Page:The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma (Birds Vol 1).djvu/354

310 Keji to Species and Subspecies. A. Crown chestiiut-riifoiis. ., , » S. castaneiceps, p. 310. B. Crown davlc brown, no superciliuni .... S. striata striata, p. 311. C. Crown dark grey with white supercilium.. S. s.ri{fif/enis,'^. 311.


 * Ixnlus castaneiceps Moove, P. Z. S., 18-54, p. 141 (Afghanistan in errore) (Cachar).
 * Staplndia castaneiceps. Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 205.

Vernacular names. Dao-tisha-magini (Cachari).

Description. Forehead chestnut-brown, the feathers margined with grey; cro^■n and crest cliestiuit; upper plumage and visible portions ot" wings and tail greenish brown, the back and scapulars with white shafts; middle tail-feathers and concealed webs blackish brown, outer feathers broadly tipped white, the tips decreasing m extent until they disapj^ear in the central ones; lores grey; a short supercilium from above the eye white; ear- coverts chestnut with whitish shafts; lower plumage and under wing-coverts pale fidvous white; under tail-coverts brown tipped with white.

Colours of soft parts. Irides pale hazel; bill rather light reddish-horny, gajie and base of both mandibles purplish; legs dull reddish or tlesh-colonr, claws dusky flesh-colour.

Measurements. Length about 135 nun.; wing 6G to 70 mm.; tail about 58 mm.; tarsus about 14 mm.; culmen about 7"5 to 8 mm.

Distribution. -Assam Hills South of the Brahmaputra as far East as the Xaga Hills and South to Lushai. According to Godwin-Austen this bird has also been found in the Dafla Hills.

Nidification. This pretty little Babbler breeds all over its range betueen 2,000 and 5,000 feel, principally about 3,000 feet. The breeding season begins in the middle of April and ends in the middle of July and the nest is nearly always placed in holes in small perpendicular banks, those beside patlis cut through the jungle being a very favourite site. They are placed onlj' just inside the hole, often A^er^y indifferently concealed, and are made of some very soft fibrous material like tow, the surrounding portion of the nest being of weed stems, moss and leaves, more or less mixed with shreds of grass. The eggs number three or four and are broad, obtuse ovals, pure glossy white with fairly numerous specks and spots of vandyke-brown or reddish-brown, sometimes scattered over the whole surface, sometimes confined for the most part to the larger end, where they may form a rough ring or cap. 150 eggs average 10'6 x 13'.5 mm., the extremes being 18-0x1 4-0; 10-2 X 14-2 mm.; 15-Ox 13-0 and lo-2xl2-3 mm.

Habits. It is found during the non-breeding season in small flocks, the individuals keeping very near to one another. They keep closely to the tops of the higher bushes and smaller saplings,