186 



CEATEROPODIDyE. 



Hume, N. 8> E. p. 219 ; id. Cat. no. 339 ; Davison, S. F. x, p 372 

 Sharpe, Cat. B. M. vii, p. 16. 



Brachypteryx ruti ventris (Jerd.), Oates in Hume's N. & E 2nd ed 

 i, p. 129. 



Coloration. Lores and the feathers in front of the eye black : 

 forehead and a band over the lores pale blue ; the whole upper 

 plumage, the visible portions of the closed wings and tail, the sides 

 of the head and neck, the chin, throat, and breast dark slaty blue ; 

 middle of the abdomen whitish ; remainder of the lower plumage 

 pale chestnut. 



Bill black ; legs and feet pale fleshy brown ; claws darker ; iris 

 dark brown (Davison}. 



Length nearly?; tail 2-6; wing 3-2- tarsus 1-1; bill from 

 gape -8 . 



Fig. 55. Head of B. rujiventris. 



Distribution. The Nilgiris, Bramkagiris and adjoining hill-ranges, 

 from about 5500 to 7000 feet. 



Habits, fyc. According to Davison this species keeps to the denser 

 portion of the undergrowth in evergreen forests, where it lives 

 entirely on the ground. It is found in pairs or singly, and the 

 male has a pleasing little song. It breeds in April and May, con- 

 structing a nest of green moss in a bole of a tree or a bank, and 

 laying two or three eggs, which are olive-brown with reddish-brown 

 marks round the larger end of the egg. They measure about 1 

 by -67. 



Genus DRYMOCHARES, Gould, 1868. 



The four Indian birds which I place in tbis genus differ from 

 true Brachypteryx in having a much shorter tail and longer tarsus. 



In Drymochares the bill is slender and about half the length of 

 the head ; the nostrils are long ovals, and the rictal bristles are 

 moderate ; the wing is very rounded and short ; the tarsus ex- 

 tremely long, and the tail short. 



In three of the species the sexes are very differently coloured ; 

 in the fourth the coloration of the sexes is doubtful. The young 

 birds of two species resemble tbe adult female very closely, and the 

 young males soon assume the garb of the adult male. 



The history of the birds of this genus is in a very unsatisfactory 

 and imperfect condition, especially with regard to their nidification 

 and distribution. 



