fJontHhufion^ to the OrnWiology of India; Sfc. 177 



be constant in all examples." This character is however not only 

 not constant, but absolutely exceptional, as is also the " obscure 

 dark transverse band near the tips of rectrices^'' alluded to by 

 Strickland. I myself have never met with a sing-le specimen ex- 

 hibiting- exactly these peculiarities ; the central tail feathers at all 

 stag-es are slightly darker and less pure than the laterals, and are 

 throughout their entire length obscurely and narrowly banded, dar^ 

 ker and lighter, obsolete barrings scarcely noticeable intheadultsj 

 but more conspicuous in the young birds, in which, moreover, the 

 central rectrices have a more decidedly brownish tinge. At all 

 ages the rectrices are inconspicuously and narrowly margined 

 and tipped paler. 



There is but little to be said about the habits of this species ; it 

 is no fiiend to the more richly cultivated and irrigated portions of 

 even Sindh ; in Larkaua for instance it is far less common, but iu 

 the barer portions of the country where here and there a few stunt- 

 ed tamarisk or acacia bushes sparsely dot, what in the cold weather 

 seems a barren waste,, i/. arenarms is to be met with, perched on the 

 top-most twig of almost every other bush, from which it makes, 

 from time to time, short excursions on rapidly beating wings, 

 and after a moment^s pause upon the sand, to devour some grass- 

 hoppers, or fly, returns, unless disturbed, to its former perch. 

 I have measured a great number of these birds in the flesh, and 

 perhaps the following dimensions may be useful. 



The sexes do not difier materially in size, but the wing of the 

 female averages perhaps smaller. 



Length,7-13 to 8j expanse, 11 to 11*75; wing, 3-35 to 3-7; tail 

 from vent, 3-13 to 3-75 ; tarsus, 0*88 to 1 ; bill straight from fore- 

 head to point, 0-5 to 0-62; from gape, 0-7 to 0-82; weight, 1*1 to 

 1-25 oz; the fourth, or third and fourth primaries longest; the 

 first from 1-65 to 1'85 ; and the second from 0*3 to 0-42 shorter 

 than the longest. The closed wings fall short of end of tail by 

 from 1-94 to 2-25 ; the legs and feet are black or very dark horny 

 brown ; the irides brown ; the bill is black, blue-black, or dark 

 horny brown, whitish, pale fleshy, or paler brown at base. 



t 265,— Tephrodornis pondiceriana, Gml. 



W' Not uncommon in the better cultivated regions where babul 

 trees (Acacia Arahica) which it especially aflPects, are tolerably 

 abundant, but seldom seen, in fact I never met with it at all^ 



. in the more barren localities. 



j^276.— Pericrocotusperigrinus, L. 



,y* The Sindh birds are peculiarly pale colored ; the males have 

 the upper surface a pale grey, the same color exactly as the head 

 and nape of Coll^rio erythronotus ; the rump is just tinged 



