228 BIRDS OF TENASSERIM. 



larger race found in Burmah to be elegans, but assuming elegans 

 to be the species from Borneo and Sumatra described, Ibis, 1872, 

 374, as follows, it is quite clear that the Tenasserim birds 

 are not elegans. 



" Chin, the entire throat, forehead, superciliary stripe, upper 

 tail-coverts, and shoulders of the wiug, bright cobalt blue. 



A patch of pale rufous on the breast; flanks, very dilute rufous ; 

 lower breast, belly and under tail-coverts pure white ; lores 

 and under surface of rectrices black ; remainder of plumage rich 

 indigo blue." 



This is the Marquis of Tweeddale's description of a Bornean 

 specimen, and he assures us, Ibis, 1877, p. 316, that Sumatran 

 specimens (and TemminckV type came from Sumatra) are 

 identical. This does not agree over well with Temminck's des- 

 cription or picture. 



Temminck says : " A bright and brilliant azure blue covers 

 the chin and the cheeks, and extends as a frontal band and 

 in broad eyebrows above the eye, and is exhibited on the 

 shoulder of the wings and the rump ; the rest of the upper 

 parts, wings and tail are indigo blue ; the breast has a 

 golden reddish tint ; the flanks are a very light rufous, and the 

 rest of the lower parts are pure white ; the under surface of 

 the tail, feet, and bill black. Length, about 5*75 English inches, 



It will be observed that the first description gives the chin 

 aud entire throat as bright cobalt blue, not the cheeks, while the 

 second description gives the chin and cheeks, and not the throat. 

 as brilliant azure. 



Under any circumstances, however, though some of our 

 Tenasserim specimens are brighter than Indian ones, and though 

 the wings in some of them run to over 3*1 against 2*9, a maxi- 

 mum according to my experience for Indian specimens, it is 

 quite clear that our Tenasserim birds cannot properly be ideuti- 

 iied with elegans — a species which, accepting Lord Tweeddale's 

 description, we have from near Malacca. 



Not only do the males differ as above indicated, but the 

 females are of a much warmer olivaceous tint than the Indian 

 ones, and generally, though not universally, both sexes seem to 

 have larger bills. 



The amount of rufous on the throat is also greatly in excess 

 of what is observable in Indian specimens. 



In Indian specimens in about one in every twenty adult males 

 the rufous of the breast is continued upwards as a narrow stripe 

 towards, and in rare instances quite to, the chin. 



In the Tenasserim birds this stripe exists in twelve out of 

 fifteen adult males. In several specimens the stripe is broad, 

 and in one the entire chin and throat are concolorous with 

 the breast. 



