Viscount Walden on the Rufuus-tailed Shi'ikes. 225 



Scinde, by the late Dr. Gould, of which a specimen^ in bad 

 order, is now preserved in the East-India Museum (Plate 

 V. fig. 1). Not being acquainted wuth typical Arabian ex- 

 amples, I cannot pronounce decidedly on the identity of this 

 Scinde specimen and Ehrenberg's species. It will be seen, 

 by the following description, that it differs from Ehrenberg's 

 account of L. isahellinus by possessing a rufous head and 

 rufous-brown dorsal plumage. But I suspect that Ehrenberg's 

 type was either a female, a young bird, or else a male in seasonal 

 plumage ; for the British Museum contains a specimen from 

 Bagdad which is palpably of the same species as this Scinde 

 specimen, but which answers perfectly to Ehrenberg's descrip- 

 tion of L. isabellinus ; that is, the upper plumage is pale fulvo- 

 cinereous. We have no means at present of deciding what state 

 of the bird this cinereous phase denotes ; but I incline to the 

 opinion that it belongs to the female sex. As this Hyderabad 

 specimen constitutes an additional species to the fauna of the 

 Indian region comprehended within the geographical limits of 

 Dr. Jerdon's work, I append a detailed description : — 



Entire upper surface of head and uropygium rufous-brown, as 

 in brightly plumaged specimens of L. cristatus, Linn. Interme- 

 diate dorsal region, scapulars, and all the wing-feathers brown, 

 obscurely tinged with rufous, the secondaries, wing-coverts, and 

 scapularies being broadly edged with ruddy fulvous. Upper tail- 

 coverts and the rectrices bright pure rufous, as in Ruticilla phce- 

 nicura, Linn. ; the under surface of the rectrices somewhat 

 paler, but pure and uniform in tint. Under wing-coverts and 

 entire under surface, so far as the state of the specimen permits 

 description, pale creamy or yellowish- white. Under tail-coverts, 

 which are lengthened, nearly pure white. Flank-feathers tinged 

 with a very pale shade of pure rufous. A narrow fulvous line at 

 the base of the maxilla passing back, over, and behind the eye. A 

 broad black band, passing through the eye, includes the lores 

 and the ear-coverts. A white alar bar is formed by a white band 

 commencing on the outer web of the 3rd primary and passing 

 through both webs of each succeeding quill to the 9th, in which 

 and the 10th the white forms only a spot on the outer web. 

 Under surface of quills pale brown, their inner webs being mar- 



