356 OKIOLUS DIFFUSUS. 



yellow, brightest on the upper tail-coverts ; in front of the eye a small black spot ; outer webs of greater coverts 

 clear yellow, the parts of the wing which are black in the adult dark brown ; sides of neck yellower than the 

 back part ; throat, chest, and breast whitish, tinged strongly with yellow on the sides of the breast, flanks, and 

 under tail-coverts, and streaked on the fore neck and under surface of body with blackish lines, finest on the 

 fore neck, and boldest on the breast and flanks. 



06*. Mr. Sharpe has given this species the above title, although it has generally been known by that of indicus, as it 

 appears that the name given by Brissou is not admissible, inasmuch as it related to a bird which had blue in its 

 plumage, a character not to be found in any Oriole. As it is found in China it is more widely diffused than any 

 other Black-naped Oriole, and hence Mr. Sharpe's name for it. Liuiuvus's name chinensis is said to be referable 

 to the Philippine bird. Examples from China differ somewhat from Indian ones in having a " slightly larger 

 bill, a somewhat larger wing-spot, and decidedly more yellow on the tertiaries " than the latter ; but Mr. Hume, 

 whose remarks I quote, finds Tenasserim specimens to match both Chinese and Southern-Indian, thus establishing 

 an unbroken chain. 



The Black-naped Orioles form a closely allied and very interesting group. 0. tenuirostris from Buruiah, as its name 

 implies, has a slenderer bill and has more yellow on the primary-coverts and tail than 0. diffusus. 0. andamanensis 

 from the Andamans and 0. frontalis (a splendid species) from the Sola Islands are chiefly distinguished by their 

 black, almost unmarked wings ; and the latter has the head nearly all black, with only a narrow frontal band of 

 yellow. 



0. macrurus, Blyth, from the Nicobars is another black-winged species of Black-naped Oriole with a broader occipital 

 band than 0. andamanensis. 



Distribution. — The present species has proved to be only a straggler to the island of Ceylon, but two 

 specimens of it having been procured as yet. Layard, who introduced this Oriole into our lists, writes of it 

 (/. c.) : — " A single pair of these birds fell under my notice ; they were shot by a native at the back of the 

 Bishop's residence near Colombo." It enjoys a wide range, and no doubt is much in the habit of moving from 

 place to place, so that it may occur again at some future period within our limits. 



Jerdon remarks that it is spread more or less throughout India, but is rare everywhere ; he procured it in 

 the Malabar jungles. Mr. Elliott found it at Dhanvar, and it occurs near Calcutta; it is, however, as Jerdon 

 says, much more common in the countries to the east of the Bay of Bengal, extending southwards into the 

 peninsula of Malacca as low down as Pinang. Mr. Ilumc records it from Tenasserim, in which province 

 Mr. Davison procured it south of Moulmcin. It is spread eastward from Burmah as far as China, where 

 Swinhoe remarks of it as follows : — " Throughout China, and Formosa in summer. Resorts in winter to 

 Cochin-China, Tenasserim, and India." It would appear from this that it is merely a visitant to India, a 

 facl which would well explain its being a casual straggler to the shores of Ceylon. As it is a summer inha- 

 bitant of China, it probably breeds there, and that country may be considered to be its proper headquarters. 



Habits. — But little is recorded concerning the habits of this Oriole. It appears in India to frequent forest- 

 districts, and to keep more to jungle than most other species of its family. It is evidently a bold bird, and 

 well able to hold its own in the forests. Mr. Swinhoe, in writing on the ornithology of Formosa in 1865, gives 

 the following account of its prowess : — " Walking along the avenue this morning, my attention was attracted by 

 a Halcyon's scream, and two birds, one chasing the other, dashed through the thicket. The first bird I was 

 not quick enough to catch sight of. The pursuing bird was an Oriole (Orio/us chinensis). The Oriole discon- 

 tinued the chase, and, perching on a tree not far from me, began to whistle its absurd attempt at a song, as 

 if glorying in the defeat of its enemy. It was a mature bird, and looked very showy in the sunlight." The 

 diet of this species is probably of a mixed nature, as is the case with many of its congeners, who are both 

 insectivorous and frugivorous. 



1 know nothing of its nidification. 



