IXULUS CASTANICEPS, Moore.
Chestnut-beaded Ixulus.
Ixulus castaniceps, Moore, in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part xxii. p. 141.—Horsf. and Moore, Cat. of Birds in Mus. East
Ind. Comp., vol. i. p. 411.
T h e following is Mr. Moore’s description of a bird which was formerly in the Museum of the East India
Company, but now forms p art of the national collection. This individual, from which my figures were
also taken, is the only one I have ever seen, and is probably the only specimen that has yet been collected.
Nothing whatever is known respecting the habits of this rare little bird, nor, although Mr. Moore has
given Affghanistan as its habitat, is it quite certain of what p art of India it is a native. Mr. Moore has
recently informed me that he has reason to believe it is from the Khasia Hills.
“ Colour, above dull brownish olive, the shafts of the doi'sal and scapular feathers p a le ; crown dark
chestnut, and subcrested; the frontal plumes short and scale-like, and having pale margins; the occiput paler
chestnut; behind the eye whitish ; ear-coverts chestnut; wings blackish, the secondaries and tertiaries with
pale shafts; axillee white; tail black, the three outer feathers graduated and tipped obliquely externally
with white, the next white a t the extreme tip only, and the rest entirely black; the whole under parts of a
dirty ruddy-white colour; bill reddish brown ; legs yellowish.
“ Length 5 j inches; of wing 2 s ; tail 2?, its outermost feather {ths le s s ; bill, to front sths, to gape t ;
and tarse I of an inch.
“ H abitat Affghanistan.
“ This species is at once distinguished by the white tips to the tail-feathers.”
The figures are of the natural size. The plant is the Herberts concinna of Dr. Hooker.