110 LIST OF BIEDS IN MANIPUK, 



Mr. Sharpe sayg riiandellii " differs in its browner under- 

 surface, where the fulvous brown colour overshadows the 

 whole breast and flanks, whereas in onuttui the breast is 

 white, as well as the abdomen and under tail-coverts, 

 extending also higher up the breast than in A. mandellii. " 

 I quote this verbatim, but do not quite understand it. 

 Layard says of his muttui, " breast rufous ashy." Major 

 Legge again says of our bird : " It is almost identical on 

 the upper surface with the insular bird, the head being 

 only slightly darker ; but the under surface is very much 

 darker, the flanks are much browner, and the whole breast 

 instead of being white is tawny brown, the vent and under 

 tail-coverts only being white ; the chest is much browner 

 than in A, muttui, and the white throat-patch much 

 smaller." This distinction of breast and chest is puzzling 

 to most people. I reckon breast from where the foreneck 

 ends at the merry thought, to where the abdomen begins 

 at the end of the breast bone, and I thus make out that 

 m^uttui differs in having rather more of the breast white 

 than mandellii. But Major Legge's plate shows very nearly, 

 if not quite, as much brown on the breast as in some 

 specimens of mandellii, and seeing that in this species, 

 not only the amount but the tint of the brown on the 

 lower surface is very variable, I cannot at present avoid 

 some doubt as to the distinctness of the two forms. 



If, however, the two are distinct, then the Travancore 

 birds are clearly mandellii, as there is hardly any white 

 at all on the lower, surface, and the breast, flanks, sides 

 and even lower tail-coverts are a warm fulvous or tawny 

 brown, or more correctly brownish ferruginous buff. Of course, 

 none of my birds show the olive brown on breast and 

 flanks depicted in Major Legge's plate. In all my specimens, 

 whether from Travancore, Sikhim, Shillong or Manipur, the 

 brown has a fulvous or " rufous ashy " tinge, and the wing- 

 lining and axillaries are rufescent buff. I think we must 

 for the present suspend our opinion, first, as to the appli- 

 cability of Layard's name, second as to the distinctness of 

 TTiuttui, apud Legge and Sharpe, and tnandellii. 



This species is more common at Shillong, whence I have 

 five specimens, than any other place of which I know ; 

 but there is no other record of its occurrence in Assam, 

 Sylhet or Cachar, nor do I know of its extending to any 

 part of British Burmah. 



Godwin-Austen gives 307. — Cyornis ruflcaudus, Sws., 

 from N, Cachar, but there is no other record of its occurrence 



