( Tse ) 
thinks is being quietly made away with or milched. Rufa is 16 
inches in length. In appearance it differs from the foregoing spe- 
cies ; colour, above, is sooty brown, on head, neck and breast, dark- 
est about the head and throat; back and upper tail coverts are 
ferruginous ; light grey about the secondaries, part of the quills are 
black ; tail is ash in colour, tipped with black; lower plumage of 
body is ferruginous ; bill black ; irides bright red. 
(676) DeNDROCITTA SINENSIS, Himalayan Magpie, ascends to an 
elevation of 6,000 feet. It is met with in the district by the side of 
forests, usually near jungle clearings for cultivation or near small 
villages and hamlets which are frequently seen, on our hill slopes. 
I saw this species occasionally near Gowala’s bathans, as the milk- 
men’s hill dairies are, called, such places seem favourite resorts for 
Himalayan Magpie. In size this Dendrocitta is 16 inches ; colour, 
above, is the same earthy brown which was observed on rufa, being 
perhaps, of a more chesnut tinge ; top of the head, nape and hind 
neck are bluish ash in colour ; forehead and a patch over the eyes 
black ; upper coverts and lower back ash ; wings black with a con- 
spicuous white spot, found so frequently in most birds belonging to 
this species ; tail ash and part black ; lower plumage ash ; under 
tail coverts rich chesnut. 
(677) DeNDROCITTA FRONTALIS, Black-browed Magpie, is also 
found near Darjeeling, but it is much rarer than any of the foregoing 
species of this family. It is seldom met with, except at a high 
elevation. This bird is usually made out by its longer tail. The 
bird itself is shorter than Sinensis. Frontalis feeds much on insects 
caterpillars, etc. When fruit and berries are available it does not 
lose a chance of a change of diet. In size it is 15 inches long ; bill 
and feet black ; irides brown red. It is known in these parts as 
Kolio-ko, but more commonly as Koklio-kok, which name is also 
applied to Sinensis and rufa. Hill folk say that these birds say kao- 
ho, as soon as they observe a stranger or perch beside a lonely 
hamlet, a literal translation of this particular kao-ho, is “who the 
‘juice’ are you’ ”? Colour of frontalis is chesnut on the back, ° 
scapulars, tail-coverts, flanks and underparts of the body ; deep 
black on the forehead, ear-coverts and foreneck ; wings and tail 
black ; most of the wing-coverts are pure ashy grey ; remaining por- 
tions, neck, breast and belly are greyish white. 
Himalayan and Alpine choughs are seldom seen except on high 
elevations in Sikkim, beyond Jongri and nearer the snows. These 
birds are fairly plentiful in Thibet. 
