DRYMOCHARES STELLATUS , Gould.
Stellated Shortwing*.
Brachypteryx ( Drymochares) stellatus, Gould in Proc. o f Zool. Soc., 1868, p. 218.
M r . B l y th , who has so assiduously investigated the avifauna of India, and whose writings on the subject are
familiar to every ornithologist, first called my attention to this interesting species, assuring me that it was
new, and consequently a desirable bird to be a t once figured in my ‘ Birds of Asia’ ; nor am I less indebted
to Lieut. C. V. Eccles, of the Rifle Brigade, by whom two specimens were brought to England, for the
loan of them for the purpose of describing and figuring—but still more for his liberality in presentino- 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 Brachypteryx, but,
in case ornithologists should deem the situation an erroneous one, I at the same time proposed for it the subgeneric
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 Brachypteryx 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 o f the chest and the chestnut colouring
of the back distinguish it from all the species o f the genus Brachypteryx, 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 as a
member of the old genus, while others may consider its colour, markings, and tout ensemble sufficiently different
to justify the divisional name” I have suggested.
In size the Drymochares stellatus is about twice that of the European Wren ( Troglodytes Europceus). 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. I t is not
often that we receive an Indian bird that has escaped the searching eye of Mr. Hodgson ; but the present one
certainly has eluded his observation—a circumstance which is doubtless due to the secluded habits of the
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
specimens were procured, further than that he believes they were shot on the dense scrubby side of the
mountains, at an elevation of about 10,000 feet.
Forehead, ear-eoverts, 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 (and some few of the upper) tail-coverts an
irregular arrowhead-shaped mark of white ; lores black ; all the upper surface, wings, and tail chestnut-red •
bill black; feet brown.
Total length 4 i inches, bill ■§•, wing 2-f-, tail 2, tarsi 1-f.