260 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF NEPAL. 



wing's and partly on the tail, but not on the head or elsewhere ; 

 tail feathers narrowly marg-ined with white at the tip. 



Four females, Valley, June to August. — Length, 4 to 4'4 ; 

 expanse, 6*7 to 6*8 ; wing, 2'1 to 2'2 ; tail, 1-3 to 1*45 ; tarsus, 

 0-54 to 0-6; bill from gape, 07 to 0-78; bill at front, 0-6 to 

 0*65 ; closed wings short of tail, 0*45 to 0'7. 



Bill black, brownish at base below ; gape orange or buff 

 fleshy ; irides dark brown ; feet and claws black ; a white spot 

 on the tip of the outer tail feather, the white extending a 

 little up the outer web. A young bird, obtained on the 12th 

 June, was earthy brown above, yellowish fulvous beneath. 



This Honey-Sucker is a summer visitant to the valley, and 

 is fairly common there from May to September, frequenting 

 gardens, hedges, and cultivated ground fringed with bushes or 

 small trees. On the 26th May, a nest of this species was found 

 in a Hibiscus bush in the Residency Grarden. The nest was a 

 beautiful fairy-like structure, composed chiefly of soft grass, 

 flowers and bits of leaves ; it was pear-shaped, with an oval 

 entrance at the side, and had a cup-shaped roof which formed 

 a portico over the mouth of the nest. In this two eggs were 

 found, slightly incubated, which measured 0"65 by 0'47 and 

 0"64 by 0"45. The ground colour was greenish white, with a 

 few irregular spots of reddish brown at the large end of the 

 eggs, the small end and greater portion of the surface being 

 free from markings. 



240.--Piprisoma agile, Tick. 



Two males, Valley, July and August. — Length, 4 ; expanse, 

 7*5 and 7*85 ; wing, 2-45 and 2-51 ; tail, 1-34 and 1*4 ; tarsus, 

 0-52 and .0-55; bill from gape, 0-40 and 0*43; bill at front, 

 0*29 and 0'3 ; closed wing short of tail, 0*5 and 0"55. 



Bill bluish plumbeous, dusky at tip ; irides brownish red 

 and scarlet ; feet dark plumbeous ; claws blackish. 



This interesting little bird was not uncommon in the central 

 part of the Nepal Valley, from May to September. I can eon- 

 firm Jerdon's statement that it frequents high branches of trees 

 in parties or small flocks ; such were its habits about the end 

 of July. Mr. Hodgson did not obtain this species in Nepal ; 

 at least it is not entered in either edition of the B. M. Catalogue 

 or his collection, and there is no figure of it amongst his draw- 

 ings. This is the more remarkable as I shot both my specimens 

 in the Residency grounds. There can be no doubt as to the 

 identification, for although 1 named the specimens at first 

 merely from Jerdon's description, I have since compared them 

 with numerous examples in Mr. Hume's collection. 



