266 MUSCICAPID^. 



3. Oreicola ferrea*. 



Rubecola ferrea, Hodgs. in Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 83. 



Saxicola ferrea, Hodgs. Icon, ined., Passeres, pi. 97 (nos. 416, 417) ; 



Ch-ay, Cat. Mamm. ^c. Nepal Coll. Hodgs. p. 71, et p. 153 (descr. 



orig.). 

 Pratincola ferrea, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xvi. p. 129 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. 



A. S. B. p. 170; Bp. Consp. i. p. 305; Hursf. 8) Moore, Cat. B. 

 Mus. E.I. Co. i. p. 286; Jerd. B. Ind. ii. p. 127; Gray, Hand-l. 



B. i. p. 228, no. 3286; Sivinh. P. Z. S. 1871, p. 360; Hume <§• 

 Henders. Lahore to Yark. p. 205, pi. 12 ; Cock <^- Marsh. Sir. F. 

 1873, p. 355 ; Hume, S. F. 1874, p. 478 ; Blyth # Wald. B. Burm. 

 p. 101 ; Hume, Kests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 318 ; id. Str. F. 1875, 

 p. 134; Brooks, t. c. p. 238; David ^- Oust. Ois. de la Chine, 

 p. 168 ; Inglis, Str. F. 1877, p. 36. 



Adult male. General colour above black, with grey edgings to the 

 feathers, the lower back and rump entirely grey ; the head black, 

 the grey edgings to the feathers nearly obsolete ; wings black, some 

 of the coverts slightly edged with grey, the inner median coverts 

 tipped with white, the inner gi'eater coverts white, forming a large 

 patch on the wing ; upper tail-coverts black, edged with grey ; tail- 

 feathers black, distinctly edged with hoary grey, the outer feathers 

 slightly tipped with the latter colour, the outermost feather exter- 

 nally hoary as well as a broad ending to the inner web ; from the 

 base of the nostrils a broad white line extending over the eye and 

 forming a conspicuous eyebrow ; feathers in front of and round the 

 eye and ear-coverts black, as well as the checks ; under surface of 

 body white, the sides more or less mixed with ashy grey ; chin-spot 

 black ; under wing-coverts white with blackish bases ; quills dusky 

 blackish below, white along the inner webs ; " bill black ; feet 

 brown-black ; iris brown " (Jerdon). Total length 5 inches, culmen 

 0"5, wing 2-7, tail 2-0, tarsus 0-9. 



In winter the whole aspect of the bird is grey with black centres, 

 the grey edgings becoming worn off in the summer, many of the 

 plumes also washed with rusty, the quills and wing-coverts distinctly 

 edged with grey ; below, the white under surface is more ding)', the 

 feathers of the lower throat and breast edged with greyish, the 

 flanks also washed with grey ; the ashy-grey edgings and tips to the 

 tail-feathers much broader and more distinct. 



Adult female. General colour light brown, a little more rufescent 

 on the rump ; upjjer tail-coverts rufous ; tail dark brown, the 

 outer feathers externally rufous, the outermost lighter brown, 

 the outer web and at the tip ; fore part of the crown varied 

 with dark brown centres to the feathers ; forehead hoary whitish ; 

 eyebrow greyish white ; feathers in front of and round the eye 

 dark brown, as well as the ear-coverts, the latter with lighter 

 shafts ; cheeks and throat white ; rest of under surface of body 

 buffy white, more fulvous on the flanks ; under wing-coverts buffy 



* On the affinity of O. ferrea with O.jerdoni, see Jerdon's 'Birds of India,' 

 iji. App. p. 872 ; and on its Muscicapine nature see Hume, ' Lahore to Yar- 

 kand,' p. 205, where a figure of the bill is given, to show the likeness to Musci- 

 capa. 



