1865.] Scientific Intelligence. 49 
you have received Giinther’s work on Indian reptiles, which will 
materially assist the study of them. I do not, however, agree with 
him in all cases; for instance, his identification of the Bengal Emys 
ocellata with the Tenasserim EZ. Berdmorei.—He has certainly not 
seen specimens of the former, and I wish that some could be sent to 
him. The species is not very commonly brought to the Calcutta 
bazar, but by offering a slight reward to one of the museum servants 
a few might be obtained, and there is a good series of both races in 
the Society’s museum. I have written pretty regularly to Jerdon, 
communicating to him what I learn; but he has not largely availed 
himself of my notes in his Appendix, and I seldom hear from him. 
He never was a good correspondent. I certainly told him in good 
time for publication that the common Indian Curlew is not Numenius 
arquata, but N. major, Schlegel, figured in the Fauna Japonica ; and 
I sent British specimens of the former to the museum. He is quite 
wrong, too, in placing the Burmese Peafowl in Asim! The Indian 
species occurring so far round as Chittagong. The Gallus Tem- 
minckii, Gray (p. 541,) which he mentions as a peculiar species, is a 
most obvious hybrid between bankivus and furcatus, though differently 
coloured from the so-called G. aneus. In p. 481, he is quite wrong 
in identifying Turtwr chinensis with 7’. tigrinus : the former is much 
larger, with quite plain plumage on the back, and is correctly figured 
by Sonnerat. Both are in the Society’s museum. I cannot make out 
the middle-sized Indian Cormorant erroneously referred to sinensis in 
p. 862. P.870,1.3. For “ poliogenys,” read pyrrhogenys. P. 597. 
T. ocellatus, the Philippine species (/uzoniensis, Gm.,) is quite distinct 
from the Indian 7’. pugnae, to which Jerdon’s other synonyms 
belong. Arboricola rufogularis, (p. 598) was sent by Tickell from 
Tenasserim, as noticed in one of my Reports. Another time I will 
annotate Jerdon’s work for you in detail. About the Darjeeling Kalij 
Pheasant (melanotus), these breed at the Gardens, and are distributed, 
but not any have died, to be promoted to the British Museum. A good 
pair of skins would accordingly be acceptable. Bruce has sent from 
China a noble pair of skins of Crossoptilon Bougolicum, Swinhoe, 
(auritum, Pallas, apud Sclater,) and ditto of a new species of 
Puerasia, P. canthospila, KH. R. Gray, from the mountains N. W. of 
Pekin. The sexes of the former only differ in the male being larger 
7 
