CINNYRIS ASIATICUS. 507 



Adult female. Similar to the male in size. Above olive-brown like the last species, with a narrow supereilium of 

 yellowish white ; wings brown, edged with a paler hue ; tail blackish, the outermost feathers deeply tipped with 

 white, and the rest successively less so towards the centre ; beneath whitish, tinged with yellow on the chest. 



Young. I have no specimens ; but Blyth describes the young as being dark olive-green above and tolerably bright 

 yellow on the underparts ; wings dusky, with brownish margins to the tertials ; tail black and its exterior feathers 

 tipped with whitish. 



Obs. Although I have not detected any difference in the size of the bill in different individuals in Ceylon, this species 

 is subject to considerable variation on the continent in this respect, as well as in the colour of the gloss on the 

 upper parts. In Ceylon this is undoubtedly green and not purple. In birds from Rangoon, according to 

 Mr. Hume, the purple hue is chiefly developed ; whereas it would appear that in the Baluchistan variety, described 

 by Mr. Blanford as C. brevirostris, the upper surface is very green ; but here, again, Mr. Hume remarks that many 

 Indian examples are absolutely inseparable from Mr. Blanford's. As regards size, the type of the Persian or western 

 variety quite equals Ceylon birds. Mr. Blanford's measurements are : — Total length 4-5 inches ; wing 2-2 ; bill 

 to gape 0*67 ; but, notwithstanding, it is stated to be smaller than typical 0. asiaticus. Mr. Hume once separated 

 the birds from Tipperah and other eastern parts, as well as those from the south of the peninsula, as C. intermedins, 

 as he considered them to have larger bills and to be more brilliantly coloured ; but neither he nor Captain Shelley now 

 consider these species distinct from the true C. asiaticus, which may be said simply to vary in size of bill and colour 

 according to locality. Mr. Hume gives it as his opinion that western birds from the dry-plains country run 

 smaller and greener, while those from the well-watered eastern and southern regions run, as a rule, larger and 

 purpler. To this I would add, as already stated, that Ceylon birds are also characterized by their green, upper 

 surface. 



Distribution. — This Sun-bird is perhaps more local in its distribution than the last species. It is common 

 in certain districts in the Western Province wherever the country is open and bush-covered, and is accord- 

 ingly au inhabitant of the environs of Colombo. In the south-west it occurs rather sparingly ; but in the 

 scrubby country beyond Hanibantota, as well as in many parts of the Eastern Province and in the north 

 generally, it is common in spots which suit its habits. Near Trincomalie and in the Jaffna peninsula I found 

 it more numerous than the last ; along the west coast, and in the island of Manaar, as well as in the islands 

 of Erinativoe, I likewise found it. Mr. Holdsworth records it as common at Aripu, and he procured it at 

 Nuwara Elliya in October. It inhabits the eastern parts of the Kandyan Province, and finds its way to 

 Hak°-ala and Nuwara Elliya from the Fort-Macdonald district. 



On the mainland it has a very wide range. Captain Shelley thus epitomizes its habitat on the 

 continent: — " India, northward to the Himalayas ; westward it extends through Sindh and Baluchistan to 

 the confines of Persia, and is possibly to be found in Southern Arabia. To the eastward it ranges through 

 Assam, Tipperah, Ckittagong, Arrakan, Burmah, and Tenasserim, but in this direction has not been collected 

 southward of the river Y6." 



As regards its locale in the Himalayas, Mr. Hume has obtained it far into the range " in the valley of 

 the Beas, almost at the foot of the Rohtung pass, in the valley of the Sutlej as far as Chini, in the valley of 

 the Granges, or rather Bhagirati, to within four or five marches of Gangaotri ■/' but eastward of this he did 

 not observe it at any distance from the plains. Blyth states that it arrives at Calcutta in the cool season, 

 and leaves that district before breeding-time ; he considered it (J. A. S. B. xii. p. 978) to be only a summer 

 visitant to Nepal. Mr. Hume found it common all over Sindh; and in Kattiawar it is, according to 

 Capt. Lloyd, abundant. In the Mount-Aboo district Capt. Butler found it common both on the hills 

 and in the plains. Mr. Ball gives the like testimony concerning Chota Nagpur. Dr. Fairbank found it 

 abundant in the vicinity of Khandala, and " common at the base of the Palanis and on the plains." In the 

 NUghiris it is numerous, and breeds, according to Mr. Morgan, as high as 6000 feet. In open jungle near 

 the°foot of the Travancore hills it, according to Mr. Bourdillon, " occurs abundantly." It is found in 

 Ramisserum Island; and I may here remark that in perusing Mr. Hume's article on the avifauna of that 

 group ( f Stray Feathers/ 1876, p. 458), Captain Shelley has misread this locality for the Laccadive Islands, m 

 which it does not appear to occur. . 



Mr. Blanford met with his short-billed variety near the Mekran coast, and remarks that it is very 



