of the Andaman Islands. 327 



tail all but the two middle pair of black feathers are yellow- 

 ti})ped, more broadly so towards the outermost. The black 

 nuchal mark extends quite round through both eyes^ and is well 

 defined. Dimensions of the two skins: — 



Length 9'75 in., wing 5 in., tail 4 in., tarsus 'SG in. 



Length 10 in., wing 5"12 in., tail 4 in., tarsus '86 to 1 inch. 

 Mr. Blyth's dimensions (J. A. S. B. 1859, p. 272) are, ^Sving 5^, 

 tail 9|, bill to gape 1|." The measurement given of the tail is 

 preposterous, and is probably a misprint for 4f in. ; for in the 

 next few lines he tells us that the tail of the Andaman species 

 is proportionately shorter than in O. macrurus, which latter 

 commonly has it 5 inches. 



53. Oriolus melanocephalus, Linn. Black-headed Oriole. 

 " Not uncommon ; a peculiarly small, brightly coloured bird, 



a specimen of which was sent to the Asiatic Society^s Museum " 

 (R. C. T). This is probably the variety I noticed in 1865 at 

 Moulmein, where I procured a full-grown male in most perfect 

 plumage, measuring only in length 8'52 in., with wing 5*12 in., 

 and tail 3*25 in. I noted at the time that the Burmese race 

 seemed generally a good deal smaller than the Bengal one in 

 this as well as in several other species of birds which are common 

 to both countries. 



54. CoPSYCHUS SAULARis (Linn.). Magpie-Robin. 



*^Very abundant throughout the island; the males are more 

 brilliant in colour than those generally seen in Bengal, and sing 

 exquisitely. They are now in full song (in May) " (R. C. T.). 

 I noticed that, like the Burmese race, these birds were much 

 more familiar than those in Bengal, frequenting the immediate 

 vicinity of houses, on Ross Island, like Robins in England. 



55. CiTTACiNCLA ALBivENTKis (Blyth, J. A. S. B. xxvii. 

 p. 269). White-bellied Shahma. 



" Common, but not so plentiful as I expected. They are 

 found not only on the main island, but on the smaller islands, 

 and frequent the garden grounds. The habits of this bird are 

 more those of Copsyckus saularis than of Cittacincla macrura " 

 (R. C. T.) . Mr. Biyth says (J. A. S. B. 1860, p. 107) that this 

 bird " has much the appearance of being a fertile hybrid between 



