61 [Vol. xxxiii. 



Alcippe ph^eocephala brucei Hume. 



Hume, J. A. S. B. xxxix. pt. ii. p. 122 (1870). 



This subspecies was first described by Fairbank, who 

 forwarded his description to A. O. Hume. The latter, how- 

 ever, does not appear to have published it, but refers to the 

 bird from Mahableshwar under the name of Alcippe brucei, 

 and notes that it is slightly larger than A. phaocephala. 



Oates in the i 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. phceocephala 

 Jerdon, and lacking the rufous tinge on the plumage of the 

 upperparts. Head and neck ashy-grey, paler and not so 

 well-defined as in A. phceocephala, 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. ph<jeocephala. Wing 70-74 mm. ; average 

 measurement 72. 



Hab. Mahableshwar, the Western Ghats from Rajkote 

 in Khattiwar to Belgaum ; the Central Provinces ; Pach- 

 murri ; and the Paresnath Hills, Lower Bengal. 



Type in the British Museum : £ . Mahableshwar, 22.iii. 73 

 (Rev. S. B. Fairbank). Hume coll. 



Stachyris nigriceps coltarti, subsp. n. 



Adult. Similar to S. nigriceps Hodgson from Nepal, but 

 differs in having the throat very dark grey or black; in 

 S. nigriceps the feathers are dark grey edged with white, 

 producing a striped appearance. The measurements are the 

 same as those of S. nigriceps. 



Hab. Dibrugarh, Assam ; the Naga and Chin Hills, and 

 the Bhamo Hills. Birds from the Shan States and Tenas- 

 serim have the throat light ashy-grey, as in S. davisoni 

 Sharpe, from the Malay Peninsula, with which they appear 

 to be identical. 



I have named this subspecies after Dr. H. N. Coltart, who 

 has collected a number of specimens at Margherita, Assam. 



Type in the Tring Museum: ?. Margherita, 4. xii. 01. 

 II. N. Coltart coll. 



