ASSAM, SYLHET AND CACHAR. 297 



They live exclusively on jungle fruit. — J. R. C] 

 It is sparingly distributed in Central and Northern Tenas- 

 serim. It occurs in Pegu in the dense evergreen forest near 

 China Bakir (below Rangoon) , and Gates says that it is 

 generally, though sparsely, distributed throughout that province. 

 Blyth records it from Arakan, and says that it is not uncom- 

 mon on Rarari Island, and I have seen a specimen from 

 Cheduba Island. 



In Western Sylhet I saw a good many of 788. — Columba inter- 

 media, Strickl., but missed it in Eastern Sylhet, and never saw 

 it anywhere in Cachar or Manipur, nor have I any note of 

 its occurrence anywhere in Assam, hills or plains. In 

 Burmah, Blyth says it is as common as in India, but I do not 

 believe it occurs in any part of either Tenasserim or Pegu. 

 It may occur in Arakan, but I have never seen any specimen 

 thence. 



791.^Macropygia tusalia, Hodgs. 



Not observed in the Western hills or the basin, but not 

 uncommon (though very shy) in the higher forests of the Eastern 

 hills. They are very difficult to get and I only shot six, but 

 their loud aggressive call, " Coo-oo, Coo-oo, " &c., was continually 

 heard near Aimole and Matchi, and more rarely further north 

 near Tankool-Hoondoong. 



Jerdon errs in saying that " the female differs in having the 

 forehead and cheeks pale vinaceous yellow, the nape less 

 brightly glossed, the barring (on the upper surface) more 

 developed than in the male and especially on the tail ; in the 



chin being pale buffy ; the crown is likewise 



barred." Every word of this is wrong as applied to the adult 

 female. The adult female is a trifle smaller than the male, 

 but her chin, forehead and cheeks and the entire upper surface 

 are precisely like the males, and all the points of difference 

 above enumerated refer only to the immature female. 



The female really differs in having the entire lower surface, 

 except the chin, middle of upper throat, middle of lower 

 abdomen, vent-feathers and middle of lower tail-coverts, closely 

 barred and in having the purple and green reflections of the 

 breast nearly obsolete in most, and even in the oldest birds 

 much feebler than in the male. 



By some oversight I only measured a single bird, of which 

 the following are the details : — 



Mate, — Length, 160 ; expanse, 22'3 ; tail, 81 ; wing, 7-4.5 ; 

 tarsus, 095 ; bill from gape, 0"97 ; weight, 9ozs. 



38 



