Capt. Beavan on various Indian Birds. 423 



of foot underneath -8125, bill from front '37, from gape 38, 

 extent 5.75 in. Irides apparently dark brown; bill and legs 

 jet-black ; a glossy-green line extends along the middle of 

 breast and abdomen, from the vermilion breast-patch to near 

 the vent. I fail in seeing the propriety of separating this 

 species from Dicaum, and making it into a new genus, as has 

 been done by Mr. Hodgson. Following the arrangement of 

 Dr. Jcrdon, it ought, in my opinion, to be placed next to Dicaum 

 coccineum, and certainly before Piprisoma. 



243. Certhia himalayana. Himalayan Tree-creeper. 

 This bird is not at all uncommon in the cedar-woods about 



Simla. Specimens procured there, in 1866, have the following 

 dimensions : — 



Length. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. Bill from front. Extent. 



A 5-0 2-75 2-125 -625 -75 7-95 



B 5-2 2-625 2-125 -655 -625 7-75 



C 4-.375 2-25 1-5 -5 -4.375 G-5 



D 4-5 2-25 1-G25 -5625 -5G25 G-5 



The last two are fully fledged young of the year, obtained 10th 

 of May. 



In the adult the hind claw alone is equal to '375 in. in length, 

 and the bill can scarcely be termed " blackish " as by Dr. Jerdon, 

 but may more correctly be described as having the upper man- 

 dible brown, and the lower one flesh-coloured, except at the 

 tip, which is brown also; the legs are fleshy-brown. The 

 superciliary streak in my specimens is fulvous-white ; the tail is 

 somewhat abraded; my first specimen, killed 11th of April, 

 was shot whilst feeding at the foot of a tree-stump, amongst the 

 moss and grass apparently. The second, killed on the 8th of 

 May, had the upper mandible dark brown, almost black ; the 

 lower one was, like the first, flesh-coloured. On the 10th of May 

 I shot a pair of young ones together on a deodar, in some 

 crevice of which the nest had probably been ; they were fully 

 fledged, but a good deal smaller than the adult bird, as will be 

 seen by the above table of their dimensions; their under tail- 

 coverts and under wing-coverts were of a very fluffy character. 



244. Certhia nipalensis, Nepaul Tree-creeper. 



