152 BIRDS OF INDIA. 



its base, thus reverting towards the Redstarts. The throat has more 

 or less bright azure blue in the males. 



There appear to be four or five nearly allied races or species 

 inhabiting Europe, Asia, and the North of Africa ; and there 

 is some doubt as to which of the races the Indian bird belongs. It 

 is generally allowed that the birds that visit India during the cold 

 Aveather, most closely resemble those of Northern Europe, as dis- 

 tinguished from the race of Middle and Southern Europe, which 

 visit England occasionally. Bonaparte, however, made it distinct, 

 as indeed Blyth formerly did. 



514, Cyaneula suecica, Linn. 



Motacilla,apud Linnaeus— Blyth, Cat. 981 — Horsf., Cat. 484 

 — Sykes, Cat. 94 — Jerdon, Cat. 109 — C. suecicoides, Hodg- 

 son — Motac. coerulecula, Pallas — C. indica, Bonap. — Huseni- 

 pidda, H. — also Nil kunthi, H. in the North. — Gunpigcra and Gur- 

 pedra, Beng. — Dumbak, Sindh. 



The Indian Blue-throat. 



Descr. — Above pale olive-brown, the feathers of the crown 

 slightly centred darker, and with a whitish supercilium ; lower parts 

 whitish ; the under tail-coverts more or less tinged with rufescent ; 

 throat and breast bright shining azure-blue, the former generally 

 mingled with whitish along the middle, and having a large ferru- 

 ginous spot in front of the neck ; below, and bordering the azure 

 of the breast, is a narrow blackish band, then a narrow whitish band, 

 and below this again a broad ferruginous band ; the upper 

 tail-coverts are brown, mingled with ferruginous ; tail rufous, 

 the two centre feathers, and the tips of all the others, dark 

 brown. 



Bill dusky horn, the gape yellow; legs brownish; irides dark 

 brown. Length nearly 6£ inches ; wing 3 ; tail 2j ; extent 9£ 

 tarsus 1 T ^ ; bill at front /y. Female a little smaller. 



Younc; males have much less blue on the breast, which is often 

 confined to a moustachial streak on either side, and a comparatively 

 narrow gorget ; they have also scarcely any tinge of ferruginous 

 on the throat and breast, the former being chieiiy of a dull 



