REGULUS. 197 



Gen. RegulUB. Koch. 



Bill short, straight, somewhat conic and keeled ; nostrils basal, with an 

 opening in front of a coriaceous groove, protected by one or two rigid 

 plumes ; first primary equal to half the second in length ; 4th, 5th, and 6th 

 primaries the longest ; tail square, the feathers with pointed tips ; tarsus 

 covered with one long scute ; plumage soft and lax. 



691. ReguluS CristatUS, Koch, Syst. d. baier. Zool. p. 199 (The 

 European race). Regulus himalayensis, Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 206, No. 580 ; 

 Gould, B. Asia, pt. 7 ; Stol., Sir. F. 1875, p. 246. The HIMALAYAN FIRE- 

 CRESTED WREN. 



Head with a central patch of bright orange yellow or flame colour, edged 

 with pale yellow and bordered with a dark streak from the base of the upper 

 mandible ; lores, supercilium and ear coverts ashy grey, tinged in some 

 with greenish ; upper surface of the body olive green, passing into yellowish 

 on the rump, and upper tail coverts ; wing coverts dingy, edged and tipped 

 with spots of paler dingy greenish ; primaries brown, yellowish externally ; the 

 secondaries white at the base, blackish in the middle ; the inner ones 

 margined externally with yellowish and tipped with white ; tail brown, exter- 

 nally margined with yellowish green ; under wing coverts and axillaries white ; 

 under surface of the body dingy greenish yellow. Bill blackish brown ; legs 

 and claws pale horny brown. 



Length. 375 to 4 inches; wing 2'i to 2*5; tail 1*5 ; tarsus 0*7; oil- 

 men 0*4- 



Hab. Throughout the Palsearctic region. The N.-W. Himalayan race 

 is a slightly larger bird than the European one. It is recorded from Nepaul, 

 Cashmere and Native Sikkim, but everywhere rather scarce. 



Family. LANIID^:. 



Bill strong, short, or of moderate length, notched or toothed at the tip ; 

 gape wide, with rather rigid rictal bristles ; tarsus short and strong, and covered 

 with large scutes on both sides ; nostrils basal and of various forms ; wing 

 with ten primaries, the first small j tail of twelve feathers ; toes four ; midtoe 

 largest. 



This large family, including the genera found outside of India Proper, 

 has been divided by Dr. Gadow into 5 sub -families, viz., Gymnorhince, 

 comprising genera in the Australian region and Borneo ; MalaconotincB, 

 comprising genera found in Africa, Madras and India, one genera only 

 {Ptererythrius) being found in the hilly and mountainous districts of the 

 Indian region. The next is Laniince, in which are comprised four genera, the 

 genus Lanim only being Indian, but the species, however, extend their range 



