TKOCHALOPTERUM. 167 



Distribution. Khasia Hills only. 



Nidification. The breeding season of this subspecies commences 

 in tlie end of April and ceases in the first week in June, though an 

 odd nest or so, perhaps a second brood, may be found as late as 

 August. The nest is a wide, shallow cup of moss, roots, grasses 

 and dead leaves, bound together with roots, tendrils and stems of 

 reeds aud is lined with roots, fern-rachides or, rarely, fine grass. 

 It is a fairly well-built nest, and often looks much like that of 

 some of the true Thrushes. No attempt seems to be made at 

 concealment, and it is usually placed in some tall, thinly foliaged 

 bush, about 6 feet from the ground, in pine- or evergreen-forest. 



The eggs are generally two only in number, sometimes three 

 and very rarely four. In type of coloration they are like those of 

 trythroctphaJ'um, but are more boldly marked with a few black or 

 deep purply-red blotches, spots or lines. In a few eggs these 

 markings are very scanty, but in some are more numerous than 

 in the eggs of other races of this Laughing-Thrush. The average 

 of 50 eggs is 30-6 x 21-6 mm. 



Habits. Those of the genus. A bird of the pine-forests from 

 4,000 feet upwards. 



(154) Trochalopterum erythrocephalum melanostigma. 

 BLYXH'S RED-HEADED LATJGHING-THKUSH. 



Garrulax melanostiyma Blyth, J. A. S. B., xxiv, p. 268 (1855) 



(Mt. Muleyit). 

 Trochalopterum melanodigma. Blanf. & Gates, i, p. 92. 



Vernacular names. None recorded. 



Description. Forehead, lores and cheeks black, the black of 

 the lores extending to over the eye and merging in a short grey 

 supercilium ; ear-coverts and sides of the neck silvery-grey 

 streaked with black ; throat and upper breast ferruginous, paling' 

 on lower breast and abdomen and becoming olive-grey on flanks 

 and under tail-coverts. No spots on either back or breast. 



Colours of soft parts. Legs, feet and claws very pale brown 

 to reddish ; bill black ; iris brown or hazel-brown (Hume 6f Davis.)* 



Distribution. Muleyit Mount, Tenasserira, and thence north- 

 wards into the Shan States. 



Nidification. Nests and eggs taken by Mr. C. Hopwood 

 resemble those of T. e. chry&optemm, his eggs measure 30*5 X 

 20-4 mm. 



Habits. According to Davison these birds keep in parties of six 

 or eight, feeding chiefly on the ground and keeping much in the 

 brush- wood. They are neither very noisy nor very silent, uttering 

 from time to time a fine whistling call in addition to other 

 numerous conversational notes. They appear to feed exclusively 

 on insects. 



