BIRDS OF TENASSERIM. 181 



hang about the trees on whose nectav they were feeding", but 

 suddenly emerging from the surrounding deep forest, in which 

 it was quite impossible to see or find them, would appear about 

 one of the blossoming trees, hover about it for a few seconds, and 

 then dart away. This was in February, and on dissection they 

 exhibited no signs of breeding. — W. D.] 



The following are the dimensions, &c, of five adult males : — ■ 



Length, 5'6 to 5'8 ; expanse, 6'6 to 7*0 ; tail, from vent, 

 2-55 to 275; wing, 211 to 2'28 ; tarsus, 0'55 ; bill from gape, 

 07 ; weight, 0-25 oz. 



The legs and feet dark horny brown ; bill dusky black ; irides 

 deep brown. In a younger male, whose plumage I shall describe 

 presently, the lower mandible was a very dark brown. 



The lores and a narrow oval patch occupying the greater 

 portion of the chin non-metallic black ; the rest of the chin 

 and throat metallic puce color ; cheeks and ear-coverts dark 

 hair brown, a little tinged sanguineous under the eye, and the 

 longest ear-coverts tipped with the same color as the throat ; 

 forehead, crown, occiput, metallic puce, like the throat, bluer in 

 some lights, purpler in others; scapulars, back, nape, sides of 

 the neck, a stripe on the sides of the head running over the 

 eye almost to its anterior angle, and another stripe dividing 

 the ear-coverts and posterior portion of the cheeks from the 

 metallic throat patch, a deep blood red ; entire breast crimson 

 scarlet; upper abdomen the same, a little mingled with bright 

 yellow ; middle abdomen bright yellow ; lower abdomen, vent, 

 and lower tail-coverts, successively paler, and a little pencilled 

 with olive; rump intense yellow ; upper tail-coverts and broad 

 margins, in fact nearly the whole webs, of the basal three- 

 fourths of the central tail feathers, and the extreme margins of 

 the next two or three feathers towards their bases, steel blue ; 

 rest of tail deep hair brown, almost black; the three outer 

 feathers on each side more or less tipped with sordid white ; a 

 trace of the same on the fourth ; wing-lining and axillaries 

 and margins of inner webs of quills towards their bases, pure 

 white ; a few of the axillaries, and the feathers just under 

 the carpal joint, with the faintest possible yellow tinge; sides 

 and flanks and sides of the rump deep grey brown ; the feathers 

 fringed broadly with yellow or slightly olivaceous yellow 

 towards their tips ; there is a small puce-colored metallic spot 

 on the breast, on either side, just at the base of the neck. 

 The wings are deep hair brown ; the quills and their greater 

 coverts margined with yellowish olive, and the rest of the 

 coverts more or less margined, or in some cases completely over- 

 laid, with the color of the back. 



In a younger male the metallic portion of the chin and 

 throat are replaced by pale dull greyish yellowish white feathers. 



