158 
W. T. Blanford — On Birds from SUckim . 
[No. 2, 
from Z. palpebrosus is very slight, being precisely, as mentioned by Mr. 
Swinhoe, Ibis, 1870, p. 848, the smaller size of Z. simplex, and the greener 
tinge of the upper parts. I find other specimens from the Western Himalayas 
in the Indian Museum also referable to the Chinese race, whilst, as so frequent- 
ly happens, specimens from the base of the Himalayas are intermediate in 
colour. But as there is no distinction either in hue or size between birds from 
China and others from the Himalayas, and as those from the plains of India 
appear equally constant, I think these two races are fairly distinguishable, 
and that the intermediate forms are hybrids. I append the dimensions (in 
inches) of the Himalayan birds and of two specimens of Z. palpebrosus. 
•wing 
tail 
tarsus 
bill from forehead. 
Z. simplex, Sikkim, 
195 
133 
0-6 
037 
Do. Do. 
1-95 
1-45 
062 
0 35 
Z. palpebrosus, Godavari £ 
2 1 
1-6 
0-6 
0'35 * 
Do. Do. 
2-15 
1-65 
062 
0 35 
The Nilgiri race is a little larger than Z. palpebrosus, and of the same 
colour as Z. simplex, but the difference is not great, and I have hut one 
specimen for comparison, (Confr. J. A. S. B. 18G9, Pt. II, p. 170). 
308. C tortus magnirostris, Blyth. 
A female of this rare bird is amongst Mr. Mandelli’s specimens, and I 
find a male in the Indian Museum collection, also from Darjiling. The latter 
agrees well with Major Godwin- Austen’s description, .1. A. S. B. 1870, p. 100. 
The central tail feathers are the same colour as the black. Mr. Blyth Ibis, 
I860, p. 371, compares the coloration with that of Oyornis rubeculoides, 
but C. magnirostris has not the blue throat of that species, on the other 
hand the coloration approaches so closely to that of O. Jerdoni, that the 
two species can only he distinguished by the rather darker blue of the back, 
and the larger size and powerful bill of C. magnirostris. 
The female has, I think, been described by Jerdon from the rather 
faded type specimen in the Asiatic Society’s collection, the following is an 
account of the coloration in a fresh specimen. Upper parts olive, forehead 
and lores rufescent, feathers around eye pale ferruginous, tail browner than 
back, with a ferruginous tinge on the margins of the feathers ; quills dark 
brown, all but the first two broadly margined with dull rufous. Major 
Godwin-Austen has overlooked Mr. Blyth’s description of the male of this 
species from Hodgson’s drawings, Ibis, 18G6, p. 371. 
Under parts ferruginous, deepest on the breast, flanks olive, lower 
abdomen and under tail coverts white. 
The dimensions are, 
in inches. 
wing 
tail 
tarsus 
bill from forehead 
bill from gape. 
Male 3-25 
2-45 
0-7 
0-55 
077 
Female a-1 7 
2'2 
0-7 
0-55 
075 
