Sffi-IAKO C liO E A SIfXTAKEA.
Walter. Imp.
M E L A N O C H L O R A S U L T A N E A .
Sultan Tit.
Purus sultaneus,, Hodgs. Ind. Hot., 1836,p .31.—Gray, Zool. Misc., 1844, p .8 3—Blyth, Joum. Asiat. Soc. Bene.,
™1. xiii. p. 943.—G. R. Gray, Gen. of Birds, vo'.. i. p. 192, Parus. sp. 41.
Jlmocrhtatm, Lafres. Mag. de Zool., 1837, Ois pi SO.-I-Iorsf. in Proc. of Zool. Soc. (1839), p. 1 6 2 .4
Blyth, Joumr Asiat, Soc. Beng, yol. xi. p. 184, and yol. xii. p,: 966.—Id. Cat. of Birds in Mus. Asiat.
Soc. Calcutta, p. 102.—Id. in Jard. Cont. to Om., 1852, p. 48.
Melanochlora Sumatrana, Less. Rev. Zool., 1839, p. 42.
sultaneus etflavocristatus, Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., tom. i. p. 333.
Parus Sumatranus, Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng., vol. xi. p. 792.
Crataionyx flava et ater, Eyt. Proc. of Zool. Soc. (1839), p. 104. '
Melanochlora sultama, Jerd. Birds of | p | o l . u. pt. lvp. 282.—Wald, in Proc. of Zool. Soc. (1866), p. 6 6 1 .-
Bon tylia pho, Lepchas (Jerdon).
O r n ith o lo g ist s very generally agree in plainug this bird among the Panda,, and Strickland went so far as
to say he considered it a typical T i t ; but in my opinion we ought first to define the characters of the family,
and then determine whether such birds as those forming the genera Mgithalm and Calamophilus on the one
hand, and Falcunculus on the other, are members of i t ; if so, then Melanochlora may hot be too widely
different to be admitted also. F o r myself, I am sure that a mere glance a t the accompanying Plate will be
sufficient for even an ordinary observer to perceiveiiiow greatly the birds figured thereon differ from the
ordinary Tits. The small amount o f information that has been recorded respecting their habits and economy
throws but little light on the subject: they are said to frequent the tops of large trees, and to move about
in flocks; the reed-loving Calamophilus is equally grega#ous, yet it is by many writers excluded from the
Pa n d a . Besides this difficulty as to the affinities of Melanomlora, it is a question whether there are one
or two species, pf this form,, o r if the Malaccan and Sumatran birds be identical with those from the
Himalayas. It will he seen, from the synonyms given above, that I regard them as one and the same; hut
I must remark that my figures were taken from Himalayan specimens, which are always larger and
more beautifully coloured than those from Sumatra.
As is: the case w ith the members of the genus Falcunculus, a marked difference Occurs in the outward
appearance Of-the sexes, the female haying the throat green, while in the male it is steel-blue.
The following short sentences, which are given with due acknowledgment of the sources whence they
were obtained, comprise all that has been recorded respecting this showy b ird : ■
“ This magnificent T it,” says Mr. Jerdon, “ is, only found in the warmer valleys of the Himalayas,
extending into Assam,, and through. Burmah to the Malayan peninsn|i, and even to Sumatra. Near
Daijeeling it is common in the valley o f the great Runjeet, about 1200 feet, and thence ascends to about
4000. It frequents the tops of high trees, in small flocks, feeding on insects chiefly, and emits a rather loud
note. The Lepchas told me that it breeds in holes in lofty trees, but did not obtain me the nest and eggs.”
Mr. Hodgson states that “ it is found in the northern regions of the hills, passing into the southern in
winter. It explores foliage, and feeds upon the softer arboreal insects, perfect and imperfect, is exceedingly
fond of caterpillars, and occasionally takes pulpy berries.”
Captain Beavan, who obtained a specimen a t Kyodan, Salween River, Burmah, on the 14th of August,
1865, states that the species there “ occurs in small parties in heavy tree jungle, and is very noisy.”
Viscount Walden, in his Notes on the Birds collected by Capt. Beavan in Tenasserim and in the Andaman
Islands, remarks, on the above-mentioned specimen, that it is “ a young male in immature plumage, the
yellow crest hardly extending beyond the nape, and the dark portion o f the plumage being o f a dull «reenish
brown,” and adds, “ Specimens from Penang and Darjeeling do not differ; and the geographically
intermediate Tenasserim race seems to be identical with them. I adopt Mr. Hodgson’s designation in
preference to that of Lafresnaye, on the authority of the date cited by Dr. Jerdon.- Sumatran examples
have yet to be compared with continental, and, if found to be specifically distinct, will have to take
Lafresnaye’s title of flavo-cristatus. Prince Bonaparte, in his ‘ Conspectus Generum Avium,’ keeps the two
separate, but gives no other distinction than that o f size, Hodgson’s species being, according to him, the
smallest. This statement, however, is not quite reliable; for the Prince records them both from the
Himalayas.” (Proc. of Zool. Soc. 1866, p. 551.)
The male has the forehead, crown, lengthened crest, under wing-coverts, breast, abdomen, flanks, and
under tail-coverts pure yellow; the remainder o f the plumage black, glossed with green on the th ro a t; irides
dark brown ; bill and feet greenish black.
The figures represent the two sexes, of the size of life, on the Epigijnium acuminatum.