302 birds of india. 



The Rufous Piculet. 



Descr. — Of a sub-ochreous colour throughout, darker and rufes- 

 cent above, lighter and more yellow beneath; forehead, m the male, 

 brio-ht golden-yellow, with a greenish cap and wings ; a narrow 

 white streak from behind each eye ; ear-coverts, below the white 

 line, rufescent-brown; tail black, unmarked ; lining of the wings buff. 



Bill plumbeous ; orbitar skin pink ; irides pale brown ; legs 

 pale red. Length 3| ; extent 7 ; wing 2^ ; tail 1 ; bill at front /^ ; 

 foot 11. 



This little bird is found in Nepal and the Eastern Himalayas, as 

 also in Assam, Sylhet, and Arakan. It is not rare at Darjeeling, 

 from about 3,000 feet to 6,000 feet or so. Like the last, it chiefly 

 hunts among the brush-wood, or more especially among fallen and 

 decayed trees, near the banks of streams. It lives entirely on 

 insects. I never saw it climb on large trees. It is said to breed 

 in holes of trees. 



A second species of this genus exists In Temmlnck's Picumnus 

 abyiormis, from Malayana, PI. Col. 371, 3; which very closely 

 resembles our bird. 



Subfam. YuNGTN^. Wrynecks. 



Bill short, conical, somewhat round, straight, pointed ; nostrils 

 basal, approximate, near the culmen, narrow, pierced In the mem- 

 brane, apert ; wings moderate, pointed ; 2nd and 3rd quills sub- 

 equal, but 3rd the longest, first nearly as long, and 4th only a little 

 shorter ; tail moderate, flexible, broad, slightly rounded, or nearly 

 even, of twelve feathers ; the two outer small, as in the Woodpeckers • 

 tarsus short, with the toes in pairs ; posterior (outer) toe long, but 

 equal to the anterior outer ; hind and inner toes short ; claws 

 well-curved, and compressed. 



The Wrynecks form a very remarkable group, composed of only 

 one genus, and of a few species very closely allied to each other, 

 of plain colours but beautifully speckled plumage. Their pecu- 

 liar habit of turning and twisting their head backwards has caused 

 names of similar meaning to be given to them in most languages. 

 The tongue is round and vermiform, extensile, with a simple acute 

 extremity. In their soft plumage, and some other points, they 

 dictinctly approximate to the Cuckoos. Their flight is more direct and 



