CIILOROPSIS. 347 



on the wings including most of the lesser coverts, bright pale 

 blue; edge of wing rather darker blue; concealed portions of 

 wing-quills dark brown; lower aspect of tail plumbeous; remainder 

 of plumage bright grass-green, lighter below and sometimes inclined 

 to an emerald tint. 



Colours of soft parts. Iris light to dark brown ; bill black, 

 gape and base of lower mandible horny ; mouth bluish ; legs 

 clear pale to dark plumbeous, the younger the bird the brighter 

 and clearer the colour. 



Measurements. Total length about 190 mm.; wing 94 to 98 mm. ; 

 tail about 70 to 75 mm. ; tarsus about 18 mm. ; culmen about 

 17 to 18 mm. 



Female has the gold forehead less developed and the crown 

 duller, the gold collar is obsolete ; the blue of the throat is some- 

 times mixed with black. 



Measurements. A smaller bird than the male; wing 90 to 94 mm. 



Distribution. The Himalayas from Garhwal and Simla to 

 Eastern Assam ; the hilly country of North and North-East 

 India from Chota Nagpur, Kajmahal, Santal Parganas etc. ; 

 the whole of Burma to South Tenasserim where it meets C. a. 

 inornata ; Shan States, North and Central Siam. 



Nidification. The nest is a rather shallow cup, made of very 

 fine twigs, moss roots, the tendrils of climbing plants, outwardly 

 bound together and also interwoven with scraps of moss, grass 

 and a tow-like material which seems to be the inner bark of a 

 tree. The lining, if any, is of finest grass stems or moss roots. 

 The nests are generally placed in horizontal forks at the extremity 

 of a small outer branch near the top of a high tree in forest. As 

 the nest is a small one, roughly about 3'7" (93 mm.) by under 

 2" (50 mm.) deep, it is very hard to find. 



They breed from the middle of May to the end of July or even 

 into August at all heights from 3,000 to 6,000 feet and 'probably 

 much lower, as a nest of a Chloropsis, probably of this species, 

 was taken by natives in the foot-hills of Cachar at a few hundred 

 feet elevation only and in Margherita, Assam, at about 700 feet 

 this bird was quite common throughout the summer. 



The normal clutch of eggs is two, three only rarely and in 

 appearance they are very like long dull- coloured eggs of the 

 Niltavas. The ground is cream or reddish cream and they are 

 covered, usually profusely, with faint pale reddish-brown markings, 

 equally numerous over the whole surface. They are long, often 

 pointed, ovals in shape and the texture is glossless aud fairly fine. 

 Ten eggs average ^3'5 x 15 - 5 mm. 



Habits. The Golden-fronted Chloropsis is found in small parties, 

 four to a dozen or so, throughout the non-breeding season, 

 frequenting open but well-wooded country, and keeping much to 

 the tops of the highest trees, especially the Cotton-tree (Bombax 

 malabaricci) when in flower. At other times it may be found in 



