1 
THE PIED CHAT. 281 
banks of the Irrawaddy near Thayetmyo_, and that it was common and a 
constant resident. Mr. Davison observed it to be common in jheels in . 
the neighbourhood of Pahpoon. 
The range of this bird is tolerably extensive. It appears to be found 
throughout Northern India up to Scinde^ and it has been procured in the 
hill-tracts of Eastern Bengal. It is probably found in the Indo-Burmese 
countries. 
In habits this species does not differ from the preceding excepting in that 
it is always found in the neighbourhood of swamps and wet paddy-fields. 
266. PRATINCOLA CAPRATA. 
THE PIED CHAT. 
Motacilla caprata, Linn. S. N. i. p. 335. Pratincola caprata, Jerd. B. Ind. ii. 
p. 123 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, p. 312 ; Hume, S. F. i. p. 182 ; Salvad. Ucc. 
Born. p. 252; Bl. B. Burm. p. 102; Anders. Yunnan Exped. p. 617 ; Hume, 
S.F. viii. p. 99 ; Sharpe, Cat. Birds B. Mus. iv. p. 195. 
Description. — Male. The whole plumage black, except the lower rump, 
upper and under tail-coverts and the wing-coverts next the body, which 
are white ; after the autumn moult, for two or three months the feathers 
are all fringed with rufous-brown. 
The female has the upper plumage grey with dark brown mesial streaks^ 
the back tinged with rufous ; upper tail-coverts bright reddish brown ; 
tail black ; throat and chin brownish grey ; breast, upper abdomen and 
sides wood-brown with dark mesial streaks ; lower abdomen the same, but 
without streaks ; under tail-coverts rufescent ; lores and feathers in front of 
the eye mixed with white ; quills and larger coverts brown, narrowly edged 
with reddish white ; lesser coverts brown, broadly edged on both webs 
with light buf£ ; under wing-coverts rather bright buff with dark centres. 
The young are fulvous-brown mottled all over with dusky. 
Iris brown ; eyelids plumbeous ; bill black ; mouth dusky ; legs and 
claws black. 
Length 5*5 inches, tail 2*2, wing 2*8, tarsus '85, bill from gape '7 . The 
female is rather smaller. 
The Pied Chat is one of the commonest birds of Burmah, being found 
in every part of the country except forest-land. It is a resident all the 
year through. 
Capt. Wardlaw Ramsay procured it in Karennee at 3500 feet elevation. 
According to Mr. Davison^s observations it occurs only in the northern 
and central portions of Tenasserim, and is rare there. I know o£ no 
