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Show 600 MR. R. B. SHARPE ON THE CUCULIDJE [June 17, Hab. "Abundant in the Karroo, extends into the Cape peninsula and has been received from all parts of the colony to the eastward " (Layard) ; Graham's Town (T. C. Atmore); Kaffraria (Mus. Hein.); Natal and Transvaal (T. Ayres). The birds in m y collection supposed to be of this species from Damara Land are really Cuculus clamosus, and were labelled wrongly by a friend who was assisting m e in arranging my collection at the time. During m y absence the birds got mixed; and not being an ornithologist, he labelled all the black Cuckoos by one name. Hence arose the mistake, for which I am responsible, of giving C. serratus as a Damara species in Andersson's book. Subfam. 2. PHffiNICOPHAIN^E. Having been forced to study the other genera of this subfamily in order to determine the exact position of the two African species, I give here the notes I made with a view to help any future student of the group. The study of the Phcenicophainae is attended with considerable difficulty, owing rather to the variability of the structural characters in a more or less important degree, than to the specific similarity of the birds included in the subfamily. As far as can be determined by external characters, it is impossible to find grounds for the separation of so many subfamilies as Mr. Gray admits in his 'Handlist;' nor can I quite acquiesce in the arrangement of the genera proposed by him. Carpococcyx exhibits a direct tendency to Neomorphus, from which it can scarcely be distinguished except by its smaller development of crest and bare face. Anatomy may one day bring to light some sounder grounds of division ; but at present it seems hopeless to attempt to place these American Cuckoos far from the Malayan Phce-nicophdince. The latter subfamily appears to me to contain the following Old-World genera, the numbers being taken from the • Handlist.' 2195. Phcenicophaes. 2196. Rhamphococcyx. 2197. Dasylophus. 2198. Lepidogrammus (Leptogrammus, err.). 2199. Carpococcyx. 2200. Zanclostomus. 2201. Ceuthmochares. 2202. Taccocua. 2203. Rhopodytes (Rhododytes, err.). 2204. Rhinortha. 2205. Coua (=Sericosomus). So that it will be seen that I adopt nearly all Mr. Gray's generic and subgeneric divisions. Indeed some of the latter are in my mind more thoroughly distinguishable than the genera he recognizes. I propose the following arrangement:- |