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had received in exchange, and asking whether the eggs might not belong to 

 those of the latter. In 1902 I took two nests of O.ferrea in the Shan States 

 and was given another clutch of the same, the birds being identified beyond 

 doubt. These nests were taken over 5,000 ft., and, as far as I am aware 

 0. Jerdoni is only found in the plains of Upper Burma and not in the hills, and 

 has totally different nesting habits. At the time I noticed that my eggs did 

 not agree with the description in either the " Fauna of British Tndia " or 

 " Gates and Hume's Nests and Eggs," and drew attention to the fact in the 

 Journal of that year, in which I compared them to the eggs of the English 

 Redstart. The other day I had the opportunity of looking through the 

 Catalogue of Eggs in the British Museum, in which I saw that the eggs of 

 0. ferrea were described as being of two varieties, those from China being a 

 pale blue, and likened to those (I think) of the English Hedge-sparrow, whilst 

 those from India were spotted and of the usual Chat type. Besides the above, 

 I have seen and taken other eggs of 0. ferrea in Burma, and they are all of 

 the same type, being either a pale spotless blue (not green) or the same colour, 

 with a few minute rusty-coloured specks. I think that there is no doubt that 

 the Chinese, Indian and Burmese birds are identical ; therefore the variation in 

 the colour of their eggs can only be due to different local surroundings, and 

 thus give rise to an interesting problem in the colouration of eggs. 



In June 1905, I found a nest of the above, containing four eggs — two on the 

 point of hatching and two quite fresh. Since writing the above, I have received 

 a clutch of 0. ferrea from Mr. Whymper, which are absolutely different to my 

 ■eggs, and one would say belonged to a different species. 



H. H. HARINGTON, 



Captain. 

 Rangoon, 



4th March 1906. 



