LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 503 



The bird must have some head-quarters, must be common 

 somewhere ; but where can this be ? 



I would ask every one of your readers, who has ever seen 

 the Pink-headed Duck, (alive and wild), to let me know in 

 what district or districts he has met with it, and at what 

 periods of the year ; also, whether he there found it common 

 or rare. Any further particulars as to habits, flight, voice, food, 

 (/ have never myself seen it alive and wild), nidification, 

 colours in life of legs, feet, bill and irides, dimensions, or 

 weight, would be most welcome additions to our very scanty 

 knowledge of this charming and tantalizing species. I do hope 

 that those who can will kindly assist me in this matter. 



Allan Hume. 



Sir, 



I SEE that Mr. Blanford, in his remarks on your list 

 of the birds of India, doubts the occurrence of Mo7itifringilla 

 blanfordi and mandellii (or Onycliospiza taczanowskii) in Native 

 Sikkim. At first when I could not understand my collectors, 

 being all pure Sikkimites, I used to write on the labels " Bor- 

 ders of Native Sikkim and Thibet," but last year they suc- 

 ceeded in getting two more specimens of Montif ring ilia mandellii 

 and many specimens of M. blanfordi, and all these were shot in 

 the Lacheng valley. Native Sikkim, dating September and 

 October last. This being the case, they must have a place in 

 your list. Of course Mr. Blanford did not know this, when 

 he wrote his criticism. 



L. Mandelll 



[Note, — That this number, which should have appeared in 

 December 1879, and a great part of which was printed in 

 November of that year, has, owing to circumstances beyond 

 the Editor's control, remained unpublished for several months, 

 and will only actually issue in May. 



The Editor.] 



March 23K 1880. 



End of Vol. VIII. 



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