508 birds of india. 



The Black-bellied Cashmere Dipper. 



Descr. — Crown of head, back of neck, throat, and chest, choco- 

 late-brown, lightest on the throat and breast ; back, abdomen, and 

 tail, deep brownish-black, darkest on the abdomen ; wings nearly 

 the color of the back. 



Length G^ inches ; wing S^ ; tail 2 ; tarsus 1^ ; bill |. 



This is apparently the Asiatic representative of the H. melano- 

 gastra of Europe, and, like the last, is from the mountains of Cash- 

 mere, where procured also by Dr. Adams. 



Besides the common Dipper of Europe, Hydrohata cinclus, and 

 the melanngaster, of Eastern Europe, there are recorded H. leuco' 

 gaster, from Western Siberia, and true Pallasii, from Eastera 

 Siberia ; and there are two in the New World, one from the North, 

 and the other, with a white head, from Peru. With Bonaparte, 

 I agree that the remarkable Australian form Grallino comes near 

 this group, and serves to link it with Enicurus of the Motacillidce. 

 It appears to me, also, that Origma of the same region has affinities 

 with this group. 



Gen. ZooTHERA, Vigors. 



Syn.- —Myiothcra, Tem. (partly), and Mgiophaga, Less, (partly). 



Char. — Bill longer than the head, compressed, slightly curved ; 

 upper mandible with hooked tip, produced over the loAver ; wings 

 somewhat short; 1st quill very short; 4th and 5th sub-equal and 

 longest, 3rd nearly as long ; tail short, even, broad ; tarsus mo- 

 derate, about equal to the middle toe ; lateral toes nearly equal, 

 hind toe somewhat long ; claws moderately curved. 



These birds form a genus of a few remarkable species, 

 which are usually classed with the MeruUncB. Bonaparte latterly 

 classed it with the Thrushes ; but, formerly, I think, he, more 

 discriminately, placed it among his Cinclidos. He makes it consist 

 of four species, one of which, Z. cinclops, is, says the Prince, in- 

 termediate between Zoothera and Cinclus. This has been since re- 

 moved from Zoothera., and forms the type of the genus Cinclops. 

 Blyth also places Zoothera with the Thrushes, as do Gray and 

 Horsfield. It is, indeed, a link between the two sub-families, and 

 might be classed with either; but its short-tail, Piitine bill, and its 



