246 THE BLUE-BREASTED BANDED RAIL. 



It seems common in Southern Ceylon, and occurs about the 

 bases of the Nilgiris, the Wynad, and the Malabar Coast, 

 whence it extends into Belgaum and the Southern Koncan * Two 

 specimens were also sent me by Captain Mitchell said to have 

 been procured in the Madras market. 



North of this I can find no record of its having been pro- 

 cured in the Madras Presidency, in the Deccan, the Nizam's 

 Territory, Khandesh, Guzerat, Berar, the Central Provinces, the 

 Central India Agency, Rajputana, Kutch, Kathiawar, Sind, the 

 Punjab, Oudh, the North- Western Provinces or Chota Nagpore. 

 I do not rely only on published lists ; in many of these 

 localities I have personally collected on a large scale, while in 

 others I have had experienced collectors, like Mr. F. R. Blewitt, 

 collecting for a series of years. 



The species reappears in the deltaic districts of Lower Ben- 

 gal, from several localities in which I have received specimens ; 

 it is very common in the neighbourhood of Calcutta itself. I 

 have it from Sylhet, Cachar, and the Khasia Hills ; and, though 

 I have seen no specimens thence, have been informed that it 

 occurs right up the Assam valley to Sadiya. 



I should expect it to occur in the Duars and in the Tarais, 

 running thence westwardsalong the bases of the Himalayas; but 

 I can obtain no verification of this fact, and Mr. Hodgson never 

 seems to have obtained it in Nepal or Sikhim, or to have received 

 it from the Tarais below these. Doubtless it occurs in Tipperah 

 and Chittagong, but the fact still remains to be established. 



We know of its occurrence in Aracan, many localities in 

 Pegu,*f and several in Tenasserim. 



obscuriora must be suppressed, and the Indian bird would require a new title ; but 

 if the former, which seems most probable, then the names as given in the text 

 would stand. 



Of course the question as to whether we should accept the peculiar Andamanese 

 race as a distinct species still remains an open one. I can only say that the insular 

 birds are uniformly, sex for sex (of course taking adults only), markedly larger 

 (as are their eggs), and the colouration so different that no single Indian or Malayan 

 specimen in our huge series approaches or can be confounded with any Andaman 

 bird. If we suppress it, so must we suppress one or two others of the genus now 

 universally accepted. 



* Mr. G. Vidal writes :— 



" I found a few birds of this species in a mangrove swamp on the Vashishti 

 river in this district (Ratnagiri), about five miles from the coast. I shot one male 

 on the 30th March 1879 measuring as follows : — Wing, 4^ ; bill, I-H? ; tarsus, 

 iy 2 ; mid-toe and claw. 1^. Eyes red ; legs greenish; bill dusky above and 

 reddish below. I have not yet seen this species elsewhere, nor has any one else 

 to my knowledge obtained it in this district. In its habits it appears to be less 

 skulking than P. bailloni. Towards evening I have seen them come fearlessly out of 

 the thick cover of the bushes and mangroves to the edge of the mud banks to feed, 

 giving a good shot from a boat. But if once alarmed, they dodge rapidly under 

 the bushes, and it is almost impossible to put them up again." 



t Mr. Oates writes : — 



" The commonest of all the Rails. It is found everywhere in Pegu in the plains. 

 It is a constant resident, I think, but I do not remember ever seeing it in the dry 

 weather, November to May. 



