IRENA PUELLA. 467 



under tail-coverts are produced in some examples quite to the tip of the tail. It has been named /. criniger by- 

 Mr. Sharpe, on account of the nuchal hairs, which are very prominent. Some Malayan examples of i". cyanea 

 seem to form a link with this Bornean race, for the late Lord Tweeddale instances one in which the lower tail- 

 coverts only fall short of the tips of the rectrices by g inch. The Javan bird has been separated as another species, 

 /. turcosa, by the last-named author, on account of the paler or more silvery tint of the blue colour ; the under 

 tail-coverts likewise reach to the end of the tail. 



Distribution. — The extreme rarity of this species as a Ceylonese bird fosters the belief that it is a 

 visitant to the island from the south of India. It could scarcely be a resident form, as it has very seldom 

 been met with, and during all my wanderings in the timber-forests of the south and west I never saw a 

 sign of it. Layard obtained a specimen near Kandy, which is still extant in the Poole collection, and 

 Kelaart procured a second in the same district. Subsequently it has been met with in Saffragarn, where the 

 forest is usually lofty and luxuriant and eminently suited to its nature. For information of its existence in 

 this district I am indebted to Mr. Hart, the taxidermist of the Colombo Museum, who met with a small 

 flock in the neighbourhood of Rakwana in 1868, and still more recently near the same place in November 

 1877. On the last occasion three or four were observed perched on the summit of a lofty tree, out of which 

 one was procured. I have no data concerning the season of the year in which the other examples were met 

 with, and therefore it is still a matter of uncertainty whether it is migratory or not. On the mainland it 

 is found in the lofty forests of Malabar, Travancore, the Nilghiris, and the Palanis. In the latter district 

 Dr. Fairbank procured it at an elevation of 3500 feet, and observed it from the base of the range up to 

 4000 feet ; he likewise notes it as an inhabitant of the Sawant-Wade woods in the Khandala district. 

 Jerdon says that it is far from uncommon in the lofty jungles of Malabar, and remarks that he met with 

 it in forest near Palgkautcherry, Trichoor, the Wynaad, and on the Coonoor Ghat as high as 4000 feet and 

 upwards. It does not seem to have been noticed anywhere between the Khandala district and the sub- 

 Himalayan region. In the latter it is known at Sikliim. Captain Butler speaks of a specimen in the Frere-Hall 

 collection at Kurrachee, stated to have been procured at Sehwan in Sindh ; but Mr. Hume suggests that, this 

 locality being totally out of the range of the species, the bird must have escaped from captivity. Continuing, 

 however, to trace out its range from Sikliim eastwards, we find it in Cachar, where Mr. Inglis says it is not 

 rare, and further to the south in Burmah it is far from uncommon. Mr. Oates writes that it is extremely 

 abundant in all the evergreen forests on the eastern slopes of the Pegu hills, but that it is never seen on the 

 western slopes or on the plains. Dr. Armstrong states that it occurs sparingly at China-Bakeer, but is 

 extremely abundant " at Syriam, where, in the early mornings, large flocks of these birds may be found 

 feeding amongst the different fig-trees in the neighbourhood." Extending to the south we find it in 

 Tenasserim, common throughout the evergreen forests, rare in the north, and very abundant in the south of 

 the Province. How far down the peninsula the typical /. puella extends does not appear yet to be known ; 

 but it is probable that it merges very soon into the Malayan race, for Mr. Hume testifies to the Mergui 

 (South Tenasserim) specimens being already intermediate between the two. 



Habits. — The Fairy Bluebird associates in small parties and affects lofty trees in foliage, feeding on their 

 fruit. It is entirely a fruit-eating bird, and in this respect shows its affinity to the rest of the short-legged 

 Thrushes (Brachypodidse) . It is never found, says Mr. Davison, in the deciduous forests of Tenasserim ; 

 the tenacious manner in which it confines itself to the evergreen jungle is remarkable, for he writes, 

 " About Pappoon, where the forests are deciduous, I never saw one ; but, again, about twenty miles to the 

 north of that place, the bird reappears with evergreen forests." The constantly recurring supply of food in 

 the latter naturally accounts for the predilection of the Bluebird for them ; but it is strange that when 

 deciduous woods are found in their vicinity it does not wander through them during the season of fruition.- 

 Mr. Davison writes : — " It is almost always found in flocks, but occasionally in pairs or even singly. It is a 

 very bright and lively bird, always on the move, hopping from branch to branch or flying from tree to tree, 

 uttering its fine note, which resembles exactly the words ' be quick, be quick.' They Hve on fruit, I believe, 

 exclusively, and are especially fond of figs ; and where a fig-tree is in fruit great numbers congregate, with 

 Hornbills, Green Pigeons, Fruit-Pigeons, and numbers of other fruit-eating birds. In the middle of the day 



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