Page:The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma (Birds Vol 2).djvu/104

90 This species is found at high elevations on the Himalayas in summer, Stoliczka recording it from about 20,000 feet above the sea. In winter it descends to below 3000 feet, or probably to the plains at the foot of the hills.

This Redstart extends to China.

Habits, &c. Frequents the banks of rivers and nullahs, feeding at the edge of the water on insects, and constantly moving its tail up and down and expanding the feathers. Breeds in May, constructing a cup-shaped nest of green moss and fibres, lined with hair, in the hollow of a bank on the side of a stream. The eggs are greenish white covered with rufous spots.

Genus RUTICILLA, Brehm, 1828.

The genus Ruticilla contains the true Redstarts, which may be recognized by their rather long tail, which is more than twice the length of the tarsus and nearly or quite square at the tip ; by the large amount of chestnut in the tail ; and by the sexes being differently coloured. The bill is short, slender, and black, and the rictal bristles moderate or short. The wing is sharply pointed, and the first primary less than half the second. The tarsus is of moderate length. The Redstarts feed on the ground largely, but they also catch insects on the wing and perch freely. They constantly vibrate their tail. Nearly all the species migrate to a greater^ or less extent, and those that inhabit the Himalayas move vertically according to season. They breed in holes of trees and rocks, and lay unspotted blue eggs.

The nestlings of the Redstarts are streaked with fulvous above and have the feathers margined with brown below. In each species the nestling has the same pattern of tail as the adult, rendering specific recognition comparatively easy.

The seasonal change of plumage in the Redstarts, due to the wearing away of the edges of the feathers in the winter and spring, is very great.

Key to the Species.

a. All tail-feathers except the middle pair abruptly tipped with black R. frontalis, p. 91. b. None of the tail-feathers tipped. a'. A large white patch on throat J?. schisticeps, p. 92.