494 RESEARCH IN CHINA. 
jts haunts at this time calls forth a strenuous protest of loud deep-toned cries, the birds 
meanwhile flitting nervously through the thick undergrowth. 
Specimen No. 6053. Collected April 26, 1904, between Liu-ytié-ho and Chuang-kia- 
p’u, in the canyon of the Hei-shui-ho (elevation 4,000 feet, 1,200 meters). 
(?) Trochalopteron ellioti VERREAUX. Elliot's Laughing Thrush. 
Trochalopteron elliott VERREAUX: Nouv. Archives du Mus., vi, Bull. 1870, 36 (Western 
Setchuan). 
This bird frequents the same locality as the last, but is more quiet and retiring in its 
habits. It is more frequently met with in the brushy bottoms of gulches high up in the 
mountains (3,000 to 6,000 feet, g00 to 1,800 meters). 
Specimen No. 6056. One male, apparently fully adult, was collected April 27, 1904, 
near Ir-ling-p’u, Ts’in-ling mountains. Dr. Richmond says of this bird: 
“The two middle rectrices are gray, faintly washed with golden-brown on the inner webs, while the 
outer portion of the outer web is clear golden-brown. The ends of these feathers are without the golden- 
brown shade, and, although slightly worn, seem to have had narrow white tips. Hartert (Novit. Zool., 1, 
p. 668) says the middle tail-feathers of 7. elliotvare ‘entirely golden-brown, with a greenish reflection,’ while 
those of the closely related 7. prjevalskit are ‘ashy-grey, with a slight wash of greenish-brown on the outer 
webs.’ The Shen-si bird is apparently an intermediate, and as the gray color predominates, it might, per- 
haps, with more propriety be recorded as T. prjevalskiz. Wing, 100; tail, 127; tarsus, 36.5; culmen, 21.5 
mm. ‘The iris is indicated as ‘white’ on the label.” 
Trochalopteron canorum (LiNN&uUS). Chinese Laughing Thrush. 
Turdus canorus LINN &US: Syst. Nat.,ed. 10, 1, 1758, 169 (‘‘ Benghala, China’), (The ‘‘ Hoamy 
de la Chine”’ of Buffon, and Leucodioptron hoamy of David and Oustalet.) 
This wonderful singer we saw when in southern Shen-si, from the valley of the Han- 
kiang southward. There it finds a suitable home in the undergrowth of the mountain 
ravines. Probably no other cage-bird in China is as highly prized as the ‘‘hua-mei,”’ or 
‘‘Chinese mocking-bird,’’ as it is variously called. The birds are captured in the hill 
country of these western provinces, are shipped to the cities of the coast plains, and there 
after having been trained, command unusually high prices. As heard in their natural 
haunts, nothing can surpass the rich complexity of their liquid notes nor the abandon with 
which they are poured forth. 
Pterorhinus davidi SwiNHOE. David's Babbler. 
Pterorhinus davidi SWINHOE: Ibis, 1868, 61 (Peking, China). 
The home of this bird seems to be the mountainous region west of the Chi-li plain. 
We found it in January in the brushy gulches, near the great wall which divides Shan-si 
from Chi-li; and again, in the month of March, in central Shan-si. Like other members of 
the family it has a variety of notes, but in the winter its musical ability is not conspicuous. 
It is said, however, to be valuable as a cage-bird. 
Specimen No. 6024. Collected January 25, 1904, in the mountains (elevation 5,000 
feet, 1,500 meters) near Lung-ts’iian-kuan, Chi-li. 
Suthora webbiana Gray. Webb's Crow-tit. 
Suthora webbiana GRAy: Proc. Zool. Soc. London, part 20, May 23, 1854; 70 Aves, plate 40, 
(Shanghai, China). 
These strange little creatures inhabit the underbrush in the mountains, from the Wei-ho 
valley south to the Yang-tzi, and were particularly common, during May, on the south slope 
of the Ts’in-ling mountains. They are very timid birds and skulk like wrens through the 
dense undergrowth and brambles in the ravines and canyons. When alarmed, especially 
