PLOCEUS. 175 



in the autumn resume their plain appearance, which resembles 

 Huil of tin' IVmale. 



In Pimm* (ho bill is thick with the culinen 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 

 larsus, 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. 



. Crown of head yellow (breeding-males). 



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



//. Breast fulvous P. mcr/arhi/nchus, p. 176. 



c'. Breast black, or black with fulvous 



fringes P. bengalensis, p. 177. 



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 17g 



e'. Lower plumage plain fulvous j p J^ ljnchu ^ 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 Baya. 



? Loxia philippina, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 305 (17CG). 



Ploceus baya, Bhjth, J. A. S. B. xiii, p. 945 (1844) ; Harsf. $ 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. 8f E. p. 436 (part.) ; id. $ Jhir. 



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



N. # E. 2nd ed. ii, p. 114. 

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



Ceyl. p. 641 ; Hume, Cat. no. 694; Barnes, Birds Bom. p. 1>.V.. 



The Common 1\'ram--lird (Jerdon) ; Baya, Hind.; Chindora, Hind, 

 in Bengal ; Bawi, Talbabi, Bong. ; Parsnpu-jntta, Tel. ; Manja-kuravi, 

 Tarn. ; Tkucker&m /.///////, Tarn, in Ceyl. ; Tatta kurula, Wada kurulla, 

 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 rum]) 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, 



* Linnieus'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 Sh.-irpe in 

 adopting Blyth's \vrll-kno\vn name for this species. 



