LEIOTRICHINyE. 259 



Tlie female is usuallj' nearly -white bencatli, or witli the vcllow 

 very dilute. 



Bill fleshy brown ; legs fleshy yellow; irides brown. Length 

 5^ inches; extent 7^ ; wing 2^; tail 2^; bill at front y ^ ; tarsus |. 



Tliis was originally described by Hodgson as a Yuhina, but, on 

 subsequent examination, referred to a new genus. 



This is a very common and abundant bird about Darjeelinor. 

 It associates in large flocks, is very active, incessantly on the move, 

 and diligently hunting among the foliage of bamboos, and various 

 other trees, for minute insects and larvae, and keeping up a 

 continual twittering the whole time. I have repeatedly had the 

 nest brouglit to me. It is large, made of leaves of bamboos, 

 carelessly and loosely put together, and generally placed in a 

 clump of bamboos. The eggs are three to five in number, of a 

 somewhat fleshy white, with a few rusty spots. It inhabits the 

 whole Himalayas from Mussooree to Bootan, from 5,000 feet 

 (perhaps lower in the winter) to 9,000 feet, and upwards. It 

 keeps its crest generally elevated when feeding, showing very 

 distinctly the rusty-yellow nape. 



624. Ixulus occipitalis, Blyth, 



Siva, apud Blyth, J. A. S. XIII., 937— Bltth, Cat. 517— 

 HOKSF., Cat. 676 — Temgyeng-pho^ or Turringing-pho, Lepch. 



The Chesnut-headed Flower-pecker. 



Descr. — Crown and nape ferruginous brown ; the coronal feathers 

 elongated, and showing a full, but not lengthened or pointed crest, 

 some white on the occiput and nape ; rest of the upper plumage dull 

 brownish olive-green ; the shafts of the dorsal and scapulary 

 feathers pale ; beneath, like the back, but much paler, and rufescent ; 

 the throat white, and lower tail-coverts brownish ferruginous. 



Bill black ; legs pale yellowish brown ; iris brown. Length Sc- 

 inches ; wing 2| ; tail 2| ; tarsus | ; bill at front |. 



This is also a very common bird about Darjeeling ; has similar 

 habits to the last, and constructs a like nest. 



A very closely allied species has been described by Horsfield in 

 his Catalogue, No. 677, Ix. castaniceps, said to have been brought 



