238 F. Stoliczka — Mammals and Birds inhabiting Kaclih. [No. 3, 



481. Pratincola caprata. Very rare. 



483. P. Indica, ? = rtjbicola. Very common. 

 Comp. Ibis, 1870, vi, p. 167, and 1871, p. 27 . 



$ Wing 2-65, tail 2, tarsus 0-85, bill at front 0"4 inch. 



This is the only specimen I saw during the whole winter ; I shot it near 

 Bhuj on 2nd January. Gray (Hand-list, I, 228) retains the Indian Bush- 

 chat as distinct from the European, but I still think their identity can 

 hardly be questioned, although Indian specimens may generally be smaller ; 

 I certainly disbelieve the existence of two separable species in India as 

 rubicola and indica. As far as I remember I have seen in 1867 European 

 specimens with all the distinctive peculiarities in colour of P. indica, Hi- 

 malayan specimens of which I then compared with the former. 



4<S3bis. Pratotcola macrorhyncha, n. sp. 



I shot at tbe beginning of 1872 two specimens of a Prati/ricola, (pro- 

 bably females, the sex was unfortunately not determined), which appears 

 to be distinct from any other as yet known. 



General plumage, above, dull brown, all the feathers margined with 

 pale isabelline or fulvescent whitish, most broadly on scapulars and tertials, 

 narrowly on the quills ; upper tail coverts nearly entirely uniform pale ful- 

 vescent or sandy, only along the centre of a darker hue. Central tail feathers 

 brown, the succeeding also brown and very pale rufescent fulvous about 

 the basal half of both webs, (not along the shafts), the rufescent colour 

 gradually, not abruptly, passing into the brown ; outer web of last tail 

 feather wholly sandy or pale fulvescent white, and all have pale tips which, 

 however, easily wear of. Lores and supercilium sandy white ; ears dusky. 

 Lower plumage fulvescent white throughout, with a slight shade of cream 

 colour, all the feathers on their basal halves are dark slaty, which is also 

 the case on the upper plumage. Bill and feet nearly quite black. Total 

 length about 5 - 2" to 5 - 5" ; wing 2 - 85" to 29 inch., first primary nearly V, 

 and 1*2" shorter than the second, which is very nearly equal to the 6th and 

 0'21" shorter than the fourth, this being the longest ; the 3rd and 5th are 

 subequal and very little shorter than the fourth ; tail 2 - l to 2"25, tarsus 

 0-95 to 0-97 ; bill at front 0-48 to 0-5, from gape 0'72 ; hind toe and claw 

 057, hind claw alone 03 ; mid toe with claw 0.72 to 073 inch.. The size 

 of the bill, which is rather narrow and Saxicoline, and the length of the legs 

 readily distinguish this apparently new species ; it is not the female of 

 P. rubetra, this having the basal half of the tail white, and the bill shorter 

 and broad at the base. It is also not a female or young of P. caprata, 

 moreover the length and slenderness of the hind claw does not agree with 

 any Pratincola, nor even with Saxicola, but strange enough with Oreicola 

 (= Shodojyhila. 



