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referring to the examples obtained there, he writes (E. Pers. ii. p. 166) as follows: — "One of 

 the specimens which I refer to Buticilla rufiventris, the male bird from Pishin, in Baluchistan, 

 shot on February the 8th, presents the peculiarity of a narrow white frontal band above the 

 usual black forehead, thus resembling Buticilla phcenicura, except that the white band is usually 

 much broader in that species. In other respects this specimen agrees with Buticilla rufiventris, 

 being a larger bird, with longer bill and tarsi than Buticilla phcenicura, and having more black 

 on the breast. I am disposed to look upon the white upper forehead as a mere individual 

 variation ; but the late Mr. Blyth informed me that he had seen similar specimens in India ; and 

 they may belong to a peculiar and undescribed race, or possibly be hybrids between Buticilla 

 rufiventris and Buticilla plmnicura. From the localities above quoted as those at which the 

 specimens were collected, it will be seen that none were obtained on the Persian plateau ; and 

 hitherto there is no evidence, so far as I am aware, of the occurrence of Buticilla rufiventris in 

 Persia proper. It may traverse the country in spring and autumn, and breed further north ; but 

 neither De Filippi, Major St. John, nor I observed it." 



Mr. A. O. Hume writes (Stray Feathers, i. p. 190) that in Sindh he found it common 

 everywhere, at times even in the most desolate localites, throughout all the districts and pro- 

 vinces he traversed. It is also recorded (Stray Feathers, ii. p. 413) as common in Chota Nagpur ; 

 and Dr. Jerdon writes (B. of India, ii. p. 138) as follows : — "The Indian Redstart is very regular 

 in its appearance in the plains of India, from the end of September to the first week or so of 

 October, according to the locality. It is generally spread throughout the country, to the extreme 

 south of the peninsula, but has not been observed in Ceylon — frequenting groves of trees, orchards, 

 gardens, and the vicinity of old buildings, walls, and houses ; and it is often seen perched on the 

 roof of a house. It feeds on the ground, on various insects. It has a most peculiar quivering 

 motion of its tail, especially when seating itself on its perch after feeding ; hence some of the 

 native names." 



To the eastward the present species occurs as far as China ; but it has not, Captain Wardlaw 

 Ramsay informs me, been met with in Burmah. Pere David states (Ois. de la Chine, p. 169), 

 it " arrives in small numbers to pass the summer in China and Mongolia. I obtained several 

 individuals near Pekin, on the Ourato Mountains, and in Southern Chensi, but have never 

 observed it in Eastern China." Eespecting its occurrence in Mongolia, Colonel Prjevalsky writes 

 (Rowley's Orn. Misc. pt. vi. p. 174) as follows: — "We obtained specimens in S.E. Mongolia only 

 in the Suma-had and Shara-had Mountains ; and even in these localities it appears to be scarce, 

 inhabiting the bushes that grow near rocks and in clefts. In Ala-shan we found it breeding. 

 In Kansu we did not observe a single specimen during the summer of 1872, but next spring 

 noticed the first migrants on the 4th of April, at the sources of the Tetung-gol, where they kept 

 to the small bushes singly and in pairs. Strange to say, we did not find one in April and May 

 along the Tetung-gol, and therefore cannot say whether it breeds there or not." 



In habits the present species is said to resemble our European Black Redstart more than 

 the common Redstart ; and it evinces a preference for rocky and mountainous localities. The 

 Indian ornithologists give very meagre notes respecting its habits ; and I find but little on record ■ 

 on the subject, except Pere David's statement (/. c.) that it appears to avoid the forests, and 

 resorts in preference to the mountains, where it occurs in rocky places, or near old walls, 



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