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blue; upper tail-coverts bright blue; lesser wing-coverts deep ultramarine- or cobalt-blue; greater 
wing-coverts deep greenish, with a blue tinge ; quills at the base light greenish blue, otherwise deep 
ultramarine-blue; the first four primaries with a subterminal pale blue band; central rectrices dull 
green, the remainder deep ultramarine-blue, with the terminal portion pale blue; cheeks and throat 
purplish blue, the latter with lighter blue stripes; ear-coverts, neck, and breast vinous purple, the 
last with a coppery tinge; abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts bluish green; under wing-coverts 
deep ultramarine-blue: bill dark brownish black ; gape yellow; edge of the eyelids, lores, and skin 
at the back of the eye yellowish orange; iris brown; legs yellowish brown. Total length about 
13 inches, culmen 1'4, wing 7’8, tail 5'6, tarsus 1‘05. 
Adult female (Pegu).—Closely resembles the male. 
Young (Sikkim).—Upper and underparts generally with the rump, wing-coverts, and upper tail- 
coverts dull brownish, indistinctly mottled with lighter brown; crown slightly marked with green; 
wing and tail otherwise as in the adult, but duller in colour; throat with dull bufiy-white stripes; 
under tail-coverts dull light blue. 
The present species ranges from Calcutta eastward to British Burmah, Assam, Siam, and Cochin China. 
Near Calcutta it meets Coracias indieus, and where the ranges of the two species adjoin many hybrids 
between them occur, and hence there is no doubt that they not unfrequently interbreed; but further 
east of Calcutta one finds only pure Coracias affinis, and west of Calcutta again Coracias indicus is 
met with untainted by any strain of C. affinis. 
Blyth (J. As. Soc. Beng. xiv. i. p. 190) gives some interesting details respecting the interbreeding 
of these two Boilers, and Dr. Jerdon writes [1. c.) that C. affinis “ is the only one found to the east 
of the Bay of Bengal and in Assam, but it spreads into the Sunderbuns, Tipperah, and even the 
neighbourhood of Calcutta itself, where it mingles and interbreeds with the Indian Boiler.” It was 
met with in Sikkim by Capt. Bulger, who says (Ibis, 1869, p. 155) that a pair was brought to him 
from the neighbourhood of the Great Bungeet river; and the shikaree informed him that they were 
very uncommon. Dr. Anderson, who obtained it on the expedition to W. Yunnan, remarks {1. c.) that 
“ the two specimens killed at Muangla have the black tips to the tail-feathers much less pronounced 
than in the other examples. This bird is not at all uncommon in the valley of Sanda, especially in 
the neighbourhood of the towns and villages, which are generally embosomed in gigantic bamboos and 
fine trees. I did not observe it beyond Muangla.” 
In Burmah this Boiler is common. Mr. Blanford records it as occurring at Pegu and Ava. 
Mr. Armstrong, who met with it on the Irawaddy, remarks that “ without being numerous anywhere 
it was universal in its distribution over the entire district. Wherever there were clumps of trees, 
bushes, or hedges in open cultivated or waste ground, this species might be seen perching usually upon 
some dry leafless branch or twig. It was, however, excessively wary, so that it was not always easy 
to procure specimens.” And Mr. Oates (B. Brit. Burm.) states that “ the Burmese Boiler, or Blue 
Jay as it is usually termed by residents in Burmah, occurs commonly over the whole Province, except 
in the extreme south of Tenasserim, where Mr. Davison did not observe it.” Capt. Beavan procured 
it at Tonquin in September 1865, Sir H. Schomburgk records it from Siam, and Dr. Tiraut states 
that it is very common in Cochin China. 
