2 
The young, according to Walden, is “sordid in all its plumage, and has the first quill entirely black, 
the second with only a white spot.” 
“Тһе gape and tip of the bill are crimson-red, and the legs flesh-coloured ” (Beavan). 
This Pitta was figured by Buffon, l. c., who gave a very recognizable representation of 
the bird and called it the Merle des Moluques. To this plate, P. L. S. Miller gave the 
name, as shown by Cassin, l. c., of Turdus moluccensis, thus antedating all appellations 
bestowed upon the species, and his name therefore, by the laws of priority, is the one 
that must be adopted. It has been objected that, as the species is not found in the 
Moluccas (as yet), Miiller’s name should not be accepted. This reasoning, however, is 
entirely contrary to the present custom of a very large number of ornithologists, and 
against the rules of the published codes, which regulate the methods of dealing with just 
such questions as this. А name is only something by means of which a species becomes 
recognizable, and it is perfectly admissible, even if it may wrongly describe the habitat 
of a species; and although we may regret that a more appropriate one was not given 
by the author, as in the present instance, yet we have no right to reject it and select another 
that appears to us as more suitable. If such a procedure was permissible, chaos would 
soon reign in ornithological literature. 
The Blue-winged Pitta has a wide distribution, and is met with from Burmah, 
through the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, and in Southern China. The single 
specimen obtained by Mr. Swinhoe at Amoy was first supposed by him to be Pitta 
nympha, Schlegel, and described under that name in the ‘ Ibis,’ /. е. ; but later, in the 
‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society,’ l.c., although still retained under the same 
name, he remarks that it is uncommonly close to P. cyanoptera (moluccensis) from 
Siam. Pitta nympha does not yet appear to be represented by any specimen, unless 
possibly the one described by Salvadori as Р. berte may be that species. 
The example which Temminck figured in his plate is stated by him to have come 
from Java, and was in the Paris Museum. It is not yet definitely ascertained that 
this species is a native of that island. Mr. Davison, who obtained this Pitta in 
Burmah, states that in April after showers of rain it suddenly appeared in great 
numbers in the gardens and plantations in and about Tavoy. He imagined it to be a 
coast-loving species, and suspected that it remained all the year in the mangrove- 
swamps of the southern extremity of the province, as he met with it from January to 
July. It is fond of perchmg on trees, and is continually to be seen on the upper 
branches, calling loudly. It is not shy, and feeds on ants and their larvæ, insects, 
grubs, &e., and land-shells. Like its ally P. megarhyncha, it mostly frequents thin tree- 
jungle and mangrove-swamps. The note is clear and double, and is constantly heard in 
the morning and evening. The Blue-winged Pitta is a noisy bird and often calls all day, 
and even during a great part of the night when the moon is shining. Lieut. Beavan 
obtained this species on an island in the Salween River above Moulmein in Burmah, and it 
seems to be fairly common in various parts of India and in the Malay Peninsula. He 
