000 



0EI0LUS MELANOCEPHALUS. 



the wing." Now the alleged differences between Linnrcus's and Bonaparte's species lie in the sinallness of the 

 wing-bar and the scanty amount of yellow on the tertials of the latter, characters which in reality, by virtue of 

 Edwards's plate, apply to the former (0. melanocephalus). If, therefore, there be two races of this Oriole which 

 deserve subspecific rank, it is the northern bird, which must be separated from the southern and receive a name, 

 which I would propose as 0. himalayanus*, because the birds from that region principally, as I shall presently 

 show, exhibit the characteristic on which they could alone be specifically separated. 

 As much has been written for and against the characters which have been held to separate the northern and southern 

 races of this Oriole, I have carefully examined the whole series in the British Museum, and give here a Table of 

 the results of my examination. The specific names are those used on the labels of the specimens from the localities 

 named. 



e. 



/■ 



I'- 

 ll . 



i. 

 /'. 



I. 



Oriolus melanocephalus. N.W. Himalayas . 



i) „ Nepal 



„ N.AV. Himalayas . 



„ Nepal 



„ Nepal 



Pegu 



„ ,, Kamptee 



„ „ Madras 



„ Madras 



„ Madras 



„ „ Travancore 



„ Tenasserim 



„ „ Behar 



„ Behar 



Oriolus ceylonensis. Nuwara Elliya 



,, „ Nuwara Elliya 



Galle 



,, „ Nuwara Elliya 



Ving. 



Bill to gape. 



Wing-spot 

 (broad). 



Coloration of outer 

 web of innermost 

 exposed secondary. 



in. 



5-6 



in. 



1-32 



in. 



0-7 



Entirely yellow. 



5-45 



1-35 



0-65 



n 



11 



5-4 



1-45 



0-45 



11 



71 



5-65 



1-3 



0-7 



17 



11 



5-7 



1-3 



0-62 



11 



T> 



5-4 



broken 



0-7 



11 



11 



5-12 



1-35 



0-4 



Large s 



pot at tip 



5-1 



1-3 



0-55 



n 



ii 



5-2 



1-25 



0-45 



»» 



ii 



5-4 



1-3 



0-5 



11 



?i 



5-61 



1-35 



0*75 



77 



ii 



5-2 



1-28 



0-4 



H 



ii 



5-4 



1-3 



0-4 



)1 



71 



5-5 



1-3 



0*6 



11 



1* 



5-1 



1-32 



0-3 



17 



11 



4-S 



1-2 



0-3 



V 



71 



5-2 



1-25 



0-5 



'1 



11 



5-0 



1-25 



0-5 







Examples .</ to o are not to be separated from the four last Ceylonese specimens ; the size of the spot at the tip of the 

 outer web of the innermost secondary, as well as the extent of yellow at the termination of the adjacent feathers, 

 varies in each, but it is no larger in the South-Indian than in the Ceylonese series ; it will also be seen that no 

 dependence can bo placed on the width of the wing-spot formed by the yellow tips of the primary-coverts, the 

 Travancore specimen having it as wide as any Himalayan, although it must be acknowledged that it is larger as 

 a rule in the northern form than in the southern. There is, however, a constant difference in the coloration of 

 the long, exposed Inner secondary of the Himalayan bird, which is very remarkable when seen in a series laid side 

 by side with another from the various localities indicated in the above table ; so that in the birds from the region 

 above mentioned, in addition to the secondaries having more yellow at the tips than others, there is the fact that 

 the feather in question has always (as far as I can judge from the series examined) the entire web yellow, while 

 others (the true >>. melanocephalus) have merely a large spot at the tip of the outer web. In most families of 

 birds it would amount to an absurdity to base a separation of two species on the coloration of a single feather; 

 but in the Orioles, which depend so much on the distribution of the yellow for their specific rank, it may not seem 

 an unnatural poiut to lay stress upon. As long as the distinction which I have pointed out is found to hold good, 

 1 see no reason why the Himalayan and Pegu form should not stand as a subspecies or local race of the Indian. 



Distribution. — This Oriole is a very common bird in Ceylon, being found throughout the entire low 

 country and the hills, ranging up to an altitude not unfrequcntly of 6000 feet. It has, indeed, on several 

 occasions been found at Nuwara Elliya ; and in Uva, where it is very common, it often occurs at 5000 feet. 

 In the north it is numerous, inhabiting the island of Manaar and those adjacent to Jaffna, as well as the 

 extreme north of the mainland; and in the dry forests of the north-central district, in the Seven Koralcs, 

 and iutcrior of the Eastern Province it is likewise common. In the west and south it is chiefly found in 



* Oriolus in lanocephalus, Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 215 (nee Linn.). 



