DRY MOCHARES STELLATU S, Gould.
Stellated Shortwing.

Brachypterye (Drymochares) stellatus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., 1868 p. 218

 

Mr. Bryra, who has so assiduously investigated the avifauna of India, and whose w

ritings on the subj
ie : i : : 5 Subject are
familiar to every ornithologist, first called my attention to this interesting cae

i | species, assuring me that it w
new, and consequently a desirable bird to be at once figured in my ‘ Birds of Asia’

to Lieut. C. V. Eccles, of the Rifle Brigade, by whom two

as
; hor am I less indebted

specimens were brought to Eno: ,
loan of them for the purpose of describing and figuring—but sil more for his liber i a oe
g curing us liberality in presenting me with

one, the other (with equal liberality) being added to the National Collection at the British Museum. In the
‘Proceedings of the Zoological Society’ above referred to, I placed this bird in the genus Brachyptery

; 2, but,
in case ornithologists should deem the situation an erroneous one, I at the same time propose

d for it the sub-
generic title of Drymochares, and remarked, ‘ In its structure and in its dense and silky plumage this bird is so

closely allied to the smaller members of the genus Brachypteryw as scarcely to be removeable from them ;
and I should not have ventured to suggest a separate generic title, were there not so great a difference in its
colour and markings. The beautiful stellations of the breast render it specifically different from every other
bird with which I am acquainted, while the black crescentic wavy lines of the chest and the chestnut adore
ing of the back distinguish it from all the species of the genus Brachypterya, to which, in the lengthened form
of its thighs, tarsi, and toes, it bears a striking resemblance. Some may be inclined to regard the bird asa
member of the old genus, while others may consider its colour, markings, and ¢owt ensembde sufficiently dif-
ferent to justify the divisional name” I have suggested.

In size the Drymochares stellatus is about twice that of the European Wren (Troglodytes Europeus). Its
lengthened tarsi and general structure indicate that stony scrubby places are its natural abode; while its
dense and silky plumage proves, to my mind at least, that they must also be damp or humid. It is not
often that we receive an Indian bird that has escaped the searching eye of Mr. Hodgson ; but the present one
a circumstance which is doubtless due to the secluded habits of the

 

certainly has eluded his observation
species. The two specimens above mentioned were brought, with many other birds, direct from the rich

country of Nepaul. Lieut. Eccles, unfortunately, could not give me any precise information as to where his

. : , daa ; - on the dense scrubby side of the
specimens were procured, further than that he believes they were shot o y

mountains, at an elevation of about 10,000 feet.

Forehead, ear-coverts, breast, chest, and abdomen grey, crossed by numerous narrow wavy lines of black ;

at the tip of each of the feathers of the abdomen, flanks, under
lores black ; all the upper surface, wings, and tail chestnut-red ;

(and some few of the upper) tail-coverts an

irregular arrowhead-shaped mark of white ;
bill black ; feet brown.
C . . . 5 ° a a
Total length 42 inches, bill 3, wing 23, tail 2, tarsi ly.

The figures are of the size of life.