10 BURTL^MID^. 



p.' 311; id. Cat. p. 19G; id. Birds Burvi.^. 125; Horsf. &• M. 

 Cat. I, p. 119 ; Jerd. B. I. i, p. 238 ; Godiv.-Aust. J. A. S. B. xxxix, 

 pt. 2, p. 95 ; xlv, pt. 2, p. 69; Hume, Cat. no. 139; id. S. F. ix, 

 p. 247 ; xi, p. 49 ; Oates, B. B. i, p. 425 ; Sclater, Cat.lB. M. xiv, 

 p. 461 ; Hartert, J. f. Orn. 1889, p. ^395 ; Oatcs \in\\mime's 

 N. 8i- E. 2nd ed. ii, p. 293. 



The Red-backed Broadbill, Jerdon ; Ra-i-suga, Nepal ; Rab-kyid, 

 Lepcha. 



I 



I I 11/ 'I III 

 I pull 



Fig. 5. — Head of S. rubr'qyygmft, J . 



Tips of outer primaries rounded. 



Coloration. Male. Head above, nape, and upper back dark 

 ashy grey ; a long black supercilium to the nape ; back browner, 

 passing into the ferruginous-red tertiaries, rump, and upper tail- 

 coverts. Wings black, outer webs of almost all feathers dull blue 

 near the base, corresponding to a white spot on the inner web ; 

 extreme tips of first 5 primaries white, of the remaining primaries 

 chestnut, bordered inside with bluish grey ; most of the wing- 

 feathers except the first five with a small white spot on the outer 

 web near the tip. Tail black, the three outer pairs of feathers 

 with broad white tips. Lower parts ashy grey, under wing-coverts 

 and thighs black ; edge of wing whitish. 



Female with pure white tips to some of the neck-feathers, 

 forming a narrow collar at each side but interrupted in the 

 middle. 



Bill blue, paler towards the tip, a green spot, in the male only, 

 in the middle of the lower mandible ; iris greyish brown, naked 

 skin round the eye dark yellow, narrow ring of the eyelid green ; 

 feet yellowish green, whitish-blue spots on the toes, nails whitish 

 blue (Hartert) ; iris brown speckled with gold {Hume). 



Length 7'25 ; tail 2-8 ; wing 3-3 ; tarsus -85 ; bill from gape -9. 



Distribution. Eastern Himalayas, below about 5000 feet, as far 

 west as Nepal ; Assam and the hills to the southward as far as 

 Arrakan and Manipur. 



Habits, 6fG. Very similar to those of S. lunatus, but this bird is 

 less tame. It feeds on insects, and Hume shot one in Manipur 

 that had eaten small laud mollusca. The nest and eggs, which 



