81 [Vol. xxxi. 



Mr. Stuart Baker also made the following remarks upon 

 Oreocincla mollissima and O. dixoni : — 



" In working through the large series of O. mollissima in 

 the British Museum I was greatly struck hy (1) the great 

 range of colour in that species and (2) by the variation in 

 in the size of the bill. 



"As regards colour, that of the upperparts varies from a 

 rather pale rufescent olive-brown to a rich rufous-brown 

 slightly tinged with olive. This variation in colour does not 

 differ according to locality, for though Eastern specimens, 

 more especially those from Nepal, are more richly coloured 

 than those from the Western portions of its range, there 

 are individuals from Nepal, Eastern India, and Burmah quite 

 as pale as any from either Sikkim or Simla. 



"The bill varies greatly in size, not only in length, but 

 also in stoutness ; in length it varies from 24 to 37 mm., 

 and in depth at the base from 6 to 8'5 mm. The size of the 

 bill is certainly no indication of sex, but it may be that the 

 oldest birds have the longest and stoutest bills, though this 

 is difficult to prove, for many apparently young birds have 

 bills slightly longer than those which appear to be older. 



" As regards Oreocincla dixoni this bird certainly cannot be 

 separated from O. mollissima. The two points of difference 

 are said to be (a) the mottling or barring of the greater 

 wing-coverts in O. dixoni and (b) the longer tail. 



"The ranges of 0. dixoni and 0. mollissima are identical, 

 and extend from Chamba in the extreme N.W. to the 

 Shan States in the extreme S.E. Throughout the whole 

 of this range one finds specimens which exhibit no trace 

 of wing-bars or mottling on the coverts, some which have 

 faint signs of one or two wing-bars, others which show a 

 little mottling on the coverts, and a few which have these 

 feathers quite richly marked. 



"The measurements of the whole series in the Museum 

 of both 0. dixoni and 0. mollissima shew that the tails of 

 the former vary between 113 and 130 mm. and those of the 

 latter between 100 and 126 mm. 



"The mottling appears to be a sign of great vigour and 



a -2 



