40 BIRDS OF BRITISH BURMAH, 



435. VENILIA PORPHYROMELAS. 



THE CRIMSON-NECKED MAROON WOODPECKER. 



Picus porphyromelas, Boie*, Brief e geschr. aus Ostind. p. 143 j Sundev. Consp. Av. 

 Pic. p. 47. Hemicircus rubiginosus, Swains. Birds W. Afr. ii. p. 150. 

 Celeopicus porphyromelas, Malh. Mon. Pic. ii. p. 39, pi. xlix. fig. 1-3. 

 Lepocestes porphyromelas, Salvad. Ucc. Born. p. 48. Venilia porphyro- 

 melas, Hume $ Dav. 8. F. vi. p. 143. Blythipicus porphyromelas, Hume, 

 S. F. vii. p. 520, viii. p. 88. 



Description. Male. The whole head, chin and throat brown,, darker 

 on the crown and nape ; a large patch on each side the nape bright crim- 

 son ; back and scapulars maroon, the shafts whitish ; rump and upper tail- 

 coverts brown, suffused with maroon~and obscurely banded with brownish 

 white j tail black, narrowly banded with brownish white ; upper wing- 

 coverts maroon, the centres of the feathers more or less brown narrowly 

 and indistinctly barred with whitish; wings and primary-coverts dark 

 brown with pale rufescent bars, the outer webs suffused with maroon ; fore 

 neck, breast and all the lower plumage blackish brown tinged with choco- 

 late or rufous, and with a trace of maroon on the sides of the body ; under 

 tail-coverts very indistinctly barred with paler brown. Some specimens 

 have a tinge of red on the cheeks. 



The female differs in wanting the crimson patches on the sides of the 

 nape. 



Legs and feet dark, varying in shade very much, generally somewhat 

 purplish or purplish brown, sometimes greyish purple, or very dark greyish 

 or greenish brown ; the irides are red, crimson, scarlet, or even salmon- 

 pink ; the orbital skin varies much like the legs and feet, dark purplish 

 grey, dark greyish brown or brownish green to almost black ; the bill is 

 chrome-yellow, more or less strongly tinged with green towards the base. 

 (Davison.) 



Length 9 inches, tail 3, wing 5, tarsus '9, bill from gape T6. The 

 female is of much the same size. 



Mr. Davison procured the Crimson-necked Maroon Woodpecker in the 

 southern portion of Tenasserim from Bopyin down to Malewoon, where he 

 states it was very common. My men also found it common at Malewoon. 



It extends down the Malay peninsula, and is found in the islands of 

 Sumatra and Borneo. 



This species, according to Mr. Davison, frequents the undergrowth and 

 smaller trees of the evergreen forests. 



* I have "been unable to find this reference. Count Salvador! assigns to it the date of 1832. 



