248 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF INDIA. 



of the wing from the carpal joint to the base of the primaries 

 ■white. Some of the longer axillaries, flanks and tibial plumes 

 white, tinged with chesnut. There is a very faint greyish tinge 

 on the cap, and traces of a very faint ill-defined brownish baud 

 running from the ear-coverts round the back of the neck 

 which may be traces of immature plumage. 



This is a very handsome bird, far more so than andamanen- 

 sis, with which no one who had seen a really good series of 

 this latter could ever confound it. Of andamanensis we must 

 have shot nearly one hundred, aud we preserved close upon 

 fifty of the most perfect specimens, old and young, males and 

 females, and have them killed in almost every month of the year, 

 so that there really can be no question about the matter. I 

 dwell upon this because the distinctness of erythropygius, the 

 bird being so rare that no European ornithologist hardly has 

 ever seen a specimen, is I believe by no means generally 

 admitted. 



689 his.— Temenuchus andamanensis, Tytler. 

 (47.) 



Of this species we measured a great many in the flesh ; the 

 following is a resume of the dimensions. There is no differ- 

 ence in the size of the sexes : — 



Length, 8 to 9*25 ; expanse, 12'5 to 13-25 ; wing, 4 to 

 4*25 ; tail, from vent, 3 to 3*5; tarsus, TO; bill from gape, 

 1-1 to 1'2; bill, at front, 072 to 0*93; the wings, Avhen 

 closed, reach to within 1*5 to £ of end of tail ; weight, about 

 2 ozs. 



The legs and feet are usually pale yellow, rather a lemon 

 yellow, but sometimes tinged fleshy ; the claws are horny ; 

 the bill is greenish yellow ; the upper mandible from the 

 posterior margin of nostrils to gape, and the lower mandible 

 from the gape nearly to the angle of gonys, smalt blue ; the 

 irides vary from opalescent white to very pale blue. 



The entire lower parts, including the wing lining and axil- 

 laries, are pure white, except the flanks and lower tail-coverts 

 which are more or less faintly tinged buffy ; the head and 

 back of the neck white ; the head w T ith a very faint greyish 

 tinge ; the back and scapulars pale grey or greyish white ; 

 the ,rump and upper tail-coverts similar but paler, and in 

 many specimens with a faint fulvous tinge ; wings black, 

 or blackish hair brown, glossed with a very dark metallic 

 bronzy green ; tail similar. Four central tail feathers nar- 



