370 BIEDS OCCURRING IN INDIA NOT DESCRIBED 



the tip with pale yellowish ; the upper baek and wing-coverts 

 dark green, with an ochreous tinge, the former narrowly centred 

 and the latter finely tipped with yellowish white; the quills 

 brown ; the edge of the inner web and exterior edge of the pri- 

 maries cream colour ; the rest of the upper plumage rich green ; 

 entire throat and breast dark brown, shading into a light blue 

 green on the abdomen; the feathers of the breast indistinctly 

 centred with paler brown ; tail underneath greenish blue ; bill pale 

 brown, with an orange tinge ; rictal bristles strongly deve- 

 loped ; the feathers of the forehead and chin stiff-shafted, and 

 terminating in bristles; naked skin of the cheek yellow; 

 legs and feet dull yellow ; iris brown. Length about 9"5 ; 

 wing, 4'5 ; tail rather less than 3 inches. 



This Barbet is the Ceylonese representative of the green 

 group which forms such a well-marked sub-division of the 

 genus Megalama. It is most nearly allied to M . caniceps of 

 Continental India, and has been frequently united to it ; but as 

 a peculiar local distribution is accompanied by a permanent 

 difference in size and depth of colouring, we retain both as 

 good species in the same way as we have retained the Hima- 

 layan and Javan species of Lineated Barbet as distinct. It may 

 be distinguished from M. caniceps by the dark brown instead of the 

 pale earthy brown head ; the generally darker colouring of the 

 neck, throat and breast and the smaller dimensions. In M. cani- 

 ceps, too, the upper back is gi-eyish brown, while in M. zeylonica 

 it is green. From Lord Walden's new species, M. inornata, it is 

 distinguished by the pale streaks on the breast which are want- 

 ing in M. inornata, and also by the dark colouring, the latter 

 species being of the two most similar to M. caniceps. — Marshall's 

 " Capitonida." 



196 ter.— -Megalsema flavifrons, Guv. 



Forehead and a spot at the base of the lower mandible bright 

 golden yellow ; head and sides of the neck bright green ; the 

 shafts of the feathers yellowish white, giving a striped appear- 

 ance ; the rest of the upper parts of the body bright grass 

 green, bluish on the wing-coverts ; the upper tail-coverts 

 obscurely margined with brighter green; quills brown, yellow at 

 the base of the inner web ; the outer web, especially of the secon- 

 daries, broadly margined with grass green ; tail deep green 

 above, bluish beneath ; ear-coverts, eyebrow, and throat bright 

 verditer blue ; rest of the under surface of the body bright 

 green, lighter on the breast, the feathers of which are transversely 



