248 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF NEPAL. 



bill from gape, 1*5 ; bill at front, 1'25 ; closed wings short of 

 tail, 2-1. 



Bill plumbeous dusky ; the basal three-fourths of the 

 lower mandible yellowish green horny ; irides carmine red ; 

 feet dingy plumbeous. There is a black line across the fore- 

 head which is not " whitish" as given by Jerdon. 



I found this Woodpecker ver^'- common in the Sal forest 

 from Bichiakoh to Semrabasa in December. It was almost 

 invariably found feeding on the ground, iu rather long grass. 

 As one walked through the forest and flushed them, the birds 

 rose noiselessly and flew to the lower branches of the trees. 

 Occasionally a bird would fly away over the grass for twenty 

 or thirty yards, and then settle on the trunk or horizontal 

 branch of a tree. I did not believe I had Woodpeckers before 

 me until I shot one. 



172. — Gecinus occipitalis, Vig. 



Male, Hetoura, December. — Length, 12*45 ; expanse, 19"2 ; 

 wing, 6"1 ; tail, 4*7; tarsus, 1*0; bill from gape, 1"65; bill at 

 front, 1*45; closed wings short of tail, 2*4. 



Bill dull horny black ; orbital skin plumbeous ; irides dark 

 crimson; feet plumbeous ; claws slaty. 



Male, young, Pharphing {near Valley) \2)t7i July. — Length, 

 3,0'D ; expanse, 17*5 ; wing, 5*5 ; tail, 3*9 ; tarsus, 1*1 ; bill from 

 gape, 1'45 ; bill at front, 1'15 ; closed wings short of tail, 2'0. 



Bill slaty, whitish horny at tip ; irides brown ; feet pale 

 plumbeous. 



Female, Valley of Nepal, August. — Length, 12'6 ; expanse, 

 19"2; wing, 5"9; tail, 4*55; tarsus, 1*15; bill from gape, 

 1*6 ; bill at front, 1"5 ; closed wings short of tail, 3'0 ; weight,. 

 6ozs. 



Bill horny black; orbital skin plumbeous grey; irides 

 crimson ; feet plumbeous ; claws slaty. 



These specimens do not agree very well with Jerdon's des- 

 cription, but are identical with examples from Simla, Dehra, 

 &c. I note the following points for comparison with Jerdon^s 

 account : 



The male has the forehead and top of head red ; the occiput 

 and nape black ; a black mandibular stripe on each side of 

 the throat, extending to below the ear-coverts, where it turns 

 elightly upwards and ends abruptly ; point of chin ashy. 



The young male has the red of the forehead extending to the 

 mid line of the crown, i.e., the red colour does not extend so 

 far back on the head as in the adult. 



The female has no red on the head, which is black, streaked 

 "with slaty or grey, and the nape is black. 



