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Show 440 THE MARQUIS OF TWEEDDALE ON BATRACHOSTOMUS. [May 15, Batrachostomus moniliger, Layard, Walden, J. A. S. B. 1875, pt. ii. ex. no. p. 84. Batrachostomus punctatus, Hume, Blanford, Ibis, 1877, p. 251, ex Ceylon. ? Batrachostomus moniliger, Layard, Hume, Str. F. iv. p. 376, "Travancore;" Blanford, t. c. 252. Hab. Ceylon, Travancore. Judging from Mr. Hume's detailed description (I. ci) of the specimen of a male obtained by Mr. Bourdillon in Travancore, the range of the Ceylon bird may be safely extended to that district of India. The iris of one of Mr. Bourdillon's specimens is stated to have been bright yellow. No. 1, 2 , almost adult (?). (Pl.XLIX). Rattabown1 or Kattabown, Ceylon (mus. nostr.). Bright rufous ; of the same shade on the head and wing-coverts as B. affinis 2, but elsewhere paler. Some stray rufous-brown feathers on the head and shoulders. Recurved frontal plumes tawny rufous. Feathers in front of the eyes tawny rufous, with a distinct brown subterminal transverse line or band and a narrow tawny-rufous terminal fringe. Behind these and passing over the eyes some longer feathers, black-tipped, with outer webs pale tawny-white, inner webs rufous, thus forming a pale supercilium. Long auriculars tipped brown. Four rows of nuchal feathers rufous, with a broad white subterminal band confined between a narrow irregular rufous-brown line above and below, the terminal fringe being rufous. In some of the nuchal plumes the markings are better-defined than in others, where they become obsolete. The whole presents the appearance of an irregularly formed white collar. Lesser wing-coverts unspotted, greater with bold, ovoid, larger or smaller white spots at their tips, mostly situated on the outer webs and circumscribed more or less above and on their inner margins by a brown line. The scapulars are pure rufous, tipped by a minute white or fulvous spot, margined above with dark brown or black. The tertiaries are pale rufous, much freckled with brown, and having still minuter terminal spots of the same character as those on the scapulars. The primaries and secondaries have their inner webs brown and their outer pale rufous, the brown of the inner webs running through at intervals and forming narrow irregular bars. Many of the quills have minute terminal white spots ; and all but the first have their tips clouded or freckled with rufous. The axillaries are rufous brown. Under wing-coverts pale rufous, with some grey and sandy white feathers. The chin is tawny rufous ; the upper throat bright rufous, with no concealed white-marked plumes. Surrounding the lower throat a series of rufous plumes, broadly tipped with pure white, which is separated from the rufous above bv a narrow irregular brown line ; below, the white marks are faintly fringed with pale tawny. This white necklace is followed by the pure rufous of the upper breast, among which are no concealed white-marked feathers. Lower breast-feathers of the same rufous but 1 The writing on the label is most difficult to decipher. |