170
150
Notes Comments
blotches, the marking in one case being on the blunt end of the egg and in the other case on the pointed end, the third egg was the usual colour evenly marked.
Our thanks are again due to Mr. H, Green, Superintendent of the Botanic Gardens, and his staff, for the help afforded us in compiling these
notes,
Turning to page 40 Vol. I, No. 1, of H. K. N. under the heading of :- Things we want to know!'
We have gleaned considerable informa- tion on certain of these points since this article was written, viz :— (4) Nesting haunts of Kite, Collared Crow, and Magpic. (5) Arrival dates of the Swallow, Swift, Starling and Cuckoos, (6) Great Himalayan Barbet-locality seen and date.
still require more information on Duck, species seen and locality.
But we
2. Snipe, Quail, Woodcock, when and where seen, whether plenti-
ful or not.
3. Plover, locality and date.
4. Owls, Waterhens, Cuckoos, Barbets and Pied Kingfishers,-
Nesting Habits.
5.
The homes of the White-rumped Swift and Green Parrakeet
which have so far baffled us.
We ask observers once again to help us with useful information about the Colony's bird life, particularly during the nesting season. We reiterate what has been said previously in this magazine namely that the journal is a co-operative venture and is dependent on observers to help us to collect the complete records we desire. A brief note made at the time of watching a particular species is often of much value afterwards.
ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES.-We record the following for the past quarter:-
DEPARTURES.-Eastern Quail (Coturnix c. japonica) March 28th: Kestrel (Cerchneis tinunculus) April 8th Fanling: Sparrow Hawk (Accipiter nisus) April 6th Kam Tin: Forest Nightjar (Čaprimulgus affinis monticola) April 1st Castle Peak road just after sunset: Eastern Tree Pipit (A. trivialis hodgsoni) April 16th Kam Tin: Richard's Pipit (Anthus r. richardi) April 21 Kam Tin: Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus a, auroreus) April 6th Kam Tin: Chinese Greenfinch (Chloris s. sinica) March 30th King's Park Kow- loon: Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola p. philippensis) April 7th on road just above Sha Tin: Chinese Stonechat (Saxicola torquata stejnegeri April 21st Kam Tin.
ARRIVALS. Chinese Starling (Sturnia sinensis) April 6th Kam Tin- several: Chinese Black Drongo (Dicrurus marcrocerus) March 19th Sham Chun valley-several: Indian Koel (Eudynamis orientalis honorata) April 6th Kam Tin: Eastern Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus sinensis indicus) March
29th
Notes Comments
151
Botanical Gardens: Great Chinese Barbet (Megalaima virens virens) March 9th Lam Tsuen valley, several: Chinese Little Bittern (Ixobrychus s. sinensis) March 15th Aberdeen: Japanese Robin Flycatcher (Siphia Mujimaki) March 19th Sham Chun valley: Siberian Greyheaded Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata) March 26th Lan T'au: Large White- rumped Swift (Apus pacificus pacificus) March 6th Ng Tung Shan, several : Grey-backed Thrush (Turdus hortulorum) March 26th in a garden at Taipo: Yellow-browed Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus humie præmium) March 19th Tai Po Eastern House Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis) February 20th Castle Peak.
ICHTHYOLOGY
LEUCOGLOSSA HERKLOTSI Herre, new species.
E. A. A.
Dorsal VIII-I-27; anal II-I-20; there are 31 scutes in the straight portion of the lateral line, 67 scales in the anterior portion.
The oblong body is strongly compressed, with the dorsal and anal profiles regularly and almost equally curved; the depth is 2.2 times, the head 3.15 times, the deeply forked caudal 2.9 times, the long falcate pectoral 2.65 times in the length; the depth of the head equals its length; the eye is 3.35 times, the snout 2.9 times, the maxillary 2.3 times, the ventral 2.4 times in the head; the interorbital breadth slightly exceeds the eye diameter; there is a toothless space at the tip of each jaw, behind which is a single row of sharp hooked teeth along each side; the mouth is very oblique, the maxillary not quite reaching a vertical from the front margin of the eye; the pectoral extends to a point over the 7th anal ray; the longest dorsal ray is 1.6 times, the longest anal ray 1.8 times in the head; the gill rakers are 4+13, plus a very short stub on each limb; the anterior portion of the lateral before line is nearly straight for some distance, then slightly curved up descending in a wavy line to the posterior straight section armed with scutes; which is a little shorter than the curved portion; the seventh and eighth dorsal spines are minute, barely reaching the surface of the skin.
The colour in alcohol is dark bluish gray with 4 vertical silvery white cross bands on each side of the body, and with traces of a fifth band near the caudal peduncle; the posterior margin of the gill opening is pearly white and a pearly white bar extends along the base of the anal and lower side of the caudal peduncle; the fins are all dusky or blackish, except the ventrals which are milky white; the tongue and all the roof of the mouth above it to the tip of the jaw, and the symphysis of the lower jaw back halfway to the root of the tongue are all milky white, the rest of the mouth and lips black or violaceous black.
Here described from the type and only specimen, 180 mm. in length, secured in the market at Hong Kong, in September, 1931.
Named for Dr. G. A. C. Herklots, in honour of his activities in investigating the fauna and flora of Hong Kong.
ALBERT W. HERRE,
Stanford University,
California, U.S.A.
The Hong Kong Naturalist.
May 1932.
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