6 
G. imbricata. Тһе Siberian and Himalayan species also resemble each other in having the pale 
| sub-terminal bars across the small feathers of the upper parts, especially those of the crown, buff, and 
consequently much more conspicuous than in Geocichla horsfieldi, G. nilgiriensis, G. papuensis, 
G. macrorhyncha, or G. imbricata, in which they are much darker and chiefly confined to the crown, 
or than in G. heinit, б. cuneata, or б. lunulata, in which they are nearly obsolete. ‘The Siberian 
and Himalayan species further resemble each other, and differ from all the other species of the sub- 
genus Oreocincla, in having the attenuations of the outer webs of the primaries confined to the third, 
fourth, and fifth quills, instead of extending to the sixth also. In both species the tail is moderately 
short, less than four-fifths of the length of the wing [distinguishing them from Geocichla lunulata, 
G. cuneata, and G. macrorhyncha], and the white on the outermost tail-feathers extends for less than 
half an inch from the tip [distinguishing them from G. cuneata, G. papuensis, and G. heinii]; never- 
theless Geocichla varia has fourteen rectrices, whilst Geocichla dauma has only twelve. 
Geocichla varia further differs from Geocichla dauma, as well as from all the other species of the 
Oreocincline group, in its wing-formula. As might be expected in a species whose range of 
migration is so much greater than that of any of its allies, it has a more pointed wing. 
Second primary intermediate in length between fourth and fifth; outer tail-feathers .0°3 inch 
shorter than longest. First primary shorter than the primary-coverts. 
Length of wing 6:6 to 5:9 inches, tail 4:6 to 4:15, culmen 1:3 to 11, tarsus 1:45 to F3, 
The sexes appear to be alike in colour. Adults in autumn plumage, immediately after the 
annual moult, are somewhat more ochraceous (і. e. less olive) than birds in spring plumage— 
the most ochraceous examples, with sub-terminal bars of this colour across the feathers of the 
underparts, being supposed to be birds of the year. Young in first plumage are unknown. 
Geocichla varia further resembles Geocichla dauma in the supplementary characters which are 
more or less common to all the species of the sub-genus Oreocincla. The pale spots at the tips of 
the greater and median wing-coverts are fan-shaped, and, together with the pale patches on the 
outer webs of the primary-coverts, are golden buff in newly moulted birds, fading to pale olive-grey 
in abraded summer plumage. The black on the coverts and on the tail-feathers is well developed, 
and all the tail-feathers except the four central ones are narrowly tipped with white. ‘The pale 
patch on the inner webs of the quills is generally buff, but in very exceptional cases, probably those 
of fully-adult birds, it is nearly or quite white. 
'The following plates are also worthy of note :— 
Gould, * Birds of Great Britain, ii. pl. 39. A single figure of the size of life. It is too 
ochraceous in colour, with the bill too slender and the tarsus too short. 
Dresser, Birds of Europe, ii. pl. 10. А single figure by Keulemans, three-quarters of life- 
size, with the bill much too stout. 
Lilford, * Coloured Figures of the Birds of the British Islands,' pt. iii. pl. 1. А single figure of 
half life-size, drawn by Keulemans, and produced by chromo-lithography, is too ochraceous in 
colour. 
Sundevall, Svenska Foglarna, pl lxvii. А small figure of a young bird, with sub-terminal 
ochreous spots across the feathers of the underparts, and drawn with a scutellated tarsus ! 
Jaubert et Barthélemy-Lapommeraye, * Richesses Ornithologiques du Midi de la France,’ pl. xiii. 
fip. l. A very slight figure, much less than life-size, and not olive enough in colour. 
Dubois, * Faune illustrée des Vertébrés de la Belgique, Les Oiseaux, 1. pl. 60. А bad figure, 
too flat on the crown, and with the sub-terminal pale spots on the feathers of the upper parts much 
too obscure. 
Gould, * Birds of Europe, ii. pl. 81. This figure is said to have been drawn from an example 
