NOTES ON INDIAN TIMELIIDES AND TREIR ALLIES. 451 



published it, but refers to the bird from Mahableshwar under the name of 

 Alcippe brucei, and notes that it is slightly larger than A. phceocephala. 



Oates in the ' Fauna of India, Birds/ i., p. 158, also notes that birds from 

 the Nilghiris and Travancore differ from those found in other localities. 



Adult. — Larger and much greyer than A. phcBocephala, Jerdon, and lacking 

 the rufous tinge on the plumage of the upper parts. Head and neck ashy- 

 grey, paler, and not so well-defined as in A. phceocepliala, and merging into 

 the colour of the back ; upper plumage greyish olive-brown, with no rufous 

 tinge ; outer edges of the primary- quills and tail-feathers light brown instead 

 of chestnut ; lower plumage as in A. phcBocephala. Wing, 70-74 mm.; average 

 measurement, 72. 



Habitat. — Mahableshwar, the Western Ghats from Rajkote in Khattiwar to 

 Belgaum ; the Central Provinces; Pachmari,- and the Paresnath Hills, 

 Lower Bengal. 



Type in the British Museum: S • Mahableshwar, 22. iii., 73"(-Kev. S. B. 

 Fairbank), Hume coll." (Harington.) 



Bill, 4-15 mm,; (note a bird from Rajkote, Khattiwar, is the largest, hav- 

 ing a wing of 75. mm.) 



Alcippe ph^cephala phayrei, Biyth. 

 The AiTacan Quaker- T/a-ush. 



Alcippe phayrei, Blyth, J. A. S. B., xiv., p. 601 (1845) ; Sharpe, Oat. 

 B. M., vii., p. 623; Gates, F. of B. L, i., p. 158. 



A. fusca, Godwin-Austin, J. A. S. B., xlv., p. 197. 



As there has been a great deal of confusion over the description of this 

 species, I give Blyth's original description and note. 



Blyth's Birds of Burma, p. 601. 



A. nepalensis. 



Alcipfe phayrei, Nobis, J. A. S. B., xiv., p. 601. 



" The present one is most nearly allied to A. poicephala, Jerdon, and 

 also Siva nepalends, Hodgson .... But is distinguished by its less ruf escent 

 hue, especially on the tail, and its upper and lower coverts, which are devoid 

 of such a tinge, or the upper tail-coverts retain it only in a very slight degree. 

 .... lower parts f ulvescent whitish, whitish on the throat and middle of the 

 belly." 



" JSabitat. — Arracan." 



'^ Wanting the dark sincipital stripes is probably the young." 



From the above description it is most noticeable that A. phayrei has not 

 a striped head, and also has no rufous tinge on the lower plumage. 

 Unfortunately there are no specimens of A. phayrei from Arracan in the 

 Museum, the * type being in the Calcutta Museum . There are, however, 

 two specimens in the British Museum from the Western side of Burma, one 

 from Saw in the Pokokko Dist.; and the other from the Upper Chindwin 

 Dist., where it appears to be common (Gates and Mears, J. B. N. H. S., 

 xviii., p. 80), these are much greyer above than any Assamese birds I have 

 seen, and also want the decided rufous tinge so noticeable in birds from 

 those parts, and in my opinion appear to be much nearer to Blyth's descrip- 

 tion than the Assam birds, also geographically they are much nearer to 

 Arracan, at present it is impossible to say, whether birds from Assam are 

 A. phayrei, or should be A. fusca (the type of which is in the Museum, and 

 agree with all other specimens from Assam). If the birds from Assam and 



* I have just examined the type specimens of A. phayrei, Blyth, from Arracan, 

 kindly forwarded by Dr. Annandale for comparison, these unfortunately are very 

 worn and faded, so that it is impossible to say v^hether Arracan and Assam birds 

 are identical. It is hoped that any members in Arracan will collect and forward 

 specimens to decide the point. H. H. H. Bombay, 7th March 1914. 



