Stray Feathers/Volume 1/July 1873/New Birds from Sikhim
New Birds from Sikhim, by L. Mandelli.
Characters.—Bill in form like that of Stachyris, hat longer and deeper, and the section of the lower mandible very square; nostrils long, and horizontally situated in a shallow short groove; they are sheltered by a sort of teet, or small segmental projecting shelf; wings short and much rounded; the first or small quill is unusually large and reaching nearly two-thirds the length of the wing; 2nd, .40 inch longer than let; 3rd, 28 inch beyond 2nd; 11h, 2 longer than 3rd; 5th, 1 inch longer than 4th; 6th, 05 inch longer than 5th; 7th,03 inch longer than 6th, and the longest in the wing; 80h, slightly longer than 6th; and 9th, about equal to 5th, from this they gradually decrease in the usual manner of very rounded wings. These proportions appertain to a wing 2.7 inches long. The legs, feet, and claws are stout and strong, and similar to those of a Garrulax or Trochalopteron; tail much graduated, broad, and soft, of moderate length or rather short for the bird ; plumage, soft and lax, and in character like that of Gurrulax or Trochalopleron.
Heterorhynchus Humci, Nov. Sp.
Description.—Color generally a pure black, spotted or streaked on the head and upper back with rufous brown; the feathers on the back, the wing coverts, and the outer webs of the quills are finely barred with the same color; the tail is also finely barred with rufous brown: the spots or small streaks on the forehead are nearly pure white, so are some down the side of the neck, reaching to the bend of the wing; most of the feathers of the upper surface are light shafted, so are thosc of the whole lower surface : there are a quantity of small light streaks all round the eye extending to the ends of the ear coverts: there is a large patch of dull greyish white on the abdomen, the color of the white on Merula boulboul; lower part of abdomen, black, like the breast, but streaked with rulous, and this rufous increases in extent till the lower tail coverts are nearly entirely of that color; bill, black; legs, feet, and claws, very dark brown.
Length of skin,6-4 inches, and in the flesh will probably measure 6.5 inches or more; wing, 2.7 inches; tail, 2.65 inches; bill at front, .8 inch; depth at base, 3; width at base, 2 inch; from gape to tip, about 1 inch \; tarsus, 1:07; mid toc, 8; its claw, 27; hind toe, 18 inches; its claw, 4 inch.
Three specimens obtained from Native Sikhim in February last.
Minla Rufogularis, Nov. Sp.
Description.—Top of head, reaching to upper part of back, rich olivaceous chestunt; remainder of upper parts, olive, with a rufous tinge; tail, dark reddish brown; wings, both coverts and quill feathers, olive brown, edged with reddish brown, over the eye a broad white supercilium continued to the ends of the ear coverts, and this is surmonnted by a broad velvet black streak, which extends across the forehead, and is continued over the eye till it reaches the shoulder: the white supercilium is narrowly continued across the forehead immediately under the black frontal band; the eyes are surrounded with a circle of bright white feathers, like those of Zosterops palpebrosus and Abroruis poliogenys : lores, greyish white; ear coverts, blackish olive, shaded off at the edges; beyond the ear coverts is a crescentic patch of bright fulvous white; chin, and extending slightly beyond, white; throat, dark rusty red; breast, smoke grey on the sides and fading to almost white on the centre; abdomen, white; flanks, dusky olive; vent and under tail coverts, bright ochreous; tibial feathers, olive, with a patch of bright fulvous on the inner side at the joint; bill, black, legs, feet, and claws, pale brown.
The feathers on the top of the head have a similar scaley appearance to those of Minla cinerea, and this peculiar character assisted me in placing this bird in the genus Minla.
I got one specimen from the Bhotan Doars in January last.
Length of skin, 4.6 inches; in the flesh will probably measure 5 inch; wing, 2.16 inches; tail, 2 inch; bill at front, 13; from gape, 6; tarsus, 83 inches; mid toe, .6; its claw, 17; hind toe, 36; its claw, 25.