LlUl'TILA. 197 



Lioptila ciipistrata ( J'fy.), Gates in Humes N. & E. 2ud ed. i. 

 p. 133. 



Samdrittk-pho, Lepch. ; ticsiyjita, Bhut. ; Sibya, Nep. 



Coloration. Forehead, crown, crest, Dape, and sides of the head 

 black, the ear- coverts sometimes dark brown ; the whole lower 

 pi milage, rump, upper tail-coverts, and a broad collar round the 

 neck bright rufous ; back and scapulars greyish brown ; median 

 tail-feathers rufous for three quarters of their length, then with a 

 black band and a bluish tip ; in the other feathers the rufous por- 

 tion diminishes rapidly and the black increases, but the blue tips 

 remain constant in size ; lesser wing-coverts rufous ; primary- 

 coverts black ; greater coverts white at base, forming a broad band, 

 the exterior feathers blue tipped with black, the others white, tipped 

 with rufous ; tertiaries chestnut, edged with blue ; the other quills 

 dark brown, the primaries with the outer webs pale blue, the second- 

 aries dark blue. 



Bill black ; iris reddish brown ; feet fleshy brown ; claws brown- 

 horny (Scully). 



Length nearly 9 ; tail 4 ; wing 3*7 ; tarsus 1*1 ; bill from gape 1. 



Birds from Sikhim are intensely rufous on the lower plumage, as 

 compared with birds from other localities, and the colour of the 

 back is also liable to much variation. 



Distribution. Throughout the Himalayas from the Hazara country 

 to Bhutan at elevations of from 5000 to 8000 feet. 



Habits, Sfc. Frequents high trees, feeding on fruit and insects. 

 Breeds from May to July, constructing a cup-shaped nest of moss 

 and fibres in a branch of a tree up to 50 feet from the ground. 

 The eggs, two or three in number, are pale green, marked with 

 reddish and purplish, and measure about -93 by -69. 



205. Lioptila gracilis. The Grey Sibia. 



p. 179 ; Hume, S. F. iii, p. 413. 

 Malacias gracilis (AfcClett.), Hume, Cat. Ho. 429 bis; id. S. F. xi, 



p. 172 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. vii, p. 406. 

 Lioptila gracilis (McClell.}. Gates in Hume's N. $ E. 2nd ed. i, 



p. 135, 



Coloration. Forehead, crown, and lores black, paling on the nape 

 and ear-coverts, and blendiug with the rich slaty brown of the hind 

 neck, feck, and scapulars ; rump and upper tail-coverts ashy grey ; 

 lesser and median coverts, primary-coverts, and the outer feathers 

 of the greater coverts black ; the remaining greater coverts and the 

 tertiaries bluish ashy, edged with black, and the basal portions 

 more or less white ; quills black, the earlier primaries edged with 

 hoary grey on the outer webs ; central tail-feathers bluish grey 

 with a subterminal black band, the next with the black band and 



