GARRULAX PGECILORHYNCHA, Gould. 



Black- and Yellow-billed Garrulax. 



Garrulaae poecilorhyncha, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc. 1862, p. 281. 

 pcecilorhynchus, Swinh. in Ibis, 1863, p. 283. 



How different in character must be the trees and forests of Southern Asia from those north of the great dividing- 

 ranges ! and how different must they be from the trees and forests of Europe and of England ! for in neither 

 of the countries last alluded to have we any member of this particular form ; and, on tbe other hand, none 

 or scarcely any of the true Thrushes are found in those inhabited by the members of the genus Garrulaoc^ 

 whose structure and thick plumage is so admirably adapted for the peculiar kind of vegetation amid which 

 they are destined to dwell. These gregarious birds also exhibit many peculiarities in their habits and eco- 

 nomy, and are said to be very garrulous and noisy, constantly pouring forth the loud laugh-like notes by 

 which they may be distinguished from all the other birds of the forest. 



"This," says Mr. Swinhoe, "is a commoner bird in the forest-ranges near Tamsuy than the G. rujiceps ; 

 like that species, it never descends to the lower unsheltered hills. It is a noisy, chattering species, assem- 

 bling several together in the underwood, and keeping up an incessant jabbering, with frequent loud discord- 

 ant cries interspersed. It is sly and vigilant, and tries to elude observation, generally escaping from the 

 opposite side of the bush it is in, with short flights to the next, and so retreating from approach. In the 

 G. ccerideatus, from Nepaul, we have a close representative of this species, with similar brown upper plumage 

 and a scaly head; but that bird is readily distinguished from the G. pcecilorhynchas by the whiteness of its 

 under surface." 



Crown of the head, nape, back, rump, throat, and chest deep rusty brown ; many of the feathers of the 

 crown slightly fringed at their tips with black, a hue which is also observable on the tips of the ear-coverts ; 

 primaries and secondaries reddish brown on their inner webs, the external edges of the former light grey, 

 and of the latter deep rusty chestnut ; tail deep rusty chestnut, particularly the six central feathers, the 

 remainder being darker, having less of the chestnut hue, and becoming lighter and of a reddish fawn-colour 

 towards their tips ; " these feathers are moreover obscurely barred with a shade of brown, distinctly 

 when the feathers are new, but the bars almost entirely fade away with wear ; abdomen and thighs deep 

 blue-grey, tinged on the latter with rufous ; under tail-coverts fawn-colour ; basal portion of the bill greyish 

 black, the apical portion bright ochre-yellow, with a greenish tinge; legs brownish grey, with light brownish 

 soles and brown pads " (Swinhoe). 



The sexes are alike. The figures are of the natural size. 



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