MELAIN'OCHLORA. 241 



blue ; the tail-coverts next become changed ; the lower plumage 

 takes the longest to change, and young birds may frequently be 

 met with having the lower plumage mixed black and dull blue, hut 

 the upper plumage that of the adult. 



Iris crimson ; eyelids pinkish ; bill and legs black ; mouth flesh- 

 colour; claws black. 



Length 10'5; tail 4'2 ; wing 5'1; tarsus '85; bill from gape 



/. ci/anea, from the Malay peninsula, differs in having the 

 under tail-coverts longer, nearly reaching to the tip of the tail. 



Distribution. Ceylon ; the western coast of India from Travan- 

 core up to the latitude of Belgaum and Sawant Wari ; Sikhim and 

 the lower ranges of the Himalayas to Dibrugarh in Assam ; the 

 Khasi hills ; Cachar ; Manipur ; Arrakan ; Pegu ; Tenasserim ; 

 the Audamans and Xicobars. This species is confined entirely to the 

 evergreen forests of the hills and plains, and it is found up to 

 about 4000 feet of elevation. It extends some distance down the 

 Malay peninsula and into Siam. 



Habits, $c. This bird is common in most of the tracts it fre- 

 quents, going about in small parties or in pairs. It feeds princi- 

 pally on fruit and is generally found on the larger forest-trees. It 

 breeds from February to April, constructing a shallow cup-shaped 

 nest, sometimes of moss and sometimes of small twigs, in a sapling 

 or small tree. The eggs, which are generally two in number, are 

 greenish white marked with brown, and measure about 1-14 

 by -77. 



Genus MELANOCHLORA, Lesson, 1839. 



In Melanochlora the sexes are of different colours, and the 

 nostrils are not entirely concealed by stiff bristles, consequently this 

 generic type appears to me to be removed from the Parince and to 

 belong to the Liotrichince. 



In this genus the bill is strong but short ; the tip is entire, the 

 nostrils round and partially concealed by the soft frontal plumes. 

 The crest is very long and pointed. The wing is comparatively 

 long and sharp. The tail is shorter than the wing, and the 

 feathers are graduated. The tarsus is strong and equal in length 

 to the middle toe with claw. 



Only one species is known. 



255. Melanochlora sultanea. The Sultan-bird. 



Parus sultaneus, Hodgs. Ind. Rev. 1836, p. 31 ; Horsf. Sf M. Cat. i, 



p. 369 ; Gadow, Cat. B. M. viii, p. 6. 

 Parus flavocristatus, Lafresn. Mag. Zool. 1837, pi. 80; Blyih, Cat. 



p. 102. 



Melanochlora sultanea (Hodgs.}, Jerd. B. I. ii, p. 282 ; Godw.-Aust. 

 VOL. I. K 



