320 BIRDS OF TENASSERIM/ 



local races, all that has happened in cinereiventris and chalcoce- 

 plialus seems to be that, for some reason, the skin has in places 

 (cinereiventris) or wholly (chalcocephalus) ceased to secrete the 

 yellow pigment. 



457 quint,— Ixidia cyaniventris, Blyth. (1). 



Malewoon. 



A very rare straggler to the extreme sonthof the province. 

 [Though such an extremely rare bird in Tenasserim it is not 

 very uncommon in the Malayan Peninsula, where I have shot 

 several, but my opportunities of observing them have not been 

 great. I usually found them singly or in pairs, about the out- 

 skirts of the forest, along forest paths, and in old clearings. 

 They live, so far as I have observed, entirely upon small berries 

 of various sorts. They are rather shy, and on being alarmed 

 beat _ a hasty retreat to the forest or other dense cover. Their 

 note is like that of Brachypodius, a sharp lively chirrup. — W. D.] 



We only obtained a single specimen of this species in Tenas- 

 serim, and this at the extreme south of the province. 



The following are dimensions and colors of the soft parts 

 recorded in the flesh from a series obtained in the Malayan 

 Peninsula : — 



Males. — Length, 6*25 to 6'5 ; expanse, 9-45 to 9-75; tail 

 from vent, 2-55 to 2-7 ; wing, 295 to 3*12 ; tarsus, 0-55 to 

 0-65 ; bill from gape, 0*75 ; weight, 065 to 075 oz. 



Females. — Length, 6*25 to 6-45 ; expanse, 9*25 to 9 - 5 ; tail 

 from vent, 2-25 to 2-5; wing, 2"82 to 2'85 ; tarsus, 0'6; bill 

 from gape, 0'65 ; weight, 0-75 oz. to a little over this. 



Legs and feet very dark plumbeous ; claws horny brown, some- 

 times almost black ; bill black; irides dark brown, dark plum- 

 beous slate, and grey brown. 



The lores black ; the forehead, crown, occiput, nape, entire 

 face, and sides of the neck, chin, throat, breast, and abdomen deep 

 slaty grey ; wings, back, scapulars, rump and upper tail-coverts 

 golden olive, yellowest and . purest on the wings ; inner webs 

 of primaries and secondaries, as also the outer webs of the first 

 two primaries, and of the next four below the emarginations, 

 deep blackish brown ; edge of wing bright yellow ; axillaries, 

 wing-lining, and inner margins of inner webs of quills, pure 

 white ; feathers about the vent nearly pure white ; central line 

 of lower abdomen a little albescent ; lower tail-coverts intensely 

 brightyellow ; tail feathers deep hair brown, suffused on their outer 

 webs, except just towards the tips, with the color of the back. 



Some specimens have the grey almost uniform ; in some it is 

 decidedly darker on the cap and paler below. 



In the females, as a rule, the grey is altogether somewhat 

 paler, and the yellow slightly duller. 



