CEETHIA. 433 



Key to Subspecies. 



A. Upper plumage dark brown ; lower back and 



rump ferruginous C. f. nipalensis, p. 433. 



B. Darker above ; with very little ferruginous 



on back or rump C.f. khamensis, p. 434. 



C. Paler above ; only a tinge of fulvous on the 



lower back and rump C.f, hodgsoni, p, 434. 



(448) Certhia familiaris nipalensis. 



The Nepal Thee- Creeper. 



Certhia nipalensis Blvth, J. A. S. B., xiv, 2, p. 581 (^1845) (Nepal) ; 

 Blanf. & Gates, i, jp. 330. 



Vernacular names. Dao-mojo (Cacliari) ; Inrui-m-jet (Naga). 



Description. Upper plumage and wiug-coverts very dark brown, 

 streaked with briglit rufous and with a few additional streaks of 

 blackish and fulvous-white ; lower back and rump ferruginous ; 

 tail brown faintly tinged with reddish; a fulvous white super- 

 cilium from the nostrils to the nape ; lores and ear-coverts mixed 

 brown and rufous ; wings brown, the primaries with an oblique 

 band of fulvous edged with black; chin and throat pure white • 

 abdomen, flanks and under tail-coverts fulvous-white. 



Colours of soft parts. Iris brown ; upper mandible horny 

 brown, lower mandible fleshy horny ; legs and feet flesh-colour. 



Measurements. Wing 67 to 71 mm. ; tail 57 to 76 mm.; tarsus 

 about IS mm.; culmen 13 to 15 mm. 



Distribution. Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and hills North and South 

 of the Brahmaputra above 6,000 feet. 



Nidification. A nest taken by myself in N. Cachar was com- 

 posed entirely of scraps of soft green moss, forming a pad fitting 

 into a hollow between a projecting piece of bark and the trunk of 

 a tree at about 25 feet from the ground. There were only three 

 eggs which were taken as I had to leave the place, or doubtless 

 more would have been laid. In colour they are a pure white with 

 tiny spots o£ reddish, principally in a ring about the larger end. 

 Tliey were taken on the 11th April, 1890 (recorded in error 16th 

 May, Journal B. N. H. S. and ' Ibis '), and measure 17'7 x 13*1 mm. 

 They will possibly eventually prove to be abnormally large, pale 

 eggs but I watched the parent birds for hours previously and am 

 certain of their identity. 



Habits. These are in no way different from those of the 

 Himalayan Tree-Creeper. It is found principally between 7,000 

 and 10,000 feet North of the Brahmaputra and certainly ascends 

 to 12,000 and 13,000 feet during the summer. South of the 

 Brahmaputra it was not very rare either in North Cachar or 

 the Khasia Hills at 6,000 feet, being found as low as 5,000 feet. 

 It is essentially a bird of pine and fir forests but I found it also. 



VOL. I. 2 F 



