jETHOPYGA. 351 



of the head and neck, hind neck, back, scapulars, and lesser wing- 

 coverts deep red, the concealed black bases of the feathers showing 

 up in places ; rump bright yellow, some of the feathers occasionally 

 tipped crimson ; upper tail-coverts metallic green ; tail black 

 suffused with violet, the middle pair of feathers aud the outer 

 margins of the others metallic green ; median wing-coverts black 

 margined with crimson ; greater coverts, primary-coverts, winglet, 

 and quills brown ; a long rnoustachial streak and a patch behind the 

 ear-coverts metallic violet ; chin, throat, and breast deep red finely 

 streaked with yellow ; the red of the breast bounded by a black 

 baud which extends more or less down the middle of the abdomen ; 

 remainder of lower plumage ashy grey ; under \viug-coverts and 

 axillaries white. 



Female. General colour dull green ; the feathers of the forehead 

 brow r n margined with green ; the lo\ver plumage suffused with 

 ashy ; the under tail-coverts broadly margined with ashy yellow ; 

 under wing-coverts and axillaries pale yellowish. 



The young resemble the adult female and the young male as- 

 sumes the adult plumage at the first spring by a moult. 



Iris red-brown, crimson (Fairbank) ; legs and bill dark brown or 

 blackish. 



Length nearly 6 ; tail 2'3 ; w r ing 2'5 ; tarsus 'G5 ; bill from gape 

 95 ; the female has the tail 1'7 and the wing 2*2. 



Distribution. The British Museum series of this Sun-bird contains 

 birds from Western Khandesh, Matheran, Khaudala, Mahablesh- 

 war, and the Malabar coast. This latter locality is very vague. 

 Hume gives the range of this bird as extending from the valley of 

 the Tapti river to some distance south of Mahableshwar along the 

 line of ghats. Jerdon observed this species in the Bastar country 

 south-east of Nagpore, but this locality requires confirmation. 



Habits, $*c. The accounts of the nidificatiou of this bird are very 

 incomplete. It breeds in June and in September, and the nest 

 appears to resemble that of JE. seherice. An egg is described as 

 being white, very thickly freckled with yellowish brown, and 

 measuring *63 by *48. 



887. -ZEthopyga ignicauda. The Fire-tailed Yellow-backed 



bird. 



Cimiyris ignicaudus, Hodys. Lid. Rev. ii, p. 273 (1837). 



Nectarinia ignicauda (Hodgs.), Blytli, Cat. p. 223. 



^Ethopyga ignicauda (Hodr/s.), Horsf. $ M. Cat. ii, p. 734 ; Jcr<L 

 B. I. i, p. 365 ; Wald. Ibis, 1870, p. 3G ; /Stanford, J. A. S. B. xli, 

 pt. ii, ]>. 44 ; Godw.-Aust. J. A. S. B. xliii, pt. ii, p. 15(> ; tihcl/ci/, 

 Mon. Ncct. pp. xx, 45, pi. 15 ; Hume, Cat. no. 228; Gadoiv, Cat. 

 B. M. ix, p. 25. 



The Fire-tailed JKcd Honey-sucker, Jerd. 



Coloration. Male. Forehead and crown metallic blue ; sides of the 

 crown, nape, hind neck, sides of the neck, back, scapulars, upper 



