( 224 ) 

 104. Pitta nipalensis doug:lasi Grant. 



Pilla (hiiigliisi Grant, Abstract Pioc. Zonl. So<: No. SI, p. IK (March 1910— Hainan). 



11 (J? Mt. Wnchi, March and April 1003, November 1900 (Xos. l'.r,>, R 192). 



7 <J? Cheterianir, January 1904 (No. 192). 



We receiver! the first specimens of this interostiiiij Pi/fn as long ago as 1904, 

 and saw naturally at a glance that tliey dift'ered from P. nipn/ei/s/s nipalensis, hni 

 it was my wish to compare them with the type of J\ aiinnmensis Oustalet in the 

 Paris Museum, in order to give a good comparative description of the Hainan form, 

 rather than give a diagnosis which ouly half served its purpose, which is to 

 diti'erentiate a given form from all its allies. 



Tlie series of this interesting Pitta shows much individual variation. What 

 must he the fnlly adnit male looks as follows : Lores, forehead, ear-coverts and 

 throat pale rosy, the chiu with some white, because the colour of the bases, which 

 is white on the chin, blackish otherwise, shows through. ^Vide sujiereiliary stripe 

 bright cinnamon rufous ; above the ear-coverts a few black feathers, forming a 

 hidden blackish line. Rest of upper snrfixce dull green, rump blue, upper wing- 

 coverts rusty green. Qnills dark brown, inner webs of primaries white at base, 

 outer webs dull greeuisli buff, green on both webs of the inner secondaries ; 

 underside of quills brownish ash-colour. Tail dull green. Underside from the 

 throat backwards yellowish brown, darker on the foreneck, gradually paler on the 

 abdomen and under tail-coverts, centre of belly more or less whitish, sometimes 

 with a faint rosy tinge ; foreneck and chest washed with jiink. " Iris seal brown ; 

 bill brown ; feet drab-grey " (Katsumata). Wing 115 — 120 mm. 



What, in my opinion, must be the females, have no rosy colour on the lores, 

 ear-coverts and throat, these parts being whitish grey-brown, whitest on the chin, 

 where the bases of the feathers are white, not black. The crown and hindneck are 

 dull green or rusty brown, or brown with a greenish tinge. The blue on the rump 

 is not so pure and generally more restricted, the back duller and more brownish 

 green. Under-surface a little paler and without any j)ink wash on the foreneck and 

 chest. Wings 114 — 118 mm. 



I do not think there can be any doubt that these are the adult females, although 

 some of the adult males are also marked " ? ". I mention this, because Katsu- 

 mata's "sexing" is, as a rule, very reliable, indeed more so than that of many 

 well-known European collectors. 



There can be little doubt that these birds are difiennit from Pitta soror, but 

 they must be closely allied to F. annamensis Oust. This latter form was described 

 from a single individual, not fully adult, from Annam. A figure has been given 

 in the Xoinrlles Arcliiecs du. Mnsi'iim t/'IIistoire Xaturelln, 4. serie, vol. v. 1903, 

 Plate V. This looks uncommonly like the female of I'itta doiiqlasi except that 

 the back is purer green and the top of the head lilac grey, while the underside is 

 the same as in the females of P. douglasi. 



Unfortunately, however, the figure, like others published in the same 

 periodical, is not well executed, and does not agree with the description! The 

 top of the head is described as "rose-lilas" or " roseo-vinaeeum," and the rump, 

 which is light blue in the plate, is said to be of the same colour 1 Moreover, 

 a vinous rose-colour is said to cover the throat and to merge gradually into the 

 rufous colour of the breast : nothing of this is seen on the plate in question. Also 

 the mantle is described as bruwn, tinged with greyish green, not grass-green 1 



