Journal of the Federated Malay States museums - Sabrizain.org

142 Journal of the F.M.S. Museums. [Vol. VII,
(?) Thaumatibis gigantea, Williamson. Journ. Nat.
His, Soc. Siam. II. p. 72 (1916^.
a. 3 ad. Pasir Raja, Pulau Lontar, S. W. Siam.
1 oth January, 1917. [No. 3882].
" Ins orange, crown dark indigo, occiput and ring
round neck livid whitish blue, feet deep lake, bill horn."
This bird was one of a pair frequenting an open grassy
plain interspersed with bushes near the sea. The}* were not
particularly shy and with a little care were easily approached.
It is evidently this species and not Thaumatibis gigantea. a
much larger bird which was observed by Williamson at
Sarahett on the Petchaburi River (loc. cit. supra).
Total length 802; wing 422; tail 210; tarsus 97: bill
from gape 165 mm. measured in the flesh.
24. Sterna fluviatilis iibetana, Saunders.
Sterna tibetana, Saunders, V.Z.S. 1876, p. ; 649 Blanford,
Stray Feath, V, p. 485 (1871: Hume. op. cit. viii, p. 158
(1879); Sharpe. Haud-l. Birds, i, p. 135 (1S99).
Sterna fluviatilis, Saunders, Cat. Birds, Brit. Mus.
XXV, p. 60, spm. /. (Selangor) (1896) : Blanford, Faun. Brit.
hid. Birds, iv, p. 318 (1898).
Sterna longipennis, Saunders, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus.
XXV, p. 69 (spms. ;/, v. w, from Tonka and Malacca (1896) :
Blanford, torn. cit. p. 319 (1898); Robinson, Journ. Fed. Malay
States Mus. 11. p. 69 (19071 : id. Haud-l. Birds Malay Pcnin's.
p. 3 (1910).
a ? imm. Pulau Terutau. 29th November, 1912.
This race of the European tern, 5/. fluviatilis is not
uncommon in the Straits of Malacca from the end of July to
January but hitherto only immature specimens have been
obtained so that the identification must remain somewhat
uncertain. The distinctly reddish feet of the considerable
number of fresh specimens that I have examined would appear
to exclude St. longipennis, Nordm., while the fact that the
wing of the majority of Malayan birds exceeds 11 inches (275
mm.) tends to show that our birds cannot be referred to the
European St. fluviatilis fluvatilis.
25.
329 (1822) ; Hume
Sterna sumatrana, Raffles.
Sterna sumatrana, Raffles. Trans. Linn. Soc. xiii, p.