54 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXIII. 



feathers and plumes ; plumage soft and lax ; tail variable in length ; non- 

 migratory in habits ; plumage of young presumably like that of the adult. 



This family is rightly placed in the Timeliides, to which it undoubtedly 

 belongs from its short, rounded wings, and powerful legs and feet. Mr. 

 Gates' reasons for placing them amongst the crows (Corvidm) appear to have 

 been solely due to their concealed nostrils. Jerdon points out that too 

 much importance should not be placed on the shape of the bill, a feature 

 which is very variable in the Timeliides, some of which have short, straight 

 bills, and others very long and curved ones ; whilst some have numerous 

 hairs overhanging the nostrils ; in others the nostrils are quite free. I think 

 it requires a very great stretch of imagination to place the Crows. Tits 

 (Pa)'id(s) and Paradoxornithidcs, all within the same family, solely because 

 their nostrils are completely hidden, and ignoring the great difference in 

 habits, nidification and all other structural differences. 



I consider, therefore, Mr. Gates' name of "Crow-Tits" rather a misnomer, 

 and propose '• Parrot-billed " from the shape of their bills. There is always 

 a great difficulty in giving suitable English names to birds quite distinct and 

 totally different to the European Fauna ; and, I think, something shouild be 

 done to give names more appropriate than those now existing. 



Very little appears to be known about the habits of this very compact 

 family, the nidification of those of which we are acquainted with, form a very 

 useful aid to their classification, and when that of the remainder is known, 

 we shall probably find that each genera is well marked by the colour of its 

 eggs. 



The " Parrot-billed Babblers " are confined to the East and N.-E. of the 

 Indian Empire extending from Nepal and Sikhim into Tibet and China, also 

 occurring throughout Assam, Burma and the Islands of Formosa and 

 Hainan, the great majority being only found at a considerable elevation in 

 the hills. 



With the exception of Conostoma, all the genera grade into each other, 

 having very much the same structural peculiarities, differing inter se, chiefly 

 in the size, shape of the bill, and length of tail. 



I "have for the present kept to Mr. Gates' classification, but consider 

 Jerdon was right in keeping the following separated Heteromorpha, Chleu- 

 asicus and Sutkom. Undoubtedly, all three have the same characteristics, 

 they, however, differ greatly in size and colouration ; and, I think, by keeping 

 them separate, the study of the family would be greatly facilitated, as the 

 above-mentioned genera consist of three very distinct types of birds. 



The generic name Scceorhynchus, Gates, is already pre-occupied and in 

 its place Psittiparus, Hellmayer, 1903, has been proposed. 



I also propose the generic name of Neosuthora with N. davidiana (Slater), 

 as type. This genus differs from Suthora in having an extremely short tail, 

 and much deeper bill, and approaches Psittiparus very much in these 

 respects, differing only in size. 



I have divided the Paradoxorinthidce into two sub-families — 



(1) Conostoma, which consists of only one species, remarkable for its 

 larger size and longer bill. 



(2) Paradoxornitkince, all of which have remarkably short, thick bills, 

 and, I think, as mentioned before, should be divided into the following 

 genera : — 



{a) Paradoxornis ; (b) Heteromorpha ; (c) Chleuasicus ; {d) Suthora ; 

 (<?) Psittiparus ; (/) Neosuthora. 



Conostoma, Hodgson, 1841. 



This genus contains only one species, which is the largest of the order. 

 It has the following characteristics ; tail slightly longer than the wing 



