( 138 ) 



tawu}- bnflf. These iiave been nnited with the typical C. familiaris of Europe by 

 Seebohm and by Stejiipger, in the latter author's explicit and valuable article in 

 U. S. S'af. Mus. 1887, pp. G06-610. Although I have not seen very many 

 examples (the Tring Museum possesses only two at present) I cannot unite the 

 Hondo form with the North-European form. The ground-colonr of the back is 

 deeper brown, the rump of a deeper tawny ; the under tail-coverts seem to be more 

 strongly suffused with tawny, and the beak and wing on the whole decidedly shorter. 

 This form (type from Northern Hondo, in Mr. Rothschild's Museum) 1 must 

 separate as 



C. familiaris japonica subsp. nov. 



Neither this, nor C. M-an(/ul'(C(i, hr(uli'iilart-ila^ hrittanica (spelt thus by the author), 

 are species, for all their characters are variable, and intermediate forms between 

 most of them seem to occur. The same may be said of the various North-American 

 forms. It is only in the Himalayas, and in Turkestan and Kashmir, that we meet 

 with a number of well-defined species. There are now six recognised species in 

 these mountains and one subspecies. 



The following is a very condensed review of the different forms, as far as they 

 are now, in my opinion, sufficiently established. It contains seven species, and one 

 of them is divided into ten, another into two subspecies. 



Certhia L.. IT 58. 



( Tail distinctly barred throughout : 'Z. 

 ' \ Tail not barred, or with obsolete bars : 3. 



f Above more brown ; beak shorter : 1. C. liimalaijanaYig. 

 (. Above more grey ; beak longer: 1a. C. himal. tacnittra (Scv.). 



Flanks and lower abdomen ferruginous; centre of breast and abdomen fnlvous; 



chin and throat white : 2. C. stoliczkae Brooks. 

 Whole lower surface earthy brown; axillaries and under wing-coverts white; 



under tale-coverts pale ferruginous : 3. C. discolor BIyth. 

 C'hin, throat, and breast buff; remainder of under surface earthy brown : 



4. C. maniptircnsis Hume.* 

 Lower surface whitish or pure white : 4. 



r Fourth primary with a very pale fulvous mark in the middle of the outer 

 4. I web : 5. C. familiaris with its subspecies. 



C Fourth primary with no fulvous mark in the middle of the outer web : 5. 



r Lower abdomen suffused with pale fulvous brown ; above much darker; tail 

 . I always without an indication of bars : 6. C. nipalens/s. 



I Lower abdomen paler; above much lighter; tail mostly with obsolete bars 

 near the tip : 7. C. hodysoni. 



Of C. familiaris the following forms are at present, I believe, tenable ; but 

 more will be discovered, as large countries are unrepresented in creepers even in 

 the British Museum and other large collections. 



1. ('. familiaris familiaris L. North, ? Central, and ? Southern Europe. 

 Distribution not yet definitely understood. 



2. ('. familiaris scandidaca (I'all.). .Siberia to East Europe. More white 

 above than 1. 



3. 



