Page:The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma (Birds Vol 2).djvu/127

CALL KM:. the shelter of a rock or on the face of a bank. The eggs are salinon-pink, very faintly freckled with grey all over, and measure about -91 by -65.

Genus CALLENE, Blyth, 1847.

The genus Callene differs from Notodela in having a very much longer tail, and one the feathers of which are greatly graduated and without any white pattern. The tarsus is extremely long. Little is recorded of the habits of the sole Indian member of the genus, which, however, are not likely to differ materially from those of Notodela.

660. Callene frontalis. The Blue- fronted Callene.

Cinclidium frontale, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xi, p. 181 (1842). Callene frontalis (Blyth}, Blyth, Cat. p. 178; Hor.-f. $ M. Cat.i, p. 396 ; Jerd. B. I. i, p. 496 ; Hume, N. fy E. p. 220 ; id. Cat. no. 340 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. vii, p. 15 ; Oates in Hume's N. 8f E. 2nd ed. ii, p. 71.

The Blue-fronted Short-iviny, Jerd.

Coloration. Male. Lores and a frontal band black; forehead and a short eyebrow cobalt-blue ; with the exception of the abdomen, which is dark brown, and the under tail-coverts brown fringed with white, the whole plumage is slaty-blue with the edges of the feathers brighter ; wings and tail dark brown, the outer webs suffused with blue; a portion of the under wing-coverts white ; the lesser upper wing-coverts bright cobalt-blue.

Female. The whole plumage rufescent brown, and the visible portions of the closed wings and tail bright ferruginous ; tail brown ; the feathers of the chin, throat, lores, and sides of the head with paler shafts ; a ferruginous ring round the eye ; a portion of the under wing-coverts white.

The young are dusky brown, with pale mesial streaks on the feathers of the scapulars and the lower plumage. The young male assumes the adult plumage at the commencement of its first year. Bill black ; legs brown.

Length about 8 ; tail 37 ; wing 3-6 ; tarsus T5 ; bill from gape *8.

This bird, though structurally very different from Notodela leucura, resembles it closely in coloration.

Distribution. Sikhim only. There is no evidence that Hodgson met with this bird in Nepal ; on the contrary, his drawing appears to have been taken from a Sikhim specimen. There is nothing known of the habits of this species.

Genus THAMNOBIA, Swains., 1831.

The genus Thamnobia contains two species, one or other of which is found over a considerable portion of India.