410 BULLETIN 186, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



obvious difference at any season lies in the color of the throat, which 

 is jet black in leucopterus and blackish slate in auroreus. 



RHODOPHILA FERREA (G. R. Gray) 



Iron-gray Bushchat 



Saxicola ferrea G. R. Gray, Catalogue of . . . Mammalia and birds of Nepal 



and Thibet . . . British Museum, 1846, pp. 71, 153 (Nepal). 

 Oreicola ferrea, Gyldenstolpe, Journ. Nat. Hist. Soe. Siam, 1915, p. 170 (listed). 

 Oreicola ferrea haringtoni, Gyldenstolpe, Kungl. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Handl., 



1916, p. 52 (Khun Tan) ; Ibis, 1920, p. 475 (Khun Tan). 

 Oreicola ferrea ferrea, de Schauensee, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1928, 



p. 564 (Doi Suthep). 

 Oreicola ferrea Jiarringtoni, de Schauensee, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 



1929, p. 542 (Doi Suthep). 

 Rhodophila ferrea haringtoni, Deignan, Journ. Siam Soc. Nat. Hist. Suppl., 



1931, p. 142 (Doi Suthep). — Chasen and Boden Kloss, Journ. Siam Soc. Nat. 



Hist. Suppl., 1932, p. 245 (Doi Suthep).— Deignan, Journ. Siam Soc. Nat. 



Hist. Suppl., 1936, p. Ill (Doi Suthep). — de Schauensee, Proc. Acad. Nat. 



Sci. Philadelphia, 1934, p. 208 (Doi Suthep, Khun Tan, Doi Chiang Dao, 



ridge just south of Doi Chiang Dao). — Riley, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 172, 



1938, p. 400 (Doi Ang Ka, Khum Tan, Doi Suthep, Mae Hong Son, Doi Mana, 



Umong valley). 



The gray bushchat is a very common winter visitor to the provinces 

 of Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, and Chiang Rai, occurring in suit- 

 able territory from the level of the plains to at least 5,500 feet. On 

 Doi Suthep it has been recorded between October 10 (1936) and 

 March 25 (1931). 



This bird avoids cultivated areas — in Chiang Rai keeping to the 

 tall grass of the open plains, in Chiang Mai haunting the deciduous 

 jungle of the lower mountain slopes, the brush and lalang of the open 

 hill-forest, abandoned hai, etc. On Doi Suthep it is a most conspicuous 

 form during the cold weather and, while it is not truly gregarious, 

 numbers may be found together at favored places, perched on grass 

 and bushes or feeding on the ground along the trails. Its habits are 

 much like those of the various species of Saxicola. 



My specimens had the irides dark brown; the bill, feet, toes, and 

 claws black. 



The adult male, as seen with us, has the entire upperparts iron gray, 

 the feathers of the crown and mantle more or less conspicuously 

 fringed with dark ferruginous and each one with a sagittate black 

 subterminal band which makes these parts appear streaked ; the wings 

 black, most of the feathers narrowly margined along the outer web 

 with dark ashy or grayish white (this color often strongly suffused 

 with rufous on the secondaries) , the innermost coverts pure white to 

 form a conspicuous patch; the rectrices black, narrowly margined 

 with dark ashy or grayish white; a conspicuous white supercilium; 

 the lores, sides of head, and ear coverts black; the chin and throat 



