Contributions to the Ornithology of India, ^c. 185 



the hills. They are met with, like the stone chat, always 

 perched on the top of some bush, low tree, or pointed stone in 

 the wildest and most desolate parts of the country ; continually 

 flittering- their tails, redstart-like and perpetually darting- away 

 from their perch to capture insects both on the ground and in 

 the air ; active restless little birds, their glossy black and snowy 

 white plumage is often the only thing that catches the eye in 

 the midst of a dull brown desert like expanse of sand and grey 

 weather-beaten rocks, and stone interspersed with a few strag- 

 gling blades of withered grass, and stunted scorched-looking, 

 camel- browsed acacia bushes. 



I quite concur in the distinctness of leucomela Pallas, and 

 capistrata which, as I have already explained, I consider one 

 stage of picata. The bill in leucomela is markedly larger, whilst 

 the wing in capistrata is nearly a quarter of an inch longer ; the 

 lower tail coverts in leucomela are a decided buff instead of being 

 only faintly tinged with that color as in capistrata. Again, at 

 least the half of the inner webs of the quills of leucomela are 

 pure white; in capistrata, they are uniform blackish brown. 

 Lastly, the black on the tips of the lateral tail feathers is much 

 more extended in capistrata than in leucomela. 



Talking of the white patch in the inner webs of the wings of 

 leucomela, I notice that Saxicola melas, Licht. of RiippelFs 

 " Neue Virbl. Tab. 28, fig. 2, exhibits the same peculiarity. 



It may be useful to notice in connection with the identity 

 which I assert of capistrata and picata, that similar duplicate 

 forms distinguished only by the presence or absence of the white 

 head, exist amongst the Nubian Dromolaea's, and though at 

 present considered distinct, are, I submit, not impossibly merely 

 different stages of the same species. 



489 &^s.— Dromolaea alboniger, Eume. Stray 



Feathers, Vol. L, jp. 2. 



I have already fully described this species and pointed out 

 loc. cit., its distinctness from picata, and I have now only to add 

 to what I there mentioned, that the type specimen was procured 

 in the interior of the Nurree Nai in the hills west of Sehwan. 

 I may however remark that in this species there is an almost 

 entire absence of that pale fulvous fawn tinge which usually 

 characterises the lower tail coverts of picata. 



Since writing my former note, I have obtained a specimen of 

 leucopygia, Brehm. I find that this species has the white head 

 of monacha, and the whole breast and abdomen black, it is there- 

 fore quite distinct from alboniger and equally so from monacha 

 to which it approximates in the pure white laterals. 



