158 Mr. E. Hargitt on the Genus Gecinus. 



which title, he states, cannot stand, as the name has been 

 previously given by Verreaux to a Woodpecker from Koko- 

 nor, and he therefore renames his species G. zarudnoi. In 

 the ' Nouvelles Archives du Museum/ 1871 (Bull. vii. p. 4), 

 there is certainly a Woodpecker named, but with a query, as 

 follows : — " Picus? roux a bee jaune [flavirostris), n. sp. ? '' 

 This is apparently the only description of the bird, which was 

 only seen at Koko-nor, and was presumably written by Abbe 

 David, and not by Verreaux, who could not have seen the 

 bird in question. The above-named bird, however, is not a 

 Gecinus, and is no doubt the well-known Picus hyperythrus. 

 If (as Dr. Menzbier thinks) our birds are the same, and his 

 original title, G. flavirostris, is preoccupied (two points which 

 I, however, do not admit), I do not see how he can ignore 

 my name of G. (/orii and rename his species. I shall 

 retain the latter title for the bird obtained by Dr. Aitchison 

 at Padda Sultan, on the Helmand, until it is clearly shown 

 that Dr. Menzbicr's species is the same, in which case I will 

 adopt his name of G. flavirostris. It may be that both our 

 birds are distinct from G. squamatus as well as from each 

 other ; but until Dr. Menzbier points out the differences 

 between G. flavirostris and G. squamatus, it is quite impos- 

 sible to give the correct synonymy. For the pi'esent I give 

 G. flavirostris and G. zarudnoi as synonyms of G. squamatus, 

 and I make G. gorii distinct. 



The present species ranges from Gilgit in the north, into 

 Cashmere and Afghanistan, and through the Himalayas to 

 Kumaon and Nepal. Dr. Scully and Major Biddulph found 

 it at Gilgit, and the former author (Ibis, 1881, p. 430) 

 writes : — " A permanent resident in the district, found in the 

 lower valleys from November to May, and during the rest of 

 the year at an elevation of 9000 feet." Capt. G. F. L. 

 Marshall (Ibis, 1881, p. 49) describes some examples ob- 

 tained by Major Biddulph : — '^ Three specimens shot in De- 

 cember and January are identical with the Indian type, but 

 three others obtained in March, at an elevation of 5000 feet, 

 near Gilgit itself, are remarkable for having the neck, back, 

 and outer margins of secondaries grey instead of green, while 



