KEMARKS ON THE GENUS SUYA. 3 



The autumn plumage of the young birds differs a good deal 

 from both these. The striations of the head and back are 

 less defined than in the midwinter plumage ; the pale portions 

 being more rufescent and darker coloured, and the lower 

 surface is much tinged, as a rule, with dull yellow, though 

 sometimes, as in the specimen described as parumstriata, 

 this is wanting. 



No one could be blamed for making three species out of the 

 autumn (September and October), midwinter and midsum- 

 mer plumages of this species ; but the examination of a series, 

 including from 10 to 30 killed in each month, proves beyond all 

 doubt that all pertain to the same one species. 



The plain-backed species are apparently more numerous, and 

 include, so far as I can make out, two pairs of species, one, of 

 which, S. khasiana (God.-Aust, A. and M. N. H., October 1876, 

 — S. F., V., 59,) is the type, of which the prevailing tint of the 

 upper surface is rufescent, and the other, of which S. atrogu- 

 laris (Moore, P. Z. S., 1854, 77) is the type, in which the 

 prevailing tint of the upper surface is olivaceous, more or less 

 dusky on the head in the breeding plumage. 



It may be that the other two species, Smja eryiliropleura, 

 (Wald., J. A. S. B., Ext. No. 1875, 120.— S. J?., V., 58) of the 

 khasiana type, and Suya superciliaris , (Anders., P. Z. S., 1871, 

 212, — S. F., VI., 350,) of the atrogularis type, are not really 

 distinct. Too few specimens have been obtained of these to 

 enable us to be certain, but for reasons to be explained further 

 on I at present incline to believe that both are distinct repre- 

 sentative species. 



Both atrogularis and khasiana we know well, having huge 

 series killed at all seasons, and at present it is not unreasonable 

 to suppose that the changes of plumage in the other two species 

 (if these are distinct) will be very similar to those which we can 

 prove to exist in the two which we know fully. 



In this group the most conspicuous differences between the 

 winter and summer plumages seem to be that, in the winter 

 plumage there is a long conspicuous supercilium, and the throat 

 and breast are white or creamy or buffy, the breast being often 

 feebly marked with very narrow irregular, continually almost 

 obsolete, black strise, while in the breeding plumage there is no 

 supercilium, and the throat and upper breast are pure black. 

 There are many other co-ordinated differences, some of which 

 I shall notice in dealing with the separate species. 



Atrogularis in full breeding plumage has the upper mandible 

 nearly black, the lower brownish pink ; no supercilium ; lores 

 blackish dusky ; cbiu and throat and upper breast pure black ; a 



