416 NOTES ON BIRDS OBSERVED IN THE REGION BETWEEN 



moreover, lias no white on the base of the tail. Accord- 

 ing to Dr. Stoliczka the base of the tail is white in all phases 

 of the male. My adult specimens belong undoubtedly to this 

 species, not to 31. astigma, which Mr. Brooks reports from 

 Assensole (S. F., Vol III., 235.) 



345.— Pitta coronata, Gmel. 



In my previous mention of this bird I described its notes 

 as I had theu heard them, and endeavoured to indicate them 

 by the syllable Wheet-pe-u. This year I found that it really 

 has a very sweet thrush-like song, somewhat resembling that 

 of the Shama. It is copious and long sustained, occasionally 

 the Wheet-pe-u notes are introduced. 



I can very well remember hearing" this same song* when I 

 first saw Pittas, but at that time I thought the notes were to 

 be attributed to some Shamas which were in the same trees. 



As a rule, I have seldom seen these birds, except when I 

 have tracked them down in the heavy jungle they inhabit — by 

 means of the notes above represented. 



I have already, in a previous paper, noted the fact of the 

 Pittas making their first appearauce in these jungles, together 

 with the Tchitreas in April. 



As according to Layard, quoted by Jerdon, the Pittas occur 

 in Ceylon in the winter months ; it seems probable that the mi- 

 oration* is between the extreme south of India with Ceylon, 

 and the Central Provinces. By this means the cold weather 

 climate of the latter region is avoided. 



436.— Malacocircus malcolmi, Sykes. 



This species of Babbler was not uncommon between Raipur 

 and Nagpur ; elsewhere I only observed 31. canorus. 



441. — Chaetornis striatus, Jerdon. 



I have already recorded the occurrence of this species in 

 Sambalpur ; the specimen obtained there was a ^. In the 



* I have already, S. F., III.. 298, dwelt upon the migratory habits of the Pittas. In 

 regard to the present species I may notice that the migration extends much further 

 than the Central Provinces. They arrive at Bareilly about the beginning of the rains, 

 some times earlier; in the Dhoon they become very common early in the hot 

 weather ; in this latter place some few jnay be permanent residents, but the great 

 bulk of the birds are migrants from the south. To the Berars, and the forests about 

 Hoshungabad, it is a regular migrant. It straggles up even into the semi-desert 

 country of Kattiawar, Northern Guzerat, the Sambhur Lake. It comes up in num- 

 bers to the northern districts of Oudh and Behar. I have caught a specimen in my 

 house in Chowringhee, Calcutta, in May. Throughout the length and breadth of 

 the country it moves during April, May, and June from the extreme south to all suitable 

 localities in the north, (at any rate west of the Brahmapootra), great numbers 

 reaching the bases of the Himalayas or Sub-Himalayan ranges, where some few 

 are, I believe, permanent residents, but where the great mass of the birds are only 

 seasonal migrants from the south.— Ed., S. F. 



