682 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXIII. 



mountains on the extreme North-East and East, and the darkest on 

 the more heavily forested, damper and lower mountains on the 

 South- West. 



The variation in elevation and climate is, however, not nearly so 

 great between these two extremes as it is in most parts of this 

 countiy, so the parallel differences in plumage are also less well- 

 dehned. _ Again, when one sorts out specimens according' to 

 locality, It IS found to be impossible to define to which sub-species 

 anyone locality shall be allotted, and the more specimens one 

 obtains, the more difficult is it to name them. 



For instance, there is the Ruby Mines District from which we 

 have no less thansix so-called species, t.e., rufipes, atlayi, assimiUs 

 elegcms, harincjtom and nishetti. Again, we can narrow down some 

 o± these species m many cases to yet smaller areas. Thus, ruflves 

 and a^%t, both specimens named by Gates himself, were shot by 

 Oaptam Atlay on the same day at the same place, fifteen miles East 

 o± Mogok. From Mogok itself we have specimens of ruiipes 

 atlayi, elegans, and assimiUs, the same from Kyatpin and otiier 

 places. 



Gates has laid considerable stress on the fact that some of his 

 species have red and some of them yellowish horn, or dull greenish 

 horn coloured legs. 



It is necessary, therefore, to examine this point carefully Gur 

 foui: admitted species which bound this area have their le-s 

 coloured, thus : liorsfiddi, dark coloured legs with no tinge of red ""a 

 colour which is retained in the legs of its sub-species ^villiams^ 

 and. cumeri. Lineatus also has dark legs, as has its sub-species oatesi, 

 but when we examine the sub-species lineatus sharpei, we find that 

 though It has not red legs its legs are described by field naturalists 

 as yellowish horn or light horn. Thus it would appear as if some 

 climatic influence were already at work turning the colour of the 

 legs to a lighter and brighter hue. The two species ivhiteheadi and 

 nydhemerus both have brilliant red legs, and, as we should expect 

 the sub-species nearest to them, rnfijoes, heli and annamensis have also 

 red legs. 



Why then should elegans and massimilis have yellow legs ? The 

 reason I believe is merely this, that the colour is due to a' throw 

 back to the original type /.ors^Mr, or is due to direct hybridization 

 with this_ bird, although the cross may not be a recent one or 

 apparent m other ways. 



Gf atlayi there are six specimens in the British Museum Collec- 

 tion, al of which have yellow legs and four of which are in general 

 colouration very dark birds. All these specimens of atlayi are from 

 Mogok and Khaben, the most Western portion of the range of 



Zfr^ ^""^.^r^t '^'.^^^'^ ^^^^-'^f^^'^ ^°«* liable to hybridization 

 with, horsMdi wdhamsi. Moreover, Mogok is close to the valley 



