52 RUTICILLA 



80. DAURIAN REDSTART. 

 RUTICILLA AUROREA. 



Ruticilla aurorea (Gmel.), Syst. Nat. i. p. 976 (1788) ; David and Onst. 

 Ois. Chine, p. 170, pi. xxvi. ; Temm. and Schlegel, Fauna Jap. 

 Aves. p. 56, pi. xxi. D ; Tacz., Journ. f. Orn. 1872, p. 362, 1873, Taf. 

 i. fig. 11 (egg) ; id. F. O. Sib. O. p. 326 ; Seebohm, Cat. B. Br. Mns. 

 v. p. 345 ; Gates, F. Brit. Ind. Birds, ii. p. 93. 



ad. (Dauria). Crown, nape, and upper back pale grey, with darker 

 margins; throat, sides of head, upper breast, dorsal region, and wings 

 black, the last with a white speculum ; central tail-feathers blackish brown ; 

 lower back, rump, tail, and under parts chestnut ; bill and legs black ; iris 

 brown. Culmen 0'6, wing, 2*9, tail 2'5, tarsus -0'9 inch. Female ; Kump 

 and tail as in the male ; upper parts brown, wings edged with fulvous and 

 with a white speculum ; under parts greyish brown, the throat paler ; 

 feathers round the eye greyish white. In the winter the feathers are 

 bordered with slaty brown, and the crown and nape in the male are dull 

 slaty grey ; the black feathers on the throat have whitish margins. The 

 female is also rather duller in plumage than in the summer. 



Hob. Eastern and south-eastern Siberia, Mongolia, Northern 

 China, and Japan in elevated districts ; wintering in the plains 

 of Japan, South China, Formosa, and Hainan, Assam, Bhutan, 

 the Khasi Hills, Cachar, Sylhet, the Xaga Hills, Manipur, and 

 Thayetmyo, and occurring as far south as the Malay Peninsula, 

 Java, and Timor. 



Frequents bush-covered localities, especially near water, 

 fields and gardens even those in the towns, and in general habits 

 resembles R. phcenicurus, and is by no means shy. Its call note 

 is Tcekekeke quickly uttered and its song is strong and fairly 

 good. It breeds in May ; its nest, which is constructed of moss, 

 dried grass, and bark, and lined with hair and feathers, is placed 

 in a hollow tree, the cleft of a rock, or amongst stones and from 

 5 to 7 eggs are deposited. These belong to two different 

 forms, being either white finely spotted with red or brownish 

 red in colouration resembling those of the Robin, or else pale 

 blue like those of Saxicola cenanthe, or deep greenish blue like 

 those of Euticilla phcenicurus, finely spotted with rusty red, 

 and in size are about similar to those of R. phcenicurus. 



