DRYMOCHARES STELLATUS, Gould. 



Stellated Shortwing*. 



Brachypteryx (Drymochares) stellatus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, 1868, p. 218. 



Mr. Blyth, who has so assiduously investigated the avifauna of India, and whose writings on the subject are 

 familiar to every ornithologist, first called my attention to this interesting species, assuring me that it was 

 new, and consequently a desirable bird to be at once figured in my ' Birds of Asia ' ; nor am I less indebted 

 to Lieut. C. V. Eccles, of the Rifle Brigade, by whom two specimens were brought to England, for the 

 loan of them for the purpose of describing and figuring — but still more for his liberality in presenting me with 

 one, the other (with equal liberality) being added to the National Collection at the British Museum. In the 

 ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society ' above referred to, I placed this bird in the genus Brachypteryx, but, 

 in case ornithologists should deem the situation an erroneous one, I at the same time proposed for it the sub- 

 generic title of Drymochares, and remarked, " In its structure and in its dense and silky plumage this bird is so 

 closely allied to the smaller members of the genus Brachypteryx as scarcely to be removeable from them • 

 and I should not have ventured to suggest a separate generic title, were there not so great a difference in its 

 colour and markings. The beautiful stellations of the breast render it specifically different from every other 

 bird with which I am acquainted, while the black crescentic wavy lines of the chest and the chestnut colour- 

 ing of the back distinguish it from all the species of the genus Brachypteryx, to which, in the lengthened form 

 of its thighs, tarsi, and toes, it bears a striking resemblance. Some may be inclined to regard the bird as a 

 member of the old genus, while others may consider its colour, markings, and tout ensemble sufficiently dif- 

 ferent to justify the divisional name" I have suggested. 



In size the Drymochares stellatus is about twice that of the European Wren {Troglodytes Europceus) Its 

 lengthened tarsi and general structure indicate that stony scrubby places are its natural abode • while its 

 dense and silky plumage proves, to my mind at least, that they must also be damp or humid. It is not 

 often that we receive an Indian bird that has escaped the searching eye of Mr. Hodgson ; but the present one 

 certainly has eluded his observation — a circumstance which is doubtless due to the secluded habits of the 

 species. The two specimens above mentioned were brought, with many other birds, direct from the rich 

 country of Nepaul. Lieut. Eccles, unfortunately, could not give me any precise information as to where his 

 specimens were procured, further than that he believes they were shot on the dense scrubby side of the 

 mountains, at an elevation of about 10,000 feet. 



Forehead, ear-coverts, breast, chest, and abdomen grey, crossed by numerous narrow wavy lines of black • 

 at the tip of each of the feathers of the abdomen, flanks, under (and some few of the upper) tail-coverts an 

 irregular arrowhead-shaped mark of white ; lores black ; all the upper surface, wings, and tail chestnut-red • 

 bill black ; feet brown. 



Total length 4-f- inches, bill i, wing 2f, tail 2, tarsi 1^. 



The figures are of the size of life. 



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