Page:The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma (Birds Vol 1).djvu/117

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LOPHOPHANES.
85

Description. Cheeks, ear-covers, sides of the neck and a large nuchal spot white, remainder of bead and neck dark brown or blackish, but more the deep black of melanolophus; upper plumage olive-brown; the wings and tail brown, with bluish-ashy edges and the upper tail-coverts tipped with fulvous; lower plumage and under wing- coverts ferruginous.

Colours of soft parts. Iris dark brown; bill black; legs and feet plumbeous-brown.

Measurements. Total length about 115 mm.; wing 60 to 63 mm.; tail about 42 to 43 mm.; tarsus about 18 mm.; culmen about 8 mm.

Distribution. Nepal and "N.W. Himalayas." The latter locality is given for some specimens in the Pinwill Collection, and may refer to Kumaon.

Nidification and Habits. Nothing recorded.

Lophophanes rufonuchalis.

Key to Subspecies.

A. Upper and lower breast black and abdomen ashy olive L. rufonuchalis rufonuchalis, p. 85.
B. Upper breast black; lower breast and abdomen ashy olive L. r. beavani, p. 86.

(66) Lophophanes rufonuchalis rufonuchalis.

The Simla Black-Tit.

Parus rufonuchalis Blyth, J.A.S.B., xviii, p. 810 (1849) (Simla).
Lophophanes rufonuchalis. Blanf. & Oates, i. p. 58.

Vernacular names. None recorded.

Description. Ear-coverts, under the eye and a stripe down the neck white; remainder of bead and neck, breast and a broad band down the abdomen black; nuchal spot white, tinged with ferruginous next the back; upper plumage olive-green; lower abdomen and sides of the body ashy-olive; under tail-coverts and axillaries chestnut; under wing-coverts pale fulvous.

Colours of soft parts. Iris dark brown; legs, feet and bill black.

Measurements. Length about 130 mm.; wing 73 to 77 mm.; tail about 55 mm.; tarsus nearly 20 mm.; culmen about 10 mm.

The young have the black replaced with brown and the chestnut with pale rufous.

Distribution. Turkestan and Afghanistan and N.W. Himalayas to Garhwal.

Nidification. Mr. L. L. Whymper is the only collector who has ever found this bird's nest. He writes:— "I found this bird fairly common at 10,000 feet and upwards in the Bhaghirattie Valley, where Brooks got a nest with young