1873.] DISTRIBUTION OF ASIATIC BIRDS. 659 



Pyrrhula, breed here in company with the Warblers and Titmice ; 

 but the Timaliine birds, with the exception of Trochalopteron affine, 

 which reaches 13,000 feet, have all disappeared, as well as the Lio- 

 trichincB of Jerdon. Above the limit of forest, birds become 

 scarcer; and when we reach 15,000 feet, the only ones which are 

 commonly met with are Accentor nipalensis, Fringalauda nemoricola, 

 Hoopoes, two species of Cinclus, Ravens (Corvus corax=tibetanus, 

 Hodg.), Lerwa nivicola, and that most magnificent of all alpine 

 birds Grandala ccelicolor. Mthopyga ignicauda breeds in this region 

 as high as 11,000 feet; and the little Nepalese Wren, Troglodytes 

 nipalensis, creeps about rocky hill-sides at 12,000-14,000 feet; 

 Columba leuconota occurs in large flocks at from 11,000-14,000 

 feet in the valleys of the interior, but like many other birds of this 

 region, such as the Lammergeyer, Chough (Fregilus graculus), 

 and Raven, is not found on the outer hills. 



The number of birds which belong to this region in Sikim is not 

 more than 50 or 60 according to my experience ; but it will require a 

 great deal more observation to decide the exact range of many species, 

 which no doubt varies greatly in different parts of the mountains. 



My remarks on this subject must therefore not be taken as con- 

 clusive, though I was careful to note the elevation of every specimen 

 I procured as accurately as possible. 



The highest level at which I observed birds was about 17,500 feet, 

 where Grandala ccelicolor and Buticilla erythrogastra were found ; 

 Accentor rubeculoides and A. nipalensis attained very nearly the same 

 level ; and many other birds no doubt occasionally come as high as 

 this, which is nearly the limit of flowering plants on the south side 

 of the range. 



Having thus roughly defined the three zones of elevation in Sikim, 

 I will give the results of an analysis of the birds which I know to 

 have been obtained there. A large proportion of them I collected 

 myself; and for others I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Mandelli 

 of Darjeeling, whose collection of the birds and insects of this country 

 is probably the richest ever made. 



Excluding the Raptores, of which my list is very incomplete, as 

 well as the Grallse and Anseres, I find 423 species, of which 270 

 are not found out of the Himalayan region, except as migrants or 

 stragglers. 



per cent. 



Genera of very wide range 63 15 



Genera peculiar to or highly characteristic of 



the Himalayan subregion 146 34 



Genera peculiar or nearly so to the Indo- 



Malay region 154 36 



Palaearctic genera 60 15 



Asam. 



I will now pass on to the mountain-ranges surrounding the valley 

 of Asam, which, being as yet very little known, may be expected to 

 produce many fine novelties of the same character as the birds we 



42* 



