ASSAM, SYLHET AND CACHAR. 173 



of throat and centre of abdomen, more or less nearly pure white ; 

 more or less of throat, breast, and abdomen on either side of 

 the white, a varying shade, pale buff to creamy, always more pro- 

 nounced towards the vent; lower tail -coverts more or less 

 decided fulvous buff; sides of breast, body and flanks (except 

 the tips of the longest feathers, which are colored like the vent) 

 a faint dull grey, a shade of which often extends more or less 

 over the entire breast also ; edge of the wing, axillaries and 

 wing-lining (except the greater primary lower coverts which are 

 grey) pure white ; tertiaries grey, margined with blackish 

 brown on both webs, and sometimes shaded with this on the 

 entire inner web of the longest ones. 



Rest of the quills blackish brown, about the 3rd to the 7th 

 primaries (and sometimes the 2nd and 8th also) conspicuously 

 margined on more or less of their outer webs with silver grey. 

 These on more and more of their bases as they recede from the 

 front of the wing, and the remaining primaries and secondaries 

 along their whole length margined or overlaid on their outer 

 webs with black, having a dull green metallic gloss. Winglet 

 and primary greater coverts and lesser coverts at shoulder of 

 wing black, secondary and tertiary greater coverts grey, white 

 towards their bases ; rest of lesser coverts varying from deep to 

 comparatively pale smoke brown. 



This species is very common in all suitable localities through- 

 out the Naga and Khasi hills, but I have no other record of its 

 occurrence in Assam, Sylhet or Cachar. It does not extend to 

 British Burmah so far as is yet known, but in the higher ranges 

 of Tenasserim is represented by the much smaller billed and 

 darker toned M. melanoleucus, Tick. 



In Assam we have also 429ier. — Malacias pulchellus, G.-Aus 

 ten, discovered by its describer at an elevation of about 8,000 

 feet, on the Kunha peak of the East Burrail range of Naga 

 hills, and subsequently at about 5,000 feet elevation on the 

 slopes of the Tomputu peak in the Dafla hills, but not as yet 

 known to occur anywhere else and not observed in Manipur. 



Another Himalayan form, 430. — Sibia picaoides, Hodgson, 

 which I failed to meet with in Manipur, is recorded by Godwin- 

 Austen from the Dafla hills, where it might have been expect- 

 ed to occur, and also, as I gather, from the Eastern Naga hills, 

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

 or Cachar. In Karenee it was procured by Ramsay, and it ex- 

 tends, according to Col. Tickell, to theCentral Tenasserim hills, 

 though neither Davison, Darling nor Bingham, who have for 



