488 BIRDS OF INDIA. 



Length 3| inches ; wing 2 ; tail y^^ : tarsus 1 ; bill at front § ; 

 extent 5|. 



This Wren is found in the S. E. Himalayas. It is rarer than the 

 last at Darjeeling, and is usually found at a lower elevation. It is 

 also found in Assam. 



Gen. Pnoepyga, Hodgson. 



Syn. Microura^ Gould ; Anuj'a, Hodgson. 



(Jliar. — Bill short, straight, compressed, somewhat depressed at 

 the base ; rictus smooth ; wings very short, broad, rounded ; tail 

 (typically) rudimentary, of 6 plumes ; tarsus long, stout, almost 

 entire ; feet long, middle toe much lengthened; lateral toes nearly 

 equal. 



These Hill- Wrens are remarkable little birds, the most typical 

 being altogether without a tail, of sober, but full and silky plumage; 

 and living in damp, thick forests, among fallen trees and low 

 brushwood. They differ from the last in the Wren-like character 

 of their plumage, in their smooth gape, still more deficient tail, and 

 longer middle toe. 



They feed chiefly on insects, but, like the last, have a strong mus- 

 cular stomach, and sometimes eat seeds ; they are said to have 

 their nests on the ground, or in banks. I observe that Gray, in his 

 list of the Genera of Birds, makes this species the type of Tesia ; 

 but Hodgson never intended this, though he at first classed the 

 present bird under that genus. 



Prince Bonaparte states that the type of Gould's Microura is a 

 Javanese bird, and that therefore the present species should retain 

 Hodgson's name, albiventer ; but this appears very doubtful, and 

 Horsfield has not adopted that nomenclatuve. 



329. Pnoepyga squamata, Gould. 



Microura apud Gould, Ic. Av., pi. 5 — Tesia albiventer, and 

 ruflventer, HoDGS, J. A. S., VI. ; and P. unicolor, Hodgs., P. Z. S., 

 1845 — Blyth, Cat. 1060 — HoRSF.,Cat. 240. Marchok-bong, lue^ch. 



The Scaly-breasted Hill-wren. 

 Descr. — Above olive-brown, more or less dotted with buff; 

 beneath white, the feathers broadly scaled with brown ; sometimes 



