PRATINCOLA. 1 39 



webs with sandy buff or light yellowish brown j the outer web of the 

 outermost feather almost entirely of this colour ; all the feathers, except 

 the central pair, with almost the entire inner webs, white, the outer- 

 most pair have an irregular subterminal brown band from 0-2 to 0"3 

 inch wide on this web, but the rest have only a small patch of brown 

 near the shaft close to the tip, the pair next the centre have the patch 

 rather larger ; there are traces of a dark streak from the base of the 

 lower mandible down either side of the throat, expanding on the sides 

 of the breast ; doubtless in breeding plumage this streak and patch are 

 black or blackish j bill and feet black ; iris brown. 



Length. — 6 inches, culmen 0'7, wing 3, tail 2'12, tarsus 0-97. — {Hume). 



Breeding Plumage. — Two or three of both my males and females 

 have the lower parts of the lores, cheeks, ear-coverts and entire sides 

 of the throat (leaving only a narrow pure white stripe down the 

 centre of the throat) black ; the feathers only a little tipped with pale 

 sandy, which doubtless in the breeding season entirely disappears ; 

 also the lesser and median, and secondary greater wing-coverts and 

 the winglet have become nearly black, only very narrowly edged with 

 sandy buff, which colour also seems in the course of disappearing. — 

 (flwme) . 



Adult Female in winter plumage similar to the male, but smaller and 

 showing the dark streak and patch much less. 



Length. — 5"5 inches, culmen 0"7, wing 2"9, tail 2, tarsus 0"93. — 

 {Hume). Ex Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. vol. iv. p. 188. 



Hah. — Sind, Punjab, and N. W. Provinces. Mr. Hume gives the 

 following distribution of this species in vol. vii. of Stray Feathers, p. 

 55 : — " Punjab (Goorgaon, Umballa, Sirsa, Hansi, Shahpoor and prob- 

 ably all western districts); Rajputana (Jodhpore, Biccaneer, Jeysulmere) ; 

 North Guzerat, Kutch, Sind (Thurr and Parkur districts) and probably 

 elsewhere." I got it at Chaman (Afghanistan), and in the Bolan Pass, 

 Beloochistan. 



Pratincola indica, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xvi. p. 129 ; id. Cat. Mus. 



A. S. B. p. 170; Bp. Consp. i. p. 305; Str. F. 1873, p. 355; 1875, 

 p. 138; 1. c. p. 475; 1876, pp. 142, 259, 275, 327; 1877, p. 36; Jerd. 



B. Ind. ii. p. 124, No. 483 ; Murray, Hdhk., Zool., Sfc, Sind, p. 145. 

 Pratincola maura. Pall. Reis. ii. Anhang. p. 708 ; Gm. Syst. Nat. i. 

 p. 975; Sharpe, Cat. Birds, Br. Mus. vol. iv. p. 188. Pratincola 

 robusta, Trisir. Ibis. 1870, p. 497; Broolcs, Str. F. 1876, p. 274; 

 Hume, Str. F. 1877, p. 131; 1878, p. 335; vii. p. 55. Pratincola 

 rubicola. Ft., Severtz. Turkst. Jevotn. p. 65 ; Dresser, B. Eur. pt. 23, 24. — 

 The Indian Bush Chat. 



Adult MaAe. — Head, neck, chin, throat, sides of face, back, tail 

 and wings black; the feathers of the back and scapulars, (some of which 

 are white tipped) edged with pale rufoas, and the tail basally white ; the 

 quills dusky brown, margined with sandy brown, as are also the wing- 

 coverts and secondaries ; a large wing patch, rump, upper tail-coverts, 

 and sides of neck forming a demicoUar, white ; foreneck and breast bright 

 ferruginous; abdomen, vent and under tail-coverts white, slightly 



