363.    Merula castanea, Gould.

P. Z. S., 1835 - Blyth Cat. 951 - Horsf., Cat. 277 – Gray Gen. of Birds, pl. 56 - Turd, rubrocanus, Hodgson.

The Grey-headed Ouzel.

Descr. - Male, head, neck and throat, cinerascent-white, or greyish, dark and brownish on the crown, albescent on the throat and fore-neck; the rest of the plumage of a light chesnut-bay colour, darker on the interscapulars, and paler and brighter beneath ; wings dusky or blackish ; the tertiaries edged with brown ; tail blackish, the under tail-coverts mingled deep brown, or black, and white.

The female has the colours less intense ; the head and neck more ashy brown, and the chin and throat alone nearly white; the wings and tail brown, with the outermost feathers of the latter, in some, tipped with white ; lower tail-coverts brown and white.
Bill, orbits and legs, yellow; irides brown. Length 10 1/2 inches ; wing 5 1/2 ; extent 16; tail 4  1/2 ; bill at front nearly 1; tarsus 1 1/4.

This anomalously coloured Ouzel, generally referred to the Blackbird group, was considered a Geocichla by Bonaparte, and its coloration shows a tendency to that group; but its general structure is more Meruline. It has, indeed, been considered by some to be a pale variety of M. albocincta, but I consider it distinct, and Hutton, who has had many opportunities of observing this bird, also denies this, asserting that the Grey-headed Ouzel associates in large parties (in the winter, I presume), whilst the Ring Ouzel is always solitary, like Blackbirds in general. I procured a few specimens of this Ouzel at Darjeeling, in winter only; and it is not very common there, frequenting open forests.

Other Eastern Blackbirds are M. Kinnisii, Kelaart, from the mountains of Ceylon, and M. leucogaster, Blyth, from the Munnipore hills. 21. manclarina, from China, has been already alluded to, very like M. vulgaris, but with much stouter bill; M.fumidus, Miill., apud Bonaparte, from Sumatra, Java, Timor, &c, is the only other Eastern Blackbird recorded ; but there are several from America. M. vulgaris of Europe has  been found in Afghanistan, and is said to occur also in Cashmere, where Capt. Brownlow assured Mr. Blyth that it is common at an elevation of from 10,000 to 13,000 ft.: the late Lieut. Trotter assured the same naturalist that it decidedly does not occur in the Peshawur District. A very remarkable species, from Syria, with a sort of claw on the wing, was distinguished by the late Prince of Canino as M. dactyloptera.

The next group is that of the true Thrushes ; and here, again, we find now recognised two divisions, the one typified by the Song Thrush of Europe, and the other instituted for the Fieldfare and various Thrushes with the plumage less spotted.