Page:The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma (Birds Vol 2).djvu/39

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CYOBNIS.
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in the plains during the winter ; but in some portions of the latter this Flycatcher appears to be a constant resident, Hume stating that it breeds in Manipur, and Davison having found the nest in Tcnasserim near Ye at the end of March. In Pegu it appeared to me to be only a winter visitor. In the Malay peninsula this species is replaced by G. eleyans, in which the throat is a bright blue.

Habits, fyc. Breeds in the Himalayas from April to June, con- structing a nest of rnoss and lichens in a hole of a tree, bank, or rock. The eggs, three or four in number, are greenish or brownish stone-colour, marked with purplish brown, and measure about '73 by -6.

576. Cyornis tickelli. TwkelTs Blue Flycatcher.

Cyornis banyumas (Horsf.), apud Blyth, Cat. p. 173 ; Horsf. $ M. 'Cat. i, p. 2iX) ; Jerd. B. I. i, p. 466.

Cyornis tickelliae, Blyth, J. A. X. B. xii, p. 941 (1843) ; Jerd. B. I. 'i, p. 467; Blanf. Ibis, 1870, p. 533; Lloyd, Ibis,' 1872, p. 197; Hume, N. # E. p. 212 ; id. S. F. iii, p. 468.

Cyoruis elegans (Zemin.), apud Blyth, Cat. i, p. 173.

Cyornis jerdoni, G. J2. Gray, Blyth, Ibis, 1866, p. 371 ; Hume, Cat. 'no. 305.

Cyornis tickelli, Blyth, Anders. Yunnan Exped., Aves, p. 620 ; Hume, Cat. no. 306 ; Barnes, Birds Bom. p. 164 ; Oates in Hume's N. $ E. 2nd ed. ii, p. 7.

Siphia tickellise (Bl. Sharpe, Cat. B. M. iv, p. 447 ; Legge, Birds Ceyl. p. 421 ; Oates, B. B. i, p. 289.

Horsfelffs Blue Redbreast, Ticket? s Blue Redbreast, Jerd.

Coloration. Male. Resembles the male of C. rubeculoides, but is larger and of a duller colour ; the rufous of the breast runs up into the throat and chin, leaving only the extreme point of the latter black.

Female. Resembles the male closely. The whole upper plumage, sides of the head, coverts and visible portions of the closed wings and tail dull blue; forehead, eyebrow, and bend of wing shining cobalt-blue; lores and feathers over the nostrils whitish; chin, throat, and breast pale orange; remainder of lower plumage, whitish.

The young are streaked with fulvous, and resemble the young of the other members of the genus.

Iris brown ; bill blackish ; legs and feet bluish brown, dusky bluish, or bluish grey (Legge).

Length nearly 6 ; tail 2-5 ; wing 2-8 ; tarsus *7 ; bill from gape -75.

The few Tenasserim specimens I have seen agree well in colour and size with Indian ones, but at Kossoom, in the Malay Penin- sula, a very much smaller race occurs, which may hereafter be thought worthy of separation under a distinct name. I have only been able to examine four specimens, and cannot do more than draw attention to the subject.