THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA, BURMA AND CEYLON. 551 



coloured and one bird has also some normal feathers, on the upper 

 plumage, which are new shewing that it would probably have 

 moulted into the ordinary plumage. 



There is one specimen with pale feet and bill, probably therefore 

 a permanent pale type, but the colour of the irides is not mentioned 

 on the ticket. 



In addition to the above specimens there is one which has part 

 of its plumage dark and part pure white ; even this, however, is not 

 true albinoism as the bill is dark as well as the feet and the white 

 plumage is most probably due merely to some injury. 



In the possession of the Bombay Natural History Society there 

 are three more of these pale snipe but one of them has numerous 

 feathers on the back and scapulars with normal coloured patches 

 upon them and the tail also is practically normally coloured ; this 

 bird, which was obtained by Major Harrington in March 1896 at 

 Meerut, is in full unabraded plumage and it is impossible to say 

 whether it is in course of losing its colouration or commencing to 

 reacquire it. 



A fourth, and far more interesting specimen, is one sent by 

 Mr. N. Z. Nicholas from Scind. In general plumage this is the 

 palest bird I have seen but the median and greater wing coverts 

 are normal as are the quills and under-surface of the wings, includ- 

 ing the axillaries. This probably is a specimen which has originally 

 lost its colouring through shock or injury and is now gradually 

 recovering. The feet of this bird are distinctly dark and the beak 

 appears also to have been so in life. 



There is a very beautiful specimen of the Fantail in the Indian 

 Museum, recently presented by Messrs. Manton & Co. and procured 

 in the vicinity of Calcutta, which is of a still more rare form than 

 either the pale or melanistic variety. From this bird every atom 

 of red colouring has been eliminated and the consequence is that 

 the whole plumage consists of various tones and shades of grey, 

 ranging from pure white on the under parts to the deep velvety 

 black of the scapulous. The bird as a whole gives one the impres- 

 sion of being a lovely dark silver grey. 



The cause of this bird's colouration is undoubtedly the exhaustion 

 of the rufous colouring pigment. The question of pigmentation as 



