288 Mr. R. Swinhoe on Formosan Ornithology . 
curiously enough, it seems almost entirely confined in China to 
the small 30 miles* area comprised by this valley, and there it 
is very common. It has also occurred at Amoy, but only as a 
very rare straggler. 
Dissection of male shot 11th October, 1861. Heart ^ in. 
long by T ^. Liver, right lobe T 8 ^ in. long, left T 6 ^. Trachea some¬ 
what compressed at pharynx, which is covered on each side with 
strong muscles; the bronchi bulge at first, but narrow again 
shortly after, and continue of uniform size into the lungs. (Eso¬ 
phagus ~ in. wide, very gradually widening towards the proven- 
triculus, which is long by wide. Gizzard somewhat mus¬ 
cular, roundish, in diameter in., depth \\ epithelium leathery, 
longitudinally furrowed, containing chiefly Coleoptera and Cimi- 
cidse. Intestine 9 T ^ in., varying in thickness from to T 4 ^; 
cseca, 1 inch from anus, long by ^ wide, one placed a little 
higher than the other. 
The young birds are brownish black on the upper parts, 
slightly washed with dark green. The wings and tail also 
brownish black, but more strongly washed with dark green, the 
feathers being obscurely edged with light brown. The under 
parts are blackish brown, a few of the feathers being faintly 
margined with a lighter colour. The edge of the wing and the 
axillaries are broadly striated with white. The moult comes on 
almost before the nestling has acquired full feathers, in the 
male the transition from the soft brown plumage of the young 
into the uniform glossy greenish black of the adult being at 
once accomplished; but in the female the white striae and spots 
of the axillaries often continue for years. The feathers of the 
vent become almost white, and those of the breast and belly 
broadly margined with the same. The female does eventually 
assume the uniform colour of the male, but not entirely for the 
first three years of her existence. She can even then be always 
distinguished by her smaller size and her less-developed tail. 
The shape and proportions of the bill vary a good deal in my 
series of skins. 
Average length. Wing. Tail. 
Male.11 inches. 6 6^ 
Female. . . . 10| „ 5-^ 5J 
