CREEPER. 227 



16.— CEYLONESE CREEPER. 



Certhia Zeylonica, Ind. Orn.'i. 285. Lin.'i. 188. Gm. Lin. i. 482. 

 — — Philippensis olivacea, Bris. iii. 623. t. 34. 4. Id. 8vo. ii. p. 7. 

 Soui-manga a gorge pourpre, Biif. v. 506. 

 Grimpereau premier de Lugon, Son. Voy. t. 30. A ? 



olive des Philippines, PL enl. 576. 4. 



Soui-manga a gorge bleue, Ois. dor. ii. 51. pi. 29. 

 Ceylonese Creeper, Gen. Syn. ii. 712. Shaw's Zool. viii. 203. 



SIZE of a Wren ; length four inches. Bill three quarters of an 

 inch, black, slender, incurvated, and sharp pointed ; nostrils covered 

 with a membrane; tongue tubular, as in the Humming-Bird; irides 

 dark red ; plumage on the crown dark glossy green ; lore and cheeks 

 blackish brown ; chin and throat purple ; neck and back black, with 

 light reddish brown edges, giving the appearance of the last colour; 

 rump, and upper tail coverts light purple ; breast and beneath 

 yellow ; sides dirty white ; wing coverts partly purple, partly brown ; 

 greater ones dusky; quills dusky, edged ferruginous ; tail brown 

 black, consisting of twelve feathers, the outer one pale towards the 

 end ; legs strong, black, the middle and outer toes connected at the 

 base, hind toe the longest. 



The female is rather longer, and thebill shorter; head, neck, and 

 back dusky olive ; chin and throat yellowish green ; rump olive ; 

 upper tail coverts black; upper wing coverts dusky, mixed with 

 olive. 



A young specimen, said to be a male, had the head, upper parts 

 of the neck, and back olive; lore black ; chin and beneath yellow. 



This is the Sukkur Khora of Hindustan, and the Mauchungee 

 of the Bengalese ; is found in all the gardens near Calcutta, and 

 lives by sucking the honey out of flowers; will readily sip sugar and 

 water, from whence it derives its Hindustan name, which signifies 

 Sugar-eater. The Bengalese name signifies any pointed thing for 



Gg 2 



