100 



made of bamboo leaves, and lined with strips of the same. It contained three 

 white eggs. Davison also found a nest in January, said to be a globular 

 structure. The habits, according to Oates, of all the Scimitar Babblers, are much 

 alike. They live on the ground, or in shrubs very close to the ground, only very 

 occasionally mounting on trees. They conceal themselves so well that they 

 are seldom seen, but when seen they generally perform fantastic motions, 

 spreading out the tail and drooping the wings. They have different calls 

 which resolve themselves into " hoot-hoot-hoot" constantly repeated. They 

 frequent the thickest piece of jungle, where the low undergrowth is entangled 

 and intricate. They nest on the ground on sloping banks, making a nest which 

 in most cases is domed, otherwise only cup-shaped. Eggs invariably white. 



545. PomatorhimiS pinwilli, Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus, vii.; 

 p. 413. PINWILL'S SCIMITAR-BABBLER, 



Adult. Similar to P. schisticeps, but very small, and having a very distinct 

 ferruginous collar separating the head from the mantle ; sides of neck and sides 

 of chest ferruginous, distinctly streaked with white. 



Length. 8 inches; wing 3-25 ; tail 37; tarsus J'2; culmen ro. 



Sharpe says this is a rufous-necked race of P. schisticeps, representing that 

 species in the N.-W. Himalayas. It is described from two skins in the British 

 Museum, and is given sub-specific rank. 



546. Pomatorhinus horsfieldii, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 89 , 



id. J. A. S. B. iii. p. 537 ; Jerd., Madr. Journ. x. p. 256; Bp. Comp. i. 

 p. 220; Jerd. B. Ind. ii. p. 31, No. 404; Ball. Sir. F. 1874, p. 409; 

 Eourd., Str. F. 1876, p. 399; Wardlaw- Ramsay, Ibis, 1878, p. 137 ; Hume, 

 Str. F. 1879, p. 96; Fairbk, Str. F. 1876, p. 265; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. 

 Mus. vii. p. 415. Pomatorhinus obscurus, Hume, Str. F. 1873, p. 7; Butler, 

 Str. F. 1875, p. 471; Hume, Sir. F. 1879, p. 96, Sharpe, Cat, B. Br. 

 Mus. vii. p. 416. The SOUTHERN SCIMITAR-BABBLER. 



Above, including the wing coverts, dark olive brown, more ashy in some ; 

 head more or less darker than the back, the feathers being tipped with dark 

 brown ; sides of the crown with a line of black, followed by a distinct white 

 eyebrow extending from the base of the bill to the sides othe hind neck ; 

 lores and ear coverts black ; sides of the neck black, with narrow strealts of 

 white-, cheeks white ; primary coverts paler than the back ; quills dark brown, 

 olivaceous on their outer webs ; tail the same ; under surface of the body 

 white ; lower abdomen, flanks, thighs and under tail coverts olive brown ; fore- 

 neck and breast white ; the sides of these more or less strongly marked with 

 black. Bill yellow ; base of maxilla dark brown ; legs dusky ; irides dark red. 



Length. %'2 to 9-5 inches; wing 375 to 3-9; tail 4-0; culmen 1-2 ; 

 tarsus 1*3. 



