Page:The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma (Birds Vol 2).djvu/54

40

a. Wing 4 inches or longer ................ N. grandis, p. 40.

b. Wing not much exceeding 3 inches or less.

The Large Fairy Blue-Chat, Jerd,; Margong, Lepch.

''Coloration. Male.'' Forehead, crown, rump, upper tail-coverts, lesser and median wing-coverts, and a large patch on each side of the neck brilliant cobalt-blue; back and scapulars purplish blue; middle tail-feathers purplish blue, the others brown on the inner web and blue on the outer; greater coverts and quills black, narrowly edged with blue; feathers at base of upper mandible, lores, sides of the head, chin, throat, and upper breast black; lower breast dull blue; abdomen bluish ashy, the under tail-coverts fringed with whitish.

Female. Forehead, lores, round the eye, ear-cvcerts, and cheeks fulvous, with pale shafts; crown and nape ashy brown; a patch on each side of the neck bright blue; back and rump fulvous-brown; tail and wings dark brown, with the outer webs suffused with deep rufous; the whole lower plumage rich olive-brown, the feathers of the throat and breast with whitish shafts; the middle of the chin and throat clear buff, and of the abdomen ashy; under wing-coverts and axillaries buff.

The young nestling is dark brown, streaked with fulvous; wings and tail as in the female.

Iris deep brown; in the male the bill is black, the legs and feet black or very dark plumbeous; in the female the bill is brownish black, the legs, feet, and claws fleshy-pink (Hume & Davison).