THE BIRDS OF A DROUGHT. 



This is clearly a rare bird, 

 follow : — 



I hare only five specimens, as 



Jhansie, male ; 



Deesa, male ; 



Ahmednuggur, male ; 

 Bhawulpur, female 



JRamoo Cashmeer, male ; 



wing 2'8 ; 2nd primary nearly equals 8th. 



wing 2-78 ; 2nd „ „ „ 7th. 



wing 2'79 ; 2nd primary intermediate between 6th & 7th. 



wing 2-7; 2nd „ „ „ 6th & 7th. 



wing 2'8 ; 2nd „ „ „ 6th & 7th. 



I think that any one studying a large series carefully would 

 have no difficulty and feel no hesitation in picking out the 

 birds belonging to this race, in which, although there is no 

 constancy in the wing formula, the large size and difference in 

 color very readily distinguishes it. 



With only a few specimens before me I should not have 

 felt any such certaintj', but with 116 good specimens, all care- 

 fully measured and examined, I do feel that the bird must be 

 accepted, at any rate, as a clearly recognizable race. The 

 difference is greater than in the case of many Phylloscopi 

 admitted as distinct species. Those who do not admit races 

 may call this bird Sylvia althaea. 



Second. — We have the ordinary Indian race which, during the 

 cold season, is spread over the entire empire, and which a 

 comparison of the types proves to be 5, affinis, Blyth. 



In this species the back is much more decidedly brown than 

 in the preceding species ; it is also smaller, and while it has a 

 decidedly larger and stouter bill than the English curruca, it 

 has at the same time a decidedly smaller one than alihcea. 



In this species the wings, as a rule, vary from 245 to 2 # 65 ; 

 out of ninety-three specimens only three have the wings smaller 

 than 2'45, and only two have them larger than 265. 



The wing formula is not absolutely constant ; of the ninety- 

 three, sixty-two have the 2nd primary equal to the 6th, 

 twenty-five have it intermediate between the 6th and 7th, 

 five have it equal to the 7th, and one has it intermediate 

 between the 7th and 8th. It may be useful here to give 

 a list of all these specimens, showing the localities where they 

 were procured, the sex, where this has been noted, and the 

 length of the wing : — 



2nd primary equals 6th (62 specimens.) 



Etawab. . . . 

 Sauibhur ... 

 Etawab. 

 Etawab 

 Cawnpur ... 

 Oodeypur ... 

 Delhi 

 Allahabad 

 Beaur 

 Unibulla ... 



