Miscellaneous. 77 



a strong contrast to Rhizomys. The inner pair of upper teeth are 

 palpable, but minute. The whiskers are long and firm, reaching to 

 the shoulders; the lips and the muzzle entirely furred; the eyes 

 medial ; the body full and cylindric ; no vestige of tail ; the limbs 

 short, but fine, and of nearly equal length and strength before and 

 behind ; pentadactylous before, tetradactylous behind ; the nails 

 acute ; the soles fully clad, except the termino- digital balls, and a 

 tiny carpal pad placed a little behind the elevated thumb. The last- 

 named are the sole parts of the whole body which are denuded of 

 fur. The fur of the animal is Leporine in the general character, but 

 softer and more silky. It is of one sort, about an inch long, and of 

 uniform structure throughout each pile, or hardly perceptible, harsher 

 in its apical portion. On the head and limbs the fur is shorter, more 

 adpressed, and less silky. The general colour internally is blue- 

 black, but externally is deep bay from the snout to the mid- body, 

 and black freckled with paler rufous thence to the vent. Below 

 the chin and belly are pale bay, and the limbs are the same. There 

 is a pale spot, or tuft rather, at the outer base of each ear, and the 

 mustachio is half dark and half light. 



The following specific character may, for the present, indicate the 

 animal : — 



Lag. Ncp. with broad, rounded, nudish ears, nearly half the length 

 of the head ; soles nude on the termino- digital balls only, and soft 

 equable fur, which is dark bay from the snout to waist, and ru- 

 fescently freckled black thence to the vent ; below and the limbs 

 paler bay ; snout to vent 7 inches ; head 2 ; ears | ; palm (with 

 nail) j ; planta (with nail) 1 £ ; female similar, smaller, 6~ from 

 snout to vent. Habitat, Himalaya of Nepal. 



Notice of a new form of the Glaucopinse, or Rasorial Crows, inhabit- 

 ing the Northern region of Nepal. By B. H. Hodgson, Esq. 

 Amongst the very numerous forms* presented by the 850 species 

 of birds already known to me as inhabitants of Nepal, there is one 

 which I believe to be still new to science, and to belong to a group, 

 of the occurrence of which, either in these mountains or in the plains 

 at their base, I know of no other instance, save that of the ubiquitous 

 tree-magpies. 



The group alluded to is the Glaucopin, or finch-billed crows of 

 Swainson ; and the single species I am acquainted with tenants ex- 

 clusively the immediate neighbourhood of the perpetual snows. 

 In the lower and central regions our bird appears to be represented 



* One of the most remarkable of these is the Cochoa of Nepal, and which 

 was characterized by me under that name in the Journal for June 1836. 

 The expert naturalist would immediately perceive what my inexperience 

 then noted not, viz. that this is a typical ampeline form, requiring to be 

 placed between Amp elk and Casmarhynchus, though Swainson asserts that 

 the group is exclusively American. 



To this genus we have since given the classic name of Prosorinia. In 

 the same number of the Journal is the description of another rarity, first 

 discovered and described therein, and which Swainson has since called Nye- 

 tiornis. It is our Bucia, hodie Napophilus, a forest-haunting bee-eater. 

 Mr. Swainson's name must merge in ours. 



