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throughout the whole of the Indo-Chinese countries, ranging into Siam and Cochin-China. It extends as 

 far south as Tenasserim ; but Mr. Hume states that near Mergui in the latter province there is already 

 exhibited a tendency towards the Malayan race, /. cyanea. Mr. Oates states that he found it 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. 



In his paper on the birds of the Thoungyeen valley, Captain Bingham describes his finding of a nest as 

 follows: — "On the 11th of April I was slowly clambering along a very steep hill-side overlooking the 

 Queebaw choung, a small tributary of the Maplay stream, when from a tree, whose crown was below my 

 feet, I startled a female Irena puella off her nest. I could see the nest and that it contained two eggs ; so I 

 shot the female, who had taken to a tree a little above me. On getting the nest down I found it a poor 

 affair of little twigs, with a superstructure of moss shaped into a hollow saucer, on which reposed two eggs, 

 large for the size of the bird, of a dull greenish white, much dashed, speckled, and spotted with brown. 

 They were so hard set, that I only managed to save one, which measured I '09 by 0*77 inch." 



The following description of the habits of the birds is copied verbatim from Captain Legge's * Birds of 

 Ceylon :' — " 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 (Brachypodidae). 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 tree to 

 tree, uttering its fine note, which resembles exactly the words " be quick, be quick." They live 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 they habitually come down to the banks of streams and the smaller rivers to drink and 

 bathe.' Jerdon styles its note ' a fine mellow warble, which it is constantly repeating, both when feeding 

 and when it flies from one tree to another.' " 



I add the description of the species given by Mr. Bowdler Sharpe in the ' Catalogue of Birds ': — 



"Adult male. General colour above deep purplish cobalt, of a purer blue shade somewhat on the forehead ; 

 scapulars as well as the breast and median coverts coloured exactly like the back, the greater series blackish, 

 with a cobalt-blue spot at the tips of some of them ; quills and tail black, with a slight bluish shade on the 

 secondaries and central tail-feathers ; lores, feathers over the eye, sides of face, sides of neck, and entire 

 under surface, including the thighs and under wing-coverts, black; under tail-coverts deep purplish cobalt; 

 bill and legs black ; iris ruby-red. Total length 10 inches, culmen 095, tail 4-45, tarsus 075, distance 

 between tip of tail-coverts and tip of tail 1*6. 



" Adult female. Different in colour from the male, being of a dull Prussian blue, a little brighter and 

 inclining to cobalt on the rump and upper and under tail-coverts ; wings and tail dark brown, the quills 

 narrowly edged and the secondaries and tail-feathers washed with dull blue, the latter more conspicuously." 



The Plate represents a pair of birds of the size of life, drawn from examples in my own collection. 



[R. B. S.] 





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