search Station.

_=Pityriasis gymnocephala=_ (Temminck): Bald-headed Wood
Shrike.--_Specimens_, 7: Cocoa Research Station: [Male] one testis,
115.0 gm., October 4, 1962, MCT 2987; [Female] largest ova 15 mm.,
well-developed brood patch, oviduct enlarged, 140.0 gm., October 4,
1962, MCT 2988; [Male] testis 8 x 5 mm., 121.0 gm., October 4, 1962, MCT
2989. 12 mi. N Kalabakan: [Male], November 8, 1962, MCT 3224; [Female],
November 8, 1962, MCT 3225; [Male], November 8, 1962, MCT 3226;
[Female], November 8, 1962, MCT 3227.

These birds first drew my attention at Quoin Hill by their peculiar
whistle, which Smythies (1960:491) calls a "nasal whine." They seem
not to descend lower than 30 feet above the ground. They are
exceedingly tame; I shot at them two to four times without
frightening them off. They were in badly disturbed primary forest
at Quoin Hill. At a point 12 miles north of Kalabakan, I found them
in primary forest. I took four birds from a flock of five or six.
Later in the afternoon, I heard another group in the tops of trees
150 feet high. They seemed to be fairly common, judging by the
frequency with which the calls were heard. One of the birds I shot
was only wounded and set up such a clamor that soon the rest of the
flock approached, seemingly in response to the distress calls. Some
individuals came within 20 feet of me. The noise also attracted an
accipiter.

Some of the specimens were made into skeletons, which I think show
important indications of the systematic position of this species.
The Bald-headed Wood Shrike has been placed in various families.
Gadow (1883:90) placed it with the Cracticidae, with its closest
relative being _Cracticus_. Amadon (1956) thought that it was best
left in the Prionopidae, with subfamily status. Hachisuka (1953)
concluded that its closest affinities were with _Cracticus_ of the
family Cracticidae. The latest reviser, A. L. Rand (_in_ Peters _et
al._, 1960:364-365), places it in the Laniidae. A brief comparison
of my skeletons of _Pityriasis_ tended to confirm Gadow's and
Hachisuka's conclusion that it belongs with the Cracticidae. I
think that it is best placed in this family, with subfamily status
(Pityriasinae).

_=Sitta frontalis corallipes=_ (Sharpe): Velvet-fronted
Nuthatch.--_Specimens_, 3: Cocoa Research Station: [Female] imm., 14.