Page:The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma (Birds Vol 1).djvu/374

 330 TIMALlIDiE. Description.— Male. The lores, sides of forehead and a broad band passing through the eyes and ear-coverts round the nape black; the whole crown deep slaty; back, scapidars, rump and upper tail-coverts chestnut; wing-coverts black; quills black, all but the first two Avith a patch of slaty near the base, increasing in extent inwards and the 3rd to the 6th or 7th primary with a narrow edging of the same about the middle of the outer web; most of the later quills minutely tipped with white; tail black; lower plumage white, the sides of the body boldly barred with black; vent and under tail-coverts pale buff.

Colours of soft parts. Iris brown; bill black, pale leaden-blue at gape and base of lower mandible; legs and feet rich wax-yellow : claws pale yellowish-horny.

Measurements. Length about ISO mm.; wing 90 to 96 mm.; tail about 55 mm.; tarsus about 30 mm.; culmen about 17 mm. Female. The crown paler and the band surrounding it choco- late-brown instead of black; the back and scapulars reddish brown witii large oval black spots; otherwise as in the male.

Distribution. The Himalayas from Nepal to Eastern Assam, ISTorth and South of the Brahmaputra, Manipur and Kareuni.

Nidification. Unknown.

Habits. Found in flocks, above 6,000 feet, in summer, in forest where it frequents the higher trees only. In winter it certainly wanders down a good deal lower, for I saA^ it on two or three occasions in the noi'th-west of N. Cachar at about 3,000 feet during December and January. They were then frequenting the higher branches of oak-trees and the huge cotton-trees which were scattered about amongst them. They feed both on insects and berries and seeds. Genus PTEEUTHIUS Swains., 1831. The genus Pterutlmis contains four species and many subspecies of a very curious group of birds rather Shrike-like in general out- ward appearance but quite unlike any Shrikes in habits and nidification and also in the sexes being dissimilar. Havington (Journal B. N. H. S. xxiii, p. 655, 1915) suggests that the proper position of this and the preceding genus is some liere near the Campe-