is8. ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLAND BIRDS— RICHMOND. 293 



CALORNIS TYTLERI Hume. 



Calornis tytleri Hume, Stray Feathei's, I, lS7r>, p. 4S0 (Port Mouat, South 

 Andaman) . 



Twenty specimens from various islands in the Nicobar group. In 

 total length these examples var}^ from ;^(»3 mm. to 228. 5 mm. 



'''Found in all the islands visited. The color of the iris varied; all 

 of those shot in Car Nicobar had })rown irides, and all shot in the 

 central group, Trinkut, etc., had white irides. It was certainly not 

 the result of age or sex." The birds from Great and Little Nicobar 

 are also marked as having white irides. (On this point see Ilume^). 



Family STURNID.F. 



STURNIA ANDAMANENSIS (Beavan). 

 Tenienudius andamatu'iisis "Tytler," Beavan, Ibip, 1867, p. 329 (Andamans). 

 ""Common at South Andaman and North Cinque.'" 

 Six examples from the above localities are in the collection. 

 Length in fresh birds varies from 222 to 228.5 nmi. Apparently 

 not seen in the Nicobars. 



STURNIA ERYTHROPYGIA Blyth. 

 Stumla erythropygia Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, XV, 1846, p. 84 (Nicobars). 



'•' Common in Car Nicobar, going about in Hocks with Calornis 

 tytleri. Especial!}^ fre(iuents the cocoanuts and casuarinas. Not seen 

 elsewhere." 



Seventeen specimens of this rare species were obtained, all from 

 Car Nicobar. Males measure 228.5 to 237 mm. in total length; females, 

 from 222 to 251 mm. 



Colors of fading parts, as mentioned on the labels, are: Iris, pale 

 l)lue to china white; bill greenish yellow, base chalky cobalt; feet dull 

 yellow to ochraceous; claws pale horny yellow. 



STURNIA ERYTHROPYGIA KATCHALENSIS, new subspecies. 



Stttmia a^ythrojyygia appears to be confined to the island of Car 

 Nicobar. The Hume party found it only on that island, and Dr. Abbott 

 did not meet with it elsewhere. ^. andamanensis, according to both 

 Hume and Davison, was found on the Nicobars only at Kamorta, but 

 Dr. Abbott does not mention it from this group in his notes on the 

 birds observed there. Hume, in referring to the occurrence of 

 S. andamcmensis in the Nicobars, says:^ 



I cannot feel at all certain that this species is indigenous in the Nicobars. We 

 never saw it anywhere except in the immediate neighborhood of the settlement at 

 Kamorta, at which station I understand that some twenty were let loose many years 

 ago, havmg been brought ilown from Port Blair, where this species swarms. Even at 

 Kamorta it is far from plentiful, and it does not seem at present to extend to any of 



' Stray Feathers, I, 1873, p. 480. ^ Stray Feathers, II, 1874, p. 249. 



