350 THE BIRDS OF GILGIT. 



also shows whitish at the centre of the abdomen near the 

 vent, and at the hinder end of the superciliary streak. 



It differs from P. thura in having a broad frontal band 

 rose piuk, in the lores and a narrow band round the base of 

 the bill crimson, and in the silvery streaks on the chin, 

 throat, and breast, while on the back the general hue is much 

 less dark.* 



The female answers well to Blyth's description, and differs 

 from that of P. thura chiefly in lacking the broad pale super- 

 cilium, and in the ground colour of the face, abdomen, and 

 lower tail-coverts being white instead of light yellowish brown. 

 — G. F. L. M.] 



* [This is quite incomprehensible to me. Thura has a broad frontal band 

 rose pink ; it has the lores and a narrow band round the base of the bill crimson, 

 and it has the silvery streaks on the chin, throat and the extreme upper part of 

 the breast. Yet it is on the possession of these features that our authors base 

 their conclusion that frontalis is distinct ! In my humble opinion — I speak under 

 correction — the Gilgit birds were possibly after all really " thura," and compared 

 with some wrongly named specimens of Mandelli's. 



Our lamented friend knew the Sikhim birds well, yet of his whole collection I 

 found when it passed into my hands that a large proportion of the specimens had 

 been wrongly named out of sheer inattention. 



At the same time it may be noticed that thura is a decidedly variable species ; 

 the rose pink of the broad frontal band and superciliary stripe, cheeks, throat, 

 breast and abdomen varies very much in tint, being very much more crimson in 

 some and much paler and more silvery in others. Again, while in the majority only 

 the lores and a narrow band over the base of the bill are crimson, this colour 

 sometimes extends to the chin and upper throat, and in one specimen (which I was 

 at one time disposed to consider distinct, though I now find it connected with the 

 more common form by intermediate links), it also strongly suffuses the entire 

 cheeks, and frontal and superciliary band. Again, the colour of the crown, occiput 

 and back is a much deeper brown in some specimens than in others, and the 

 blackish brown striations are much more strongly marked in some specimens than 

 in others. Indeed, in some specimens these are almost obsolete on the crown, so 

 that this latter, unless very carefully looked into, might be described, as Blyth 

 described it, as plain brown. Again, in some specimens the whole of the quills, 

 winglet and primary greater coverts are almost absolutely plain brown, while in 

 others, not only are the tertiaries very broadly margined on the outer webs with 

 pale brownish buffy, or creamy white (it varies in different specimens), but the 

 rest of the quills are quite conspicuously margined on the outer webs with a pale 

 generally somewhat reddish brown. 



The females are equally variable. In one the superciliary stripe and the entire 

 lower parts, except the centre of the lower abdomen and vent, are strongly suffused 

 •with a rich rusty rufous, while in others this tint is very much paler, and is 

 absolutely confined to the centre of the throat and upper breast. In some females 

 the rump and all but the longest upper tail-coverts are bright orange, each 

 feather with a dark brown centre. In others these parts are a pale straw yellow, 

 similarly dark centred, while again here and there specimens are found with only 

 the barest shade of yellow on these parts. 



I write this with sixty specimens before me, and I really think that I could 

 pick out three types which, if not connected by such a series, would be pronounced 

 distinct species. 



I see that I have forgotten to note that the silvery central streaks to the 

 feathers, especially of the chin, throat, face, and upper breast in the male, are 

 also extraordinarily variable. In some specimens these streaks are comparatively 

 broad, intensely silvery, and cover all these parts. In others they are at most 

 only rosy white, narrow and traceable only in the centre of the throat and on 

 some of the ear-coverts. The young males are like the female, but at one stage 

 of their plumage at any rate are distinguished by a very broad unstreaked whitish 

 superciliary stripe, exactly occupying the space which the rosy one of the adult 

 would— A. O. H.j 



