68 COE.VID.E. 



This species appears to me to be fairly distinct from S. ruficeps, 

 and to be its eastern representative. I have examined four speci- 

 mens of the Sikhim bird and find that in. none of them is there 

 more than a faint duskiness over the eye ; in no case is there 

 anything approaching the black shown on Anderson's plate of 

 S. atri super ciUaris. Hume's suggestion that this latter is the male 

 and S. rufaeps the female is, I think, untenable in the face of the 

 fact that all the other species of this family have the two sexes 

 alike.* 



Genus SOEORHYNCHTJS, n. gen. 



The two birds which I propose to place in this genus (with S. rufi- 

 ceps as the type) are not congeneric with any of the birds previously 

 xloticed. Jerdon and others have placed them in Paradoocornis, 

 but in my opinion wrongly so. They are characterized by a very 

 short tail, in fact they are the only Crow-Tits in which the tail 

 is not longer than the wing. The tail is, moreover, very slightly 

 graduated, the outer feather being quite five sixths the whole length 

 of the tail. 



The birds of this genus appear to frequent reeds and tall grass. 



Key to the Species. 



a. Crown of head rufous ; chin white S. mificeps, p. G8. 



b. Crown of head grey ; chin black S. gularis, p. 69. 



60. Scaeorhynchus ruficeps. The Larger Red-headed Crow-Tit. 

 Paradoxornis ruficeps, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xi, p. 177 (1842), xii, p. 947, 

 pi. (1843) ; Horsf. $ M. Cat. i, p. 377 ; Jerd. B. I. ii, p. 5 ; Blyth, 

 B. Burm. p. 117 ; Godw.-Aust. J. A. S. B. xlv, pt. ii, p. 196 ; Hume 

 $ Dav. S. F. vi, p. 257 ; Hume , Cat. no. 375 ; Gates, B. B. i, p. 130. 

 Heteromorpha ruficeps (Blyth}, Blijth, Cat. p. 102. 

 Suthora ruficeps (BlytJi), Sharpe, Cat. B. M. vii, p. 491. 

 Scieorhynchus ruficeps (Blyth], Oates in Hume's N. Sf E. 2nd ed, i, 



p. 43. 



The Red-headed Finch- Thrush, Jerd. ; Chonyto-phep-pho, Lepch. 

 Coloraiion. Head, nape, upper back, lores, cheeks, and ear-coverts 

 chestnut ; upper plumage, tail, and exposed parts of wings olive- 

 brown, tinged with rufous ; the whole lower plumage white, tinged 

 with brou u on the sides of the body, vent, thighs, and under tail- 

 coverts. 



Iris reddish brown; upper mandible brown; lower mandible flesh- 



* SUTHORA BRUNNEA, Anderson, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 211, was procured by Dr. John 

 Anderson at Momein in Chinese Territory at an elevation of 6000 feet. It will 

 doubtless be found in the mountains of Upper Burma near Bharno, and I 

 append a description of the bird. 



The whole head and neck all round with the breast chestnut-brown, suffused 

 with vinaceous below ; the upper plumage, wing-coverts, tail, and exposed parts 

 of closed wing olive-brown ; lower plumage yellowish brown. Bill in dry skin 

 yellowish, with the culmen intense black ; legs brown. 



Length about 5 ; tail 2'5 ; wing 2'1 ; tarsus '8 ; bill from gape '4. 



