CIXNTEIS ASIATICUS. 
■567 
Adult female. Similar to the male in size. Above olive-brown like the last species, with a narrow supercilium of 
yellowish white ; wings brown, edged with a paler hue ; tail blackish, the outermost feathers deeply tipped with 
white, and the rest successively less so towards the centre j beneath whitish, tinged with yellow on the chest 
Young. 1 have no specimens ; but Blyth describes the young as being dark olive-green above and tolerably bright 
yellow on the imderparts ; wings dusky, with brownish margins to the tertials ; tail black and its exterior feathers 
tipped with whitish. 
Ols. Although I have not detected any difference in the size of the bill in different individuals in Ceylon, this species 
is subject to considerable variation on the continent in this respect, as well as in the colour of the gloss on the 
upper parts. In Ceylon this is undoubtedly green and not purple. In birds from Eangoon, according to 
Mr. Hume, the purple hue is chiefly developed ; whereas it would appear that in the Baluchistan variety, described 
by Mr. Blanford as O. brevirostris, the upper surface is very green ; but here, again, Mr. Hume remarks that many 
Indian exa.mples are absolutely inseparable from Mr. Blanfoi'd’s. As regards size, the type of the Persian or western 
variety quite equals Ceylon birds. Mr. Blanford’s measurements are : — Total length 4-5 inches ; wing 2-2 ; bill 
to gape 0-G7 ; but, notwithstanding, it is stated to be smaller than typical C. asiatieus. Mr. Hume once^'separated 
the birds from Tipperah and other eastern parts, as well as those from the south of the peninsula, as G. intermedium, 
as he considered them to have larger bills and to bo more brilliantly coloured ; but neither he nor Captain Shelley now 
consider these species distinct from the true O. asiatieus, which may be said simply to vary in size of bill and colour 
according to locality. Mr. Hume gives it as his opinion that western birds from the dry-plains coimti-y run 
smaller and greener, while those from the well-watered eastern and southern regions run, as a rule, larger and 
purpler. . To this I n ould add, as already slated, that Ceylon birds are also characterized by their OTeen upper 
siu'face. ■ ^ ^ 
Distribution.— YUs Sun-bird is perhaps more local in its distribution than the last species. It is common 
in certain districts in the Western Province wherever the country is open and hnsh-covered, and is accord- 
ingly an inhabitant of the environs of Colombo. In the south-west it occurs rather sparingly j but in the 
scrubby country beyond Hambantota, as well as in many parts of the Eastern Province and in the north 
generally, it is common in spots wEich suit its habits. Near Trincomalie and in the Jaffna peninsula I found 
it more numerous than the last ; along the west coast, and in the island of Manaar, as well as in the islands 
of Erinativoe, I likewise found it. Mr. Holdsworth records it as common at Aripu, and he procured it at 
Nuwara Elliya in October. It inhabits the eastern parts of the Kandyan Province, and finds its way to 
Hakgala and Nuwara Elliya from the Fort-Macdonald district. 
On the mainland it has a very wide range. Captain Shelley thus epitomizes its habitat on the 
continent; — “ India, northward to the Himalayas; westward it extends through Sindh and Baluchistan to 
the confines of Persia, and is possibly to be found in Southern Arabia. To the eastward it ranges through 
Assam, Tipperah, Chittagong, Arrakan, Burmah, and Tenasserim, but in this direction has not been collected 
southward of the river Yd.”- 
As regards its locale in the Himalayas, Mr. Hume has obtained it far into the range “ in the valley of 
the Beas, almost at the foot of the Eohtung pass, in the valley of the Sutlej as far as Chini, in the valley of 
the Ganges, or rather Bhagirati, to within four or five marches of Gangaotri but eastward of this he did 
not observe it at any distance from the plains. Blyth states that it arrives at Calcutta in the cool season, 
and leaves that district before breeding-time ; he considered it (J. A. S. B. xii, p. 978) to be only a summer 
visitant to bicpal. Mr. Hume found it common all over Sindh; and in Kattiawar it is, according to 
Capt. Lloyd, abundant. In the Mount-Aboo district Capt. Butler found it common both on the hills 
and in the plains. Mr. Ball gives the like testimony concerning Chota Nagpur. Dr. Fairbank found it 
abundant in the vicinity of Khandala, and “ common at the base of the Palanis and on the plains.^'’ In the 
Nilghiris it is numerous, and breeds, according to Mr. Morgan, as high as 6000 feet. In open jungle near 
the foot of the Travancore hills it, according to Mr. Bourdillon, “ occurs abundantly It is found in 
Ramisserum Island ; and I may here remark that in perusing Mr. Humefr article on the avifauna of that 
group Stray Feathers,^ 1876, p. 458), Captain Shelley has misread this locality for the Laccadive Islands, in 
which it does not appear to occur. 
Mr. Blanford met with his short-billed variety near the Mekran coast, and remarks that “ it is very 
