Chinese Blue Pie.
Cuculus sinensis, Linn. Syst. Na t., tom. i p. 171.—lb . Gmel. edit., tom. i. p. 418.—Briss. Ora., vol. iv. p. 157,
tab. 14 A. fig. 2.—Id . 8vo. tom. ii. p. 85.—Lath. Ind. Om., vol. i. p. 217.
Sanhia de la Chine, Buff. Hist. Na t. des Ois., tom. vi. p. 389.
Chinese Cuckow, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. ii. p. 530.—Shaw, Nat. Misc., pi. 277.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iii. p. 273.
Coracias tnelanocephalus, Lath. Ind. Ora., vol. i. p. 170.— Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. vii. p. 397.
Black-headed Roller, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., p. 86.—lb . Gen. Hist., vol. iii. p. 82.
Corvus erythrorhynchos, Gmel. edit. Linn. Syst. Na t., tom. i. p. 372.—Lath. Ind. Ora., vol. i. p. 161.—Daud.
Orn., tom. ii. p . 240. pi. 15.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. vii. p. 381.
Geay de la Chine, Buff. Hist. Na t. des Ois., tom. iii. p. 115.— lb . PI. Enl., p. 622.
La Pie bleue, Le Vaill. Ois. d’Afriqe, tom. ii. p. 24. pi. 27.
Psilorhimus sinensis, Gray and Mitch. Gen. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 308, Psilorhinus, sp. 4.—Blyth, Jo um . Asiat. Soc,
Beng., vol. xv. p. 27.
Galocitta sinensis, Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., p. 381, Calocitta, sp. 1. •;.%
Urocissa sinensis, Cab. Mus. Hein., p. 87.—Horsf. and Moore, Cat. of Birds in Mus. E a s t Ind. Comp., vol. ii.
p. 577.—Swinh. in Ibis, vol. iii. p. 43.—Gould in Proc. o f Zool. Soc., p a r t xxvii. p. 200.
Red-billed Jay, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. i. p. 390.—Id. Supp., Vol. ii. p. 112.—lb . Gen. Hist.,vol. iii. p. 27.
T h e species h e re re p re se n te d is one o f th o s e so frequently b ro u g h t u n d e r o u r notice in Chine se drawings, in
some o f which it is figured with rema rkable tru th fu ln ess, while in o th e rs th e a r tis t h a s tak e n c e rta in lib e rtie s ;
bu t th e b ird is to o conspicuous, both in form an d colour, to b e mistaken for any o th e r, however inaccurately
it may be delinea ted. I t must be a very conspicuous objec t in th e woodland d is tric ts o f China, whe re it
evidently takes th e p lac e o f th e Urocissa occipitalis o f In d ia an d Nepaul. F rom th is well-known species it
differs in several p a rtic u la rs : first, in th e m o re d ec ided markings o f th e tail, and th e le sse r amount o f th e
w h ite tip p in g o f all th e fe a th e rs o f th is len g th en e d and conspicuous o rg a n ; and secondly, in th e blue
colouring o f th e nap e o f th e neck, by which it may be a t once recognized.
B u t little h a s been re co rd e d re sp ectin g th e h a b its an d economy o f this im p o rtan t an d strik in g ly coloured
g ro u p o f b ird s, Consequently I have much plea sure in tran sc rib in g th e n o te published by M r. Swinhoe in
th e th ird volume o f ‘T h e Ib is ,’ re fe rred to above.
“ T h e s e handsome birds,” says Mr. Swinhoe, “ a re often to b e seen ab o u t th e woods a t Hongkong. You
see a long-tailed form flying over th e low tre e s with a d ire c t flight, executed by s h o rt co n stan t flaps, like
th a t o f a Magpie, th e tail being held in nearly th e same horizontal line as th e body. T h e first disappears
into a th ick leafy tre e , an d is followed by a second, th en a th ird an d fo urth, and sometimes more. P re sently
one shows himse lf on an exposed b ran ch above, stre tc h in g o u t his red-billed head and whisking
im p atien tly his two w h ite-tip p ed tail-streamers. H e sees you wa tc h in g him, and a t once sets up a cry o f
‘pinle-pink-pink,’ followed by a loud c h a tte r, in which his comrades jo in , an d you catch glimpses o f violet
an d blue as they hasten from one tre e to a n o th e r in a co n tra ry direc tion, un til th e d is ta n t sound o f th e
' p ink-pink ’ n o te tells y o u r e a r th a t th e R ed leg s are fa r th ro u g h th e woods.”
A t th e p re se n t moment (M a rch 1 8 6 1 ) a living example o f this bird is to be seen in th e G a rd en s o f th e
Zoological Society o f London. I t has been re cen tly received from C h in a ; an d although n o t in su ch health
a n d vigour as could be wished, will, I d o u b t n o t, u n d e r th e fostering c a re o f th e Society’s su p e rin te n d en t,
soon show signs o f amendment, and become a conspicuous ornament to th e ir Menagerie .
I am in d eb ted to Jo h n R . Reeves, E sq ., fo r th e fine examples o f th is species from which my figures
we re ta k e n ; and I feel th a t I should be wanting in courte sy we re I not cordially to acknowledge my
obligations to this gentleman, and to his la te re sp ecte d fa th e r, for th e kindness and liberality with which
they have a t all times aided my scientific p u rsu its, and honoured my works with th e ir support.
T h e sexes a re alike, and may b e th u s d e s c rib e d :—
Fo reh e ad an d crown black, with a sp o t o f pale bluish white on th e tip o f th e cen tral fe ath ers o f th e la t t e r ;
cheeks, sides o f th e neck, th ro a t, an d b re a st black ; occ iput an d back o f th e neck pale bluish w h ite ; all th e
u p p e r surface dull purplish b lu e ; shoulders and th e o u te r webs o f th e primarie s and secondaries fine blue,
th e ir in n e r webs brownish b la c k ; all th e secondaries crescen ted with white a t th e tip ; th e primarie s marg
ined alo n g th e middle p ortion o f th e ir o u te r web with vinaceous, an d with a small oblong mark o f white
a t th e t i p ; u p p e r tail-coverts dull blue a t th e base, fading into much p a le r blue towards th e ir apic es, and
largely tip p ed with black ; middle tail-fe athers blue tip p ed with w h ite ; th e lateral fe athers blue a t th e
base an d creamy white a t th e tip, th e two colours sep a ra te d by a broad band o f black, which dec rea ses in
b re ad th as th e fe athers re ced e from th e c e n t r e ; immediately behind this black band a la rg e tria n g u la r mark
o f white occurs on th e in n e r web, which in lik e man n e r decreases in size as th e fe ath ers re ced e from th e
c e n tre ; all th e u nder surface creamy white washed with blue ; bill and legs orange.
T h e P la te re p re se n ts th e b ird ab o u t th ree -fo u rth s o f th e size o f life.