ETTTICILLA. 93 



of the head aiid neck, chin, throat, back, and scapulars black, the 

 longer scapulars tipped with chestnut, and all the feathers of these 

 black portions of the plumage, and also of the crown, fringed with 

 fulvous after the autumn moult ; a well-defined white patch on the 

 throat; rump, upper tail-coverts, and lower plumage rich chestnut, 

 the middle of the abdomen albescent ; tail black, all but the middle 

 pair of feathers chestnut on the basal third of their length ; the 

 median wing-coverts, the innermost greater coverts, and the outer 

 margins of tertiaries and later secondaries white; remainder of 

 wings black ; under wing-coverts and axillaries black, with broad 

 white tips. 



Female. Forehead, crown, nape, back, upper part of rump, 

 scapulars, and sides of neck rich brown ; lower part of rump and 

 upper tail-coverts chestnut ; tail dark brown, the basal half of all 

 but the middle pair of feathers dull rufous ; wings as in the male, 

 but the black replaced by brown and the white margins narrower ; 

 lower plumage pinkish ashy, albescent on the abdomen, and with 

 a large white patch on the throat ; under wing-coverts and axil- 

 laries brown, tipped white. 



Bill and legs black. 



Length about 6 ; tail 2-9 ; wing 3-3 ; tarsus *9 ; bill from 

 gape *55. 



Distribution. Confined to the higher portions of Nepal and 

 Sikhim and the adjoining parts of Tibet and Central Asia, such as 

 Kansu. 



641. Ruticilla aurorea. The Daurian Bedstart. 



Motacilla aurorea, Pall. Rei*. Russ. Reichs, iii, p. 695 (1776). 

 Phoenicura leucoptera, Blyth, J. A. 8. B. xii, p. 962 (1843) 

 Ruticilla leucoptera (BL), Blyth, Cat. p. 168. 

 Ruticilla aurorea (Pall.), Horsf. $ M. Cat. i, p. 305 ; Jerd. B. I. ii, 



p. 139; Hume, Cat. no. 500; Seebohm, Cat. B. M. v, p. 345; 



Oates, B. B. i, p. 16 ; Hume, S. F. xi, p. 195. 



Reeves' 1 Redstart, Jerd. 



Coloration. Male. After the autumn moult the forehead, crown, 

 nape, and mantle are slaty grey, the feathers fringed with slaty 

 brown, the portion over the eye and along the sides of the neck 

 purer grey ; lower back, scapulars, and wing-coverts black with 

 fulvous margins ; rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail chestnut, 

 except the middle pair of feathers of the latter, which are black ; 

 quills black, each secondary with a patch of white, forming a large 

 wing-spot; feathers at base of bill, chin, throat, and sides of head 

 black, with whitish margins ; remainder of lower plumage chest- 

 nut. In the spring and summer the fringes of the feathers are 

 much reduced in extent, but seldom entirely lost except on the 

 throat. 



Fun/!,. Everywhere brown, paler beneath and albescent on the 

 abdomen ; a circle of pale feathers round the eye ; rump, upper 

 tail-coverts, and tail as in the male ; wings brown edged with 



