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Genus SPORJEGINTHUS, Cabanis, 1850. 



The genus /Sporceginthus contains two Indian species of Munia, 

 in which the males are red and the females brown, and both sexes 

 are much spotted with white on various parts of the plumage. 

 This genus differs from the last not only in the general coloration 

 of the plumage but also in the shape of the tail, which in Sporce- 

 yinthus is much more rounded. 



Key to the Species *. 



a. Abdomen black S. amandava rf , p. 192. 



6. Abdomen yellowish red S.flavidiventris $ , p. 193. 



738. Sporaegintlms amandava. The Indian Red Munia. 



Fringilla amandava, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 319 (1766). 

 Fringilla punicea, Horsf. Tr. Linn. Soc. xiii, p. 160 (1820). 

 Estrelda amandava (Linn.) Blyth, Cat. p. 118 ; Horsf. $ M. Cat. ii, 



p. 502 ; Jerd. B. I. ii, p. 359 ; Hume, N. $ E. p. 454 j Legge, 



Birds Ceyl. p. 662 j Hume. Cat. no. 704 ; Barnes, Birds Bom. 



p. 264. 

 Sporseginthus amandava (Linn.), Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii ; p. 320 ; 



Oates in Hume's N. $ JE. 2nd ed. ii, p. 147. 

 The Red Wax-bill, Jerd. ; Lai munia, Hind. ; Torra jinuwayi, Tel. 



Coloration. Male. The fully adult has the whole head, upper 

 plumage, neck, breast, and sides of the body crimson, with the 

 ashy or brown bases of the feathers showing through more or less 

 rump and upper tail-coverts, sides of the neck, breast, and body 

 spotted with white ; abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts black, 

 the feathers of the abdomen with crimson fringes ; wings and 

 coverts brown, each covert-feather and the tertiaries with a term- 

 inal white spot ; primary-coverts and winglet plain brown ; tail 

 blackish, the outer feathers tipped white. 



female. Upper plumage and scapulars brown ; upper tail-coverts 

 dull crimson vvith minute white tips ; tail dark brown, the lateral 

 feathers tipped white; wings brown, the median and greater 

 coverts with the tertiaries tipped white ; lores black ; chin and 

 throat whitish ; sides of the head and neck and the breast ashy 

 brown ; remainder of lower plumage dull saffron, the sides of the 

 body more or less tinged with ashy. 



The young have the whole upper plumage brown, the wing- 

 coverts and tertiaries broadly edged with fulvous ; the whole lower 

 plumage uniform ochraceous brown ; bill dark brown. 



Iris orange-red ; bill red, dusky at base of culmen ; legs and 

 feet brownish flesh (Butler']. 



Length about 4-5 ; tail 1/6 ; wing 1/9 ; tarsus *55 ; bill from 

 gape -4. 



* The females of the two species are not separable by any characters kn own 

 tome. 



