416 Mr. C. E. Stuart Baker on Indian 



and Drymochares) lay eggs totally difFereiit from those of 

 the rest, and they may be roughly described as being pale olive- 

 brown — that is to say, the ground-colour is a pale stone or 

 greenish-grey, almost obliterated by a very fine freckling 

 of some shade of olive-brown. These birds, it has been 

 ascertained, first by Mr. A. G. Cardew as regards Brachy- 

 pteryx, and then by myself as regards Dryinochares, are 

 Thrushes, the young having the plumage of that family; 

 they have therefore to be eliminated, not only from the 

 subfamily, but from the family Ci'ateropodidce altogether. 



As regards Larvivora and Hodgsonius I dare not venture 

 to give an opinion beyond saying that I believe it will 

 eventually be found that they cannot be placed here. 



Another genus, Myiophoneus, may also have to be placed 

 with the Thrushes. It makes nests and lays eggs much 

 like theirs, but it cannot be said that the young are very 

 Thrush-like. 



The fourth subfamily {Liotrichin(s) contains a hetero- 

 geneous assemblage of birds, the majority of which are 

 probably, if not certainly, of this family, but are rather 

 difficult to place with exactitude. All lay spotted eggs 

 except the Fire-cap {Cephalupyrus), but beyond this the eggs 

 have little in common. That beautiful genus of rare birds 

 the Shrike-Babblers [Pterutltius) shows afiinities in some 

 respects to the Crow-Tits and also to birds of many other 

 families. The nests are fragile-looking cradles, pendent 

 as a rule; the eggs are white and sparsely spotted. 



The loras are little green flufty creatures which rejoice 

 in the distinction of being the only birds that lay eggs 

 marked with pure gre}^, unmixed with red. 



Chloropsis contains the " Green Bulbuls,'^ as they were 

 called in Jcrdon's day, and their affinities are all, I 

 believe, with the true Bulbuls ; but certain differences may 

 entitle them to be kept apart, and in this case they should, 

 with one or two other genera, form another subfamily. Their 

 eggs, of a veiy pale pinkish white, are more or less speckled 

 with darker pink and claret-colour, or with a few spots verging 

 upon black ; they are distinctly Crateropodine in character. 



