226 



Catalogue of (he Birds 



[Aprxs, 



i>£f5cr.— Above, glossy green j wings and tail dull black ; throat and 

 breast rich purple hue. A narrow bright maroon red collar intervenes 

 between the rich purple of the breast and the dull blackish brown of 

 the belly and vent ; a tuft of orange and yellow feathers under the wing, 

 as in the last; bill and legs black. Length 5^ inches ; of wing 2y'^ths j 

 tail l-<5^ths; tarsus y^ths; bill straight to front one inch. Female, 

 above light greenish brown, quills darker; tail black ; beneath pale 

 yellow : only differs from the female of the last in the darker tint of lh« 

 plumage above. 



The male, though sometimes confounded with the last species, differs 

 most conspicuously in the much longer and more arched bill, and the 

 green play of colours in the upper plumage. 



234. — C. Sola, Vieill. Ency. Meth. and Lesson.— CcrM. Zeylomcaf 

 Lalh. — C. lepida, Sykes' Cat.? not of other dLMiXiovs,— Amethyst rumped 

 Honey sucker. 



This species appears to be more abundant in the Carnatic than in any 

 other part of the peninsula. In that district it is very common, and to 

 be seen in almost every girden, flitting about from flower to flower, its 

 brilliant hues every now and then displayed to the ey e as il catches their 

 reflection by the sun. 



I presume that this is the C. lepida of Sykes' Catalogue, as that is an 

 allied species, but the descriptions I have access to of that bird do 

 not agree with this one, and moreover in Lesson's Traite the C. lepida 

 is also mentioned as well as this species, and said to have been received 

 from Amboyna. Nevertheless it may also be found in the west of India. 

 Mr. Elliot says of this species " builds a hanging nest with an entrance 

 near the top, opening downwards.'* I add abrief description : Malp, head 

 and angle of the wings glossy green; throat, neck, rump and upper 

 tail coverts ameythysline ; back and coverts, with narrow pectoral bar 

 maroon red; beneath yellow, wings brown, quills edged with cin- 

 namon ; tail black, bill and legs do. Female, olive green above, be- 

 neath yellow, chin and throat white, wings and tail as in male. Length 

 4h ; wing 2y^-g-ths; bill straight to point ^|ths. 



235. — C. minima, Sykes.— Smallest Honey Sucker. 



This lovely plumaged little species I have only found but rarely in 

 high forest jungle in Malabar. It is very much allied to the last in 

 colouring, but differs, besides its smaller size, in the tint of the red 

 on the back, which is much richer in this one; there is no green on the 

 shoulders, the green of the head also is purer ; and the quills are not 



