190 MUSCICAPIDA;. 



entire visible portion of lesser coverts pale sandy buff; edge of wing and 

 outer webs of earlier greater primary coverts pure white ; tail hair brown, all 

 the feathers margined on the outer webs with sandy buff or light yellowish 

 brown ; the outer web of the outermost feather almost entirely of this colour ; 

 all the feathers, except the central pair, with almost the entire inner webs, 

 white, the outermost pair have an irregular subterminal brown band from 

 0*2 to 0.3 inch wide on this web, but the rest have only a small patch of brown 

 near the shaft close to the tip, the pair next the centre have the patch rather 

 larger ; there are traces of a dark streak from the base of the lower mandible 

 down either side of the throat, expanding on the sides of the breast ; doubtless 

 in breeding plumage this streak and patch are black or blackish ; bill and feet 

 black ; iris brown. 



Length. 6 inches; oilmen 07 ; wing 3 ; tail 2'i2; tarsus 07. (Hume.) 



Breeding Plumage. Two or three of both my males and females 

 have the lower parts of the lores, cheeks, ear coverts and entire sides 

 of the throat (leaving only a narrow pure white stripe down the centre of the 

 throat) black ; the feathers only a little tipped with pale sandy, which doubtless 

 in the breeding season entirely disappears ; also the lesser and median, and 

 secondary greater wing coverts and the winglet have become nearly black, 

 only very narrowly edged with sandy buff, which colour also seems in the 

 course of disappearing. (Hume.) 



Adult Female in winter plumage similar to the male, but smaller and show- 

 ing the dark streak and patch much less. 



Length. 5*5 inches; culmen 07 ; wing 2*9; tail 2 ; tarsus 0*93. (Hume.) 

 Ex. Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. vol. iv. p. 188. 



Hob. Sind, Punjab, and N.-W. Provinces. Mr. Hume gives the following 

 distribution of this species in vol. vii. of Stray Feathers, p. 55 : " Punjab 

 (Goorgaon, Umballa, Sirsa, Hansi, Shahpoor and probably all western dis- 

 tricts) ; Rajputana (Jodhpore, Biccaneer, Jeysulmere) ; North Guzerat, Kutsh, 

 Sind (Thurr and Parkur districts) and probably elsewhere." I got it at 

 Chaman (Afghanistan), and in the Bolan Pass, Beloochistan. 



214. Pratincola insignis, Biytk, y.A.s. B. xvi. p. 129; Jerd. B. 



Tnd. ii. p. 127, No. 485 ; Rainey, Sir. F. iii. p. 330; Hume, Sir. F. v. 

 pp. 132, 496; id. Sir. F. vii. pp. 454, 519; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. iv. 

 p. 187. The LARGE BUSH CHAT. 



" Male. Entire cap, lores, cheeks and ear coverts black, many of the feathers 

 faintly fringed at the tips with pale brown ; nape dark brown ; the feathers 

 much fringed at the tips with the same pale brown ; chin, throat, sides of the 

 neck, behind the ear coverts, and a broad imperfect collar at the base of the 

 neck, white ; back and scapulars brown, all the feathers fringed with pale 

 brown ; rump greyish buffy, more distinctly tinged buffy at the tips ; upper 

 tail coverts white, with a buffy tinge towards the middle ; wings dark brown ; 



