Page:The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma (Birds Vol 1).djvu/377

 PTERUTirius. 333 parties and keep uiuch to the fringe of forests, the sides of roads and streams and open glades, and when perched on the topmost twig of some tall bush they do look extremely Shrike-like but directly they move the resemblance disappears. They are sedate and rather slow in their actions as they hop about or clamber through the bushes and scrub and their flight is jerky, dipping and rather feeble. They are not shy birds and keep up a continuous grating " chirr "' when being watched but they also have some loud musical call-notes. They feed both on insects and berries and seeds.


 * Pferidhius fcralatus Tickell, J. A. S. B., xxiv, p. 267 (185.5) (Tenasserim. 3,500-4,500 ft.); Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 225.

Vernacular names. None recorded.

Description. — Male. Differs from the last in having the inner secondaries golden yellow on the outer webs and edged with black on the inner Avebs and tipped with black. The lower plumage is also more grey.

Colours of soft parts. " Legs and feet fleshy white; claws pale brown to black; lower mandible and basal edges of upper mandible along commissure pale blue, x-esb of the bill black; iris varied considerably, slaty grey, pale greenish grey and deep brown " {Hume S,' Davison).

Measurements a little smaller than the last; wing 75 to 81 mm. The female differs in having the inner secondaries green, tipped with chestnut and the back grey.

Distribution. The Knchin Hills, East of Bhamo, the hills of Central East Burma, Muleyit and probably other ranges in Ten- asserim and the North of the Malay Peninsula. Nidiiication. Unknown.

Habits. On Muleyit, Davison found this bird in pairs or singly, frequenting the tops of the highest trees, hunting the smaller branches and foliage for insects. Its note he syllabifizes as " too weecli." He also says that if one of a pair is shot, the other at once commences calling and hunting for its companion. This trait is also seen in the last bird. Probably all the forms of ceralatus should be treated as geo- graphical races of evythropterus, but in the series available for examination I have seen no intermediate forms. (:3o6) Pteruthius melanotis melanotis. The CnESTXUT-THKOATED 8niUKE-BAI5BLEK. Pteruthius melanotis Ilodgs., J. A. S.B., xxiv, p. 207 (1855) (Terai, E. Himalayas); Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 226.

Vernacular names. Ku-er-pho (Lei)cha).