IN JERDON OR STRAY FEATHERS. 403 



marked with rather elongated blackish brown spots ; beak 

 blackish brown, inclining to yellow at tlie base of the lower 

 mandible ; legs light brown ; iris dark brown. Total length 

 about 5£ to 6 inches ; culmen, 06 ; wing, 30 ; tail, 2*25 ; tarsus, 

 085 ; hind toe with claw, 0*8 ; hind claw, 0*5. 



Ad nit in Winter.- Upper parts rather browner than in the 

 summer plumage, and the underparts washed with yellowish 

 buff, which colour is deeper on the breast and flanks. 



Young. — The young bird differs very slightly from the adult, 

 in having the spots on the upper parts and breast larger, and 

 the breast and flanks washed with dull reddish buff. 



Female. — Is undistiuguishable from the male in plumage. — 

 Dresser, " Birds of Europe" 



624 fo's.— Staphidea castaniceps, Moore. 



Colour above dull brownish olive ; the shafts of the dorsal 

 and scapular feathers pale ; crown dark chestnut and sub- 

 crested ; the frontal plumes short and scaly, and having pale 

 margins ; the occiput paler chestnut ; behind the eyes whitish ; 

 ear-coverts chestnut ; wings blackish ; the secondaries and ter- 

 ■ tiaries with pale shafts; axillae white; tail black, the three 

 outer feathers graduated, and tipped obliquely externally with 

 white, the next white at the extreme tip only, and the rest 

 entirely black ; the whole underparts of a dirty ruddy white 

 colour ; bill reddish brown ; legs yellowish. 



Length, 5-75 inches ; of wing, 2*3 ; tail, 2'25 ; its outer- 

 most feather, 0"62 less ; bill to front, 0*3 ; to gape, 0*5 ; 

 tarsi, 0*75 of an inch.— Moore, P. Z. S., 1854, 141. 



631 B.— Zosterops simplex, Swinh. 



Mr. Blanford thought be obtained this species (?) in Sikhim, 

 and so no doubt he did, since having some of Swinhoe's types 

 before me, I cannot separate them from our Indian palpebrosa, 

 which varies a little according to sex, age and season in size and 

 in the tinge of the upper surface, throat and breast. 



Here however is Swinhoe's own definition, P.Z.S., 1863, 

 203:— 



" Similis Z. palpebrosae ex India, sed major ; supra magis 

 viridis ; alis caudaque saturatioribus. 



N 



