Contributions to the Ornithology of India, 8fc. 191 



species, as well as of the marbled duck. At best the monstach- 

 ed warbler is not a very easy bird to secure ; rarely does he 

 disport himself upon the tops of the rushes. As a rule he tlireads 

 his way rapidly from stem to stem about hnlf way up, only when 

 the boat IS actually on him, makino> a short, sudden flight, and 

 then before he is far enoug-h to fire, without blowing him to 

 pieces, dropping- invisible into the waving- sea of rushes. 



The following are dimensions, &c., taken from the fresh bird. 

 The sexes not differing- appreciably in size. Leng-th, 5-7 to 5-8 ; 

 expanse, 7-3 to 7-5 ; tail, from vent, 2 to 2-2 ; wmg^' 3-4 to 2-5 - 

 wing-s, when closed, reach to within 1-25 to 1-4 of end of t'lil • 

 bill, at front, 0-42 to 0-47 ; tarsus, 0-82 to 0-87; hind toe and 

 claw, 0-5o ; claw onlj^^ from root straig-ht to point, 0-3 ; weight. 



The irides are brown to pale brown ; the feet, dark horny 

 grey; m some, dusky brown; the legs, d.isky brown; soles, pale 

 yellowish ; the bill very dark-brown, almost black, paler on 

 lower mandible. A broad conspicuous white stripe from the nos- 

 trils over the eyes and ear coverts; a dark brown stripe from in 

 front of, under, and through the eyes, enveloping the upper 

 portion of the ear coverts, darker in the males than in the 

 females ; the chin, throat, and lower parts, including the lower 

 tail coverts, white ; faintly tinged rufescent on the l)reast, more 

 strongly so on the flanks about the vent, and, in some spe- 

 cimens, the lower tail coverts also; the sides,- both of the 

 neck and of the body, tinged with greyish, or in some, olivace- 

 ous brown ; the forehead, crown, occiput, and nape, very dark 

 brown, the featliers tipped and margined with a paler yellowish 

 olive brown ; m some specimens, these ti]ipings entirely obscure 

 the bases, except on a narrow line immediate] v above the white 

 eye streak ; m others, these parts appear to be very dark brown 

 regularly striated with the paler olive brown, while in some, 

 the ti])pings are almost wanting. The back, scapulars, rump, 

 and upper tail coverts, the same yellowish olive brown, becomino> 

 more rufescent on the lower back, rump, and upper tail coverts'': 

 the feathers of the centre of the back with more or less con- 

 spicuous dark central shaft streaks. In some birdsHhe whole 

 back seems regularly streaked with dark lines, in others only a 

 few faint darker streaks are visible in the very centre of the 

 back ; m some again the lower back is much more decidedly 

 rufous. The wings are hair brown ; the primaries very narrowly 

 margined, and tipped on the outer web, paler ; the secondaries 

 and tertianes and most of the coverts more distinctly maronned 

 with a sort of rufescent olive ; the wing lining and axilTaries 

 pure, or nearly pure white ; tail feathers, somewhat pale hair 



