482 NOTES ON THE AVTFAUNA OF MOUNT ABOO 



in both types, as also were the specimens of the birds them- 

 selves that I obtained. 



I give Dr. Jerdon's description below, with a few additions 

 of my own, in the hope that my observations may prove of use 

 to ornithologists who may dispute the distinctness of the 3 

 supposed species D. inornatus, Sykes, D. fuscns, Hodgs., and 

 D. terricolor, Hume. I offer no opinion on the subject myself. 



Description. — Head and back greyish brown, the feathers of the 

 head having the centres darker, giving the head an indistinct 

 appearance of striation ; wings brown, edged pale rufous on 

 both webs, most conspicuous on the inner webs of the secondary 

 feathers; carpal joint edged with white exteriorly; tail 

 brown, darkest in the centre and. paling laterally, the short 

 outside feathers being almost entirely white, the next having 

 the inner webs whitish and the outer webs whitish brown ; the 

 whole, except the outer two which have no dark spot, being nar- 

 rowly tipped with white and having a subterminal dark spot; the 

 whole of the tail is obsoletely barred most conspicuously on 

 the central feathers ; supercilium, lores, chin, throat, and 

 abdomen white, remainder of lower parts including breast and 

 flanks silky white, slightly tinged with very pale fulvous ; 

 thighs pale ferruginous, buff or fawn. In the male the bill 

 and gape are black, the former paling to bluish horn at the 

 base of the lower mandible. In the female the upper mandible 

 is horny brown and the lower mandible, excepting at the tip, 

 is carneous. The gape is fleshy instead of black. In both 

 sexes the legs are fleshy and the irides yellowish brown. Mea- 

 surements as follows : — 



Length 55 55 51 5 



Wing 2 212 2 187 



Tail 237 237 262 2 37 



Bill at front 047 04 044 044 



Bill from gape 062 0'62 059 055 



These four specimens were all shot near Deesa in the breed- 

 ing season. Nearly all of the nests I have seen have been 

 built on the outside of Ber bushes (Z. jujuba) at heights vary- 

 ing from 2| feet to 5 feet from the ground. 



fl have no record of this occurring at Aboo. Specimens, 

 both from Gruzerat and Kattiawar, appear to belong to the 

 same species that occurs so commonly about Agra, (straggling 

 westwards to Sambhur,) which I have called terricolor. A 

 much more rufous race occurs about Bombay, Poona, &c, 

 which I presume to be Sykes' inornatus, as his description 

 applies better to it than to the Northern bird. I have as yet 

 observed no race of this Wren Warbler in or from Sindh, Cutch, 

 or Jodhpoor. — A. 0. H.] 



