238 TIMAL1ID.E. 



a little more than, three quarters the length of the head, straight 

 and notched at tlie tip ; the nostrils are not overhung by hairs 

 and the rictal bristles are very short. 



Key to Species and Subspecies. 



A. Breast boldly streaked with dark brown. 



a. Mantle not streaked. 



a'. Crown rufous P. ruficeps rujiceps, p. 238. 



b'. Crown pale chestnut P. r. subochraceum, p. 239. 



c'. Crown dark chestnut P. r. granti, p. 240. 



b. Mantle streaked with dark brown. 



d'. Upper back streaked with dark brown. 



a". Less olive, more rufous P. r. mandellii, p. 240. 



V. Less rufous, more olive P. r. jonesi, p. 241. 



e' . Upper back with no definite streaks. P. r. minus, p. 242. 



B. Breast streaked brown and greyish buff. . P. paluatre, p. 242. 



C. Breast either not streaked at all or only 



obsoletely so. 



c. Crown concolorous with back ; forehead 



without pale shafts. 



/'. Above fulvous olive-brown P. ticke.lli tickelli, p. 247. 



ff'. Above rufescent olive-brown P. t. assamensis. p. 248. 



d. Crown concolorous with back but fore- 



head pale shafted. 



h'. Breast tinged brownish P.ignotum (pn0tom,p.243. 



i'. Breast tinged bright rufous P.i. cinnamomeum, p. 244. 



e. Crown darker than back. [capillum, p. 245. 



./'. Cap nearly chocolate-brown P. fuscicapillum fusci- 



k'. Cap olive-brown P-f- babaulti, p. 246. 



/'. Cap black P. nigricapitatum, p. 246. 



(240) Pellorneum ruficeps ruficeps. 

 THE SPOTTED BABBLER. 



Pellorneum ruficeps Swains., F. Bor.-Am., Birds, p. 487 (1831) 

 (Nilgiris) ; Blanf. & Gates, i, p. 141. 



Vernacular names. Adavi-lika-jittu (Tel.). 



Description. Forehead, crown and nape dull rufous ; whole 

 upper plumage and exposed parts of wings, sides of neck and tail 

 olive-brown, the latter tipped with white; lores and an indistinct 

 superciliuin creamy-white ; sides of the head rufous, paler than 

 the crown and mottled with black round the eye, and the ear- 

 coverts streaked with brown ; chin, throat and cheeks white ; 

 lower plumage white or pale fulvous white boldly streaked with 

 black on the breast and flanks and suffused with olivaceous on 

 the latter and thighs; under tail-coverts olive-brown edged with 

 white. 



Colours of soft parts. Iris red to crimson-lake, but cinnamon- 

 brown in the young ; upper mandible dark brown, lower white to 

 fleshy-white; legs, feet and claws fleshy-white. 



