TIMALIA.. 225 



outer webs tinged with rufous at the base ; wings dark browu, 

 the outer webs olive-brown and the inner secondaries rufous- 

 brown ; breast and abdomen ferruginous ; flanks, vent and 

 under tail-coverts rufous-brown ; thighs plumbeous. 



Colours of soft parts. Iris red-bro\vn to almost vermilion ; bill 

 black, paler at tip ; legs dull grey, horny-grey, or plumbeous 

 brown. 



Measurements. Length about 210 to 220 mm. ; wing about 

 72 to 77 mm. ; tail about 90 mm. ; tarsus about 30 mm. ; culmen 

 about 55 to 60 mm. 



Distribution. Sikkim, Bhutan and hills South of the Brahma- 

 putra. I obtained it in both the Khasia and Cachar Hills, and 

 have had it sent me from the Naga Hills. 



Nidification. This bird breeds from April to July between 

 4,500 and 8,000 feet, but as a rule over 5,000 feet. It makes the 

 usual grass- ball nest, rather more tidy and neat than most 

 Scimitar-Babblers and measuring roughly about 6" in diameter. 

 The eggs, three to five in number, are like those of the genus 

 Pomatorhinus, and measure about 23'8 x 18'1 mm. 



Habits. These are typically those of the Scimitar-Babblers, but 

 as far as I saw they were always in pairs, not flocks. Their voice 

 is a high-pitched replica of the triple " hoot," a quite sweet note 

 and not often uttered. They were seen frequently in bracken 

 and fern cover and are also sometimes found in Pine forests in 

 which the undergrowth is very scantv and confined to the ravines 

 and hollows. 



Genus TIMALIA Horsf., 1831. 



The genus Timalia consists of a single species, which is charac- 

 terized by the peculiar rigid shafts of the feathers of the forehead 

 and crown and by its deep black bill. The tail is longer than the 

 wing and much graduated, the outer feather being about half 

 the length of the central ones. 



Fig. 38. Head of T. p. bengalensis. 



Timalia pileata. 



Key to Subspecies. 



A. Abdomen fulvous; upper plumage darker. . T.p. bengalensis, p. 226. 



B. Abdomen rusty-buff; upper plumage paler. T.p.jerdoni,^.227. 



VOL. I. Q 



