54t) Birds of Celebes: Ploceidae. 



and, when done, his results are likely to cause still more trouble and annoyance 

 to the next worker, who will perhaps supersede them with guesses of his own 

 equally erroneous. The above subdivision of Munin formosana partakes perforce 

 of this arbitrary character, because the writers find that they have not the right, 

 by reason of insufficient material for comparison, to unite several "species" which 

 they believe should be united, but which have such close relations with Celebes 

 that they could not be ignored; the only plan, therefore, was to let them stand 

 as supposed subspecies, though it remains for some one else, who, it is to be 

 hoped, will have an eye for seasonal, individual and age variation as well, to 

 show what geographical differences are prominent and where trinomials may 

 be really well applied, if applied at all. 



Munia hrmineiceps was originally separated by Walden in virtue of its brown 

 head. It was described from Macassar. There are two specimens from here 

 in the Sara sin Collection and these have paler heads than others from N. and 

 C'entral Celebes. One is younger than the other and has the head palest 

 (walnut-brown), and the back more rufous and less purplish. Three more Northern 

 Celebes examples have the head about as dark as in others from Cebu and 

 Negros. Mr. Grant considers that "Jf. hrunneiceps is merely the worn autumn 

 plumage of M. jagori" (Ibis 1896, 554). Mr. Hartert has called the birds of 

 the Natuna Islands hrunneiceps, but afterwards thought them to differ by their 

 much darker heads and more rufous backs (m 2). 



In Celebes the bird is rather common. It is one of the commonest species, 

 as Mr. Whitehead says, in North Borneo, and Dr. Sharpe (ffO) has suggested 

 that it may have been introduced there from Celebes. It appears to us at least 

 as probable that this Weaver-bird is a more recent addition to the Celebes avi- 

 fauna, derived from Borneo, and more originally perhaps from the Indian countries, 

 where M. atricapilla differs in having less black or none at all on the belly. 

 In Labuan, however, the bird seems to have made a recent incursion, and, ac- 

 cording to Mr. Whitehead (y6), it has to a large extent driven away Munia 

 fuscans (Cass.) from the island. 



^226. MUNIA PALLIDA Wall. 

 Lombok White-headed Munia. 



Munia pallida (IJ Wall., P. Z. S. 1863, 486, 495; (2) Platen, Euss and Meyer, Gefied. 

 . Welt 1879, 351 and 361; (3) Sharpe, Cat. B., XTTT, 1890, 346; [4] M. & Wg., 

 Abh. Mus. Dresd. 1896, Nr. 1, p. 13; (5j Hart., Nov. Zool. 1896, 154, 559, 594. 



a. Donacola pallida (IJ Finsch, Neu Gruinea 1865, 175. 



b. Amadina pallida (1) Gray, HL. n, 187n, 54, Nr. 6755; ?(2) Rosenb., Malay. Ai-chip. 



1878, 273. 

 Description. Wallace 1; Sharpe 3. 

 Adult. Head all round, neck and upper breast white, shaded with bro-mi on neck and 



