REMARKS ON THE GENUS IORA. f 435 



Central India to Ceylon are inseparable alike as regards colour 

 and size. 



I must premise that females killed at the same season must 

 be compared, and several from each locality. 



Although the rule is by uo means absolute, the females, as a 

 body, have everywhere I believe, certainly throughout India, 

 Burmah, and the Malay Peninsular, a tendency to assume a some- 

 what brighter plumage during the spring and summer than they 

 exhibit in the winter. The green of the upper surface is 

 generally a shade brighter; the yellow of the chin, throat and 

 breast is often decidedly brighter. 



Even when killed in the same locality on the same date, 

 females often differ diglitly in tint, both above and below; and in 

 all localities throughout India, Burmah and the Malay Peninsular, 

 some females are met with in the winter as bright as the 

 majority in the summer, and some are found in the latter 

 season still comparatively dull. No doubt, between the greenest 

 and yellowest, the brightest and the dullest, the difference 

 is never great ; but still if one happens to hit upon a compara- 

 tively very greeu one from one locality, aud a very yellow 

 one from another, or a very dull one from one place, and a 

 bright one from another, it is easy to mistake differences 

 which are really merely seasonal or individual, for local 

 variation. 



As regards size again, this, within certain limits, varies a 

 good deal in the individual ; but not, it seems to me, according 

 to locality. 



At first sight the weak point in my position appears to be 

 that, out of over 100 females from different localities, critically 

 examined and measured by me for the purposes of this paper, 

 only 2 are Javan, 1 Boruean and 2 Sumatran ; but this does not 

 really in any way vitiate my argument. I cannot, indeed, 

 match all my southern and northern Indian, Burmese and 

 Malay females out of my five insular examples, but I can match 

 every one of these latter amongst my specimens from all the 

 former localities, and the dimensions of all these five specimens 

 fall within those of specimens from these said localities. 



The Marquis of Tweeddale says : — 



" Javan /. scapnlaris ? is certainly not separable from 

 J. tip/iia$ ; tbe bill, however, is shorter." 



The bill doubtless was so in this particular specimen that 

 he compared. It may even average so, but in my two specimens, 

 the bills, carefully measured with an ivory rule from point 

 to frontal bone, are 69 and 063. In four Calcutta, and five 

 Commilla, females, all of which I presume may be accepted as 

 typical tiphia, the bills are 07; 065 ; 07 ; 68; 07 ; 0*71 ; 



b 6 



