1890.] CORACIID^ OF THE INDIAN REGION. 549 



greenish white ; throat streaked with lilac-bhie ; abdomen and 

 under tail-coverts light cobalt; thighs purplish blue. "Bill dark 

 brownish black ; mouth yellow ; edges of the eyelids, lores, and 

 skin at the back of the eye yellowish orange ; iris brown ; legs 

 yellowish brown ; claws black" (Oates). 



Length about 12 inches, tail 4-7, wing 7'6, tarsus 1, bill from 

 gape 1-75. 



Distribution. From Nepal to Darjiling and Bhutan, thence through- 

 out Assam and Cachar as far west as Dacca and the neighbourhood 

 of Calcutta. It is spread all over Burma and Tenasserim, except in 

 the extreme south, and ranges eastwards to Siam and Cochin China. 

 Specimens in the Hume Collection from Nepal (/. Scully), Native 

 and British Sikhim (L. MandelU), Tippera, and Calcutta are appa- 

 rently hybrids between the present species and Coracias indica, and 

 belong to the intermediate form which I call Coracias indica ajftnis. 



Habits, 4"'-'. Similar to those of C indica. Mr. Oates has found 

 the bird breeding in Pegu in March and April. The eggs are 

 glossy white, four or five in number, laid on the bare wood at the 

 bottom of large natural hollows in decayed branches of large trees. 

 The average of twelve eggs was 1'37 inch by 1-09. 



3. CoEACiAs GAEETTLA. The Common Boiler. 



Coracias garrula, Linn. S. N. i. p. 159 (1766) ; Horsf. & M. Cat. 

 ii. p. 570 (1856) ; Hume, N. & E. p. 104 (1813) ; Hume, Cat. 

 no. 125 ; Bidd. Ibis, 1881, p. 48 ; Scully, t. c. p. 429 ; C. Swinh. 

 Ibis, 1882, p. 102. . 



Coloration. Upper surface light cinnamon, including the scapu- 

 lars and inner secondaries ; lower back and rump dark ultramarine ; 

 upper tail-coverts greenish blue washed with ultramarine ; wing- 

 coverts round the bend of the wing ultramarine ; rest of the coverts 

 greenish blue, as well as the base of the quills ; bastard-wing green, 

 blue at the end ; primary-coverts greenish blue with a dark blue tip ; 

 remainder of quiUs black ; two centre tail-feathers dull greenish ; 

 remainder of the feathers dark blue, externally green and internally 

 black, all the feathei'S light silvery blue near the ends, the outer- 

 most with a black terminal spot ; crown, sides of head, and under 

 surface of body pale greenish blue, the base of the forehead and 

 the chin white ; the throat and chest as well as the sides of the 

 face streaked with silvery green. 



Young birds are much duller in colour than the adults, and have 

 the breast pervaded with a brown shade. Although no difference 

 can be found between adult Rollers from Europe and those from 

 Cashmere, the young specimens from the latter locality and N.W. 

 India are generally much paler than European birds of similar age. 



Distribution. The European RoUer extends from Southern and 

 Central Europe through Persia to Afghanistan, where it breeds, as 

 well as in Cashmere. In the autumn it visits various parts of 

 North-western India, occurring regularly in the vicinity of Simla, 

 and specimens are in the Hume Collection from Masuri and Gurhwal. 



Proc. Zool. Soc— 1890, No. XXXVII. 37 



