656 MR. H. J. ELWES ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL [June 17, 



tion, we come to Nepal, which must certainly he considered one of 

 the most interesting countries to a naturalist in the world. It in- 

 cludes parts of three different zoological provinces, and, having a won- 

 derful variety of climate and vegetation, offers a congenial home to the 

 inhabitants of them all. 



To Mr. B. H. Hodgson, for twenty years our resident at the 

 court of Nepal, a naturalist whose name will ever hold a prominent 

 place among men of science, we are indebted for all we know of the 

 zoology of this magnificent country. So well did he use his time 

 and opportunities, that no less than 657 species of birds, a large 

 proportion of which were described by him, are known to occur in 

 the country ; and though his hunters travelled far and wide from 

 the plains to the snows, I cannot doubt that there are yet more re- 

 maining to reward those who may at some future time be lucky 

 enough to explore this forbidden land, which, though witbin sight 

 of many of our stations, is as much closed to Englishmen as the 

 most remote parts of Central Asia. 



Of its most remarkable features I shall speak more particularly 

 when examining the birds of Sikim ; but to give a general idea of the 

 character of the Nepalese avifauna, I will say that there are (with- 

 out counting the wading and water birds), according to Gray's * List 

 of Mr. Hodgson's collections,' 2nd edit., 1863, 294 genera, con- 

 taining 553 species : — ■ . 



per cent. 



Very wide distribution 62 16 



Characteristic of the Palsearctic region 30 8 



Characteristic of the Indo-Malay region 202 56 



Peculiar to or characteristic of the Himalaya 80 20 



Of the species, however, no less than 60 per cent, are found only 

 in the Himalayan subregion, except as migrants or stragglers — a 

 proportion which, for the size of the country, is unusually large. 



To the east of Nepal lies Sikim, a small state of about 50 miles 

 wide, extending from the plains of Bengal to the passes into Thibet, 

 and forming a sort of buffer between the two turbulent and warlike 

 races of Ghorkas and Bhotias. 



Sikim. 



Having personally studied the birds of Sikim, and, in company with 

 Mr. Blanford, travelled over a great part of it, which had not been 

 visited since Dr. Hooker's well-known explorations in 1848-49, I 

 shall give a more detailed account of the peculiar features in geo- 

 graphical distribution which it presents. Though such good natu- 

 ralists as Jerdon, Hodgson, Tickell, and Beavan have resided at 

 Darjeeling and collected largely, the list of birds from this small 

 district is constantly being increased ; and from the difficulty of 

 travelling in the interior, and the density of the forests which cover 

 the greater part of it up to 12000 or 13000 feet above the sea, I 

 have no doubt that many years will elapse before the novelties of 

 this country are exhausted. 



