THE BIRDS OF GILGIT. 327 



males obtained by Dr. Stoliczka, in the Second Yarkand Expe- 

 dition, are in full breeding plumage, and have the back, as 

 might have been anticipated, black. 



It is worthy of note that the nearly allied S. deserti, which 

 is common in the Indus valley above 7,000 feet, is not found in 

 Gilgit. 



There is nothing to add to Mr. Hume's careful and detailed 

 description of his species S. hendersoni. 



82.— Ruticilla rufiventris, Vieill (497). 



With reference to the distinctive difference pointed out by 

 Mr. Blanford in " Eastern Persia," "Vol. II., p. 165, all specimens 

 procured in Gilgit have rufous under wing-coverts, thereby 

 distinguishing them from the R. erythroproda type, which has 

 the under wing-coverts black. 



Eleven males agree fairly with stage IV. in Stray Feathers, 

 Vol. V., p. 36, except that the back is only partially black, and 

 the greyish white band on the forehead is only visible in the 

 May specimens. 



The fact of males breeding in female plumage has been before 

 remarked ; but it seems far commoner than has been supposed. 

 Like many other birds, this species probably does not get its 

 fully adult plumage till after the first breeding season. 



In males of the first year in autumn the black of the back 

 is concealed by ashy brown, instead of grey as in more mature 

 birds. 



These birds go beyond Gilgit to breed as a rule ; one female 

 was shot off the nest with young at 10,000 feet elevation in the 

 Gilgit district. 



83.— Ruticilla hodgsoni, Moore* ( ? 497 ter). 



A single specimen of a female procured in February. Its 

 measurements correspond best with the measurements given by 

 Jerdon for R. hodgsoni. In other respects the plumage is most 

 like the description of R. caruleoeephala given by Hume in 

 " Lahore to Yarkand ;" but the whole tail, except the two outer 

 feathers, is rufous, and there are faint rufous tints on the 

 breast. 



84.— Ruticilla erythronota, Eversm. (498 bis). 



Two male specimens of thi3 handsome Redstart were pro- 

 cured in December and January. It appeared to be common 



* This is hardly likely to be R. hodgsoni, as that species has not, I believe, been 

 obtained west of Nepal, and the large tract of country between Nepal and Kashmir 

 has been well explored. It might possibly be R. mesoleuca. — J. S. 



[I agree that this can hardly be hodgsoni, and that it is not impossibly the female 

 of mesoleuca, — A. O. H.j 



