236 TlMALIIUiK. 



with black centres to the feathers ; sides of head and neck riifous- 

 grey-brown; whole upper plumage reddish brown, darkest on the 

 wings and tail ; chin, throat and upper breast whitish ; remainder 

 of lower plumage pale fulvous, 



Colours of soft parts. " Upper mandible pale horn-colour, low er 

 pinkish liesh-culour ; iris hazel-brown ; eyelid and orbital skin 

 greenish yellow ; legs and feet pinkish brown " (Oates). 



Measurements. Total length about 165 mm. ; wing 57 to 

 62 mm.; tail about 80 mm. ; tarsus about 22 mrn. ; culmen about 

 12 mm. 



Distribution. The plains of Lower Burma. 



Nidification. A nest and eggs sent to me as belonging to this 

 bird do not diifer from those of the Tellow-eyed Babbler, the 

 eggs being of the boldly marked cream-coloured type. The five 

 eggs measure 17"0xl4*l mm. 



Hahits. This Babbler seems to be confined to swampy, h)w- 

 lying ])lains, covered with ekra or elephant-grass where it is very 

 abundant. It is, however, such an inveterate skulker and flies so 

 seldom that it is very hard to watch or to shoot unless high 

 floods practically cover its hiding ])laces. It lives in great part 

 on grasshoppers, large and small, and its note is said to be quite 

 different from that of sinensis but has not been more minutely 

 described. 



(238) Pyctorhis altirostris griseigularis. 

 Hume's Babbler. 



Pyctorhis i/riseif/ularis Hume, S. F., v, p. 116 (1877) (Assam). 



Vernacular names. Tiri-sorai (Assamese). 



Description. Differs from Jerdou's Babbler in having the chin, 

 throat and upper breast grey instead of white, and the lower 

 breast, abdomen and flanks dull rufous instead of pale fulvous. 



Colours of soft parts. " Bill pale horny, nearly white towards 

 base of lower mandible ; legs pale fleshy or orange-brown ; feet 

 darker" {Hume); iris brown or golden brown, eyelid and orbital 

 skin yellowish green. 



Measurements. Wing 62 to 61 mm. 



Distrihution. The sub-Himalayan plains from the Bhutan 

 Duars to the extreme east of Assam ; Cachar and Sylhet Plains. 



Nidification. I found this little Babbler very common and 

 breeding in great numbers in the ekra and elei)hant-grass plains 

 in N. Lakhimpur, where I took several nests. These are facsimiles 

 of the neat, com|)act cups of the Yellow-eyed Babbler, but are 

 less often shaped like itiverted cones, having the bottom rounded 

 off. The nests found were always spotted by the bird being seen 

 to quit, otherwise in these vast seas of grass they would never be 



