MUNIA MALACCA. 653 



Female. Somewhat less than male ; wing 2-1. 



Iris brown, in some slightly reddish ; bill light leaden or milky blue ; legs and feet sombre blue, or dark slate-blue, or 

 pale plumbeous. 



Entire head and neck, chest, lower breast, abdomen, thighs, and under tail-coverts glossy black ; chest, upper part of 

 breast, and flanks white, its junction with the black of the throat and of the belly being convex in shape ; back, 

 scapulars, and wing-coverts chestnut-brown ; quills brown, edged with chestnut ; upper tail-coverts glistening 

 deep maroon, central rectrices rich glistening chestnut ; the remaining feathers, which are darker brown than the 

 wings, edged with the same. In abraded plumage the colours of the upper surface fade much. 



Young. Iris deep brown ; bill brownish horn or dusky plumbeous ; legs bluish brown, in nestlings lilac-grey. 



Uniform pale rufescent brown above, darker somewhat on the head, some specimens having the forehead and lores 

 darker still ; quills dark brown, edged with the hue of the back ; under surface pale fulvous-white, lightest on 

 the breast. -During the change to the adult dress, which takes place by a moult in the first year, individuals in 

 every variety of plumage may be seen. The nape and hind neck change first to black, and then the lower parts : 

 the maroon rump is last acquired, as I have obtained specimens in almost complete black and chestnut plumage 

 with the grey rump still unchanged. 



Obs. Indian specimens correspond very well with ours ; two examples in the national collection are somewhat pale on 

 the back, in spite of being in good plumage. They measure 2-18 inches in the wing; another is larger — wing 

 2'2 inches, tail 1*7, height of bill at nostril 0-34, these measurements being precisely those of Ceylonese birds. 



It is considered by some that Linnffius's name, does not safely apply to the present species, owing partly to his some- 

 what meagre description, and also to the distribution assigned by him to the species. As regards his description, 

 he leaves out all mention of the white underparts : " ferruginea, capite abdomineque nigris, rostro caeruleo " is all 

 that we have. He refers to Edwards's plate, ' Gleanings,' 355, which gives a representation of a bird which 

 cannot be any other species, and which is called by Edwards " the White-breasted Indian Sparrow." It was figured 

 from a specimen kept in confinement in St. Clement's. Reference is likewise made to Brisson's description of the 

 " Chinese Sparrow," in which mention is made of the white underparts and black belly ; but the distribution 



been owing to a flock having been let loose from a ship calling at the port. By such means, or by pairs escaping from 

 confinement, the little Amaduvad became not uncommon during several years of my residence at Colombo : I am not 

 sure that it bred there ; but it would appear that the present species, if rightly identified, did not propagate itself in the 

 south of Ceylon, or else it would have been met with subsequently. 



It replaces the White-bellied Munia in the north of India, being, according to Jerdon, " found throughout Lower 

 Bengal, and all along the foot of the Himalayas, as far as the Dehra Doon, and also in some of the wooded adjacent 

 districts ; but it would appear to be rare in the open country of the N.W. Provinces. I have," he remarks, " seen speci- 

 mens from the eastern coast north of Madras .... but it is certainly rare in Southern India. It is much more common 

 in the countries to the eastward, Assam and Burmah, as far as the Tenasserim provinces." I do not find any other record 

 of its occurrence in the south, or, in fact, any lower down the peninsula than Sambalpur. Mr. Cripps says it is nowhere 

 common in Purreedpore ; in North-eastern India it is, according to Mr. Inglis, common during the rains, breeding there 

 in June, July, and August ; in Upper Pegu Mr. Oates records it as likewise common ; but to Tenasserim it is only a 

 summer visitant, Mr. Davison having observed it there from March until August. If identical with Vieillot's bird, it is 

 found at Singapore and at Sarawak and Labuan (Salvadori). 



In its liabits and voice, Mr. Davison remarks, " they resemble other Munias, going about in larger or smaller flocks, 

 and feeding on the ground, chiefly on grass-seeds." Mr. Oates says it affects elephant-grass and swampy places in pre- 

 ference to others. 



Nidification. — The breeding-season of this handsome Munia in Bengal, Burmah, and Cachar is from June until 

 September ; but in Tenasserim, further south, Mr. Davison speaks of their laying in April and May. In Pegu Mr. Oates 

 says it breeds in elephant-grass, attaching its nest to two or three stems at a height of four or five feet from the ground. 

 It is " a loose mass of grass, spherical, cylindrical, or heart-shaped ; the inside is lined with finer grass, the following ends 

 being brought forward to the entrance, which is small and difficult to find." In 1874 Mr. C. Parker found it nesting 

 in long grass near the top, the nest being a very conspicuous object ; but in the following year, owing to the grass 

 having been cut down, they selected prickly date-palms and small pines to build in. The eggs vary from two to five in 

 number, and are elongated glossless ovals, from 0-58 to 06S inch in length, by 04 to 0'47 inch in breadth. 



