pjiOCEUs. 175 



in the autumn resume their plain appearance, which resembles 

 thai of the female. 



In Ploceus the bill is thick with the cultnen curved, and the 

 length of the bill is considerably more than its height; the wings 

 are of moderate length, and the first primary is as long as the 

 tarsus, and slightly curved inwards ; the tail is short and mode- 

 rately rounded, of twelve feathers ; the tarsus is strong and 

 scutellated, and the claws are of considerable length. 



Key to the Species. 



a. Crown of head yellow (breeding-males). 



a'. Breast yellow P. baya, p. 175. 



V, Breast fulvous P. megarhynchus, p. 176. 



c'. Breast black, or black with fulvous 



fringes P. benyalensis, p. 1 77. 



d'. Breast fulvous, boldly streaked with 



black P- manyar, p. 179. 



b. Crown of head brown (females at all seasons 



and males in winter). , p b -^ 



e\ Lower plumage plain fulvous . j p m J^yncAt«, p> 17G . 



/'. Breast black, or black fringed with 



fulvous P. bengalensis, p. 177. 



g '. Breast boldly streaked with black .... P. manyar, p. 179. 



720. Ploceus baya *. The Bay a. 



? Loxia philippina, Linn. Si/st. Nat. i, p. 305 (1700). 



Ploceus baya, Blyth, J. A.'S. B. xiii, p. 945 (1844) ; Horsf. S>- M. 



Cat. ii, p. 515 (part.) ; Jerd. B. I. ii, p. 343 (part.) ; Blanf. J. A. 



S. B. xli, pt. ii, p. 167 ; Hume, N. # E. p. 436 (part.) ; id. 8f Bav. 



S. F. vi, p. 399 ; Skarpe, Cat. B. M. xiii, p. 488 ; Gates in Hume's 



N. 8f E. 2nd ed. ii, p. 114. 

 Ploceus philippinus (Linn.), Blyth, Cat, p. 115 (part.) ; Leyye, Birds 



Ceyl. p. 641 ; Hume, Cat. no. 694 ; Barnes, Birds Bom. p. 259. 



The Common Weaver-bird (Jerdon) ; Baya, Hind. ; Chindora, Hind, 

 in Bengal ; Bawi, Talbabi, Beng. ; Parstqju-pitta, Tel. ; Manja-kuravi, 

 Tarn. ; Thuckenam Jcuruoi, Tarn, in Ceyl. ; Tatta kurula, Wada kurutta, 



Ceyl. 



Coloration. Male. After the autumn moult the whole upper 

 plumage is fulvous streaked with blackish brown, the streaks be- 

 coming obsolete on the lower rump and upper tail-coverts ; wing- 

 coverts, quills, and tail dark brown, each feather edged with 

 fulvous, the edges of the primaries and tail-feathers also being 

 tinged with greenish; a clear fulvous supercilium ; sides of the 

 head pale fulvous-brown; the whole lower plumage fulvous, 



* Linnseus's name, even if it applied to the Continental race of Weaver-bird, 

 which is very doubtful, is inappropriate, as no bird of this genus is known to 

 occur in the Philippine Islands. I prefer, therefore, to follow Sharpe in 

 adopting Ittyth's well-known name for this species. 



