332 BIRDS OCCURRING IN INDIA NOT DESCRIBED 



the latter of which are strongly inclined to grey ; tail rufous, 

 barred with black, tipped with whitish, before which a broad 

 sub terminal band of black ; head and neck rather paler rufous, 

 the former broadly, the latter more narrowly, streaked with 

 blackish shaft-stripes ; forehead and a distinct eyebrow whitish ; 

 cheeks and ear-coverts silvery white, with narrow shaft lines of 

 black ; primaries dark brown, barred on the inner web with 

 rufous; secondaries coloured like the back, the outer ones nar- 

 rowly margined with white at the tip ; throat, vent, and under 

 tail-coverts fulvous white, unspotted ; breast inclining to rufous- 

 fawn colour ; all the feathers mesially streaked with blackish, 

 these stripes being broader on the flanks, and very tiny on the 

 thighs, which are also paler rufous. Total length, 12'5 inches ; 

 culmen, 0'7 ; wing, 93; tail, 59; tarsus, 1*2. 



Young Male. — Like the old female, but somewhat paler 

 rufous. The blue tail is assumed by a moult, the blue head 

 being, on the other hand, gained by a change of feather. 

 Birds in intermediate stages are often thus seen. — -Sharpens 

 Catalogue. 



18 Ms.— Cerchneis pekinensis, Swinh. 



Adult Male. — Very similar to C. naumanni, but darker and 

 more vinous red above ; underneath also darker-coloured and un- 

 spotted when adult. The principal distinction is in the wing- 

 coverts, which are almost entirely blue-grey, only the very 

 innermost being slightly washed with rufous. Total length, 12 

 inches f culmen, 0*8 ; wing, 9*6; tail, 5 - 8 ; tarsus, 1*45. — 

 JSharpe's Catalogue. 



19.— Cerchneis vespertina, Lin. 



Adult Male. — Above leaden grey, a little paler on the wing- 

 coverts, the greater series of which are conspicuously silvery 

 grey ; primary coverts and quills silvery grey ; the secondaries 

 darker and approaching the colour of the back ; tail brownish 

 black ; under surface bluish grey, with faint indications of 

 blackish shaft-stripes ; lower abdomen, vent, under tail-coverts, 

 and thighs rich chestnut ; under wing-coverts leaden grey ; 

 inner lining of wing brownish black ; cere, orbits, and feet 

 bright brownish red ; claws yellowish white, horn-coloured at 

 points ; bill yellowish horn-colour, blackish at tip ; iris light 



