LEI0TBICHIN7E. 243 



habits. Horsjield classes it next to Bomby cilia (which certainly 

 belongs to this sub-family), but in his Todidce, a fissirostral group. 



607. Oochoa purpurea, Hodgson. 



J. A. S., V. 359— XII., 450 (with figure)— Gould, Birds of 

 Asia, pt. 1, pi. 13— Blyth, Cat. 1175— Horsf., Cat. 631— 

 Cocho, Nepal. — Lho ni/um-pho, Lepch. 



The Purple Thrush-tit. 



JDescr. — Head lavender-blue grey ; lores, eyebrows, and ear- 

 coverts black ; upper plumage ashy purple ; wings light purple or 

 soft grey blue, more or less purpurascent ; the primaries black with 

 a broad pale lavender band at their base ; primary coverts and 

 primaries black, and the secondaries broadly tipped with pure 

 black; the tail light purple with black tip; plumage beneath 

 brownish purple. 



The female is reddish brown where the male is purple; and the 

 upper part of the wings also is brown ; wing spot and tail as in the 

 male, but duller. The young bird is dusky black above, the head 

 whitish with black edgings, and beneath red brown with dusky 

 bands. 



Bill and legs black; irides dark brown. Length nearly 11 

 inches ; extent 17 ; wing 5^ ; tail 4^ ; bill at front f ; tarsus 1. 



This elegantly-plumaged bird has only been procured in Nepal 

 and Sikhim. I found it very rare near Darjeeling, and only 

 obtained one specimen, which was shot at a considerable elevation, 

 above 8,000 feet. Hodgson says " They are common to all the three 

 regions of Nepal. They are shy in their manners, adhere exclu- 

 sively to the woods, live solitarily or in pairs, breed and moult but 

 once a year, nidificate on trees, and feed almost equally on the 

 ground and on trees. I have taken from their stomachs several 

 sorts of stony berries, small univalve Mollusca, and sundry kinds 

 of aquatic insects." Hodgson further adds, "The tongue is simple, 

 Hat, with a subjagged tip, and the stomach is muscular, with 

 a touirh "rooved lining." 



608. Cochoa viridis, Hodgson. 

 J. A. S., V. 359— Blyth, Cat. 1174— Gould, Birds of A ia, 

 pt. 1, pi. 12. 



