240 BIRDS OF TENASSERIM. 



in life; these feathers are generally, but not always, extremely 

 narrowly fringed at the tips with greyish brown. A broad black 

 half collar encircles the back and sides of the neck, and im- 

 mediately below this the plumage of the bird is a bright smalt 

 blue, changing gradually into the rich cobalt of the back, rump, 

 scapulars, and upper tail-coverts. Most of the coverts, tertiaries 

 and all but the basal portions of the outer webs of the secon- 

 daries and the tail-feathers, a rather duller cobalt blue, the lat- 

 ter, however, fringed brighter at the margins. The winglet, pri- 

 mary greater coverts, primaries, except just at the tips which are 

 bluish, inner Webs of all the secondaries and their outer webs 

 for a short space below the coverts, deep blackish brown ; sides of 

 the neck in front very pale brownish fulvescent, most of the 

 feathers just perceptibly margined darker at the tips, so as to 

 give here also a scaly appearance, entirely wanting on the chin 

 and middle of the throat ; the breast and upper abdomen pale 

 fulvous, a little pencilled and shaded with olive grey. Lower 

 abdomen clear fulvous; vent feathers creamy; lower tail-coverts 

 slightly greenish white. In some specimens the black bases 

 of the feathers show through just at the base of the throat and 

 produce the effect of an imperfect collar there. 



The female has a comparatively narrow frontal band, and 

 a broad stripe over the eye backwards to the nape, a somewhat 

 pale glaucous grey brown. 



The whole of the rest of the forehead, crown, occiput and 

 elongated occipital feathers, greyish, like the streaks on either 

 side, closely barred with black, and more or less tinged with ru- 

 fescent. The black spot on the side of the neck, and the black collar, 

 as in the male ; cheeks and sides of the head also much as in the 

 male, but browner; whole interscapulary region behind the black 

 collar, scapulars, most of the lesser and median coverts, and the 

 middle of the back, rich rather brownish chestnut; lower back, dull 

 somewhat greenish blue ; some of the feathers a little fringed with 

 this chestnut. Rump and upper tail-coverts smalt blue ; tail cobalt 

 blue. Primaries and their greater coverts much as in the male, 

 but the tips of the longer primaries a paler slaty grey ; seconda- 

 ries and their greater coverts more or less suffused with chestnut, 

 but tipped blue, or bluish in the later secondaries ; lower parts 

 as in the male, but the feathers of the sides and front of the neck 

 not dark edged, and not therefore presenting the same scaly 

 appearance. 



345 bis.— Pitta moluccensis, P. L. S. Mull. (94). 

 Descr. S. F,, III., 106. 



Moulinein ; Amherst ; Tavoy 5 Shymotee ; Bankasoon ; Malewoon. 



A common seasonal visitant to the whole province. 



