but J in. less. The uniform 

 rufous-brown of the throat and breast, crossed by the white torque and 

 bordered below by another, well distinguishes this species from B. java- 

 nensis ; and the bright white spots on the wings (corresponding but not 

 similar to those of the large B. auritus) distinguish it as readily from 

 B. affinis. It remains to ascertain whether either B. moniliger, B. 

 affinis, or B. auritus, presents the state of plumage corresponding to 

 that named Podargus cornutus by M. Temminck, who considers this 

 to be identical with B. javanensis, while Mr. G. R. Gray regards them 

 as separate species. The dark young specimen of presumed B. affinis 

 from Darjiling would seem to indicate, from its considerable resemblance 

 to cornutus, that it would afterwards have assumed that dress, in which 

 case it would seem to follow that the two are different phases of the 

 same bird irrespective of age and perhaps sex. B. moniliger inhabits 

 Ceylon, where Mr. Layard is informed that it is not uncommon at a 

 particular altitude in the Kandyan country ; and it is most probably 

 the Coorg species seen by Mr. Jerdon, as noticed in XIV, 209. 



The anatomy of this genus differs remarkably from that of Capri- 

 mu/gus. The stomach is a highly muscular gizzard, like that of Nyc- 

 tibius ;* and there is a large gall-bladder : sternum small, subquadrate, 

 with but a slight keel, and four deep emarginations behind ; the cora- 

 coids long and slender, and furcula like that of Caprimulgus but more 

 slender. According to Mr. Gould, the outer front claw of Podargus 

 is capable of reversion ; but on macerating and completely relaxing the 

 foot of P. strigoides, we found that it can be only half-reversed, as in 

 Corythaix, Tamatia, and some other genera. Save in the proportional 

 size of the feet, which are much larger in Podargus, there seems to be 

 nought else to separate Batrachostomus from it ; and it is probable 

 that even in this respect a gradation occurs in the different species. 



No. 425. Cypselus subfurcatus, nobis : (7. affinis, var., apud 

 Strickland, P. Z. S. 1846, p. 99. Resembles C. affinis, but is larger, 

 deeper-coloured, with the tail-feathers conspicuously more pointed, and 

 the outermost measuring J in. longer than the middle ones. Wing 5} 

 in. ; tail 2-g- in. General colour much blacker than in C. affinis, the 

 upper and lower tail- coverts being quite black ; the white band on the 



* Gosse's * Birds of Jamaica,' where the habits of the excessively long-winged 

 Nyctibii are described as much more those of Podargus than of Caprimulgus. 



