OTOCOMPSA. 397 



Distribution. South Chin Hills and South Kachin Hills to 

 Tenasserim, Arrakan and the whole of the Central Hills of 

 Burma, Siam and Shan States. Andamans and Nieobars. 



This form is another of the interesting cases in which birds 

 from the two extremities of a range are nearer than they are to 

 those in the centre. In India we have a horseshoe of which 

 Assam and the Chin Hills may be said to form the centre, whilst 

 Ceylon and the Malay Peninsula form the two extremities. 

 Evolution has evidently gone on on similar lines with very similar 

 results in the two latter places, though we need not inter from 

 this that these extremities were ever linked together. 



Nidification. Though there is little on record in regard to 

 this form, its nests and eggs, habits of breeding, etc. seem to 

 differ in no way from those of the Indian birds. In the South 

 it lays two or three eggs, in the North three and more rarely four. 

 A large series sent me by one of my collectors from Pegu 

 are exactly like a series from Madras and measure on an average 

 for forty eggs 20-0 x 15-9 mm. 



The breeding season seems to be February to April but doubt- 

 less extends over a much longer period than this. 



Habits. Takes the place in Burmese gardens, villages and 

 towns of 0. e. emeria in JNorthern India etc. and of the Madras 

 bird in Southern India. It is not found in forest or any kind of 

 heavy jungle. 



(413) Otocompsa flaviventris flaviventris. 

 THE BLACK-CRESTED YELLOW BULBUL. 



Vangajlaviventi-is Tick., J. A. S. B., ii, p. 573 (1833) (Dholblmm). 

 Otocompsa Jlaviventris. Blanf. & Gates, \, p. 278. 



Vernacular names. Paliariya kanydhara (Grorakpur); Mandiph- 

 liur (Lepcha) ; Hayrani Dao-bulip (Cachari). 



Description. Head, with long crest, chin and throat glossy 

 black; upper plumage and wing-coverts olive-yel.ow, brighter on 

 the rump and upper tail-coverts ; quill-feathers of wing brown, 

 primaries and outer secondaries edged with olive-yellow and inner 

 secondaries with all, or nearly all, the outer webs of this colour ; 

 tail brown, the feathers edged with olive-yellow for nine-tenths 

 of their length ; whole plumage below and sides of neck bright 

 King's yellow. 



Colours of soft parts. Irides bright pale yellow ; bill dark 

 horny, culmen and tip almost black and the gape dull yellowish : 

 legs brown or grey-brown. 



Measurements. Total length 180 to 190mm.; wing 78 ( ) 

 to 90 (d 1 ) mm.; tail about 81 mm.; tarsus about 16 mm.; 

 culmen about 13 mm. 



Distribution. The Himalayas from the Sutlej "Valley to East 

 Assam ; the forests of the Central Provinces ; Orissa, South of the 



