426 Letters to the Editor. 



On the forenoon of the 4th July approaching- Dung-agally^ 

 within about a quarter of a mile, I noticed a bird emerg-iug- 

 from an oak tree (standing- at the edg-e of the road), and after a 

 short heavy flig-ht, perch in a tree a short distance off. The 

 flig-ht of the bird was that of a Megalama, and having- only a 

 short time ago seen Mandelli^s specimen of Indicator ,-\ it did 

 not take me long- to recog-nize the strang-e customer gazing at 

 me. Several minutes passed away, until my servant appeared 

 with the gun ; but as the creature had not yet satisfied his 

 curiosity, he paid dearly for it. 



The specimen is a male in full plumage. It almost perfectly 

 agrees with the one described by Mr. Hume at page 314 {vide 

 ante,) except that there is a strong tinge of yellowish green on 

 the top of the head, the whole neck, and upper back^ at the 

 margins of the tertials, and of all the wing coverts, as well as 

 on the throat, and front of the breast. The middle of the hack 

 is pure sulj)hur yellow, but the lower back and rump, extending 

 along the middle of the upper tail coverts, is silky orange. 



The eye is small, the ii-is dark brown, the naked space 

 round the eye, a very pale green. Bill yellow, somewhat dusky 

 towards the tip. At the base of both the upper and lower 

 mandibles, as well as on the chin, there are black bristles, 

 but none exist above the nostrils^ which are large, triangular, 

 and swollen. I^eet, pale greenish horny. The total length is a 

 little above 6 inches ; the wing, 4 ; bill, at front, 0'31 ; from gape, 

 half an inch. The tongue is very like that of a Megalmna, on a 

 small scale, depressed ly lanceolate, posteriorly, arrow-shaped, 

 provided in the fork with soime short denticles ; it is not exten- 

 sile, thus differing entirely from that of a wood-pecker. The 

 stomach had a tolerably thick muscular coat. It contained six 

 specimens of a predatory wasp, which is very commonly seen 

 about low bushes, and a small quantity of green vegetable 

 matter. No cseca were observed. 



The sternum is in general form almost identical with that of 

 Indicator minor, figured by Sclaterinthe "Ibis" for 1870, p. 178, 

 except that the two posterior processes are not united at the end, 

 remaining separate as in Megalama, and other Capitonidm. Further, 

 the keel is moderately elevated in front, but after a short distance 

 rapidly diminishes in height, and becomes almost obsolete before 

 it reaches the end of the sternum. The clavicle on the other 

 hand, although very thin, is ossified up to very near the front 

 edge of the keel, at any rate slightly moi\e so than in Megalcema 

 virens. 



. * 18 miles North by East from Murree. 

 t Comp. " Stray Feathers," vol. I., p. 373. 



