198 SAXICOLIX.E. 



THE SHAMA. 

 Shama, Hin. 



Length, 12 ; wing, 375 ; tail, 7'9 ; tarsus, 1 ; bill at front, 075. 



Head, neck, back, wing-coverts, breast, and tail, glossy-black ; 

 rump white ; wings dull-black, outer tail-feathers broadly tipped 

 with white ; breast, belly, and under tail-coverts deep chesnut. 



The female has the colors less pure and duller than the male. 



This splendid songster is only found within our limits on the 

 Sahyadri Range, and in the adjoining forests as far north as 

 Khandalla. It is a permanent resident. 



GENUS, Thamnobia, Swainson. 



Bill slender, very slightly widened at the base; the sides 

 compressed, slightly arched throughout ; tip deflected, not notched ; 

 gape smooth ; wings short, rounded, the fourth and fifth quills long- 

 est ; the primaries hardly exceeding the tertiaries and secondaries, 

 which are broad ; tail moderate, broad, much rounded ; tarsus long ; 

 the feet moderate ; inner-toe much shorter than the outer ; hind- 

 toe short ; all the claws slightly curved. 



Thamnobia fulicata, Linn. 



479._Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. II, p. 121 ; Butler, Deccan 

 Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 404. 



THE INDIAN BLACK ROBIN. 



Length, 6 ; wing, 3 ; tail, 275 ; tarsus, 1*1 ; bill at front, 0*5. 



Bill black ; irides dark brown ; legs blackish. 



Male, shining deep black, with a white wing-patch; the 

 middle of the abdomen and the under tail-coverts deep^ chesnut. 



Female dull sooty-brown, darker on the wings "anH" tail; the 

 under tail-coverts chesnut. 



The Indian Black Robin is very common in the Deccan, where 

 it is a permanent resident, breeding during April, May and 

 June. The nest, usually a mere pad, is composed of grass roots, 

 vegetable fibre, hair and such like substances. It is generally 

 found in a hole in a wall or tree. The eggs, three in number, 

 are greenish-white in color, spotted and speckled with yellowish- 

 white. They average 072 inches in length by about 0'55 in 

 breadth. 



Thamnobia cambaiensis, Lath. 



430. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. II, p. 122 ; Butler, Guzerat J 

 Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 474 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology 

 of Sind, p. 138 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, p. 124. 



THE BROWN-BACKED INDIAN ROBIN. 



Kalchuri, Hin. 



Length, 6 ; wing, 2*9 ; tail, 275 ; tarsus, 1 ; bill at front, 0'5. 

 Bill black ; irides deep-brown ; legs blackish. 

 The male has the back, wings, and upper tail-coverts dusky 



