Key to the Species.
a. Crown of head white; nape black If. frontalis, p. 87. b. Crown of head and nape chestnut II. rujicapilla, p. 87.
635. Hydrocichla frontalis. The White- crowned Forktail.
Enicurus frontalis, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xvi, p. 156 (1847) ; id. Cat. p. 159; Horsf. $ M. Cat. i, p. 346.
Henicurus frontalis, Blyth, Wives, Ibis, 1872, p. 259, pi. ix ; Oates, S. F. v, p. 248 ; Ttceedd. Ibis, 1877, p. 310 ; Hume $ Dav. S. F. vi, p. 3GO ; Hume, Cat. no. 584 quat.
Hydrocichla frontalis (Blyth), &harpe,Cat. B. M. vii, p. 321 : Oates, B. B. i, p. 29.
Coloration. Forehead and front of crown white ; head, neck, breast, back, lesser and median wing-coverts, primary-coverts and vinglet black ; scapulars and greater wing-coverts black, tipped with white ; primaries black ; secondaries and tertiaries black, with broad white bases ; rump and upper tail- coverts, abdomen, and under tail- coverts white; the two outer pairs of tail-feathers white, the others black with white bases and tips.
The youngest bird I have been able to examine has the whole head, ntck, back, and breast dusky brown, with no trace of white on the forehead or crown. J^sestling birds will, no doubt, prove to be spotted as in the other species.
Bill black ; legs flesh-colour.
Length nearly 8; tail 3*6; wing 3-6; tarsus 1-1; bill from gape '95.
Distribution. The extreme south of Tenasserim, extending down the Malay peninsula to Sumatra and Borneo.
636. Hydrocichla ruficapilla. The Chestnut-backed Forktail.
Enicurus ruficapillus, Temm. PI. Col. iii, pi. 534 (1832) ; Blyth, Cat. p. 159.
Henicurus ruficapillus, Temm., Elwes, Ibis, 1872, p. 257 , Hume $ Dav. S. F. vi, p. 361 j Hume, Cat. no. 588 bis.
Hydrocichla ruficapilla (Temm.}, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. vii, p. 319 ; Oates, B. B. i, p. 28.
Coloration. Male. Forehead white ; a frontal band, the lores, cheeks, ear-coverts, chin, and throat black ; the forehead, crown, nape, upper part of back, and the sides of the neck chestnut ; back, lesser and median coverts, primary-coverts, and winglet black ; greater coverts and scapulars black, tipped with white ; primaries black ; secondaries and tertiaries black, with broad white bases and narrower tips; rump, upper tail-coverts, and the lower plumage white ; the feathers of the breast and the upper part of the abdomen margined with black ; the two outer pairs of tail-feathers white ; the others black, with broad white bases and tips.
Female. Resembles the male, except that the whole of the back is chestnut, tinged with olivaceous on the lower portion.
The young bird is probably spotted in its first stage of plumage.
