654 
MUjVIA MALACCA. 
"Ti f his distribution, as 
and tra^^ellers in thn'*'^ f * ® Erisson took his idea from information received from sailors 
brs^nhoi or P W B 7' reliable source. We find no mention of this species in China made either 
ii n Baffles merely gives the name in his Catalogue of Sumatran birds (Trans. Linn. Soc. 
77; any note whatever, so that his identification might have been incorrect. Blyth stated that 
the true Munu. maZarra from Borneo (in Mr. Wallace’s collection) is distinct from the Indian race” (Ibis, 1867, 
and I tMfflr It iX,? o f 7' ^r. Sharpe, and I find no such skin of Wallace’s ; 
and I think it is best to rely on the evidence given by Edwards’s plate, and leave the long-adopted nomenclature 
of the species undisturbed. Salvador! includes it in his Bornean list of birds on the autLrily S oTh™ bu 
himself under the impression that M. atrieapilla has been mistaken for it. ^ ^ * 
i)»^M6«^io«^-This fine Munia is common in the south of the island, particularly in the district lyino- 
between the Bentota river, round the snnfb i-i, nr n • ^ uismci, lying 
Korale forests it is found in wild d^T^T * ? * river. Between Galle and the Kukkul 
is fai less common. It does not seem to he common in the Western Province, except in certain loealiflp^ 
such aa the sylvan paddy-fields in the lower part of the Pasdun Korale ; there I found it plentS Zt ^ f 
nood; but further north it appears to be rare. iici^^nuour 
mainland it has a restricted range, being chiefly confined to the south of the peninsula ^^a few 
tha??"'’ occurring in Central India, and even in Bengal occasionally. » He remarks 
that it IS veiy abundant m some parts of Southern India, especially on the Malabar coast I do notTnd I 
r^rded by Mr Bouriilte .be T.avancore hills, „or L™ fhe Palaeis by Dr.Tlaab Ms A G 
heobald found It in the Coimbatore district. Mr. Hume includes it in Mr. Ball’s list of birds inhabitino-'the 
gion between the Ganges and the Godaveri, noting it as having been procured at Raipur. In the Bhundara 
district It was found nesting by Mr. Blewitt. ^ me mundara 
The “Chestnut-backed Finch” affects paddy- and grass-fields, situated among the woods and 
forests, and is also found in marshy land about tanks and water-holes. In the hills it is pm-tTal to th 
maana-grass patnas, and those covered with tangled bushes and rank venetation Tf ; T l ^ 
the paddy-fields of the Kandyaos, neeessitating the copstaot preseoce of call-boys and ttaerSiro? I 
:“s::d long^irsita 
very large flocks.” ^ gram-lields, and very commonly sugar-cane fields ; it often associates in 
Nidification. This Munia breeds often gregariously. The season of l+o no, +• i 
August. In the former month I found many nests among the gigantic “maana” nrls™^ ^ 
which cover the Uva patnas ; and in the laLr I foundl amonM 
baiitota, m company with the Baya {Ploceus manyar‘^). The nest is soraetimfs nia' 1 ' 
is more frequently built in grass and “brackens.” It is a large stll mr f f T 
of the material nearest to hand, either blades of grass and roots, or strfps of r7df with aT”^^ TTf 
looking opening at the side. The interior is roomy, and in some ca es very large unfinished- 
grass-stalks or fine nrass itself TPe r r x ■ ^ ^ P’ l^’aed with flowering 
line grass itself. The eggs vary from four to six in number, but most commonly do not exceed 
