TROCHALOPTElirM. 171 



Kidification. Breeds in the Kacliin Hills in April and May, 

 making a typical Laughing-Thrush's nest of l):imboo leaves and 

 grass, mixed with a few roots and otiier leaves and lined with the 

 former. They are, as usual, cup-shaped, and are placed either in 

 bushes or low down against trees in the dense undergrowth of 

 ravines in forest growing in valleys over 6,000 feet elevation. The 

 eggs are unlike any others of this family and have a pure white 

 ground sparingly spotted and blotched with reddish-brown ornearly 

 black spots ; they are in fact exactly like Golden Orioles' eggs, 

 rifteen eggs average 28*7 X 20*7 mm. 



Habits. This very handsome Trochcdopterum is only found at 

 heights from 5,000 to 8,000 feet, frequenting the most dense 

 of undergrowth, in which it skulks about in small parties or pairs,, 

 being heard much more often than seen ; at the same time,, 

 according to Harington, they are as inquisitive as noisy, and if 

 one remains hidden, the birds soon show themselves in the 

 attempt to make out the intruder. 



(160) Trochalopterum subunicolor subunicolor. 



The PLAiN-coLouREn Laughing-Thrush. 



Trochalopterum suJmnicolor (Hodgs.), Blvth, J. A. S. B., xii, p. 952" 

 (1843> (Nepal) ; Blanf. &, Gates, i, p. 94. 



Vernacular names. Tarmal-plio (Lepcha) ; Nuhom (Bhut.). 



Description. Forehead, crown and nape dark ashy-brown, the 

 forehead tinged v\ith fulvous ; sides of neck and whole upper 

 plumage olive-brown, each feather margined with brown ; middle 

 tail-feathers olive-brown, the others black suffused with olive- 

 yellow on the outer webs and tipped with white ; wing-coverts 

 olive-brown ; primary-coverts dark brown ; visible winglet ashy- 

 yellow ; primaries brown with the outer webs grey ; outer 

 secondaries with an increasing amount of yellow ; inner secondaries 

 olive- brown tinged with yellow and tipped with w-hite ; cheeks, 

 chin and throat like the back, but darker and with a few white 

 tips to the feathers of the face ; under plmnage olive-brown, 

 tinged with fulvous on the abdomen and all the feathers margined 

 with black, except on under tail-coverts and thighs. 



Colours of soft parts. Bill dusky ; legs reddish brown ; iris 

 red-brown {Jerdon) ; iris yellowish grey {Blanf.). 



Measurements. Length about 230 mm. ; wing 90 to 05 mm. ; 

 tail about 100 to 105 mm, ; tarsus about 35 mm.; cuhnen about 

 18 mm. 



Distribution. Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and hills North oF the 

 Brahmaputra as far as the Dibang. 



Nidification. According to Hodgson this Laughing-Thrush 

 breeds in Nepal in the months of April, May and June, making a 

 cup-shaped nest of grass and moss lined with bamboo leaves, 

 which it builds in bushes and trees, close to the ground, in open 



