On Phmnicopliaiis Tyrfliodphalm. 347 



distinguish the tail^ I took it for a hombrel, Toccus gingalensis 

 of which there were numbers in the vicinity. I was, however, 

 soon undeceived by seeing the brilliant crimson face contrasting 

 with the brown leaves on which my prize had fallen, and think- 

 ing its mate was not far oflP, I remained perfectly still, and in 

 another moment I heard a low " kaa," resembling one of the 

 notes of our jay at home, and saw the second bird flying from 

 limb to limb of the great forest trees around me, looking for its 

 fallen companion, on alighting each time it uttered its low call 

 and elevated its tail. It presently flew into the tree under which 

 I stood and fell to my shot. The first killed bird, the male, 

 was the smaller of the two and had the iris deep clear Irown, the 

 \nBt the female, hsid a, pearl to hite eye I I have digressed from 

 my subject into somewhat of a narrative on the shooting of these 

 birds, simply to shew that they were a pair and evidently mated 

 and consequently both adults. 



In December, 1871, I met with a pair under similar circum- 

 stances, in forest, on the low hills of the south-west, not far 

 from Galle. They were flushed from some low bushes in the 

 jungle and flew, with short flights from tree to tree, one after 

 the other, uttering a much har&her and louder cry than that of 

 the female just alluded to. I procured both birds, the male with 

 dar^ drown iris and the female with a, pure tohite. The sexual 

 organs in the male birds in both instances were well developed, 

 and there was no appearance whatever of immaturity about their 

 plumage. The measurements of the two southern birds were as 

 follows : 



Male — Total length, 17 inches; tail, 9*5 ; wing, 6 ; bill to gape, 

 I'b; tarsus 14; outer anterior toe, nearly 1. 



Female — Total length, 18 inches ; tail, 10*7 ; wing, 6'2 ; 

 tarsus, 15 ; outer anterior toe, 1. 



The tail of the male is imperfect, the bird being in moult, but 

 the longest existing feather is one of the uropygials and is an old 

 feather, and the short outermost feathers are nearly half inch 

 shorter than the corresponding ones in the female. 



The dimensions of the pair shot in the north-east shew the 

 same disparity in size, and are as follows : 



Male — Total length, 17-3 inches; tail, 10; wing, 6 ; tarsus^ 

 1'5 ; outer anterior toe, 1. 



Female — Total length, 18*1 inches ; tail, 11-3 ; wing, 6-3 ; tar- 

 sus, 14. The tail of the male in this case, I regret to say, is imper- 

 fect, but as before noted the longest existing feather is an old one 

 and one of the centre ones. Taking these circumstances into consi- 

 deration together with the difference in the wing, it appears very 

 apparent that the female is the larger bird of the two, but until 



