62 W. T. Blanford— Zoology of Sikkim. [No. 1, 



Tristrain means the Himalayas by North India, when he says that this 

 bird is common in the latter at all seasons. The distinction is important. 

 Most Anglo-Indians when they speak of North India, mean the Panjab and 

 North- West Provinces, not the Himalayas, and the fauna of the two regions 

 is quite different. 



761 Alatjda (Calandrella) beachtdactyla, Temm. — Common in flocks 

 in all the higher valleys of Northern Sikkim above 12,000 feet. I found it 

 especially abundant at Yeomatong 12,000 feet, Momay, 15,000, and Phalung 

 16,000. At the latter place early in October the short toed larks were in 

 flocks of several hundreds, just as they are found in March in the plains of 

 India. 



Jerdon, in the generic character of Calandrella, assigns a minute first 

 primary to this bird. I cannot find it in any Indian specimens, and I have 

 examined skins from Bengal, the North- West Provinces, aad Nagpur besides 

 those from Upper Sikkim. That it is also absent in European and African 

 specimens is, I think, clear, because Odbanis in the Museum Heineanum, 

 places Calandrella (Calandritis, Cab.) with Otocorys in a distinct subfamily 

 from the other larks on account of then' wanting the rudimentary first 

 primary. 



Otocobis Elwesi sp. nov. 0. torque frontali tenui, loris, genis,pileo 

 cristis duobus sincipitalibus, et fascia lata pectorali nigris ; fronte superiori, 

 superciliis latis, regione auriculari, lateribus colli, mento, gula, pectore, 

 inferiori abdomineque albis ; nucha, cervice, uropygio et tectricibus alarum 

 pallide griseo-lilacinis ; dor so pallide brunneo, una cum supracaudalibus 

 fusco-striato ; remigibus brunneis : primi pogonio eocteriio albo, primariis 

 cceteris albescente-, secundariis albo marginatis et terminatis ; tribus remigi- 

 bus ultimis elongatis, et rectricibus mediis brunneis, latissime fulvo-limbatis, 

 cceteris rectricibus nigricantibus, duobus externis utrinque albo limbatis et 

 terminatis ; rostro nigro, subtus ad basin pallido, pedibus nigris. Long, tota 

 7 - 75 : long, alee 4'7, caudes 3"2, tarsi 0.9, digiti poslerioris cum ungue 0'75, 

 unguis modo - 3S, rostri a fronte 0'4, a rictu 0'6. 



Narrow frontal band, lores, sides of head below the eye, and a band 

 running back below the ear coverts, but not extending down the sides of the 

 neck, crown of the head, two sincipital tufts, and the' upper part of the breast 

 black ; forehead above the black band, broad siipercilia running back from it, 

 with the ear coverts, sides of the neck intervening between the black of the 

 cheeks and that of the breast, throat lower breast and abdomen white ; nape, 

 back of neck, rump and wing coverts pale greyish lilac ; back pale fulvous 

 brown with narrow dusky central stripes to the feathers, upper tail coverts 

 long, pale brown with narrow central stripes and whitish edges ; quills brown, 

 the first primary with a white outer web, remaining primaries with narrow 

 isabelline edges and tips which become white on the secondaries, the three 



