C1LETOHNIS. 387 



cheeks, chin, and throat become white, the shafts of the throat- 

 feathers glistening; the lower plumage becomes whiter, especi- 

 ally on the abdomen. 



Bill dusky horn ; legs dull fleshy brown : iris smoky brown 



(//<></ /toil, J//S'.). 



Length about 10; tail 5; wing 3'5 : tarsus 1-2; bill from 

 gape 1-1. 



On examining Hodgson's specimens of this bird, also one pro- 

 cured by Captain Pinwill and one by Mandelli, there can be little 

 doubt that the Spiny Babbler has a summer and a winter plumage. 

 Two specimens are in the summer plumage, and one of these is 

 moulting and acquiring some rufous feathers on the throat. 



Distribution. Appears to be fairly common in Xepal. The Pin- 

 will collection contains a summer-plumaged bird from the N.W. 

 Himalayas (probably Kuinaim), and the Hume collection one from 

 Dolaka procured by Mandelli. 



Habits, Sfc. Hodgson remarks of this bird that the sexes are 

 alike, that it is solitary, tenants low bushes, flies very ill and un- 

 willingly, and that it feeds entirely on the ground. He adds that 

 it is found by bushy rills, and that it hides itself instantly. It 

 makes a loose, shallow, grass nest in a fork of a tree. One nest 

 is stated to have measured nearly 5 inches in diameter and nearly 

 "2 in height externally. The eggs are verditer-blue, and measure 

 1-1 by -65. 



On the label of the Pinwill specimen there is a remark that this 

 bird is a fine songster. 



Genus CHJETORNIS, G. K. Gray, 1848. 



The genus Chcetornis was instituted by Gray for the reception of 

 an Indian bird which is characterized by having the rictal bristles, 

 five in number, arranged in a vertical series in front of the eye 

 and by having the lores naked. It is doubtful whether the genus 

 has a spring moult, but if it has, the moult is probably confined 

 to the wings and a few of the body-feathers. The tail is not 

 changed in the spring, and the colour of the bird is not affected ; 

 but abrasion of the feathers, to which it is very subject, causes a 

 great variety of changes to be observed in this bird in the course 

 of the year. The sexes are alike, and the young are richly 

 coloured. 



This bird, like Meyalurus (to which it is closely allied), has the 

 habit of rising singing into the air, and, like birds of that genus, 

 affects grass and reeds and feeds a good deal on the ground. It 

 i.s not a difficult bird to observe. 



There are no supplementary hairs in front of the rictal bristles, 

 and the feathers of the forehead are short and smooth. With this 

 bird the series of Eeed- and Grass-AVarblers with twelve tail- 

 t'rathers, and characterized by the firm plumage of the forehead, 

 ends. The bird constituting the next genus, usually considered a 



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