116 On Birds from the Sik him Himalayas. 



Ill, — Remarks on a Collection of Birds from the Sikhim 

 Himalayas. By P. L. Sclater, D.Sc, F.R.S. 



During a visit to Glasgow in September last I had the 

 pleasure of inspecting (under the kind guidance of Prof. 

 Graham Kerr) the fine collection of the birds of Sikhim 

 made by Col. L. A. Waddell^ C.B., and presented by him to 

 the Hiinterian INIuseura of the University in 1893. There are 

 about 1600 specimens in the collection^ all in good order. 

 They have been described in a raper written by Col. Waddell, 

 and published in 'The Gazetteer of Sikhim' of 1894*, of 

 which Col. Waddell has kindly sent me a copy. I Avas not 

 previously acquainted with the existence of this memoir, 

 which is of much interest. After preliminary remarks on 

 previous authorities on the birds of Sikhim, Col. Waddell 

 describes the climate and conformation of the country, whicli 

 he says may be viewed as " a stupendous stairway, leading 

 from the western border of the Tibetan plateau down to 

 the plains of Bengal with a fall of about 17,000 feet in 

 150 miles.'' He then proceeds to give a tabular list of the 

 species (about 450 in all), with their scientific and vernacular 

 names and their exact localities and altitudes in the Sikhim 

 Himalayas. 



In conclusion, he adds field-notes on about 100 of the 

 species contained in the previous list, amongst which are 

 many of considerable interest. 



Col. Waddell, in a letter, tells me that the specimens in 

 his collection have never been examined by an expert in 

 Indian ornithology, and that he would be much pleased to 

 supply any further information he may have to anyone who 

 would undertake to re-examine the specimens and revise the 

 List. 



A few of them, however, were referred to the British 

 Museum in 1894, and among these Mr. Ogilvie-Grant found 

 a specimen of a new species of GarrvJMx, which he named 

 Garrulajc waddelli (see Bull. B. 0. C. iii. p. xxix, 1894). 



* " A List of Sikhim Birds, showing their Geograpbical Distribution." 

 By L. A. Waddell, F.L.S. Gaz. of Sikhim, 1804, p. 198. 



