336 BIRDS OF INDIA. 



Gen. Saraglossa, Hodgson. 



Char. — Bill rather long, straight at the base and depressed, com- 

 pressed at the tip; culmen ridged, curved, and slightly hooked; gonys 

 nearly straight; nostrils apert, but the frontal plumes descending over 

 the base of the bill, which does not divide the frontal plumes; wings 

 pointed, the first three nearly ec^ual ; tail firm, short, sub-furcate or 

 nearly even ; legs and feet strong and arboreal ; nails acute and 

 well curved. 



The founder of this genus states that he considered it to be a 

 ' Sturnideous bird with Melliphagous adaptations,' and compares 

 its bill with that of Phyllornis. It is generally classed among the 

 Lamprotorn'uKB, but appears to be a somewhat anomalous form of 

 this sub-family. 



691. Saraglossa spiloptera; Vigors. 



Lamprotornis, apud Vigors, P. Z. S. 1831 — Gould, Cent. 

 Him. Birds, pi. 34— Blyth, Cat. 582— Horsf., Cat. 816— Pm/i 

 at Mussooree. 



The Spotted-winged Stare. 



Descr. — Above pale plumbeous, the feathers tipped with dusky, 

 giving it a speckled and Stare-like appearance ; upper tail-coverts 

 tinged with rufescent brown ; quills and primary coverts glossy 

 green black, with a white spot at the base of the primaries ; tail 

 deep brown ; beneath, the chin and throat, deep chesnut rufous ; 

 some of the feathers tipped with glossy grey, the rest white, deeply 

 tinged with rufous on the abdomen and flanks. 



Bill dusky horny ; legs brown ; irides white. Length 8 inches, 

 wing 4| ; tail 2\ ; bill at front | ; tarsus |. 



This bird is found only in the Western and Central Himalayas. 

 It is not known in Sikhim. It frequents the valleys about Simla and 

 Mussooree, up to 6,000 feet, lives in small flocks of five or six ; its 

 note and flight, says Hutton, " are very much like those of Sturnus 

 vulgaris, and it delights to perch on the very summit of the forest 

 trees. I have never seen it on the ground, and its food appears to 

 consist of berries. It nidificates in the holes of trees, lining the 

 cavity with bits of leaves cut by itself; the eggs are usually three 



