460 Ach'een. 



silent at the report of the gun, and disappeared in a most 

 miraculous manner/' 



690 &is.— Oalornis insidiator, Raffles, 



The Sumatran bird is, as Lord Walden says of the Bornean 

 bird, [Ibis, 1872, p. 381) precisely identical with Malaccan and 

 Singaporean specimens, and therefore there is no doubt that all 

 these should stand as insidiator, Raffles, unless the Javan bird 

 proves identical, in which case Horsfield's name chalyhea would 

 stand. The following are the dimensions of a female recorded in 

 the flesh : 



Length, 8-5 ; expanse, 13 ; wing, 4 ; tail, from vent, 3 ; bill, 

 legs, and feet, black ; irides, carmine. 



As I have elsewhere noticed, the Nicobar and Andaman birds 

 are quite distinct, alike from this species and from the other 

 species, commonly considered to be affinis, Hay, from Tipperah 

 and Dacca. Mr. Davison remarks — 



" Apparently not common, occurs in small parties and keeps 

 much to the cocoanut palms and other high trees ; the note ap- 

 pears to be the same as that of the Andaman and Nicobar bird.'' 



Munia maja, Lin, 



According to Gray, this species stands as above. Lord Walden 

 {Ibis, 1871, p. 177) gives the name as maya, and I have no doubt 

 he will tell us in an early number of the Ibis that Gray's spell- 

 ing is an obvious misprint. Where Linnsean names are con- 

 cerned, it is not very clear what does constitute an obvious mis- 

 print ; doubtless the specific name of the common Indian Dial 

 bird saularis is an obvious misprint for Solaris. For the present 

 I propose to retain Mr. Gray's spelling of the name as above 

 given. Raffles's original description of this species runs as follows : 



" About the size of mimia malacca, of a reddish brown, or 

 chestnut coloi', growing darker towards the tail, and becoming 

 almost black upon the abdomen. Head and neck, almost white ; 

 bill, bluish ; legs, black." 



A young bird shot at Acheen is a nearly uniform, leather pale, 

 somewhat rufescent, brown above -, the quills and tail feathers, 

 except on the outer margins, hair brown ; the whole lower surface, 

 fawn color, paler on the chin and thi-oat ; the bill, legs, and feet 

 were pale leaden blue ; the irides, brown. It measured, length, 

 4-75 ,• expanse, 6-82 ; wing, 2-12 ; tail, 1-6 ; tarsus, 0-55 ; bill, 

 from gape, 0"45. Mr. Davison remarks : 



" This little bird was not very numerous : those I observed 

 kept to the paddy flats, they occurred in small flocks. In habits 

 they resembled munia striata, &c." 



