412 
BIRDS OF BRITISH BURMAH. 
which clothe the eastern slopes between Tonghoo and Thayetmyo. Mr. 
Davison met with it in the Tenasserim Division on Mooleyit mountain^ and 
also at its base in the Houngthraw Choung. Capt. Wardlaw Ramsay 
found it in Karennee at elevations of from 2500 to 4000 feet. It is likely 
to occur throughout Pegu and Tenasserim wherever there are damp ever- 
green forests^ and it probably extends into Siam. 
This species frequents the dark gloomy ravines of the evergreen forests, 
spots where the sun seldom penetrates except at midday where the vege- 
tation is very dense and the ground constantly damp. It feeds on worms 
and large insects, and.seldom leaves the ground except to mount on a fallen 
trunk or a low branch. The note is a clear double whistle, and I heard it 
both during the day and the night. 
383. HYDEORNIS NIPALENSIS. 
THE BLUE-NAPED PITTA. 
Paludicola nipalensis, Hodgs. J. A. S. B. vi. p. 103. Brachyurus nipalensis, 
Elliot, Man. Pitt. pi. iii. ; id. Ibis, 1870, p. 413. Hydrornis nipalensis, 
Jerd. B. Ind. i. p. 502 ; Bl. B. Barm. p. 97 Oates S. F. iii. p. 337 Hume, S. F. 
viii. p. 93. 
Description. — Male. Differs from H. oatesi in having the hinder part of 
the head and the nape blue. 
ThQ female resembles the male, but has the blue on the head and nape 
replaced by bluish green. 
Bill dusky, fleshy at the base ; legs ruddy flesh-colour ; claws whitish ; 
iris lightish brown. (Jerdon.) 
Length 9*3 inches, tail 2*1, wing 4*7, tarsus 2*1, bill from gape r25. 
My men procured this Pitta on the Arrakan hills near Nyoungyo ; and 
Sir Arthur Phayre sent it to Mr. Blyth from some portion of the Arrakan 
Division. There is no further record of its occurrence in British Burmah, 
and I do not think it will be found east of the Irrawaddy river. Mr. Blyth 
states that it is met with in Tenasserim ; but he probably had H. oatesi 
sent to him, and did not think the latter species worthy of separation from 
H. nipalensis. 
The Blue-naped Pitta occurs in Cachar and other parts of the hill-tracts 
of Eastern Bengal, and in the Himalayas from Assam up to Nipal. 
The habits of this species are the same as those of H. oatesi. Mr. Hume 
found the nest in Sikhim in May, a mass of grass and leaves placed on 
the ground at the root of a bush. It contained three eggs, which were 
white spotted with purple. 
