516 BIRDS OF INDIA. 



on the back, and on some of the wing-coverts and quills ; a white 

 wing-spot, formed by a white bar on the outer webs of the secon- 

 daries ; rump and upper tail-coverts ferruginous ; tail black, edged 

 with blue ; chin pale blue ; breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts 

 ferruginous. 



Female, brownish-olive above, yellowish-white beneath, tinged 

 with rufous on the breast, and barred crosswise with olive- 

 brown. 



Bill brownish-black ; legs reddish-brown ; irides hazel-brown. 

 Length 7^ inches ; wing 4y^y ; tail 2| ; bill at front y% ; tarsus? 



This Thrush appears to inhabit the whole of the Himalayan range, 

 migrating to the plains in whiter, in small numbers. It also is 

 found on the slopes of the Neilgherries, the upland forests of 

 Malabar, and along the chain of Western Ghats as far north 

 as the latitude of Bombay. It has been occasionally procured 

 in the neighbourhood of Calcutta. It frequents forests and thickly- 

 wooded districts, is usually solitary, though I have seen four or 

 five together, and it appears to feed much on various fruits and 

 berries. Mr. Blyth kept one in captivity for some time, and says that 

 it has a sweet plaintive, and tolerably loud song, delivered in the 

 manner of a Eobin's song. 



Allied to this bird is the genus Petrocincla, as restricted by 

 Bonaparte, which includes the P. saxatilis of Europe, P. eremitaoi 

 the Philippines, and two African species ; and perhaps Bessonornis, 

 with many species, all of them African, should be placed here rather 

 than with the Saxicolince. 



Gen. Geocichla, Kuhl. 



Char. — ^Bill moderate, stout, compressed, straight ; culmen gently 

 arched throughout, tolerably hooked at the tip, and slightly 

 notched; nostrils lengthened ; a small nude spot behind the eye ; 

 wings and tail moderate, or rather short ; tarsus sHghtly length- 

 ened ; lateral toes short, nearly equal. 



This group comprises several Ground Thrushes, with somewhat 

 similar colours to the last birds ; viz., dull blue and ferruginous : 

 but it also includes some coloured more like Blackbirds. They are 

 peculiar to the Indian region. 



