Page:The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma (Birds Vol 2).djvu/49

Rh 588. Alseonax latirostris. The Brown Fly catcher.

Muscicapa latirostris, llaffl. 7V. Linn. Nn<:, p. 312 (1821). Butalis terricolor, Hotly*., Blylh, J. A. 8. B. xvi, p. 120 (1847) ; id. Cat. p. 175.

Hemichelidon latirostris (Katfl.), Blyth, Cat. p. 175; Horsf.fyM. Cat. , ]. 137.

Muscicapa rimreo-alba, Temm. fy Schleo. Faun. Jap., Avcs, p. 42, pi. 15 (1850).

Alseonax latirostris (Raffl.}, Jerd. B. I. i, p. 459 ; Hume fy Henders. Lah. to Yark. p. 185, pi. v ; Hume, 8. F. ii, p. 210 ; Sharpe, Cat.

II. M. iv, p. 127; Leff(/e, Birds Cei/l, p. 415; Hume, Cat. no. 25)7;

Brooks, S. F. ix, p. 225 ; Oates, 'B. B. i, p. 277 ; Barney Birds Bom. p. 163.

Alseonax terricolor (Hodys.}, Jerd. B. I. i p. 4GO ; Hume, Cat. no. 2!K

The Southern Brown Flycatcher, The Rufescent-brown Flycatcher, Jerd. ; Zakki, Hind.

Fig. 14. Bill of A. latirostris.

Coloration. Upper plumage ashy brown, the feathers of the crown with darker centres ; tail dark brown, the outer feathers very narrowly tipped with whitish ; wings and coverts dark brown, all but the primaries broadly edged with ashy white ; lores and a ring of feathers round the eye white ; sides of the head brown ; lower plumage white, tinged w it h ashy on the breast and sides of the body.

The young have the crown blackish streaked with fulvous ; the upper plumage and wings with large terminal fulvous spots ; the lower plumage like that of the adult but mottled with brown. After the autumn moult and till the following spring the young are very rufous.

Bill black, the base of the lower mandible yellow ; mouth orange ; iris brown ; legs and claws black. The young bird has the whole bill yellow except the tip, vhich is dusky.

Length rather more than 5 ; tail 2; wing 2-8; tarsus -5; bill from gape *7.

Distribution. The whole Empire except the north-west portion. 1 have seen no example of this species from Sind, the Punjab. Eajputana, or Guzerat. It occurs in Ceylon and the Andamans. On the Himalayas it is a summer visitor as far west as Chamba. and it is found in the other portions of the Empire chiefly in winter, but some birds appear to be resident in certain parts all the var round, for I have seen a specimen obtained in Ceylon in June.

This Flycatcher has a wide range, being found from Japan and Eastern Siberia to the Philippines and Java. Specimens killed in the Malay peninsula in July and August are contained in the British Museum Collection.