802 Mr. R. Swinhoe on Formosan Ornithology. 
Upper parts sepia-brown, the feathers being centrally darker 
and margined with yellowish grey. Feathers of the head large 
and roundish, those of the back large and oblong; all soft and 
lax. Wings yellowish brown, margined with light reddish 
brown; the fifth and sixth quills rather longer than the fourth, 
and longest in the wing. Tail yellowish brown, paler edged 
and obscurely barred, the feathers being tipped with blackish, 
margined with whitish, and having strong brown shafts. Rec- 
trices ten in number, much graduated, the laterals being 3 in. 
shorter than the centrals, which exceed the two next by 1 in. 
Lores, space round the eye, cheeks, and under-parts with a pale 
dingy-ochreous tinge, with a few dark specks interspersed. 
Axillaries and carpal edge straw-colour; under-edge of interior 
quills light rust-colour. Tibiae rufous. Two strong black 
bristles are given out from the base of the upper mandible on 
each side, and several smaller ones from the chin. 
This species has its nearest ally in Suya lepida , Hodgs., of the 
Himalayas, but is at once distinguishable by its very much 
larger size. 
64. Prinia sonitans, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1860, p. 50. 
This bird, found in all gardens and hedgerows throughout 
the plains of Formosa, is identical with that found on the Chinese 
main, from Canton to Foochow. It has only ten feathers in the 
tail, and two stiff black bristles on each side of the base of the 
upper mandible, together with several shorter ones under the 
eye and on the chin. It creeps about the bushes and long grass, 
making a cracking noise, I think with the tail, as it springs 
from stem to stem. It has a long, trilling call-note, and a short, 
sweet song, which the male gives forth as it stands perched on 
some prominent twig. It has also a curious alarm-note, resem¬ 
bling something the mew of a kitten. It is fond of frisking its 
tail about and throwing it up. It feeds on small insects, chiefly 
Diptera and caterpillars. It attaches its nest usually between 
the stalks of long grasses; at other times it places it in bushes. 
The nest is composed of dried grasses, fibres, and leaves, cup¬ 
shaped, covered with a broad-domed canopy, and lined with 
feathers and hair. It builds three nests in the course of the 
