174 Ornithological Notes, chiefly on some birds [No. 3, 



near Chanda. The first was a female,* bat the plumage was precise- 

 ly similar to that of the male. 



310. MuSCicapula SUperciliariS, Jerdon. A solitary speci- 

 men was shot by the Museum Collector who was with me about half 

 way between Nagpur and Chanda. 



311. ErythrOSterna aCOmaUS, Hodgson. I obtained a 

 solitary specimen of this bird also. It has not, I believe, before been 

 recorded from the plains. My specimen, a female, was killed at Seoni 

 on the road from Jabalpur to Nagpur in a mango tope. It is identical 

 with the type specimens received from Mr. Hodgson in the Indian 

 Museum, but it does not agree well with Jerdon's description, the 

 back being bluish cinereous, sides of breast cinereous grey, middle of 

 breast, throat, and belly white with a pale rufous tinge. The head 

 and neck are dark ashy, forehead rufous close to the bill, wing 2| 

 inches, tail 1 T %. 



323. ErythrOSterna parva, Bechst. Common about Nag- 

 pur. I did not obtain a single specimen of E. leucura, which is pro- 

 bably only found in Bengal and Orissa, like some other migratory birds. 

 In E. parva the buff feathers round the orbits are peculiarly con- 

 spicuous. 



Males shot as early as the end of November had the red breast, so 

 that except in birds of the year, I doubt if the male ever has the 

 plumage of the female. 



Family Campephagid^:. 



268. VolVOCiVOra Sykesii, Strickland. Not rare in some of 

 the woods near Sironcha, but I saw it nowhere else. The clear 

 whistle mentioned by Jerdon is most peculiar. I heard it several 

 times in the beginning of May. 



277. PericrOCOtUS erythropygius, Jerdon. Not very rare 

 in the open country about Nagpur. 



The representation of this bird by P. albifrons, Jerdon, in Upper 

 Burma, is a parallel case to the replacement of the Malacocerci by 

 Chattarhcea gularis and of Francolinus vulgaris and F. pictus by 



* I did not unfortunately myself examine the specimen, and its sex was 

 determined by the native skinner who was with me, but as I i-epeatedly tested 

 his determinations, and always found them correct, I see no reason to doubt its 

 accuracy. 



