Contributions to the Ornitliology of India, Sfc. 233 



tail from vent^ 7*2 ; bill at fronts 1-27 ; tarsus^ 2-85 ; wing-, 9 ; 

 weig-ht;, 0*75 lbs. These dimensions are no doubt much smaller 

 than those g-iven by Macgillivray^ who gives leug-th^, 17'5 ; 

 expanse^ 29 ; tail^ 3"75, bill at front, 1-33; tarsus, 3-U8; wing-, 

 9'b3. But these birds vary in size very materially, and I have 

 seen European specimens no bigger than many Indian ones, and 

 I have shot Indian ones v^hlch looked bigger than the one of 

 which I have given the dimensions above. 



860.— Cinclus interpres, L. 



The turnstone vi^as abundant in the Kurrachee Harbour and 

 not uncommon along the Mekran Coast but everywhere was shy 

 and wild, and I had great difficulty in procuring the seven 

 specimens I actually brought to book. My birds were all killed 

 early in Februarj^, and were all in the winter plumage, which 

 Dr. Jerdon does not describe and which it is impossible to identi- 

 fy with the full breeding plumage which he quotes from Yarrell. 

 The sexes do not appear to differ in size nor even in plumage, 

 at any rate in winter ; and although Macgillivray says, that the 

 females have the black parts more tinged with brown, no such 

 difference is observable in my winter killed specimens. Dimen- 

 sions taken from the fresh bird : 



Length, 9'o5 to 9*5 ; expanse, 18'5 to 19; wing, 5'9 to 6'1 ; 

 tail from vent, 2'4 to 2-5 ; bill at front, 0-8 to 0-9 ; tarsus, 0-97 

 to 1'05 ; weight, 3*75 to 4'3 oz. 



The bills were black ; irides, brown ; the legs in some, orange 

 red, in others, orange yellow ; in both cases somewhat dusky on 

 the joints and with the claws dusky. 



Plmnage. — The chin and centre of the throat, the middle of 

 the breast, abdomen, lower tail coverts, axillaries, wing lining, 

 middle and lower back, longer upper tail coverts, and the basal 

 portions of all the tail feathers, the greater portion of the inner 

 webs and bases of the secondaries and tertiaries, and a few of 

 the median scapulars (not seen till the others are raised), the 

 tips of the secondary greater coverts, and the tips of some of 

 the later secondaries, pure white. The terminal rump feathers 

 and the shortest upper tail coverts, and the terminal portions 

 of the tail feathers, blackish brown (tipped most narrowly on 

 the central and most broadly in the lateral tail feathers) with 

 white. A line from the gape, cheeks, ear coverts, the sides, and 

 base of the neck in front and the sides of the breast, white, 

 mottled broadly with blackish brown. Lores and forehead 

 brownish, with an obscure darker brown line from the point of 

 the eye to the base of the culmen. The crown of the head, hair 

 brown ; all the feathers edged M^hitey brown ; the back of the 



