PLOCET7S. 177 



Ploceus Baegarhynchus, Hume, S. F. iii, p. 406 (1875) ; id. Cat. 



no. 694 ter; Gates in Hume's N. 8? E. 2nd ed. ii, p. 119. 

 Ploceus passerinus, Hodgs. MS., Reichenoiv, Zool. Jahrb. Jena, i, p. 156 



(1886). 



Took-ra, Assam. 



Coloration. The male in winter and the female at all seasons 

 resemble the same sexes of P. baya at the same seasons. In 

 summer the male has the forehead, crown, and nape bright yellow ; 

 the whole upper plumage fulvous streaked with blackish brown, 

 the streaks becoming obsolete on the lower rump and upper tail- 

 coverts ; wing-coverts, quills, and tail dark brown edged with 

 fulvous ; sides of the head, chin, and throat dark blackish brown ; 

 the remaining lower plumage fulvous or tawny, becoming albescent 

 on the abdomen ; the breast and flanks occasionally with narrow 

 shaft-streaks. 



The present species varies as much as does the last in the in- 

 tensity of the fulvous tinge, and towards the southern portion of 

 the bird's range the fulvous changes to a rich tawny. 



The male in summer has the bill black, the inside of the mouth 

 Hesh-colour ; eyelid grey ; iris dark brown ; legs flesh-colour ; 

 claws pinkish horn-colour. The male in winter and the female at 

 all seasons have the bill yellowish horn-colour. 



Length about 6 ; tail 2 ; wing 2*9 ; tarsus "8 ; bill from gape 

 75. 



This species increases in size from south to north, and attains 

 its greatest size in the Himalayan Terai. Here the tarsus fre- 

 quently reaches to a length of *95, and the bill, from gape to tip, 

 85. To this larger bird Hume gave the name of megarhynchus. 

 It is, however, impossible to separate this larger race from the 

 form inhabiting Burma and the Malay peninsula, and consequently 

 Hume's name will stand for the species, no previously-imposed 

 name being available. 



Distribution. Bengal and the base of the Himalayas from the 

 85th degree of longitude to Assam, and southwards through the 

 whole of Burma to the southern end of the Malay peninsula, ex- 

 tending to Sumatra and Java. This species, in a somewhat larger 

 form, is found along the base of the Himalayas as far west as the 

 Dhoon, in company with P. lay a. 



Habits, Sfc. Breeds from April to September, constructing a 

 nest very similar to that of P. baya. The nest is not unfrequently 

 attached to the thatched eaves of native houses, or even to the 

 ends of the loose leaves inside the verandahs. The eggs measure 

 about -82 by -6. 



722. Ploceus bengalensis. The Black-throated Weaver-bird. 



Loxia benghalensis, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 305 (1766). 

 Ploceus bengalensis (Linn.}, Blyth, Cat. p. 115 ; Horsf. fy M. Cat. 

 ii, p. 515; Jerd. B. I. ii, p. 349; Hume, N. $ E. p. 44 1 ; id Cat. 

 no. 696 ; Oates, B. B. i, p. 361 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii, p. 493 ; 

 VOL. II. y 



