BnopociciiLA. 159 



lighter fulvous below, and in having the cap somewhat better defined 

 from the rest of the upper plumage. 



Iris whity brown to greyish blue ; eyelids plumbeous ; mouth 

 yellow ; legs and claws dusky flesh-colour ; upper mandible dusky 

 brown, the lower one somewhat paler and turning to yellow at the 

 base. * 



Of the same size as A. phccocephala, from which the present 

 species cannot be distinguished by measurement. 



AVere it not that the geographical distribution of A. phceocephala 

 and A. phayrii differs so greatly, and that typical examples of the 

 latter from Burma show traces of sincipital stripes, whereas 

 the former never do so, I should be inclined to unite these two 

 species under one name. When the sincipital stripes are absent 

 in A. phayrii, as they frequently, or almost invariably, are in 

 specimens from the extreme northern limit of its range, such as 

 Tipperah and Manipur, it is almost impossible to separate such ex- 

 amples from A. pliceocepliala. Failing the sincipital stripes there 

 is really nothing to trust to for discriminating the two species 

 except the colour of the lower plumage and the cap, and this is 

 only apparent when series of each are compared. All authors have 

 hitherto been satisfied with comparing A.phayrii with A. nepalensis, 

 two birds which are quite distinct, both in coloration and in size, 

 and which cannot be confounded under any circumstances. Sharpe, 

 with the few specimens he had before him when he wrote his 

 ' Catalogue,' made an endeavour to diagnose A. phayrii and A. 

 phceocephala, the only attempt that has ever been made, I believe ; 

 but unfortunately his character, the colour of the ear-coverts, does 

 not hold good, and no use can be made of it. 



Distribution. The ]N"aga hills ; Tipperah ; Manipur ; the neigh- 

 bourhood of Bhamo ; Arrakan ; the Pegu hills ; Karennee ; the 

 whole of Tenasserim. 



Habits, fyc. This species is found in the better-wooded hilly portions 

 of the country. Its habits do not differ from those of A. nepalensis, 

 It breeds in Tenasserim from February to April. The eggs found 

 by Bingham measured '78 by '58 ; these dimensions appear small 

 for the size of the bird, being no larger than those of the eggs of 

 A. nepalensis, which is a considerably smaller bird. 



Genus RHOPOCICHLA, n. gen. 



I propose this generic term (with R. atriceps as the type) for 

 three birds which have hitherto been included in Alcippe. 



This genus differs from Alcippe in having the nostrils roundish, 

 exposed, and pierced in the anterior part of the membrane, and in 

 having a much shorter tail when compared with the wing. The 

 eggs of the two genera are also different in colour, a matter which 

 is noticed by Hume in his ' Eough Draft of Nests and Eggs/ in 

 the article on Alcippe paiocephala. 



