343 
on Dr. Jerdon’s ‘Birds of India.’ 
the specimens I have seen,” he continues, “ were less vivid, 
particularly the blood-red, which is much duller on the head 
and chest; in several specimens the scarlet had entirely given 
way to a dull grey colouring, which would appear to have been 
the consequence of the bird having just performed the task of 
incubation.” (Does the male bird take his turn on the eggs ?) 
“ H. hodgsoni has the total length 13| in.; wing 5| in.; tail 8 in.: 
H. erythrocephalus , total length 11| in.; wing 5in.; and tail 6 in.” 
Dr. Jerdon states (vol. i. p. 200) that the Trogonidce are 
“ without cseca.” My decided impression is that they possess 
them. In all the passerine Insessores which I have examined, 
the cseca are invariably present but minute. In all the non¬ 
passerine Insessores they are either absent or else considerably 
developed (precisely to the same extent as in the Owls). They 
are absent in the Trochilidce, Cypselidce , Halcyonidce, Bucerotidce, 
Promeropidce (? verce ), Picidce (inclusive of Indicator ?), Rham- 
phastidce, Capitonidce, and Musophagidce (including Cohus ?). 
They are present in Leptosomus (?), Coracias *, Eurystomus, 
Mcrops, Nyctiornis, Galbula, Momotus, Todus, Bucconidce, Tro - 
gonidce (?), Caprimulgidce, and all the various forms of Cuculidce . 
The peculiar disposition of the toes in Tro gonidce is duly 
mentioned by Dr. Jerdon, and was first made known by myself 
(P. Z. S. 1838, p. 20). 
117. Merops viridis; Gould, B. As. pt. vii. pi. 
“ Observed in the Jordan Valley by Mr. Herschell ” (Tristram, 
P. Z. S. 1864, p. 433). The African race of this bird (M. 
lamarcki, Cuv.; M. viridis, Riippell; M. viridissimus, Swains.; 
M. cegyptiacus, Kittlitz, and Lichtenstein, according to Cabanis) 
hardly differs more than do the two slight Indian varieties 
named-by Mr. Hodgson. It has “much more ferruginous on 
the wings, extending across both webs of the primaries and 
secondaries; and the throat is yellowish-green, tinged with 
ferruginous, having scarcely a trace of verditer except on its 
extreme lateral margin bordering the black eye-streak, and very 
little of it even there” (J. A. S. B. xxiv. p. 254). Those which 
* To Coraciidcc must, I suspect, be referred tlie Pseiidochelidon eurysta¬ 
mina, Ilartlaub (Ibis, 1861, p. 322, misnamed Psalidoproyne cypselina in 
pi. xi.) ; but the tail-feathers would be an anomaly in the group. 
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