BIRDS OF UPPER PEGU. 53 



Again, in the Himalayan birds there is no white margin to 

 the yellow patch at the centre of the base of the throat. Laterally, 

 this exists in all specimens ; but not at the centre of the throat. 

 In the Thayetmyo specimens it is very conspicuous on the centre 

 of the throat. Then, again, in the Himalayan birds, on the sides 

 of the head behind the black ear-coverts there is always a broad 

 yellow band, often tipped with satiny white ; in the Thayetmyo 

 birds this is very inconspicuous. There is a very decided blue 

 tinge in the back of the Thayetmyo male, not to be found in 

 any of our sub-Himalayan birds. 



I do not know whether these differences are constant, but I 

 think it well to call attention to them. If distinct, I would call 

 it P. assimilis. 



139 bis.— Seriloplms lunatus, Gould. 



This species may be at once distinguished from S. rubropygius, 

 Horsf ., by its much blacker and more strongly-marked supercilium 

 extending to the nape, by the whole front, top and back of the 

 nape, being a very pale grey, tinged with dull yellowish brown, 

 instead of the dark, almost iron grey of rubropygius. 



Mr. Gould remarks of this species : " In some specimens I find 

 no trace of the beautiful lunate mark on the sides of the neck. 

 These I had regarded as females; but as Mr. Blyth states that he 

 believes the mark to be common to both sexes, I presume those 

 without it must be immature birds." Both these surmises are 

 incorrect; the adult male entirely wants the silvery lunate 

 mark on the sides of the neck, as also the continuation of this 

 across the base of the throat, which lunate mark, together with 

 their continuation on the base of the throat, are the characteris- 

 tics of the adult female. I must add here that, judging from a 

 large series that I have examined, Mr. Gould's figure (Birds 

 of Asia, Pt. V) of this species is altogether too brightly colored, 

 especially where the head, nape, rump, and tertiaries are 

 concerned. 



Mr. Oates says : " This is a very common bird on the Pegu Hills, 

 but does not occur in the plains. Judging from dissection of speci- 

 mens obtained in the middle of April, the birds must lay towards 

 the end of this month, or early in May. They are very tame, 

 and perch quite close to one's camp. When I first saw them, I shot 

 six in a veiy short time at single shots ; the survivors either flew 

 away on to another tree quite close by, or after a short flight 

 returned to the same tree. I can quite believe Dr. Heifer's state- 

 ment as to their extreme fearlessness. The contents of their 

 stomachs were principally grasshoppers ; they pick up their food, 

 and I never saw them chasing insects on the wing. They are 

 very silent birds. Of the birds I examined, only two had the 

 shining white collar, and they were both females. The females 



