Birds, 



6445 



across the white on the back, while those had in no case the white on the back barred 

 at all. Some other minor differences will be mentioned in the " distinctions from 

 Picus pubescens.'' The description of my specimen is as follows: — 



Length from tip of beak to tip of tail 6-| in. Length of upper mandible 7 | in. Span of 

 toes and claws 1 7 3 3 inch. Capistrum dirty white ; bristly feathers projecting over the 

 nostrils dirty white, mixed with blackish. Forehead broadly black. Top of the head 

 crimson-red ; the red extending quite to the nape of the neck, and meeting that and 

 the upper part of the back, which are jet black. From the eye a broad black streak 

 runs back, and, at the upper corner of its extremity, which is truncate, and wider than 

 near the eye, it meets the crimson of the head and black part of the back, forming a 

 continuation of the black forehead. From the corner of the mouth a blackish streak 

 runs downwards, and dilates itself into a black patch beneath the point of the meta- 

 carpus of the closed wing. The space between these two black streaks is white, with 

 a yellowish cast, and forms an L-shaped isolated marking. Between the crimson on 

 the head and the black streak from the eye is also formed an isolated longish oval 

 marking of white with a yellowish cast. The whole of the under side to the vent, in- 

 clusive, is dirty white, with a brownish yellow cast. Wings jet black; the lesser 

 coverts tipped with pure white ; the greater coverts, tertials and scapulars tipped and 

 spotted with white ; the primaries and secondaries tipped and spotted with white 

 along the webs ; all these white markings, when the wing is closed, form eight regular 

 white bars (beside the white tips on the primaries) ; the first and second bars 

 are formed by the tips on the lesser coverts and spots on greater coverts ; the third by 

 the tips on the greater coverts and spots on the tertials and scapulars; these three bars 

 are curved ; the fourth bar consists of spots on the outer webs of the primaries 

 and secondaries ; this bar (as well as all those of the next) is sharply angulated, and 

 but little of it is seen in the closed wing, being hidden under the greater coverts and 

 scapulars ; the fifth, sixth and seventh bars consist of spots on the outer webs of the 

 primaries and outer and inner webs and tips of the secondaries and on the scapulars; 

 the eighth bar consists of three or four spots on the outer webs of the primaries and tip 

 of the first secondary; the black intervals between these bars are all well marked, 

 though of different widths ; those between the three bars on the coverts being prettily 

 and regularly vandyked. Back white, with a yellow cast, and barred with black. The 

 two outer feathers of the tail on each side white, with one or two black markings; the 

 next two black, with irregular white margins, and the middle feathers black ; under 

 side of the tail irregularly barred with black. 



The main distinctions that I could trace between this bird and Picus minor are as 

 follows : — First, the greater size, Picus minor being 5£ to 5| in. long, only. Second, 

 Picus minor has only five bars across the wings ; three are across the primaries and 

 secondaries and scapulars and two on the coverts ; wanting entirely that on the lesser 

 coverts nearest the shoulder, and the two nearest the tips of the primaries ; also the 

 black intervals in Picus minor are not vandyked, and all are more regular on the edge 

 and in width more equal : Yarrell's description only gives four white bars, but he evi- 

 dently overlooked that one which is almost hidden under the coverts and scapulars. 

 Third, Picus minor has no black streak from the eye: this alone is sufficient to 

 distinguish it at a glance; the red on the head in Picus minor is also much less vivid 

 and does not reach so far down the nape of the neck. 



The main distinctions between my specimen and those of P. pubescens, examined 

 in the Liverpool Museum, appeared to me as follows: — Picus pubescens had only a 



