70 LARYIYORA 



tail deep Prussian blue ; lores blackish ; a broad streak over the eye, rich 

 ultramarine ; under parts white ; flanks orange rufous ; bill and legs black ; 

 iris brown. Culmen 0'5, wing 3'4, tail 2 '8, tarsus 0'88 inch. The female 

 resembles that of N. cyanura but has the rump greenish blue, the sides of 

 head and neck and flanks ochreous and a patch of orange chestnut on each 

 side of the body. 



Hob. Himalayas from Gilgit and Kashmir to Sikkim; the 

 Khasi Hills : Tipperah ; Manipur, ranging into Mongolia. In the 

 summer it is found up to 11,000 feet, wintering at lower levels. 



In habits it does not differ from N. cyanura, of which indeed 

 it is but a richly coloured southern form. It breeds in May and 

 June, placing its nest, which is constructed of moss and grass, 

 in holes in banks and under tree- roots, and in June depositing' 

 4 eggs, which vary from uniform white to white distinctly spotted 

 with pale reddish brown, and measure about 0'7l by 0'56 



LARVIVORA, Hodgs. 1837. 

 105. SIBERIAN BLUECHAT. 

 LARVIVORA CYANE. 



Larvivora ci/ane (Pall.) Beis. Buss. Beichs. iii. p. 697 (1776) ; - (Badde) 

 Beis. Siber. Vogel, p. 250, pi. 10, figs. 1-4 ; (Seebohm), Cat. B. Br. 

 Mus. v. p. 303 ; Tacz. F. 0. Sib. 0. p. 338. 



<J ad. (E. Siberia). Upper parts, cheeks, and ear-coverts dull dark 

 blue, brighter on the forehead, and crown wings and tail brown externally 

 washed with blue ; under parts white, the flanks washed with brown ; 

 no eye-stripe ; bill dark brown, the base of lower mandible paler ; legs 

 and iris brown. Culmen 0'6, wing 3'0, tail 1-9, tarsus 1-0 inch. The 

 female is olive-brown above tinged with rufous on the wings, tail, and 

 upper tail-coverts ; sides of chin, throat, flanks, and breast fulvous mottled 

 with brown ; middle of chin, throat, abdomen, and under tail-coverts 

 white. The young resemble the female. 



Hob. Eastern Siberia in summer, wintering in Burma, 

 Tenasserim, China, Mongolia, and as far south as Borneo. 



Frequents dense bush -growth and vegetation through which 

 it creeps like a mouse. Its song is sweet and melodious and is 

 uttered from a bush, low tree, or from the ground. Its nest is 

 placed on the ground, well concealed, and its eggs, 5 or 6 in 

 number,, are deposited in June and are uniform blue, unspotted, 

 and in size vary from 19*0 by 13'7 to 18'2 by 15'0 millimetres. 

 In India it is replaced by a nearly allied species. Larvivora 

 brunnea Hodgs. 



