ELAPHEOENIS PALLISEEI. 
515 
invariable colour being buS. As tbe iris in the male turns from buff to red, and that of the female from white to 
buff, the inference is that, in the end, the latter may possibly become as dark as that of the male. 
Chin dusky greyish, the centres of the feathers whitish, and a slight wash of buff across the centre of the throat ; 
breast and underparts more greenish than in the adult, the chest being devoid of the slaty hue. 
Ohs. This curious bird is quite a Timaliue species, both as regards its habits and its external structure. Its wdngs and 
legs are essentially those of the present family, and the texture of its plumage is not unlike that of Pomatorhinus, 
although it is considerably more lax. It has, however, its abnormal characteristics, such as its slender bill and its highly 
developed nuchal hair-like plumes, which ally it to the Drymoecina). These plumes possess the remarkable structure 
of dividing at the tip into three or four branches, each of which is furnished with a scanty web ; it likewise differs 
from most of the Timaliinse in its non-gregarious propensity, resembling also, in this respect, the Drymcecinas. 
Notwithstanding, it seems to me to take a better station among the Babblers, to which its active habits, wing- and 
tail-structure ally it, than among the Wren-Warblers ; and I accordingly place it at the end of the Timaliinse. 
It was placed by Blyth in the genus Bracliypteryx, which is located by Jerdon and others among the Thrushes in the 
subfamily Mylotherinoe. With the exception of the short wing, it does not appear to have any thing in common 
with this genus, one of the principal characters of which is the very short tail, much exceeded hj the icing in all 
the species I have examined. In some, such as Braehypteryx poliogenys, Wallace, the tail falls short of the wing 
by the length of the tarsus, whereas in the present bird the tail considerably exceeds the wing, and the gape is 
bristled and not smooth. I have accordingly founded for its reception the genus Elaphrornis, which title I conceive 
to be not inappropriate, owing to its active manners. 
Distribution . — This singular and little-known bird was discovered by Ivelaart, who suggested its present 
speeifie name in honour of a friend, Mr. Palliser of Diinbulla ; ho j)rocured it at Nuwmra Eliya and Dimbulla. 
But few naturalists have met with it, owing to its propensity for inhabiting dense thickets in thick jungle. It 
is confined to the upper hills and higher ranges in the outlying districts, in all of which it is found above an 
elevation of about 5000 feet. It is a common bird in all the forests of the main range, from False Pedro to 
the Horton Plains, and thence along the Peak forest to Maskeliya. It is found on Namooni-kuli mountain 
and on the Haputale hills. Mr. Bligh, however', writes me that for the past tln-ee years he has not met with it 
in the higher jungles of this district, in wdiich it used formerly to be common during the autnmn months. 
For my own part I do not believe much in its moving about ; it may be more silent at one time than another, 
and consequently may chance to be overlooked, for it shows itself but little, except during the early morning, 
and an acquaintance with its singular note is requisite to a knowledge of its wdiereabouts. It is, perhaps, 
more numerous on the Horton Plains than any other part of the Nuwara-Elliya plateau ; the woods there are 
overgrown with elephant-grass {Arundinaria debilis ?), its favourite haunt, and in this it dwells securely. It 
must be looked for in the upper jungles of the Knuckles range : when I visited them I was unacquainted with 
its note, and consequently it found no place in my catalogue of the birds of that district ; but the conditions 
of climate and vegetation are similar there to those of other parts. 
Habits . — This Ant-Thrush dwells entirely in the damp close underwood with which the upper Ceylon 
forests are overgrown; it delights in the nilloo-scrub and the densely matted “elephant-grass,” which I 
have just referred to, both of w'hich form the chief part of the undergrowth in the Nuwara-Elliya 
district : equally favourite haunts, however, are the numberless little nullahs leading to the mountain- 
streams, and which are generally blocked up with fallen timber of all sizes, and a tangled mass of dead nilloo- 
sticks, thorns, decaying boughs, and such like ; and here this little retiring bird passes a quiet though active 
existence, nimbly searching about the mossy trunks, quickly hopping and running along the ground beneath 
the tangled thickets, through which it threads its way with astonishing rapidity, or darting about the bases of 
standing trees in the pursuit of ants and other minute insects. It likewise partakes, to some extent, of small 
seeds, some of which I have occasionally found in its stomach. To the ordinary obsen'er, therefore, it is likely, 
with such habits, alw'ays to remain a stranger; but those to whom its insect-like note, which sounds like 
the syllable “ quitze’’ sharply uttered at moderate intervals, is familiar may frequently detect it in the vicinity of 
forest-paths, at the sides of which it often appears for a moment, quickly darting across and clinging to the 
upright trunk of a tree, while it utters a rapid little warble, and then darts into the surrounding vegetation. 
As with other birds in Ceylon which are denizens of thick jungle, I find that scarcely any Europeans are 
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