216 NOTES. 
fugitive, was natural to it, and not, like the yellow, put on by 
the bird. Mr. Ridley considered that both cclours came 
from the oil-gland ; so to settle the question I made a careful 
examination of the white, bleached beak of an old mounted 
specimen. The bill consists of a cellular bony core of extreme 
lightness encased in a thin covering of horn ; the casque is 
entirely hollow, except for a mass of bony cells at the base. 
The horn of the outer covering is in thin flaky layers, and it is 
only the outer one of these which entirely loses colour in a 
stuffed specimen. If it be removed, the red colour is seen to 
be retained, though less vivid than in life, throughout the 
remaining layers of the horny casing. It appears, therefore, 
that either the outer layer of h rn is naturally red and bleaches 
on the death of the bird, or that it is transparent when daily 
anointed with the uropy gial oil, allowing the underlying red colour 
to show through, but becoming opaque in the dried specimen. 
Probably the oiling of the bill, which is c-mmon to both 
sexes, is as much to keep the surface from cracking or becoming 
brittle and flaky as for decorative purposes. 
Abyithina tiphia, Mr. Ridley describes as resembling a 
goldtinch in its plumage and havits. The resembiance in habits 
is not very apparent. Goldfinches are gregarious, frequent 
open country, and feed on seeds, principally on thistle-down ; 
the Iora goes in pairs or singly, keeps chiefly to secondary jungle 
or Jow trees, and feeds on insects, mainly caterpillars. 
Turn plumbipes. Describing the decoying of these quail, 
Mr. Ridley says, ‘A cock quail is put inside the cage.” Sure- 
ly, ahen? It is the hens that dothe courting and the fighting 
in the genus Turnix. They are also the larger and most con- 
spicucusly coloured birds. J have seen numbers trapped in 
India and Ceyl n with hen decoys, but never saw a cock used. 
Gallinago Sthenura. Vhe name Mr. Ridley uses arose from 
a misprint. ‘‘Stenura”’ is correct, and has been shown to 
be what Bonaparte originally wrote, referring (stenos, narrow) 
to the attenuated lateral tail feathers, But this is merely a 
matter of synonymy, the least interesting part of ornithology. 
A. 1. Butter 
