(597) Oreocincla dauma imbricata.
The Ceylon Thrush.
Zoothera imbricata Layard, A. M. N. H., (2) xiii, p. 212 (1854) (Ceylon). Oreocincla imbricata. Blanf. & Oates, ii, p. 154.
Vernacular names. None recorded.
Description. Similar to O. d. nilgiriensis but still darker above and with the lower parts rufous-buff, instead of white and with the crescentic black edges narrower. The tail is practically without any white tip or edging.
Colours of soft parts. Iris dark brown; bill dark brown, paler on the base of the lower mandible; legs and feet fleshy or bluish brown.
Measurements. Total length about 240 mm.; wing 116 to 127 mm.; tail 75 to 78 mm.; tarsus about 27 mm.; culmen 26 to 27 mm.
Distribution. Ceylon only.
Nidification. Captain Aldworth found a nest and egg of this Thrush on the Bhopal Range on the 14th of April, 1911, and Mr. Tunnard has again found a nest on the 9th of August, 1922, the same birds building a second nest in September. The nests are big, bulky cups made of moss and fern-leaves, lined with fine black roots without any mud. Apparently they are placed either in forest or in trees in tea cultivation some 10 to 20 feet from the ground. They lay one or two eggs only of the same type as others of this genus but paler and greener and with a few more definite specks of reddish brown. An egg given me by Captain Aldworth measures 35.2 x 22.0 mm.
Habits. The Ceylon Thrush is found from 3,000 to the highest peaks, frequenting both heavy forest and more open country, and it seems to be especially fond of strips of forest in and about tea gardens and coffee plantations. It is a shy, retiring bird, feeding principally on the ground and it has a comparatively feeble flight.
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