Picu/ets of the Old World. 227 



cently a specimen was obtained by Mr. Darling in the Wy- 

 naad (as recorded by Mr, Hume^ Str. F. 1877, p. 351), '' a 

 fertile valley, elevated about 2500 feet above the sea, and 

 lying between the Nilgheris and those portions of the Western 

 Ghats overlooking Cannanore, Calicut, &c.,^' a locality quite 

 unexpected for the species. It is also met with in the Khasia 

 hills, whence Mr. Hume states that he has specimens ; and 

 he also mentions having received it from the hills of Tenas- 

 serim. This is apparently since he wrote his paper on 

 the birds of the latter province (Str. F. 1878, vol. vi.), as he 

 there stated that Mr. Davison, up to the time of publication, 

 had not met with the bird. Capt. Wardlaw Eamsay found 

 it in the Karen hills at an elevation of 2000 feet ; and it ex- 

 tends into the mountains of Western China, as Pere David 

 procured it in Kokonor. Dr. Beccari obtained a female bird 

 in Sumatra, on Mount Singalan, which Count Salvadori 

 has identified doubtfully as the present species, having 

 found it similar to a bird from Nepal. A comparison with 

 Himalayan specimens will be necessary to settle this point. 

 In the Himalayas, according to Jerdon, it is found in 

 tangled brushwood, and among dead and fallen trees in 

 damp spots, hunting about among the decaying bark for 

 various insects. It is said to breed in holes of trees. Dr. 

 Scully remarks, in his " Contribution to the Ornithology of 

 Nepal'' (Str. F. 1879, vol. viii. p. 250), ''The Speckled 

 Piculet is fairly common in the woods in the central part of 

 the valley of Nepal, and in some part of the forests at the 

 foot of the hills. I found it quite a tree-bird, and never 

 noticed it in tangled brushwood &c., as mentioned by 

 Jerdon." 



I have examined the following specimens of Vivia inno- 

 minata : — 



E Mus. Brit. 



a, b. (J ? ad. sk. N.W. Himalayas [Capt. Stackhouse Pin- 

 will) . 



c, d, e. Ad. st. Nepal [B. H. Hodgson). Types of Piculus 

 nipalensis and P. rufifrons. 



