to ' The Birds of India.' 305 



the colour of the middle pair. General colour of the under sur- 

 face of the body similar to that of the head, but each feather 

 terminated by an albescent border and a penultimate brown 

 band, most prominent on the breast ; ventral feathers almost 

 entirely albescent, with narrow brown terminal edgings ; under 

 tail- and wing-coverts tawny ferruginous, the former faintly 

 tipped with albescent ; major wing-coverts and some of the 

 tertiaries with terminal albescent drops ; bill black ; legs brown. 

 Wing 3i, tail 4-|-, tarsus 1-pV, bill from gape -jL. The pale 

 central streaking of the head- and neck-plumage varies in degree 

 in each individual. 



This species was detected by Major Godwin -Austen on Heng- 

 dan peak, in the North Cachar hills, at about 7000 feet of ele- 

 vation. 



418. Trochalopteron variegatum. 



I first obtained this species in the valley of the Sutlej, and 

 subsequently in various other parts of the N.W. Himalayas up 

 to Kashmir, where it is common in summer in forests at from 

 8000 to 10000 feet of elevation. My description being taken 

 from a faded specimen, is rather imperfect ; and I add a few 

 particulars and corrections. The white line behind the eye is 

 very minute ; the winglet is black ; the bar on the middle of the 

 wing is situated on the middle of the secondaries ; the edge of 

 the shoulder is pure white ; the lower tail-coverts are rufous ; 

 the middle only of the chin is black ; the outer web of the pri- 

 maries is pearl-grey, sometimes pure, at other times tinged more 

 or less by yellow or greenish yellow or orange; the central tail- 

 feathers are ashy grey, tipped vvith white, and black at their 

 base; and the outer tail-feathers are in some externally pure 

 grey, in others golden yellow, the inner web being dusky or 

 dingy green. Captain Cock has named those with the wings and 

 tail orange or reddish externally Trochalopteron humii ; and Mr. 

 Hume has named those with the primaries and tail-feathers pure 

 grey externally T. simile (Ibis, 1871, p. 408). As these 

 colours are liable to change and fade in this and other 

 species, I consider them to be all of one species, though, perhaps, 

 varying somewhat according to locality as well as to age of 



SER. III. — VOL. II. X 



