SUTHORA. 107 



Colours of soft parts. Iris brown to red-brown ; bill w ax- 

 yellow; legs and feet slaty-grey or plumbeous tinted \\ith blue or 

 green ; '' legs and claws green '" {Cocldmrn). 



Measurements. Eather smaller than the last ; tail about 

 100 mm. ; wing 80 to 85 mm. ; culmen about 8 to 9 mm. ; tarsus 

 about 26 niml 



Distribution. Hills south of Brahmaputra, N. Lakhimpur, 

 hills of X. Burma, Shan States into western China. 



Nidification. Similar to that of the last bird but probably never 

 bri'eds belo>v 3,000 feet and seldom under 4-, 000 feet. The eggs 

 also are indistinguishable and the average of 34 is 22-2 x 16*4 ram. 



Habits. The same as those of Jlavirostris, but whereas that 

 bird is most connnon at low levels this is found at much higher 

 levels and never, so far as lias been recorded, in the plains or 

 foot-hills. 



Genus SUTHORA Hodgson, 1838. 



The genus Suthonc is one which has been much split up 

 by some Ornithologists. Harington accepted Heteromorjiha, 

 CJileuasicus, Buthora and Keosuthora as good genera. Whilst, 

 however, the last named is sharply divided from the others by its 

 very short tail, I can find no generic differences between the three 

 first and retain them all under SutJiora. 



The characteristics of the genus are the short, thick bill, a trifle 

 longer than deep, the culmen strongly curved but with the com- 

 missure almost straight. The nostrils are very small, circular, 

 and completely concealed by plumules. The sixth primary is a 

 little longer than the fifth and seventh or subequal. The tail- 

 feathers are long and narrow and greatly graduated, the outer 

 being about half the length of the central. The plumage is soft 

 and full and there is a short thick crest. 



ICey to Species and Suhspecies. 



. A well-defined supercilium of black 



or brown. 

 a. Whole upper plumage olive-brown. S. tmicolor, p. 108. 

 h. Crown ashy-brown, remaining upper 



plumage orange-brown S. nepcclensis, p. 109. 



c. Crown and upper parts all orange- 

 brown. 

 a'. Ear-coverts slaty blue-grey. 



a" . Breast and abdomen pale grey S. poliotis poUotis, p. 109. 

 b" . Breast and abdomen orange- 

 fulvous S. 2^. rippoin, p. 111. 



h'. Ear-coverts orange-chestnut . . -S'. /;. humii, p. 110. 



