IN JERDON OR STRAY FEATHERS. 377 



The distinguishing characters of the species are the rich 

 orange-brown of the throat and breast, and the black stripe 

 running from the bill down the sides of the neck to the breast, 

 and terminating below the bend of the closed wing. The 

 specimens I obtained were both males, adult and immature ; 

 and the above characters are distinct in both, but much more 

 so in the older bird. 



Bill dusky above, yellow beneath ; irides dark brown ; feet 

 purplish brown. — Holdsioort/i. 



338 bis.— Brachypteryx palliseri, Blyth. 



A presumed female is of a rich dark olive or somewhat tawny- 

 brown above, paler below, and whitish along the middle of the 

 abdomen ; flanks and lower tail-coverts dark, and a strong 

 rufous tinge on the chin and throat ; bill dusky above, whitish 

 beneath; feet brown. Length about 6 - 5 inch ; wing, 2'5 inch ; 

 tail, 275 inch; bill to gape, *8 inch ; and tarsi, 1 inch. The 5th, 

 6th, and 7th primaries equal and longest, the 1st 1 inch short- 

 er ; and the outermost tail-feathers 1*37 inch shorter than the 

 middle ones. Procured by Dr. Kelaart in the mountain dis- 

 trict of the island. — Blytli. 



Peculiar to Ceylon. The generic position of this bird is not 

 very clear. It was placed by Ely th doubtfully in Brachypteryx, 

 but differs from the birds of that genus in the sexes being alike 

 in colouring and in the well-developed tail. I believe it will 

 require generic distinction ; but for the present I shall leave it 

 in Brachypteryx. 



The whole upper surface is of a dark olive-brown ; the wings, 

 rump and tail being of a richer brown tint ; chin and throat 

 pale rusty ; beneath the eye and the ear-coverts dark greyish ; 

 the underparts pale olive, becoming brown at the flanks, vent, 

 and under tail-coverts. 



Bill dusky above, dark grey below; irides pale buff; feet 

 dark flesh.— Holdsworth. 



338 ter,— Brachypteryx stellatus, Gould. 



Forehead, ear-coverts, breast, chest, and abdomen grey, 

 crossed by numerous wavy lines of black ; at the tip of each of 

 the feathers of the abdomen, flanks, under (and some few of the 

 upper) tail-coverts an irregular arrowhead-shaped mark of 



