494 A Passage in the life of Valmiki. [No. 5. 



brownish-black, margined with yellowish-green : greater coverts of 

 the wings tipped with yellow, forming two bands." — Gr. E. Gray. 



" Above vernal green : belly, vent, and croup, deep yellow. Chin 

 to belly white, passing laterally to soft plumbeous. Top of head 

 chesnut, bounded by black to sides. Bill and legs pale. Length 4 

 in. : wing lj-f in. : tail I-f in. : bill to forehead -f in. : tarse f in." — 

 Hodgson. 



Procured by Mr. Hodgson in Nepal. "We have never seen a 

 specimen. 



Finally, may be noticed a Javanese species of this group. 



7. C. trivirgata ; Sylvia trivirgata, Temminck, Verreaux M.S. : 

 jPhylloscopus trivirgatus, Strickland, figured and described in Sir 

 W. Jardine's ' Contributions to Ornithology,' November, 1849. 



" Length 4 in. ; of wing 2 in. 2 1. ; middle tail-feathers 1 in. 8 1. ; 

 outermost 1^ in. : bill to gape 5 1. ; tarse 7 1. 



" In plumage, it greatly resembles the broader-billed but closely 

 allied C. Burkei of India. Middle of crown olive-yellow, which 

 occupies the inner webs of the feathers, the outer webs being deep 

 fuscous, nearly black, with an olive tinge, forming a broad dark 

 stripe on each side of the crown : between this and the eye is a 

 superciliary streak of clear yellow : a streak of fuscous passes through 

 the eye ; the cheeks, throat, and lower-parts are bright yellow, with 

 an olive tinge ; back and wings yellowish-olive : beak horn-coloured, 

 the base of lower mandible pale ; and legs brown. 



"Inhabits the island of Java." Strickland. 



A Passage in the life of Valmiki. — By Fitz-Edward Hall, Esq. M. A. 



It is a current belief, in many parts of India, that the poet Val- 

 miki, the author of the Earn ay ana, was a thug or strangler. This 

 notion was probably derived from a strain put upon the following 

 verses, which make out Valmiki to have been, originally, on his own 

 confession, simply a robber. This extract also embraces the received 

 account of the origin of the poet's name. 



