Genus IRENA. 

 Characters the same as those of the subfamily, of which it is the only genus. 



IEENA PUELLA. 



(THE FAIRY BLUEBIRD.) 



Coracias puella, Latham, Ind. Orn. i. p. 171 (1790). 



Irena paella (L.), M'Clell. P. Z. S. 1839, p. 160; Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. 

 1839, x. p. 262; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 214 (1849, in pt.) ; Layard & 

 Kelaart, Cat. B. Prodromus, App. p. 58 (1853); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 

 1854, xiii. p. 130; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 273 (1854); Jerdon, 

 B. of Ind. ii. p. 105 (1863) ; Walden, Ibis, 1871, p. 170 ; Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, 

 p. 452; Ball, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 71; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 298 (1874); 

 id. St. Feath. 1874, p. 226, et 1875, pp. 130, 325 ; Armstrong, ibid. 1876, p. 326 ; 

 Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 268 (1877) ; Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1877, p. 406 ; Hume & Davison, 

 ibid. 1878, p. 328. 



Irena indiea, A. Hay, J. A. S. B. 1846, xv. p. 170. 



Irena, sp.1, Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 124 (1852). 



The Fairy Boiler, Latham. Nil rajah kundla ?, Sinhalese. 



A>l nit nude and female (Andamans). Wing 5-0 inches ; tail 3-85 to 4-2 ; tarsus 07 to 0-75 ; rnid toe 0-6, claw 

 t straight) 0-27 ; bill to gape 1*15 ; under tail-coverts falling short of the tip of the tail by 1-5. 



.\,!„U male (Ceylon, Poole collection). Wing 5-0 inches ; tail 4-0. 



Dr. Armstrong gives the measurements of Burmese examples in the flesh as : — Length 9-75 to 103 inches ; wing 4-^ 

 to 5-2; tail 3'75 to 425 ; tarsus 0-78 to 0-85; bill to gape 1-1 to 1-2. 



■ Iris light reddish brown, in a female deep red ; bill, legs, feet, and claws black" (Armstrong). 



M<il,-. Top of the head to withiu one eighth of an inch of the culmen and the eyes, nape, back of neck, entire back, 

 upper and under tail-coverts, sides of the rump, scapulars, lesser wing-coverts, and tips of the greater coverts 

 glistening lazuliue blue, mostly pervaded with a purplish hue, except on the head ; rest of the plumage deep 

 black, less intense on the wings and tail ; the inner webs of the quills brownish black. At each side of the nape 

 there are several lengthened hairs. 



Female. Above and beneath a dull greenish or Prussian blue, brightening on the upper and under tail-coverts; the 

 tips of the feathers are brighter than the central portions ; the shafts of the feathers blackish ; primaries, 

 secondaries, and greater coverts blackish brown, the primaries edged with blue, and the inner secondaries washed 

 with the same ; central tail-feathers blue, and the remainder blackish brown, the innermost edged outwardly with 

 blue ; lores blackish, the ear-coverts duskier than the surrounding parts. 



Obs. Layard's Ceylonese specimen corresponds entirely with an Andaman example in my collection, and the latter is 

 identical with Indian ones. The Malaccan form (/. cyanea) differs from the Indian solely in the shorter tail, but 

 equally long upper and under tail-coverts, causing a diminution of the distance between the tips of the coverts 

 and those of the rectrices. /. cyanea measures in the tail 3-5 inches, and the upper tail-coverts fall short of its tip 

 by about 09 inch, while the lower approach to within less than half an inch of it. The race inhabiting the more 

 southerly region comprised of Labuan, Borneo, and Sumatra has the tail shorter still, about 3 - 2 inches, and the 



