Page:The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma (Birds Vol 2).djvu/180

166 covered by a large membrane ; the rictal bristles few and weak ; the feathers of the forehead slightly disintegrated ; the tail nearly square or sometimes slightly forked ; the tarsus strongly scutellated.

The sexes are alike, and some species have a seasonal change of plumage caused by the wearing away, in winter, of the margins of the feathers. The young moult into adult plumage at the first autumn. The nestlings of the various species resemble each other closely, and may be described as pale rufous below, densely streaked with dark brown, especially on the breast and sides of the body, the chin being frequently barred. The upper plumage is dark brown, each feather edged with rufous.

The majority of the Accentors inhabit mountains at considerable elevations ; others, hke the common Accentor or Hedge-Sparrow of England, inhabit gardens and cultivated spots. They feed on insects, and also, it is said, on small seeds. They build their nests in bushes or in holes of rocks, and lay blue eggs.

Key to the Genera.

a. Wing large and pointed, longer than tail by more than length of tarsus ACCENTOR, p. 166. b. Wing small and blunt, longer than tail by much less than length of tarsus THARB.HALEUS, p. 168.

Genus ACCENTOR, Bechst., 1802.

The genus Accentor, in addition to the characters of the subfamily, has a long and pointed wing. The wing is longer than the tail by more than the length of the tarsus, and the secondaries fall short of the tip of the wing also by about the length of the tarsus.

The Accentors of this genus are more or less migratory. Key to the Species.

a. Breast uniformly greyish brown A. nepalensis, p. 166. b. Breast rufous, feathers edged with white. . A. himalayanm, p. 168.

712. Accentor nepalensis. The Eastern Alpine Accentor. Accentor nipalensis, Hodgs., Blyth, J. A, S. B. xii, p. 958 (1843) ; Blyth, Cat. p. 130; Horsf. $ M. Cat. i, p. 359 ; Jerd. B. I. ii, p. 286 j Blanf. J. A. S. B. xli, pt. ii, p. 63 ; Hume 8f Hend. Lah. to Yark. p. 234; Hwne, Cat. no. 652; Biddulph, Ibis, 1881, p. 74; 1882, p. 281 ; Scully, Ibis, 1881, p. 568 ; SJiarpe, Cat. B. M. vii, p. 664.

Accentor cacharensis, Hodgs. P. Z. 8. 1845, p. 34.

The Large Himalayan Accentor, Jerd.

Coloration. Forehead, crown, nape, and hind neck greyish