TROCHALOPTEEUiM. 169 



Colours of soft parts. Legs and feet brown with a purplish 

 tinge ; bill lioniy dark brown to practically black ; iris brown 

 {juv.) to deep crimson or lac-red ; orbital skin dull leaden-dusky. 



Measurements. Total length about 230 mm. ; wing 81 to 93mm. ; 

 tail about lUU mm. ; tarsus about 32 mm. ; culmen about 18 mm. 



Distribution. Nepal to the extreme east of Assam, North of the 

 Brahmaputra. 



Nidification. Breeds between 3,000 and 5,000 feet and some- 

 times rather biglier in the months of April to June, making a 

 ■compact, deep cup of grass, leaves, roots and moss, lined with 

 the latter and measuring about 4g inches to 5^ inches in dia- 

 meter by nearly as much in deptli. It is generally placed in 

 bushes in rather dense and moist forest, sometimes fairly higli 

 up but more often at 3 or 4 feet from the ground. The eggs 

 number 2 or 3, very rarely 4, and are very beautiful, the ground- 

 ■colour being a deep Thrush-egg blue with dark maroon and red- 

 black lines, blotches and dots, the first being most numerous, 

 rit'ty eggs average 25"9 x 18"5 mm. 



Habits. This species haunts forests and secondary growth rather 

 than scrub-jungle, at elevations between 3,000 and 6,000 feet, 

 wandering as low down as 2,000 feet in winter. They are some- 

 times found singly or in pairs, but more often in small parties of 

 four or five, keeping much to the undergrowth and lower trees 

 and also hopping about and feeding on the ground, eating insects 

 of all kinds and also certain seeds. Their flight is feeble and their 

 notes consist of a great variety of conversational calls both harsh 

 ■and sweet, with an occasional louder call when the birds get 

 separated. 



(157) Trochalopterum phceniceum bakeri. 

 The Assam CEiMSOK-wi^fGED Laughing-Thrush. 



Trochalopteron phwniceum bakeri Hartert, Bull. B. O. C, xxxiii, 

 p. 10 (1909) (Laisimg, N. Oachar). 



Vernacular names. Dao-yao-gajao (Cachari). 



Description. Differs from the preceding bird in being paler both 

 above and below and in having the ashy-grey wash on the abdomen 

 much more pronounced. 



Colours of soft parts as in the last bird. 



Measurements slightly smaller than the last, the wing averag- 

 ing about 85 mm. as against 90 mm. in that bird. 



Distribution. Hills South of the Brahmaputra, Manipur and 

 Lushai Hills. 



Nidification. Breeds in May and June between 3,500 and 

 5,000 feet. The nest is a well-made cup, similar to that of the 

 last bird but more often placed quite close to the ground. Eggs 



