1851.] species of Birds inhabiting Ceylon, 161 



252. In that Catalogue it is marked '* Sumatra, donor, Sir Stamford 

 Raffles ;" but we are the more inclined to suspect a mistake, both as 

 regards the donor and the habitat, from its being stated (formerly at 

 least) on the label of the specimen to have been presented by the 

 Duke of Northumberland. Both Mr. Elliot's Travancore specimen 

 and that in the Zoological Society's museum exactly resemble the 

 African V. civetta, except that the dorsal mane ceases between the 

 shoulders, instead of being continued forward to between the ears. 



Viverricula malaccensis, (Gm.), and Paradoxurus typus, 

 F. Cuv., sent by Dr. Kelaart, as previously by Mr. Layard, are per- 

 fectly similar to Bengal specimens. There is also in the island 

 P. zeylonicus, (Schreber), a very young example of which was 

 formerly sent to the Society by Dr. Templeton, then of Colombo. 

 This young animal is uniformly of the colour of the upper-parts of 

 Mustela vulgaris, [merely a little paler below, and shewing no 

 decided trace of the longitudinal dorsal stripes. A living pair was 

 afterwards presented to us by A. O. Brodie, Esq., of Putlam. These 

 were then not fully grown, and were paler than the last, with the 

 limbs darker, and the three longitudinal dorsal streaks distinct. The 

 female died in this colouring, and is now preserved in the Society's 

 museum ; but the male still lives, and has become considerably deeper 

 in his general hue. Of two specimens now sent from Newera Elia 

 by Dr. Kelaart, one is again deeper-coloured than the living male, 

 except its tail which is paler, and the dorsal stripes are inconspicuous 

 though distinctly traceable : the other is much darker, considerably more 

 so indeed than Lutra vulgaris, with remarkably handsome fur, and 

 no trace of the dorsal streaks ; the tail paler, with a subterminal 

 yellowish-white ring, — exhibiting thus the tendency to partial albinism 

 which is so often observable about the tail-tip, and sometimes the 

 feet and even the body, of animals of this genus, as especially the 

 common P. typus. We do not hesitate in considering all these 

 varieties of colour in different specimens of P. zeylonicus to have 

 no speciflcal importance ; but upon present data it seems probable that 

 those which inhabit high upon the mountains (P. montanus, Kelaart,) 

 have finer and darker-coloured fur than those of a lower region. 



There are four species of Mungoose (Herpestes) in Ceylon : H. 

 vitticollis, (Bennet), is not uncommon in the interior ; and H. 



Y 



