TURDUS STREPITANS. 



narrow and distinctly notched near the tip ; ciihnen between nostrils elevated 

 and rounded, towards the point of bill strongly curved; nasal Josscb large and 

 membranous, the nostrils narrow longitudinal slits near to the edges of man- 

 dible ; wings short and rounded, and when folded they reach over the first half 

 of the tail ; the first quill feather rudimentary, the third rather the longest, 

 the second and fourth of equal length and scarcely shorter than the third, the 

 fifth a little shorter than the fourth, and the remaining primaries diminish in 

 length successively. Tail short and slightly forked. Legs long; tarsi ro- 

 bust, anteriorly indistinctly scutellated, posteriorly entire ; toes strong, the 

 inner and outer toes of the same length ; claws strong, much curved and 

 pointed. 



Length from the point of the bill to 



the tip of the tail 



of the tail 3 



of the bill from the angle of the 

 mouth 



The colours of the female diff"er little if at all from those of the male. 



Immediately upon reaching Kurichane, this thrush began to appear in the thickets, and we 

 continued to acquire occasionally a specimen even in the vicinity of the Tropic. It seeks its 

 food upon the ground, and when so occupied, its resort is readily discovered by the natives 

 from the noise it makes in scratching the ground, or in displacing rubbish and decayed leaves 

 which conceal the insects it is seeking. The name by which it is known in the country it in- 

 habits is characteristic of the vigour with which it employs its feet, the nearest translation we 

 can give of it is the " Ground-Scraper." 



The form of its bill, particularly towards the base, the length of its legs, and the shortness of 

 its tail, are all characters which remove it from the more typical species of the genus Turdus, 

 yet there is in its structure and habits what necessarily constitutes it a true thrush. 



