304 TIMALIIDJB. 



bases and black bars; inner secondaries silky-brown, narrowly 

 barred with black ; outer tail-feathers brown, barred with black 

 and tipped with white ; the middle pair reddish brown, obsoletely 

 barred and the intervening ones gradually changing from the 

 one to the other ; throat and upper breast pinkish-fulvous ; 

 remainder of lower plumage fulvous, the centre of the abdomen 

 whitish and the under tail-coverts tipped with white. 



Colours of soft parts. Iris brown or reddish brown : bill pale 

 horny-brown, darker on culmen, paler on gonys ; legs and feet 

 pale sienna or pale browu. 



Measurements. Total length about 220 to 230 mm. ; wing 80 to 

 85 mm. ; tail about 105 to 115 mm. ; tarsus about 28 mm. ; culmen 

 abont 15 mm. 



Distribution. ]S"epal, Sikkim and Dana Hills. 



Nidiflcation. The Nepal Bar-wing breeds between 4,000 and 

 8,000 feet in May and June, making a compact cup-shaped nest of 

 grass, leaves and bamboo leaves mixed with roots and tendrils and 

 lined with finer roots and rhizomorph. Outside there is always 

 a certain amount of moss and often a great deal, whilst in some 

 instances this material is largely used in the nest itself. It 

 measures between 4 and 6 inches in diameter and is almost 

 as deep as wide, though occasionally u more shallow-shaped nest 

 may be taken. It is placed in saplings, small trees or high 

 bushes 10 to 25 feet from the ground and most often in fairly 

 dense forest. The eggs number two or three, very rarely four, 

 and are a pale blue-green in colour with rather smeary lines, 

 blotches and smudges of reddish brown with secondary markings 

 of pale lilac-grey. The texture is fine but not very glossy, the 

 shape an obtuse oval and twenty-five eggs average 22'8xl7'5mm. 

 in measurement. 



Habits. In habits these birds differ little from those of the genus 

 Leioptila. Hume remarks that they go about in small parties 

 and are quite tree-birds, clambering about and poking into every 

 hole and cranny and foraging about much like Tits in the huge 

 bunches of orchids and other parasites. They are rather noisy 

 birds but most of their notes are mellow and pleasant. They are 

 mainly insectivorous in their diet, perhaps wholly so. 



(322) Actinodura egertoni khasiana. 

 THE SHILLONG BAR-WING. 



Actinodura khasiana Godw.-Aust., J. A. S. B., xv, pt. ii, p. 76 (1876) 

 (Sbillong). 



Vernacular names. None recorded. 



Description. Differs from the last bird in the lighter crown, the 

 rufous of the forehead is paler and does not extend on to the 

 crown as it does in that bird ; the back, rump and upper tail- 



