28 
BIRDS OF BRITISH BURMAH. 
white ; quills black_, all tipped white,, the bases of the feathers also white^ 
more extensive on the third to seventh primaries^ where they form a con- 
spicuous spot below the primary-coverts. 
Legs^ feet and claws pale fleshy white^ tinged blue ; bill black ; irides 
dark brown. {Davison.) 
Length 10'5 inches^ tail 4*8, wing 3*8^ tarsus 1*1, bill from gape 1. The 
female is smaller. 
The Slaty-backed Forktail^ according to Mr. Davison^ occurs in every 
part of Tenasserim in the larger hill forest-streams. Capt. Wardlaw 
Ramsay obtained it in the Karin hills^ and Mr. Blyth records it from 
Arrakan. 
It extends through Southern China and the Indo-Burmese countries, and 
it is found in the Eastern Bengal hills, Sikhitn and Nipal. 
Unlike the other members of this genus, this Forktail appears to 
frequent large open streams in preference to the small rivulets in the 
depths of the forest. 
Genus HYDROCICHLA, Shmye. 
28. HYDROCICHLA EUFICAPILLA. 
THE CHESTNUT-BACKED FORKTAIL. 
Enicurus ruficapiUus, Temm. PI. Col. 634 ; Ehues, Ibis, 1872, p. 257 ; Hume ^' 
Dav. S. F. vi. p. 361 ; Hume, 8. F. viii. p. 103. Hydrocichla ruficapilla, 
Shaiye, Cat. Birds B. Mus. vii. p. 
Description. — Male. Forehead white ; the feathers immediately near the 
nostrils, the lores, cheeks and ear-coverts, chin and throat black ; the 
whole top of the head, nape, upper back and the sides of the neck 
chestnut; the back, scapulars and lesser wing-coverts black; greater 
coverts black, broadly tipped with white ; primaries wholly black ; the 
secondaries and tertiaries black, each feather with a white patch at the base 
and with a white tip ; the lower plumage, rump and upper tail-coverts 
white, the feathers of the breast and upper abdomen edged with black ; the 
two outer pairs of tail-feathers white ; the others black, with broad white 
bases and tips. 
In the female, according to Mr. Hume, the red extends over the whole 
upper back and scapulars in undiminished purity of colour. 
Legs, feet and claws pale pinky or fleshy white ; bill black ; irides dark 
brown. (Davison.) 
