27. 
ORIOCINCLA I M B R I C A T A 
(THE BUFF BREASTED THRUSH) 
ADULT MALE AND FEMALE 
Length 9.3 to 2.6 inches; wing 4.8 to 5.05; female, wing 4.65 to 4.8; tar¬ 
sus 1.1 to 1.15; middle toe and claw 1.15 to 1.2; bill to gape 1.38 to 1.53; 
average length 1.4. . - 
DISTRIBUTION 
This fine thrush was first noticed and described by Layard, from a speci¬ 
men that he discriminated in the collection of Mr Thwaites, who was, there¬ 
fore, its discoverer. Where this gentleman procured it Layard does not men¬ 
tion, but, as a matter of fact, it is found throughout the main ragge and in 
the uncleared portions of most of the coffee districts; it is decidedly an 
uncommon bird, and being'very shy and retiring, almost entirely escapes ob¬ 
servation. It is most frequently met with in the high land round Newera 
Ellia and in the wilderness of the Peak, but I have-seen it In Maturatta, 
and procured it i : a small wood on Alegalla mountains, where it is not un¬ 
frequent, and where Mr Farr likewise obtained several examples. Mr Thwai¬ 
tes informs me that it makes its appearance at the beginning of every year 
from the surrounding jungle in the Hackgalla gardens, in which the open 
though secluded ground, and the ample shelter of shady conifers affords it 
a favourite feeding place. 
I do not think it descends below an altitude of 3000 feet, at which I pro¬ 
cured it at Alegalla, and also observed it in the forests on the Peak above 
Gillymally. 
HABITS 
The Buff Breasted Thrush dwells almost exclusively on the ground, from 
which it rises, when startled, with a loud flutter, and taking a short irre¬ 
gular flight suddenly drops again. I- have always observed it alone, and 
have met with it in openly timbered forests, and in thick willov. scrub. It 
appears to feed on insects, which it procures beneath fallen leaves, ana Mr 
Thwaites informs me- that it scratches much in rubbish thrown out at the bor¬ 
ders of his plantations, and whe flushed betakes itself to a low branch and 
then disappears into the adjacent forest. 
I can give no particulars as to its NIDIFICATION. 
■The figure on the right hand of the drawing is that of a female shot in 
jungle at the summit of Alegalla Peak. 
