Birds of Celebes: Ploceidae. 
549 
Measurements. Wing 48 — 52 nun; tail c. 42; tarsus 14; naiddle toe and claw 18; bill from 
nostril 8. 
Distribution. Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Bali (fide Sharpe 5), Lombok (Vorderman, 
and Doherty, fide Hartert, Nov. Zool. 1896, 559), Sumba (Doherty ib. 582), 
Plores and Timor (Wallace 8), Timorlaut (H. 0. Forbes 5); Celebes. 
In Celebes — Macassar (Wallace 1, 2, 5, P.& F. Sarasin 4), Pare Pare, S. Cel. 
(iid.). Central Celebes (iid.). 
There is a single specimen of this species in the Wallace Collection in 
the British Museum labelled “Macassar”. It is mentioned by Lord Walden (1), 
by Prof. W. Blasius (2) and by Dr. Sharpe (3). M. nisoria had not been re- 
corded from Celebes by any earlier or subsequent traveller, and neither the 
Leyden Museum (Biittik., Notes Leyd. Mus. 1892, XIV, 202), nor the Dresden, 
nor any other, so far as we are aware, possessed examples so labelled, until it 
was rediscovered in South and Central Celebes in 1895 by the Sarasins, whose 
collection contains four specimens. Blyth’s remark (Ibis 1870, 172) that the 
race of M. nisoria, “from Celebes, has no pale shafts to the feathers of the 
upper parts” is incorrect. According to Dr. Sharpe, M. nisoria is one of five 
subspecies of which M. punctulata (Linn.) of the Indian countries is the type. 
Mr. Biittikofer (1. c.) makes the interesting statement that six specimens in the 
Leyden Museum from the island of Bourbon — where, as Dr. Hartlaub says 
(Vog. Madag. 1877, 403), the species has been introduced — “agi’ee entirely with 
M. nisoria of Java, with the exception of the upper tail-coverts and centre tail- 
feathers, which are not ashy grey but sensibly tinged with pale olive-green, in 
which character they agree with M. topela. They are, however, undoubtedly to 
be united with M.nisoria” . The example serves to illustrate our postulate (s. p. I (>2) 
that colonists become changed more than stayers-at-home. 
229. MUNIA MOLUCCA (L.). 
Moluccan Munia. 
This species, which inhabits the Moluccas, the Celebesian area and the 
Lesser Sunda Islands, has developed differences, as shown by Dr. Sharpe (cl, el) 
and afterwards by Mr. Biittikofer (f 1) in the Moluccas and in the Lesser 
Sunda Islands, while birds from Celebes are intermediate. The Lesser Sunda 
race has been separated, as a subspecies, propinqua, by Dr. Sharpe, who includes 
the Celebes birds under this title, while Mr. Biittikofer places the latter under 
M.niolucca typical. Dr. Vorderman has separated the Kangean Munia sub- 
specifically. We prefer, in want of a better method, to group them as follows: 
1. The typical Munia molucca. 
a. Loxia molucca (1) Linn., S. N. 1766, I, 302. 
b. Munia molucca (1) Salvad., Orn. Pap. 11, 1881, 434 (iiec Celebes, Flores); (2) W. Bias. 
&Nehrk., Verb. z.-b. Ges. Wien 1882, 427; (3) Pleske, Bull. Ac. Sc. Petersb. 1884, 
129; (4) Salvad., Orn. Pap. Agg. 1890, 139. 
