282 TURDID/E. 



342- Bumesia flaviventris, (Deless.), Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. 

 vii. p. 204. Orthotomus flaviventris, Deless., Rev. Zool. 1840, p. 101 ; id. Voy. 

 Inde, part ii. p. 30. Prinia flaviventris, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xiii. p. 376 ; xvi. 

 P. 455 J Bp* Consp. i. 284 ; J erd. B. Ind. ii. p. 169, No. 532 ; flume, Nests 

 and Eggs, p. 334 ; Bl. and Wald., B. Burm. p. 1 18 ; Oates, Str. F. v. p. 158; 

 Wardlaw- Ramsay , Ibis., 1877, p. 466; Hume and Dav., Str. F. vi. p. 347 ; 

 Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 101 ; Doig, Sir. F. viii. p. 378; Butler, Str. F. ix. 

 p. 386; Oates, Str. F. x. p. 219; Oates, B. Br. Burm. i. p. m. Prinia 

 rafflesi, Tweed, Ibis., 1877, p. 311, pi. vi. fig i. The YELLOW-BELLIED WREN- 

 WARBLER. 



Forehead, crown, lores and ear coverts dark ashy ; nape, back, scapulars, 

 rump and upper tail coverts olive or yellowish green ; tail brown, tinged with 

 fulvous and margined with olive yellowish ; quills and wing coverts brown, 

 edged with olive or yellowish green ; cheeks, chin, throat and breast white, 

 tinged with yellowish ; abdomen, sides of the body, vent, and under tail coverts 

 bright yellow ; thighs olive brown ; under tail coverts, axillaries and under 

 wing coverts pale yellow. 



In new plumage the tail is tipped with pale yellow, which, however, soon 

 wears off ; mouth black ; irides reddish yellow ; eyelids plumbeous ; bill black ; 

 legs orange fleshy ; claws yellowish. 



Length. 5-4 to 5-7 inches; wing 1-75 to r8 ; tail 2*5 to 3'O; tarsus 0*85 ; 

 culmen 0*55. Females are a little smaller. 



Hab. Bengal and N. W. Provinces, and westward into Sind ; eastward 

 along the Terai to near Calcutta and the Bengal Soonderbuns, and through the 

 Burmese countries to Malacca and Sumatra. (Sharpe) . Extends also into Assam, 

 and Sylhet. It does not occur in the Concan or Deccan, nor in Southern 

 India. In Lower Bengal, Jerdon says it is abundant in high grass, especially 

 near the Ganges. It makes its way through the thick reeds with great facility 

 in seeking food. Oates says, at frequent intervals it mounts to the top of a tall 

 reed and utters a short merry song, and then suddenly plunges into cover 

 again with a peculiar long-sounding snap of the bill. During May and up 

 to September it breeds among the tall elephant grass in which it lives, attaching 

 its nest to two or three stems. The nest is an oval cup-like structure, made 

 of vegetable down and the flowering end of fine grass, held together by other 

 strong grass. Eggs brick red, generally four in number. 



343. Bumesia SOCialiS, (Sykes), Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. vii. 

 p. 208. Prinia socialis, SyJces, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 89; Jerd., Madr. Journ. 

 xi. p. 3; id., Birds Ind. ii. p. 170. No. 534; Blanf., Ibis, 1867, p. 464; 

 Butler, Str. F. 1875, p. 479; Fairbank, Str. F. 1876, p. 259; id, 1877, 

 p. 406; Vidal, Str. F. 1880, p. 67. Prinia steward, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 

 xvi. p. 455 ; Jerd. B. Ind. ii. p. 171, No. 535 ; Hume, Str. F. 1875, p. 480 ; 

 id. Str.F. 1876, p. 497; l8 7 8 > P- 3 J 9; 1879, P- 101. Prinia brevicauda, 

 Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 521. The DARK- ASHY WREN-WARBLER. 



