204 SOME REMARKS ON THE INDIAN SPECIES 



numerous lovely specimens of this little species, males and 

 females, old aud young. 



The following- are the dimensions recorded in the flesh of an 

 old male in perfect plumage : — 



L., 8-12 ; E., 13-0 ; T., 3'55 ; W., 4-1 ; Ts., 0.76 ; B.f.g., 0-85. 



The lores are blackish dusky ; the cheeks and eai'-coverts 

 are blackish slaty ; the entire upper surface of the bird, includ- 

 ing- scapulars and lesser wing-coverts, the chin, throat, upper 

 breast and sides of the neck, are of beautiful uniform blue grey, 

 paler than in the palest female melasc/iistus, but darker than 

 the male avensis. The colour is slightly darker on the crown, 

 where as in other species there is a faint indication of darker 

 striation, and it is slightly paler on the rump aud the upper 

 tail-coverts ; the ear-coverts are duskier, but scarcely darker 

 than crown or throat ; the lower-breast and abdomen and the 

 wing lining are the same colour as the rump, becoming paler 

 tow r ards the vent, which, with the lower tail-coverts, are pure 

 white ; the wings, except the lesser-coverts, are black, with a 

 distinct greenish lustre. The median and greater coverts, 

 secondaries and tertiaries, are edged with the colour of the 

 back ; the primaries, except the first four or five, are narrowly 

 margined and conspicuously though narrowly tipped with white ; 

 the tail is black ; the central tail-teathers grey for nearly half 

 their length, margined with paler grey throughout, and tipped 

 with nearly pure white ; the whole of the lateral tail-feathers 

 are broadly tipped with pure white ; the external ones most 

 broadly so to the extent of about half an inch ; the exterior 

 lateral tail-feathers are scarcely - 5 shorter than the central ones, 

 and the penultimate pair are only 02 shorter. 



Two old females, unfortunately not measured in the flesh, are 

 precisely similar, except that the wings, which measure 3*8 and 

 395 respectively, want the slaty aud white edgings and tippings, 

 and also want the grey shade on the tail, while the four central 

 tail-feathers have almost dropped their white tippings. In 

 these two the exterior lateral tail-feathers are 06 and 0*65 

 shorter than the central ones. The male first described is just 

 fresh moulted ; these females must have monlted 4 or 5 months. 



The largest bird I have, an old male, has the wings 4*17 ; this 

 still shews on the coverts and quills traces of the slaty edgings, 

 and the white has not yet worn off the tips of the central tail- 

 feathers ; the shortest tail-feathers are nearly 0*7 shorter than 

 the central ones. A younger bird, sexed a female, but I believe 

 a male, as it is larger than all other females (in which the wings 

 are 3*8, 39, 3"95) measured in the flesh as follows : — 



L., 8-12; E., 12 75; T., 382; W., 4'0; Ts., 0-75; B.f.g., 

 0-82 ; Wgt. ; 1 oz. 



