DUMETIA. 133 



creeping about grass near the ground, and seldom showing itself 

 but frequently uttering its pleasant notes. It breeds in May and 

 June, constructing a domed nest of grass either on the ground or 

 in a fork of a bush near the ground. The eggs, three in number, 

 are white, speckled with brown, and measure '71 by '58. 



Genus DUMETIA, Blyth, 1849. 



This genus, which contains two common Indian species, resembles 

 Timelia very closely in structure, especially in the stiffness of the 

 shafts of the feathers of the forehead and crown. The essential 

 difference between the two genera is that in Dumetia the bill is 

 much smaller, more slender, and of a pale colour, and in Timelia 

 larger, deeper, and black. 



Key to the Species. 



a. Chin and throat rufous D. hyperythra, p. 133. 



b. Chin and throat white , D. albigularis, p. 134. 



135. Dumetia hyperythra. The Rufous-bell 'ed Babbler. 



Timalia hyperythra, Franklin, P. Z. S. 1831, p. 118. 



Dumetia hyperythra (Fraiikl.), Blyth, Cat. p. 140; Jerd. B. 1. ii, 



p. 26 ; Hume, N. fy E. p. 246 ; Ball, S. F. vii, p. 213 j Hume, Cat. 



no. 397 ; Sharpe,Cat. B. M. vii, p. 515 ; Barnes, Birds Bom. p. 176 ; 



Oates in Humes N. fy E. 2nd ed. i, p. 92. 



Coloration. Forehead and anterior half of the crown reddish 

 brown, the feathers of the former part rigid, pointed, with large 

 fulvous streaks, and with the shafts black when viewed in certain 

 lights ; feathers round the eye white ; upper plumage, tail, and 

 exposed parts of wing olive-brown, the tail cross-rayed ; cheeks 

 and near the eye fulvous with paler shafts ; ear-coverts somewhat 

 paler than the upper plumage and with pale shafts ; entire lower 

 plumage bright fulvous. 



Legs and feet very pale fleshy ; bill livid pale horny ; iris light 

 brown (Hume Coll.}. 



Length about 5*5 ; tail 2-6 ; wing 2'2 ; tarsus '7 ; bill from 

 gape -6. 



Distribution. This bird has a large range. In the south it is 

 found at Khandala on the west and throughout the Godavari valley 

 on the east. Thence, going north, it is spread throughout the 

 Central Provinces, Central India, Chutia Nagpur, the North- West 

 Provinces, and part of Bengal up to the lower valleys of the 

 Himalayas from Kumaon to Sikhim. Specimens have been col- 

 lected at Pareshnath hill and in Midnapur and Birbhum, but not 

 in Lower Bengal. Its western limits are not traceable with any 

 accuiacy, but it occurs at Mhow, and probably Delhi will prove 

 another point on its western boundary. 



Habits, Sfc. This species occurs in small parties and has much the 

 habits of Aryya, frequenting bushes and feeding on the ground. 



