AND NORTHERN GUZERAT. 483 



544.— Drymoipus longicaudatus, Tickell. 



The Long-tailed Wren Warbler is tolerably common all over 

 the plains, but I did not observe it at Aboo. As regards Mr. 

 Brooks' remarks (S. F., III., p. 295,) uniting this species with 

 D. inornatus, Sykes, I am at present inclined to agree with 

 liim, and my chief reason for believing that his conclusions 

 are correct is as follows: During the hot weather and rains 

 Drymoipus inornatus, Sykes, (or D. terricolor, Hume, to be 

 more exact) is very common in this neighbourhood, and in 

 fact throughout the plains generally, but I do not recollect a 

 single instance of the occurence of D. longicaudatus, Tickell, 

 at that season. Later on about the beginning of November 

 I), inornatus, Sykes, disappears altogether, and D. longicau- 

 datus, Tickell, appears to take its place during the cold weather. 

 Now it seems to me evident from the above facts that either 

 I), inornatus, Sykes becomes D. longicaudatus, Tick, in 

 its winter dress or else that the two species are distinct, and 

 D. inornatus migrates about October and is replaced durinor 

 the cold weather by D. longicaudatus. I do not think the 

 latter supposition is probable, and consequently as I said before 

 for the present I concur with Mr. Brooks' opinion. My 

 specimens of both species exactly correspond with the descrip- 

 tion Mr. Brooks has given of the two birds, but there are two 

 important structural differences which I do not exactly know 

 how to explain. Firstly in D. inornatus the bill, in addition 

 to being black, is decidedly stouter and longer as the measure- 

 ments given below will show, viz : — ■ 



D. longicaudatus £ 



Bill at front 038 



Bill from gape 056 



D. terricolor, Hume £ 



Bill at front 41, 42 and 044 



Bill from gape (52, 0'62 and 59 



All of these specimens were killed at Deesa. 



Secondly, the great difference in the length of the tails, viz: — 



D. longicaudatus $ 



Tail 3-12 



D. terricolor, Hume 



<J Tail 2-38 2 38 2*62 



? Tail 2 38 



However time, study and further observation may prove 

 that these points are not of as much importance as they appear 

 to be at present. 



[I attach less importance to the length of the tails, but the 

 difference in the size of the bills, which I believe to be a fact, 

 precludes my uniting the two species at present. I have one 



