TEEPSIPUONE 261 



ad. (India). Head and neck glossy blue-black, crown feathers elong- 

 ated ; upper parts, wings, and outer tail-feathers bright fox-red, the inner 

 secondaries white, with a long central black line, and lipped with black ; 

 middle rectrices much elongated, white, terminated with fox-red, or all 

 fox-red ; under parts below the throat white ; bill lilac-blue ; legs pale 

 blue ; iris dark brown. Culnien 1*0, wing 3'6, tail (except central rectrices) 

 4 - *7, central rectrices 7 '8 longer, tarsus 0'7 inch. The old males, however, 

 lose the fox-red on the upper parts, and have those parts and the tail pure 

 white. The female has the upper parts light bay, the tail light chestnut, the 

 middle rectrices not elongated as in the male, and the sides of the breast 

 greyish, the flanks tinged with rufous. The young bird has the head 

 dusky grey, tinged with rufous, the upper parts rather darker than the 

 female, and the throat and breast greyish tinged with rufous. 



Hob. Turkestan, Afghanistan, the Himalayas ; India east to 

 Nepal ; Ceylon ; resident throughout its range. 



Frequents the forests and well wooded districts, being com- 

 paratively seldom seen in the open country, and is very partial 

 to bamboo jungle. In its habits it is restless, and continually 

 on the move from tree to tree. Its flight is undulating, and it 

 has a curious appearance on the wing, its long tail moving in 

 jerks. Its note is a harsh grating cry. It feeds on small flies 

 and Cicadellce, which it generally captures on the wing, though 

 it sometimes picks them off a leaf or bough. It breeds both 

 on the plains, and in the hills to an altitude of about 5,500 

 feet, placing its nest on a tree, usually at some height above 

 the ground. The nest is cup-shaped, rather shallow, con- 

 structed of moss, rootlets, vegetable fibres, and fine grass, 

 interwoven with cobwebs, lined with finer grass and sometimes 

 horse -hairs. The eggs, from 4 to 5 in number, are pinky white 

 or warm salmon-pink, more or less closely speckled, chiefly at 

 the larger end, with bright brownish red spots, in size averaging 

 about 0'81 by 0'6. They are deposited in May, June, or 

 July. 



384. JAPANESE PARADISE FLYCATCHER. 

 TERFSIPHONE PRINCEPS. 



Terpsiphone princcps (Temm.), PL Col. iii. pi. 584 (1836) ; Sharpe, Cat. 

 B. Br. Mus. iv. p. 361 ; (David and Oust.) Oi?. Chine, p. 113 ; 

 Seebohm, B. Jap. Emp. p. 63 ; Muscipeta principally Temm. imd 

 Schlegel, Faun. Jap. p. 47, pi. 17E. 



Sankocho, Jap. 



< ad. (Japan). Head, neck, and breast glossy black, crown crested ;. 

 upper parts generally purplish maroon, the quills blackish, externally 



