468 BIRDS OF TENASSERIM. 



In this species, unlike the nearly affined zeyloniea, in which 

 they differ, the sexes appear to be alike in plumage. 



Chin, throat, and upper part of foreneck and lores rather 

 pale rufescent ; forehead and the whole of the top and back of 

 the head, nape, and base of the neck all round, and breast, 

 bright, somewhat ferruginous chestnut ; abdomen, vent, lower 

 tail-coverts, wing lining, sides of the body and flanks white, 

 broadly barred with black; only the lower tail-coverts are 

 often overlaid with a brownish chestnut tinge; back, scapulars, 

 rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail feathers deep ferruginous, 

 with an olivaceous tinge ; wings brown, barred with white, but all 

 the feathers nearest the body more or less suffused with the 

 color of the back, and some of the outer shorter scapulars 

 with imperfect black and ferruginous white bands on their 

 outer webs. 



913.— Hypotsenidia striata, Lin. (2). 



{Tonghoo, Rams.) Attaran E. ; Tavoy. 



Sparingly distributed in the more level and open tracts of the 

 central and northern portions of the province, confining itself 

 as elsewhere to cover in the vicinity of cultivation. 



Ramsay remarks "Jerdon's description of the soft parts does 

 not tally with mine." He says : " Bill yellowish green ; irides 

 red ; legs dull green," but all the blue-breasted Rails that I 

 have examined in Burmah have had the bill bright plum colour ; 

 the irides red brown ; and the legs dirty buff." The colours 

 of the soft parts, however, in both this species and the nearly 

 affined H. obscuriora of the Andamans are excessively vari- 

 able according to age and season. I have by me here in the 

 jungle unfortunately notes of the colours of the soft parts of 

 only two specimens, viz.: — 



Female. — Kotagherry (Nilgheris), 15-3-75. Legs and feet 

 olive green ; bill brown. 



Male. — Syriam (near Rangoon) 16-2-76. Legs and feet 

 plumbeous green ; upper mandible dusky brown, except gape 

 where it is orange ; lower mandible orange, shading into 

 brown for its terminal third ; irides light yellowish brown." It 

 will be seen how these differ both from Ramsay's and Jerdon's 

 descriptions. It is quite a case of the Chameliou. 



915.— Leptoptilus argala, * Lath, (1). 



{Tonghoo, Earn?.) Thatone. 



* I can discover no valid grounds for rejecting Latham's name ; he most clearly 

 describes the Indian birds, and though he does not seem to have been aware that the 

 African species was distinct, his name clearly founded on Indian specimens and 

 drawings, cannot thereby be in any way vitiated. 



