74 
The Marquis of Tweeddale on the 
to the common King-Crow of Southern India Mr. Sharpe ; 
includes all the forms which inhabit Ceylon, India, Burma, 
China, and Java. None of the races which by difiFerent i 
authors have been separated under distinctive titles are allowed 
even to rank as subspecies *. This is an easy way of disposing ; 
of one of the most difficult points which occur among the Di- ; 
cruridse; but it by no means exhausts the question. i 
Mr. Sharpe observes (p. 246) that he cannot understand ; 
why Vieillot^s title of macrocercus applies particularly to the 
Javan bird."’^ It was founded onLe Drongolon of Le Vaillant ; 
(Ois. d^Afr. 1.174), who omitted to state the origin of his type. J 
The assumption that it came from Java merely rests on its 
probability; and so far Mr. Sharpe is entitled to his doubt. 
But then, if the origin of the type cannot be established, why 
does Mr. Sharpe adopt its title for his variety a, which in¬ 
cludes all the British-Museum specimens of the Indian con¬ 
tinental races, and for which Hermann's title of atra is the 
oldest and is strictly applicable ? 
The totally distinct African species, D. assimilis (Bechst.) 
= Z). musicus, NieiMot, is treated of as a subspecies of B. atra. 
It is the predominant an'd most widely distributed Dicrurine 
form in Africa, and varies according to locality almost as 
much as B. atra does in Asia, several races having received 
distinctive titles. 
Buchanga longicaudata. — A British-Museum example, 
purchased,of this species is recorded with Ladakh for its 
origin. A note of interrogation after the name of this ec¬ 
centric habitat would not have been misplaced. In contra¬ 
distinction to Mr. Hume, Mr. Sharpe readily admits, as had 
already been admitted long ago by Jerdon and Blyth, the 
absolute specific distinctness of this well-marked species. It 
is the Dicrurus himalayanus, Tytier (Himalayan race), which 
title is made a synonym of Buchanga atra in the Catalogue. 
Buchanga cineracea. —For the grey species of Buchanga 
* As Mr. Sharpe permits Dissemuroides dicruriformis to stand as a 
subspecies separate from B. andamanensis, and Buchanga insular is as a sub¬ 
species of B. ccerulescens, the principle on which, for instance, B. minor 
is united with B. alhirictus, is not very apparent. 
