Genus— NOTOCHIBIA. 
Notochibia Mathews, Austral Av. Rec., Vol. V., 
pts. 2-3, p. 41, Feb. 21st, 1923. Type (by 
original designation) .. .. .. .. Dicrurus bracteatus Gould. 
Medium sized “ Drongos ” with large stout bills, long wings, long tail, and 
short legs and small feet. 
The bill is about as long as the head, strongly laterally compressed, deep, 
httle basal expansion, culmen strongly arched, tip decurved and posteriorly 
notched, the culmen keeled, side slopes steep, bill as deep at the base as wide ; 
the nostrils are circular apertures in a depression, but they are entirely hidden 
by strong frontal feathering, and strong nasal bristles are notable; the rictal 
bristles are rery long, strong and prominent; the under mandible is fairly 
deep, the triangular interramal space small and feathered, the gonys very 
long and straight. 
The ^ving has the fourth primary longest, the fifth very little less, the 
third longer than the sixth, the second equal to the seventh but longer than 
the secondaries; the first primary small, about half the length of the second. 
The tail is long but shorter than the wing, the outer tail-feather bent 
out towards the tip wliich is broad and square ; the tail when closed is notably 
emarguiate, but spreads out into a regular square shape without any 
emargination. 
The legs are very short and stout, the front showing five strong scutes, 
behind bilaminate; the feet are small, the outer toe longer than the inner, 
claws small and curved, the inner toe -with claw exceeding the middle toe 
alone, the lund-toe stout, nearly as long as the middle toe, liind-claw long and 
well curved, the hind-toe and claw longer than the middle toe and claw. 
Described as a species of Dicrurus this species was afterwards placed in 
Chibia, from which it is easily separable. Salvador! nearly fifty years ago 
separated the Austro-Malayan species from that genus, noting that “ Chibia 
has a much longer and more acute biU, and is also very conspicuous for the 
tuft of sfiky feathers springing from the fore-head.” He proposed the genus 
Dicruropsis, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.), 1878, p. 88, June, for this group, but 
named no type. As the only species named in connection was D. megalornis 
VOL. xn. 
281 
