PERICROCOTUS SOLARIS, Biya.

Yellow-throated Pericrocotus.

Pericrocotus solaris, Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng., vol. xv. p. 310.—Ib. Cat. of Birds in Mus. Asiat. Soc.
Calcutta, p. 193.—Gray and Mitch. Gen. of Birds, vol. iii. Appendix, p. 13 (App. to p. 282).

 

Tis species is about the size of, or may perhaps be a trifle smaller than, the P. drevirostris, but has a shorter
and more depressed bill than that species ; it also differs in the red portion of the plumage being of an
orange rather than a scarlet hue; in the crown of the head and back being of a leaden instead of a deep
black; and in having a much shorter tail: the greatest difference, however, between the two species
consists in the throat of the P. drevirostris being black, while in the present bird it is yellow, a circumstance
which induced Mr. Blyth to append the appellation of /flavgularis to some specimens named by him prior to
their being sent to Europe: another difference consists in the greater development of the feathers of the
crown, which, being also slightly darker in colour than the remainder of the upper surface, assume the
appearance of a hood. ‘The females of the two species assimilate in colour much more nearly than the
males: the female of P. solaris, from which the figure in the accompanying Plate was taken, accords very
closely with Mr. Blyth’s original description, except that the sides of the throat, which he states to be
whitish, are nearly of the same yellow tint as the other parts of the under surface.

Like the other species of the genus, this bird feeds upon insects, which it captures both on the wing and
among the branches.

The greater portion of the specimens which have been sent to Europe were procured in the provinces of
Sikim and Bhotan in Upper India: Darjeeling is the locality attached to most of those that have come
under my notice.

The male has the head, the back, and the wing-coverts leaden black, deepening on the head into nearly
pure black ; the bases of the secondaries, the bases of all but the first three primaries, the rump, the upper
tail-coverts, the apical half of the two outer tail-feathers, two-thirds of the outer web and the apical third
of the inner web of the next tail-feather on each side, the apical third of the outer web of the fourth tail-
feather on each side, the under surface of the shoulder and all the under surface of the body, rich orange-
red ; the remainder of the wings and tail dull brownish black ; the chin whitish ; the throat orange-yellow ;
and the bill and feet black.

The female has the forehead and all the parts which are red in the male of a pale yellow, except the
rump, which is wax-yellow ; head and back olive-green.

The figures represent the two sexes the size of life, on the branch of Z’schynanthus ramosissimus.