TURDID^E. 



PLATE. 



A dark grey line from the gape to and under the eye ; a broad slightly 

 greyish white line from the nostrils over the eye much more conspicuous 

 in some specimens than in others ; ear coverts silky rufescent brown ; fore- 

 head greyish brown; crown, occiput, nape, back and scapulars nearly 

 uniform grey-earthy brown, as a rule only very slightly tinged with rufescent 

 towards the rump, but in some specimens more strongly so ; rump and upper 

 tail coverts bright rufous fawn, in some specimens pale rufous buff ; tail 

 feathers bright, in some pale ferruginous, with a sub-terminal blackish brown 

 band extending over both webs, and a narrow tipping of rufous white jets in 

 at the shafts for about the tenth of an inch ; occasionally on the lateral 

 feathers the black bar is more or less imperfect, the dark band is from ri to 

 1-4 broad on the central tail feathers, about o'6 to 0*8 on the feathers next 

 the centre, and 0*4 to 0*6 on the external ones. The tertiaries and most of 

 the coverts are hair brown, broadly margined with pale rufescent ; the vvinglet, 

 primaries, and secondaries, and primary greater coverts are slightly darker 

 hair brown, very narrowly tipped with white, and some of them, the seconda- 

 ries especially, very narrowly margined with pale rufescent ; the chin and 

 upper throat white with a faint creamy tinge ; the sides of the neck, behind 

 and below the ear coverts, grey, greyish white and greyish brown, blending 

 on the one side into the colour of the throat, and on the other into that of the 

 back of the neck. The breast and upper abdomen are a very pale rufescent 

 brown, all the tips of the feathers being paler. The centre of the abdomen 

 and vent slightly rufescent white ; flanks rufescent fawn ; lower tail coverts a 

 somewhat pale buff ; wing lining and axillaries pure white ; legs and feet 

 black ; bill black ; irides dark brown. 



Length* 6'2 to 6*5 inches, expanse 10 to ii'3, tail from vent 2*2 to 2'4 ; 

 wings, when closed, reach to within 07 to 1-5 of end of tail, wing 37 to 4-4; 

 the 3rd primary is the longest, the second 0*25, and the 1st 2-0 shorter than 

 the third ; the tail is perfectly square ; bill, length at front 0*55 to O'6 ; tarsus 



1 to roi ; foot, greatest length, 1*15 to 1*3; mid-toe to root of claw 0-55 to 

 0-65, its claw straight, o'2 to 0-24. (Hume, Str. F. vol. i. p. 187.) 



Hab. Sind, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Beloochistan, S.-E. Persia, Afghan- 

 istan, Kutch, Kattiawar, Jodhpore and North Guzerat. In one specimen 

 I possess, a female collected at Kurrachee in January, the feathers on the 

 crown of the head are dark shafted, the tertiaries are tipped greyish white, and 

 the edge of wing is also greyish white, with a few dusky spots ; the basal 

 third or little more of the inner webs of the primaries, secondaries, and 

 tertiaries narrowly margined with white. S. cenanthe is said to migrate as 

 far as N. India, but of this there is nothing positive known. 



414. Saxicola isabellina, Crelszchm. Rupp. AtL p. 52 ; id. Syst. 

 Uebers. p. 58; Bonap. Consp. i. p. 304 ; Gray, Handlist B. i. p. 225 ; Blf. 



