28 MUSCICAPID.E. 



small and very depressed bill which, when viewed from above, 

 forms an equilateral triangle. 



Two members of the genus are sedentary and confined to small 

 areas. The third is spread over the Empire and is migratory to a 

 greater or less extent. They are typical Flycatchers in habits. 



Key to the Species. 



a. No white on tail. 



a'. First primary much shorter than half 



second ; tail blue or green S. melanops, p. 28. 



b'. First primary quite half the length of 



second ; tail dark brown S. sordida, p. 29. 



b. Base of tail white S. albicaudata, p. 30. 



579. Stoparola melanops. The Verditer Flycatcher. 



Muscicapa melanops, Vigors, P. Z. S. 1831, p. 171 ; Gould, Cent. 



pi. 6. 

 Stoparola melanops (Vig.), Blyth, Cat. p. 174; Hume, N. fy E. 



p. 208; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. iv, p. 438; Hume, Cat. no. 301; 



Gates, B. B. i, p. 285 ; Barnes, Birds Bom. p. 164 ; Gates in Hume's 



N. fy E. 2nd ed. ii, p. 9. 



Hypothymis melanops (Vig.), Horsf. # M. Cat. i, p. 292. 

 Eumyias melanops (Vig.), Jerd. B. I. i, p. 463; Hume fy Henders. 



Lah. to Yark. p. 186 ; Anders. Yunnan Exped., Aves, p. 622. 



Nil kat-katia, Beng. ; Sibyell-pho, Lepch. 



Fig. 10. Bill of 8. melanops. 



Coloration. Male. Lores, feathers in front of the eye and the 

 feathers at the base of the upper mandible black ; the whole plum- 

 age verditer-blue, brightest on the forehead, chin, throat, breast, 

 and upper tail-coverts ; under tail-coverts broadly fringed with 

 white ; tail blue, the shafts black and the inner webs edged with 

 brown; primaries and secondaries blue on the outer and black on 

 the inner webs ; tertiaries wholly blue ; upper wing-coverts blue. 



Female. The general colour is much duller, but otherwise re- 

 sembles the male; the chin and throat are mottled with white, the 

 lores are brown, and the under tail-coverts are more broadly fringed 

 with white. 



The young are greenish grey, the sides of the head and the whole 

 lower plumage being spotted with fulvous. Occasionally white 

 spots are present on the head and back, and one adult has a white 

 nape-patch. 



The Stoparola spilonota of Gray (Hand-list, no. 4898), the type 

 of which is still in the British Museum, resembles the present 



