" Contributions to Malayan Ornithology." 171 



the proportions of the rectrices and coverts so striking. Dr. 

 Stoliczka further remarks, " One thing is certainly.clear, namely, 

 that the greater length of the tail-coverts in the Malayan bird, 

 as compared with the Indian^ is not constant"^. As we have 

 seen above, in Mr. Blyth^s opinion " there cannot be a doubt of 

 the fact." And again, two years later, the same author (Cat. 

 Calc. Mus. p. 214) specifies the Malayan race as "with lower 

 tail-coverts, reaching to nearly end of tail ; " and the Indian 

 and Burmese race as "with constantly much shorter tail-coverts." 

 The validity of this distinguishing character was also recognized 

 by Horsfield and Moore (Cat. E. I. Co. Mus. i. p. 274) ; and 

 Mr. Moore, while referring the Malabar bird to Coracias puella, 

 Lath., named the Malayan /. malayensis. 



I may add that since 1846 I have examined numbers of ex- 

 amples, both from Malabar and from the Malayan peninsula, 

 and in adult birds I have invariably found them to be distin- 

 guished by the characters which I originally pointed out. 



Dr. Stohczka proceeds, " I can see no striking difference in 

 the lazuline or blue coloration of ^ and $ specimens from 

 South India and those from Burma, and again between these 

 and others from Malacca." I have never seen male examples 

 of the Burmese Irena ; but I must still insist that a striking, well- 

 marked, and easily recognizable difference does exist between the 

 blue colour of the Malabar and the Malayan-peninsula Irena. I 

 have placed a series of examples from those two regions before 

 indifferent persons, and they have in all cases, without hesitation, 

 and by means of the colour alone, separated the Malabar from 

 the Malayan and Sumatran form. 



Whether the characters which, I still maintain, do distinguish 

 the Malabar, the Malaccan, and the Javan species from one an- 

 other are sufficient to entitle each to a separate specific desig- 

 nation is a fair matter of opinion. Yet the terms local variety, 

 climatal variety, local race, geographical race, subspecies, &c., 

 though an easy way of expressing indefinite ideas, seem arti- 

 ficial, as opposed to the term " species," so long as the term 

 " species " does not involve the finite conception of fixity. The 

 three titles /. puella, I. cyanea, I. turcosa represent three facts 

 * The italics are Dr. Stoliczka's. 



