BRACHYPTERYX. 53 



in the Collection is of a pinkish white or cream-colour : one is 

 profusely speckled all over with brownish pink and grey, with a 

 zone of darker tint round the broad end ; the other is more sparingly 

 freckled with brownish pink and lilac and has, in addition, a faint 

 but well-defined wreath of lilac round the larger end and a few 

 larger spots, irregularly distributed all over the shell, of reddish 

 brown. These examples measure respectively : 1/16 by *82 ; 1-18 

 by -81. 



2. Pundaloya, Ceylon, 30th April. E. W. Antram, Esq. [P.]. 



Genus BRACHYPTERYX, Horsf. 



Brachypteryx albiventris (Blanf.). 



Callene albiventris, Sfiarjw, Cat. Birds B. M. vii. p. 15 (1883). 

 Brachypteryx albiventris, Gates, Fauna Brit. Ind., Birds, i. p. 185 (1889) ; 



id. ed. Hume, Nests fy Eyys 2nd. Birds, i. p. 128 (1889); Sharpe, 



Hand-L iv. p. 55 (1903). 



Until closely examined, the eggs of the White-bellied Short- wing 

 appear to be of a nearly uniform rich olive-brown tint, but the 

 ground-colour is greyish green, so densely mottled and clouded with 

 warm brown that it is hardly distinguishable. The three specimens 

 in the Collection have a slight darkening of the brown colour in the 

 form of a zone at the larger end. They are of a rather long oval 

 form, not very glossy, and measure respectively : '9 by '63 ; 

 9 by -63 ; and -9 by -64. 



2. Palni Hills, S. India. Gould Coll. 



1. Palni Hills, April (S. B. Fairbank). Hume Coll. 



Brachypteryx rufiventris (Jerd.). 



Callene rufiventris, Sharpe, Cat. Birds B. M. vii. p. 16 (1883) ; Nehrk, 



Kat. Eiersamml. p. 50 (1899). 

 Biachypteryx rufiventris, Oates, Fauna Brit. Ind., Birds, i. p. 185 (1889) ; 



id. ed. Hume, Nests $ Eygs Ind. Birds, i. p. 129 (1889) ; Sharpe, 



Hand-L iv. p. 56 (1903). 



Of the three eggs of the Rufous-bellied Short-wing in the 

 Collection, two resemble closely those of the preceding species, 

 B. albiventris, but the third is much less heavily coated with brown, 

 and shows a good deal of the greyish-green ground ; it also has 

 several black hair-lines at the broad end. These eggs are longer 

 in shape than those of the last-mentioned species, measuring re- 

 spectively : -95 by -61 ; -97 by -66 ; and '99 by -63. 



2. Nilghiri Hills, S. India, 18th June. Hume Coll. 

 1 . Coonoor, Nilghiri Hills. Hume Coll. 



