HEMICIIELIDON. 5 



Himalayas appears to be Simla, where it has been obtained in 

 September. 



This Flycatcher has an extensive range, being found, according 

 to season, over the greater part of Europe, Africa, and South- 

 western Asia. 



Habits, $c. This bird 'breeds in Gilgit, but nothing beyond this 

 is on record about its nidification in India. In Europe it makes its 

 nest on a branch of a tree near the trunk, in a shallow hole in a 

 tree, or on a branch of a fruit-tree or creeper trained against 

 a wall. The eggs are pale bluish or greenish, marked with reddish 

 brown, and measure about '75 by '57. 



Genus HEMICHELIDON, Hodgs., 1844. 



The genus Hemichelidon contains two species of Flycatchers 

 which are permanent residents in the Himalayas, a considerable 

 number descending to the lower ranges and plains in the winter. 



In Hemichelidon the bill viewed from above is almost an equi- 

 lateral triangle, sharp-pointed, pinched in towards the tip, and 

 very depressed ; the rictal bristles are moderate ; the wing is 

 long, reaching nearly to the end of the tail, the first primary very 

 minute and the second equal to the fifth ; the tail is square. In 

 this genus the sexes are alike, and the plumage brown or fer- 

 ruginous. 



Key to the Species. 



a. General colour of plumage brown H. sibirica, p. 5. 



b. General colour of plumage ferruginous . . H.ferrityinea, p. 6. 



558. Hemichelidon sibirica. The Sooty Flycatcher. 

 Muscicapa sibirica, Gm. Syst. Nat. i, p. 936 (1788). 



p. 75 ; Hume fy Henders. Lah. to York. p. 184, pi. iv. 

 Hemichelidon sibirica (Gm.), Hume, N. 8f E. p. 206; id. Cat. 

 no. 296 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. iv, p. 120 ; Oates, B. B. i, p. 275 ; 

 id. in Hume's N. $ E. 2nd ed. ii, p. 1. 

 Dang-chim-pa-pho, Lepch. 



Fig. 3. Bill of H. sibiricu. 



Coloration. Upper plumage brown, the feathers of the head \\ith 

 darker centres and those of the wings more or less edged paler ; 



