MIXOENIS. 273 



Kloss's connectens I cannot separate from pileata the South Malay 

 form and his name therefore becomes a synonym of that bird. 

 Variation inter se is so great in the birds of this species that it is 

 quite unsafe to found geographical races on anything but very 

 large series. 



Fig. 51. Head of M. r. rubricapilla. 



(283) Mixornis rubricapilla rubricapilla. 

 THK YELLOW-BREASTED BABBLER. 



Motacitta rubricapilla Tickell, J. A. S. B., ii, p. 576 (1833) 



(Manbhum). 

 Mixornis ruficapilla. Blanf. & Gates, i, p. 167. 



Vernacular names. Dao-pere gatang-lili (Cachari). 



Description. Crown pale ferruginous blending on the neck into 

 the olive-green of the upper plumage and sides of neck; supercilium, 

 lores and front of forehead yellow, the two latter with black shafts; 

 ear-coverts dull yellow with pale shafts ; cheek, chin, throat and 

 upper breast yellow with black shaft-lines ; centre of breast and 

 abdomen plain yellow ; remainder of lower plumage dull ashy- 

 yellow. 



Colours of soft parts. Iris white or pale yellow to yellow-ochre ; 

 eyelids pale slate-colour ; bill horny-brown or slate-brown, the 

 culmen almost black and the lower mandible paler ; legs olive-or 

 brownish-fleshy, the claws yellower. 



Measurements. Total length about 125 mm. ; wing 53 to 58 mm. ; 

 tail about 52 to 54 mm. ; tarsus about 18 mm.; culmen 10 to 11 mm. 



Distribution. Sikkim and Eastern Bengal to Assam and East 

 to Chin, Kachin and Shan States ; South to Arrakan and N. Ten- 

 asserim. 



Nidification. The Yellow-breasted Babbler breeds during April, 

 May and June and sometimes into July at heights up to 2,500 feet 

 or more and also in the plains. In Burma it begins to breed in 

 March. It makes a rough domed nest of grass and bamboo leaves, 

 with a meagre lining of finer grass, which it places either in a 

 bamboo clump or a bush close to, but not on the ground .; 

 occasionally 4 or even 5 feet above it. The eggs, generally 

 three, sometimes two only or four, are china-white with numerous 

 specks and small blotches of red and reddish brown distributed all 

 over but, as a rule, more thickly at the larger end. The texture 



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