56 BIRDS OF BRITISH BURMAH. 



crest black, each feather with an elongated white drop near the tip, and in 

 having a duller crimson tinge on the back. 



Iris hazel ; eyelids plumbeous ; bill very dark brown ; legs greenish ; 

 claws horn-colour. 



Length 11 '5 inches, tail 4'2, wing 5'8, tarsus 1, bill from gape 1 5. The 

 female is rather smaller. 



This species, like the preceding, varies much in dimensions, and there 

 appears to be a perfect gradation in size from the south to the north. 

 Tenasserim birds, according to Mr. Hume, have a wing varying from 5 '18 

 to 5'45 inches in length. Pegu and Arrakan birds, according to my 

 own measurements, have the wing varying from 5 '6 to 6'05 inches. I 

 have not been able to examine many Northern-Indian birds ; but Mr. 

 Hume remarks of a Kumaon example, with a wing of 6' 25 inches, that it 

 was a ' ' huge " specimen ; and we may therefore conclude that this length 

 is about the maximum for the wings of Himalayan birds. Southern-Indian 

 specimens are identical in size with those from Tenasserim. No distinc- 

 tions, moreover, can be based on the coloration of examples from various 

 localities, for the variations in plumage, such as they are, are not corre- 

 lated with geographical limits ; and under these circumstances I do not 

 think any good will result from attempting to keep the two so-called 

 species T. shorii and T. javanensis distinct. 



The Common Three-toed Woodpecker is very abundant in all parts of 

 British Burmah and Karennee. 



It is found in the Malay peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Cochin 

 China and Siam. It does not appear to have yet been observed in the 

 Indo-Burmese countries nor in the hill-tracts of Eastern Bengal, but it is 

 met with along the whole range of the Himalayas. It has been procured 

 in Central India, and it appears to be abundant over a considerable portion 

 of Southern India. 



This is the commonest species of Woodpecker in Burmah, being found 

 in every description of jungle, both near houses and in the wildest forests. 

 It has a very shrill call, and climbs trees in a peculiar jerky manner, fre- 

 quently pausing for some minutes and remaining perfectly still. I found 

 its nest in Pegu in May in a hole of a tree, with three eggs. Capt. 

 Bingham found the nest in Tenasserim in March. 



