ACTINODURA EGERTONIL, Gow.

Egerton’s Actinodura.

Actinodura Egerton, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part iv. 1836, p. 18.—Gray, Cat. of Spec. and Draw. of Mamm.
and Birds pres. to Brit. Mus. by B. H. Hodgson, Esq., p. 84.—Gray, Gen. of Birds, vol. i. p. 226,
Actinodura, sp. 1.—Fras. Zool. Types pi 40.—Blyth, Cat. of Birds in Mus. Asiat. Soc., Calcutta, p. 98.
—Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., tom. i. p. 373.—Horsf. and Moore, Cat. of Birds in Mus. East Ind. Comp.,
vol. 1. p. 212.—Jerd. Birds of India, vol. ii. part i. p. 52.

Leiocincla plumosa, Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng., vol. xii. p. 953; vol. xiv. p. 600.

Txops rufifrons, Hodgs. M.S.

Alcurus Nipalensis, Hodgs. in Gray’s Zool. Misc., p. 83.

Rumnio-pho of the Lepchins. (Jerdon.)

 

Examptes of the elegant Actinodura Egerton have for many years graced the collections of this country, to
which they were transmitted by Mr. Hodgson, Griffiths, and others. For the specimens of this and some other
species of birds in my own cabinet I am indebted to the kindness of Edward Vernon Harcourt, Esq., who,
I believe, received them from Sikhim. It is much to be regretted that our Indian travellers have given us no
account of the habits and economy of this bird further than that which we find in a general note on several
allied genera by Mr. Hodgson. That it is very wren-like in its actions, and that it frequents dense and humid
mountain-forests, there can be little doubt ; neither, I presume, can there be any question as to its food con-
sisting of insects and their larva, procured either on the ground or among the leafy branches of the trees ;
Mr. Jerdon, however, states that it also feeds on fruits. The plumage of the two sexes is very similar, but
the female is somewhat smaller than the male.

It gave me great pleasure to assist in perpetuating the fame ay a gentleman, wie has devoted a long life
to the study of nature, by naming this bird in his honour; but without such a testimony on my part it will
be readily admitted that Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton will ever a among the a eminent scien-
tific men of our age for his many valuable papers on fossil fishes uu various geological subjects.

“This bird,” says Mr. Jerdon, “is found from Nepal to the hill-ranges of Assam and Sylhet. It is very

common near Darjeeling, at an altitude of from three to six thousand feet or more, associates in small flocks,

. pain » folic ne nds to the ground, and
wanders from tree to tree, carefully examines the foliage and branches, never desce g Le

feeds both on fruit and insects, more especially the latter. get pe ;
‘“Horsfield gives Afghanistan as a locality in which it 1s found; but I have no doubt that Griffiths’s speci-

: : 2s
mens were from the Khasia hills, where I noticed that it was far from rare. |
base of the bill deep brownish red; crest and nape grey; upper surface light

Feathers surrounding the
e aries rufous at the base and dark brown

rufous brown; wing-coverts bright
for the remainder of their length ;

rufous; primaries and second |
the three first primaries narrowly margined externally with silvery white,
s with greyish

and the remainder of the primaries and the secondaries regularly barred on their outer webs with g yi
the remainder brown, faintly barred with black near the extremity

ite ; ail-feathers rufous, :
ee 2 central ta » sandy buff, with the exception of the centre of the

and narrowly tipped with white; under surface dee] ie han
% . . » e a "6 ) e
abdomen, which is white; irides brown; bill light horn-colour ; legs pa - .
’ : ; ! . mn er Lp ftovrum.
: a of life. The plant is the Rhododendron came
The figures are of the size of life. The plant 1