400 BIRDS OF TENASSERIM. 



third P. megarhynchus, nobis, (described, Ibis, 1869, 356 — 

 S. F., HI., 406.) 



First as to rnegarhynchus ; many years ago I shot the types, 

 both females, near Kaladoongee, below Nynee Tab 



These specimens are still in our museum in splendid order. 

 Nothing in the way of Ploceus, that we have been able to 

 obtain anywhere else in India, comes up to them in size, and 

 they differ from the larger-billed Nepal, Sikim, Eastern Bengal 

 and Burmese species, not only in size but in the darker and 

 more rufescent tone of the entire plumage. In the almost 

 entire absence of striatums on the crown, the much broader 

 and sparser striations of the back, in the entire absence of any 

 rufous or rufescent supercilium, and in the cheeks, and ear- 

 coverts unicolorous with the rest of the sides of the head 

 and nape. 



As regards the larger-billed, larger species of Nepal, Sikim, 

 &c, I am disposed to consider this the true Ploceus bay a, be- 

 cause, as Mr. Blanford has shown, all the specimens in the 

 Indian Museum, catalogued by Blyth as bay a, belong to this 

 species ; and because, though he did not give any description 

 when he assigned the name bay a, he mentioned that bay a was 

 the only species sent from Nepal, and the smaller species does 

 not, as far as I have been able to ascertain, occur either in Sikim 

 or Nepal. 



This larger-billed species differs from the smaller race of 

 Continental India, which, for the present, I am disposed to con- 

 sider the true philippinus , not only in size, but also in the much 

 more rufescent character of its lower plumage, especially of 

 the breast, and it further differs, I am now nearly certain, 

 though this, despite my very large series from innumerable 

 localities from Singapore to Sikim, I am unable to assert posi- 

 tively, in the males not assuming in the breeding plumage, 

 the yellow breast, characteristic of the common species of 

 Continental India. 



The case stands thus : in this latter species, the head and 

 breast simultaneously grow yellow ; in no case have I ever 

 met with a specimen of the Continental species with the entire 

 head yellow, that had not also a great deal of yellow on the 

 breast ; but I have dozens of the larger Eastern species with 

 the entire heads yellow, a few of them shot in May and June, 

 with strongly rufescent breasts, but not a trace of yellow. 

 This would seem to be conclusive, but I have also two speci- 

 mens, which show the one, a single yellow feather, and the 

 other probably half a dozen, so that it is possible that some 

 of the males do acquire a more or less yellow breast, though 

 a great many obviously do not. This is a point that remains 

 to be worked out, but it is clear that if this species never 



