348 Obituary. [Ibis, 



John Biddulph. 



The death of Colonel John Biddulph, which occurred on 

 the 24th of December last at Grey Court, Ham Common, in 

 his 82nd year, removes a name very familiar to the Indian 

 ornithologists of the Hume era. He was a member of the 

 Union from 1875 to 1892, when he resigned. 



One of a distinguished family, the third son of Robert 

 Biddulph of Ledbury, John Biddulph was educated at 

 Westminster, and at the age of 18 joined the 19th Lancers 

 and proceeded to India in time to serve through the Oude 

 campaign of 1858 and to be awarded the Mutiny medal. 

 He afterwards joined the Political Department under the 

 Government of India. He accompanied the second Yarkand 

 mission of 1873-1874 under Sir Douglas Forsyth and in com- 

 pany with Dr. F. Stoliczka, who was the official naturalist and 

 who unfortunately died during the crossing of the Himalaya 

 on the return of the mission to India. 



The Scientific Results of the Mission were published by 

 the Government of India in a series of memoirs. That con- 

 taining the account of the Birds, owing to Stoliczka's death 

 and other causes, did not ap[)ear until 189 L It was prepared 

 by Dr. Bowdler Sharpe, and in it will be found incorporated 

 the MSS. notes of Colonel Biddulph, who collected assiduously 

 both birds and mammals and discovered a new species of 

 that curious genus Podoces, allied to the Choughs and con- 

 fined to Central Asia, to which Hume attached his name. 

 In 1877 Biddulph was posted at Gilgit, the furthermost 

 outpost of India^ in the extreme north-western corner of 

 Kashmir, Here with short intervals he remained till 1881 

 and made very considerable collections of birds. His obser- 

 vations and researches in this remote region are contained 

 in two very valuable papers published in 'The Ibis' (1881, 

 pp. 35-102, and 1882, pp. 266-291), and but little work 

 on birds has been done in the Gilgit region since that date. 

 After holding many posts as Resident at various Native 

 States and serving for four years on the staff of the 



