126 



DICED RID^. 



and upper tail-coverts yellow ; the tail yellow, the basal half of the 

 feathers black; wings dusky, or black, the greater coverts tipped with, 

 yellow ; wing spot yellow ; forehead and lores yellowish white ; 

 chin, cheeks and feathers below the eye whitish ; under surface of 

 body yellow washed with orange on the breast ; bill and legs 

 black ; irides dark brown. 



Length. — 7"5 to 8 inches, wing 3*45^ tail 4, tarsus 0'55. 



Hah, — The Himalayas, Cashmere, Bhootan, Shillong, Cachar, Assam, 

 Chittagong, Arracan, Upper Burmah, Punjab, Bengal, Oudh, Rajputana 

 and Central India, N. W. Provinces, visiting the Doccan, Concan, 

 Kutch, Kattiawar and Sind during the summer months. 



Family, DICEURIDiE — Drongo-Sheikes. 



Bill stout, large, wide at base, more or less curved, and keeled at 

 the culmon, tip notched ; nostrils more or less covered with bristles, 

 generally completely so; tail forked, often feathers. 



Gen. Buchanga. 



A crest of frontal plumes, not elongated into an erect tuft ; tarsus 

 scaled in front. 



Buchanga atra, Hcrm. Ohs. Zool. p. 208. Dicrurus macrocercus, 

 Viell. N. Did. ix. p. 588 ; Jerd. Mad. Journ. xiii. pt. 2, p. 121 ; id. B. 

 of Ind. i. p. 427, No. 278; Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 286; Str. F. 

 iv. 278; vi. 213; vii. 272; Murray, Hdbk., Zool, Sfc, Slnd, p. 137. 

 Buchanga albirictus, Jlodgs. hid. Rev. p. 326; Hume, Str. F. 1873, p. 

 1 78 ; Ball. Str. F. 1874, p. 402. Dicrurus balicassius, Sykos, P. Z. S. 

 1832, p. 86 (nee. I.) Sharpe, Gat. Fasserif. B. Br. Mus. p. 246.— The 

 Common Dronqo-Sheikb or King Ceow. 



Head, hind neck, back, upper tail-coverts, lesser and median wing- 

 coverts glossy blue-black, a white spot at the gape; chin, throat, 

 lores, sides of the facQ, and under surface of the body black, less 

 glossy than the upper surface, and with a greenish cast; greater and 

 primary coverts black, glossed greenish, also the secondaries and 

 tertiaries ; primaries and tail duller black ; the inner webs of the 

 primaries and under surface of the tail dusky. Young with whitish 

 lunulos on the under surface of the body. Bill and legs black; 

 irides rod. 



Length. — 12 inches, wing 5*75, tail 6*25 to tip of outer feather, 

 tarsus 0'9. 



Hah. — The whole of India and Ceylon to Nepaul. Occurs also in 

 Upper Pegu, Chaman (South Afghanistan) and at Quotta in Beloo- 

 chistan. Except at Quotta and Chaman, the King Crow is a resident 

 wherever it occurs, breediug during the rains. The nest is made of 

 twigs, cotton, rags, &c., loosely put together, with a shallow saucer- 

 like recess for the eggs, which are of a white and sometimes a 

 piukish colour, spotted all over with brick red. Often nests have 

 been foimd to contain besides a few typical coloured eggs, one or two 

 pure white ones. The usual number found in each nest is four. 



