Birds of North-ivest Fohkien. 199 



wing 2-40 inches, total length 5*20 ; and another male shot 

 on 9th May, total length 4*95 inches. I have named this 

 hird after my wife, whose courage and presence of mind saved 

 the party from rough treatment at the hands of a pack of 

 infuriated Chinese boatmen on the return journey. 



This new Shortwing is found in the same locality as the 

 preceding species ; but it seems to be much scarcer, and had 

 hitherto escaped our collectors. The habits of this bird are 

 apparently similar to those of B. sinensis; but it builds its 

 nest on the dwarf bamboos of the high forest, not on tree- 

 trunks. I heard the song of a bird hiding close to the first nest 

 taken, which must have been that of the male. It resembled 

 somewhat the song of B. sinensis, but ended in a deep 

 " churr " ; the song, so far as it can be put clown in writing, 

 being something like " churree-teree-teree-churr.'^ The 

 food, as ascertained by dissection, consists of small beetles, 

 larvae, tiny shells, small centipedes, and butterfly-eggs. 



We obtained two nests on this trip. On the 9th of May, as 

 Ave were walking along one of the paths lately cut in the 

 forest on the top of Mount David, we heard a loud and 

 angry chatter, like that of Alcippe hueti or Strachyridopsis 

 nificeps, in the bamboos near the path, and one of the hunters, 

 looking in, found a nest with two eggs. The owner, 

 however, had fled, and all our attempts to secure the female 

 were fruitless ; as, although she returned to the nest, she 

 flew out at once on our approach, only giving us a momentary 

 glimpse of a little brown bird which disappeared at once in 

 the dark bamboo undergrowth. Heavy rain coming on, we 

 had to give it up. On the 11th we revisited the nest; the 

 collectors set coir-fibre nooses, and after some time the 

 female returned and was caught. This nest is a domed oval 

 structure, made of moss and bamboo-leaves compactl}'^ put 

 together, rather a strong nest on the whole. The egg-cavity 

 has a good lining o£ skeleton-leaves, and the dome is lined 

 with fine black moss-roots. The aperture is large and of 

 oval shape ; a bamboo-leaf hung over it and partly closed it. 

 It is 2 inches high by 2j inches broad. The total length of 

 the nest is 7 inches, not including some loose moss hanging 



