INHABITING THE PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO. 209 
throat dark chocolate-brown, without a tinge of ferruginous. Nor does this colour 
descend so low as its corresponding shade in MW. topela. The undulations on the under 
surface, which are of the same character as in WV. topela, are bolder and larger. Quite 
distinct from MW. punctularia (Linn.) and MW. nisoria (Temm. _). 
Coccothraustes philippinensis, Brisson, Orn. iii. p. 232, no. 6, pl. xii. fig. 1, 3, pl. 
xviii. figs. 1, 2, nest (1760). 
Loxia philippina, Linn. 8. N. i. p. 305, no. 36 (1766), ex Brisson; v. Martens, J. f. O. 
1866, p. 14. 
Gros-bee des Philippines, D’Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 135. fig. 2. 
Le Toucnam-courvi, Buffon, Hist. Nat. Ois. ii. p. 465. 
Loxia maculata, L. S. Miller, Suppl. p. 150, no. 56 (1776), ex D’Aubent. 
Originally and minutely described by Brisson from examples in M. Aubrey’s cabinet, 
said to have come from the Philippines. Since that date (1760) there is no evidence of 
any species of Ploceus inhabiting those islands. Camel does not include any members 
of the genus; and he would certainly have noticed a bird so remarkable for the con- 
spicuous nest it constructs. Dr. Jerdon (Birds of India, ii. p. 348) states that he is 
convinced that the figure in D’Aubenton’s plate (/.c.) refers to P. hypoxanthus (Daud.'). 
In this opinion I find it impossible to concur. D’Aubenton’s figure fairly depicts the 
common Indian Weaverbird, Ploceus baya, Blyth (J. A. S. B. 1844, p. 945), the belly 
being represented pure white, while in the so-called P. hypovanthus the belly and under 
tail-coverts are rich golden. According to Buffon (/.c.), D’Aubenton’s figure was 
taken from a male example of Brisson’s Coccothraustes philippinensis, on which Linnzus 
founded Lovia philippina. Brisson’s description completely agrees with P. baya, Blyth, 
and cannot apply to P. hypoxanthus of the Indian authors. Moreover Brisson describes 
and figures the nest of his Weaverbird, and unmistakably represents the pensile nest 
of P. baya, Blyth, and not the non-pensile nests of the other known Asiatic Weavers 
P. manyar (Horsf.), P. bengalensis (Linn.), and P. javanensis (Less.). It is satisfactory 
to find that Hermann (Observ. Zool. p. 205, 1804) identified an example of a Weaver- 
bird, sent from Tranquebar along with its pensile nest, as Loxia philippina, Linn. ; for 
he evidently describes a young male of P. baya, Blyth. 
* Toucnam-courvi,” the supposed native name in the Philippines, according to Brisson 
(1. c.), does not sound Tagalish, as already remarked by Dr. v. Martens (J. ¢.); while, 
on the other hand, it closely resembles the Malay name tor the common Weaverbird, 
1 Lowxia hypoxantha, Sparrman, Mus. Carls. fase. iii, no. 71, ‘‘ Sumatra” (1788). 
Lowxia hypowantha, Daudin, Traité d’Ornith. ii. p. 429 (1800), ex Sparrm. 
Above uniform olive-green ; forehead and undersurface bright yellow. Evidently not a Ploceus (cf. Sun- 
deyall, Kritisk, p. 12, no. 711), The well-marked species to which the specific title of hypowanthus has been 
applied by Jerdon, Blyth, and Dr. Pucheran (Rey. Zool, 1854, p. 67), and which is found, in suitable localities, 
throughout Burma, must take the title of Ploceus javanensis (Lesson), Traité, p. 446, “Java” (1831). 
