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Show 136 MR. R. SWINHOE ON CHINESE PLOVERS. [Mar. 10, large number of Chinese Pheasants that I have seen from various parts of China, I have never met a collarless specimen, nor have I ever heard of such a thing. I have, moreover, been assured by friends at home that if in a descendant of a cross between P. colchicus and P. torquatus any mark of the latter remains, it is sure to be accompanied by a white collar. But, independent of the lack of the neck-ring, I have shown that there are other characters to distinguish the species. It is impossible to presume that our bird could be a cross between the two mentioned species ; for between the habitats of our new species and the P. colchicus the broadly collared P. mongolicus has place. Dr. Anderson of Calcutta procured from Yunnan, the neighbouring province to Szechuen, a collarless species that answers to a cross produced between P. colchicus and P. versicolor of Japan ! It would surely be absurd for one moment to suppose that these two from such distant localities could have met in that wild Mohammedan stronghold. I have a Pheasant from Hankow, 720 miles lower down the river than Chungking. This agrees with the ordinary P. torquatus in every respect, except that its broad white collar is broken in the front of the neck, the two ends of the ring being three-quarters of an inch apart. In the markings of the tail the pale-flanked Formosan variety of P. torquatus comes nearest to our bird, the bars on the tail of that race being broader and further apart than is ordinary in Chinese specimens. 3. O n the Plovers of the Genus Egialites found in China. By R. SWINHOE, F.Z.S. (Plate XII.) Section I. Ringed Plovers. On ascending the River Yangtsze into the Province of Szechuen I noticed on the rocky and sandy flats, exposed by the falling water, a species of Sand-plover that I had not met before. I took it at first for Mg. geoffroyi; but the note it uttered as it rose and flew away was peculiar. It occurred singly or in pairs in May, and was, I believe, breeding, though I did not succeed in finding its eggs. It was shy of approach and somewhat scarce. I was fortunate enough to procure two males and one female. It belongs to the group with double pectoral band, which is represented in America and Africa by JEg. vociferus (Linn.) and Mg. tricollaris (Vieill.) respectively. I propose to name it in honour of Mr. J. E. Harting, who has made the Limicolee his especial study, and whose kind assistance I have to acknowledge. 1. ^EGIALITES HARTINGI, sp. nov. (Plate XII.) Forehead, ring round the neck, and under parts pure white. Upper parts light greyish brown. A broad black patch occurs above the forehead from eye to eye, edged in rear with a narrow indistinct white line. Streak from bill to eye, and continued under the eye |