281 
Mr. R. Swinhoe on Formosan Ornithology. 
Length 9| in.; wing 3-^; tail 4^, of twelve graduated feathers, 
the outermost being 1 inch shorter than the central. Wing 
rounded, the 5th, 6th, and 7th quills being nearly equal and the 
longest in the wing. Bill wax-yellow, brownish on the culmen and 
tip ; inside of mouth yellow. Iris light greenish grey. Skin round 
the eye and ear purplish violet. Ear large and oval, aperture 
exposed. Legs yellowish flesh-colour washed with brown; claws 
brownish. Crown, back, sides of breast, and flanks greyish olive; 
ochreous white on the forehead, the crown and upper back 
being streaked broadly with blackish brown. Rump and wings 
olive-brown, greener on the former; the latter being hair-brown 
on the inner webs, with dark shafts. Tail brown, barred with 
a deeper shade and margined with olive. Throat, loral region, 
and breast ochreous, faintly streaked with deep brown. Centre 
of belly smoke-grey. Under wings rust-coloured ochre; vent 
and tibial feathers brownish ochre. 
The Chinese Hwa-mei is of the same size and proportions, 
with the same form of wings and tail; but it is much ruddier, 
has rather a longer bill, only faint indications of stripes on the 
crown and hind neck, and a fine clear white mark round and 
past the eye, like a spectacle. I have a very large series of the 
Formosan species from several localities in Formosa, and in all, 
the characteristic markings are constant: but one or two speci¬ 
mens have an indication of the white eyebrow, a few of the 
feathers being quite white; in one nestling in particular the 
white eyebrow is distinctly marked. The distance between China 
and Formosa is too great for the slightest probability of either 
species of these short-flighted birds crossing over to the oppo¬ 
site coast; we must, therefore, look to some other cause for the 
striking resemblance between the two forms. 
The nestling is very similar to the adult bird, but is of a 
deeper colour, has scarcely any indications'of the thin stripes on 
the throat and breast, and no smoke-grey on the belly. Its iris 
is of a rich brown colour. 
The female is scarcely distinguishable from the male, except 
by her rather smaller size and shorter tail. 
The range of this species in Formosa appears to extend 
throughout the entire champaign country and lower hills. I 
