Mr. A. R. Wallace on the Genus Pitta. 105 



P. 7iuvce-guine<£ . Bill blacky feet dusky, iris olive-brown. 



P. celehensis . . Bill blackish horny, feet dusky lead-colour, 

 iris pale olive. 



P. rubrinucha . Bill blackish horny, feet light bluish lead, 

 iris light olive-brown. 



P. rufiventris . . Bill dark horny, base of lower mandible red- 

 dish beneath,feet pale lead-colour, iris olive. 



P. cyanonota. . Bill blackish horny, feet dusky olive, iris olive. 



P. mackloti . . Bill black, feet dusky, iris olive. 



P. elegans . . Bill black, feet olive-brown, iris dark. 



P. granatina . . Bill black, feet black, iris jiurple-black. 



P. maxima . . Bill black, feet pale yellowish horn-colour, iris 

 dark. 

 The genus Pitta has been subdivided into three named genera, 

 which are tolerably well characterized ; but several others would 

 seem equally worthy of being separated, owing to there being 

 numerous slight modifications of form in the most nearly allied 

 species ; and the whole group is so compact and natural, that I 

 prefer following those naturalists who keep it entire. There are, 

 however, four distinct groups of species, each characterized by a 

 peculiar style of colouring, and several other smaller groups and 

 isolated species which it is impossible to combine naturally with 

 any of these. And whereas the genus, treated as a whole, seems 

 irregularly and, as it were, fortuitously scattered over a wide area, 

 yet when we consider the separate groups of species above alluded 

 to, we find them in many cases to have each a well-defined and 

 restricted geographical range. I shall therefore divide the genus 

 into sections, which agree generally with those of Bonaparte, 

 and consider the distribution of each separately. 



Sect. 1. The green-backed species, buff beneath, with dark head, 

 blue shoulders, and red belly. These may be arranged geo- 

 graphically as follows : — 



1. angolensis . . West Africa. 



2. hengalensis . . India proper, from Himalayas to Ceylon. 



3. nympha . . . China. 



4. cyanoptera . . Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. 



5. megarhyncha . Banca Island. 



