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Show 1870.J MR. R. B. SHARPE ON THE GENUS PELARGOPSIS. 67 most abundant in Bengal, but apparently not found, or rare, in the north-west (Jerdon). a. Assamese and Nepaulese race, with the head a little lighter brown. Halcyon leucocephalus, Horsf. P. Z. S. 1839, p. 156 ; Gray, Cat. Fiss.Brit. Mus. p. 55 (1848, pt.); Horsf. & Moore, Cat. Birds Mus. E.-I. Co. p. 123 (1854). Halcyon capensis, J. E. & G. R. Gray, Cat. Birds and M a m m . of Nep. p. 56 (1846). Halcyon gurial, J. E. & G. R. Gray, Cat. Birds and M a m m . of Nep. p. 24 (1863). b. Malacca race. Much smaller. Head much darker and generally glossed, sometimes also a slight blue lustre being apparent. This race must ultimately be separated specifically, and I name it provisionally Pelargopsis malaccensis. Its nearest ally is P. gurial; but it is altogether smaller, the blues are always much brighter, and it must be remembered that true P. gurial never really approaches the range of this Malacca bird. Between the ranges of the two species intervene P. burmanica and P. amauroptera. Professor Schlegel states, in his " Catalogue," that a Nepaulese specimen in the Leyden Museum is " absolument semblable aux individus de Java." This statement, which seems to have taken Mr. Blyth by surprise (vide 'Ibis,' 1866, p. 347), certainly astonished me considerably. I think, however, that there must be a mistake in the labels of the specimens examined by the learned Professor; for I have in m y collection a Stork-billed Kingfisher from Assam, which agrees in every respect with specimens in the British Museum from Nepaul, presented by Mr. Hodgson, from whom also Professor Schlegel obtained his specimen. These birds differ a little in the colour of the cap, which is a shade lighter brown than in true P. gurial from India, but I have never seen an adult Javan specimen with such a clearly defined cap. Reichenbach, in the letterpress of his work, refers to " t. cccxcix. fig. 3075 " as being the figure of Ramphalcyon gurial. This is a mistake, as this figure is a copy of Buffon's plate 757 (P. leucocephalus of this paper), and the reference given in the list of plates to Reichenbach's work, viz. "t. ccccxxvi. fig. 3158 " is really the representation of R. gurial. 7. PELARGOPSIS BURMANICA, sp. n. Halcyon leucocephalus, Gould, P. Z. S. 1859, pp. 151, 152; Schomb. Ibis, 1864, p. 247 ; Beav. Ibis, 1866, p. 221 ; Walden, P. Z. S. 1866, p. 553 ; Beav. Ibis, 1867, p. 318. Halcyon leucocephalus (part.), Horsf. & Moore, Cat. Birds Mus. E.-I. Co. i. p. 123 (1854). ? Ramphalcyon capensis, Reich. Handb. Alced. p. 16, t. cccxcix. f. 3072, 3073 (1851). Head, which is distinctly capped, clear albescent grey ; sides of the neck and a collar encircling the same very deep ochre; upper part of |