292 birds of india. 



The Red-eared Bay Woodpecker. 



Descr. — Head, neck, and upper part of back, brown, merged 

 more or less in dark vinous-red ; forehead, ear-coverts, cheeks and 

 chin, paler, and greyish or yellowish brown ; wings, lower back, 

 and tail, dark cinnamomeous or chesnut-red, transversely banded 

 throughout with dusky-blackish ; the breast, and body beneath, 

 blackish-brown, with narrow chesnut bars on the thighs and tail- 

 coverts ; behind each ear is a brilliant crimson spot or patch, form- 

 ing a wide demi-collar in the male. 



Bill bright yellow ; legs slaty-green, with yellow tinge ; irides, 

 red-brown ; orbitar skin dusky-green. 



Length 12 inches ; extent 18; wing 5\ ; tail 3|- ; bill at front If; 

 tarsus 1. 



This fine Woodpecker has been found only in the South- 

 east Himalayas. It is not very rare at Darjeeling. V\ rubiginosa, 

 Eyton, from Malacca (melanogaster of A. Hay), is quite a minia- 

 ture of our bird in structure. 



To this sub-family also belong Meiglyptes pectoralis, from 

 Malay ana; M. tristis, from S. Burmah and Malay ana, and M. 

 jugularis, BL, from Burmah. This last is coloured much as in 

 Bemicercus canente, but makes no approach to it in structure. 



Gen. Gecinulus, Blyth. 



J. A. a, XIV., 192. 



Char. — Bill still shorter than in Gecimis, more compressed 

 laterally ; feet still smaller ; the inner (fourth) toe wanting ; other- 

 wise as in Gecinus. 



This genus was founded on one species, that described below ; 

 since which an undoubted second member of the group has been 

 discovered in Burmah, G. viridis, Blyth, one of the very numer- 

 ous instances of duplicates (as they might be termed) of Indian 

 species, inhabiting the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal. 



177. Gecinulus grantia, McLell. 



Picus, apud McLelland, P. Z. S., 1839— Blyth, Cat. 273— 

 HoBSF., Cat. 967 — Kih-pho, Lepch. 



