PITTA NIPALENS IS .
Nepaul P itta .
Paludicola Nipalensis, Hodgs. Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng., vol. vi. p. 103.
P itta nuchalis, Blyth, Joum. Asiat. Soc. Beng., vol. xi. p. 188.
Heleomis ( Paludicola) nipalensis, Hodgs., Gray, Zool. Misc., p. 83.
Hydrornis nipalensis, Blyth.
Pitta nipalensis, Cat. o f Spec, and Draw, o f Mamm. and Birds presented by B. H. Hodgson, Esq. to Brit. Mus., p. 78.
—Blyth, Cat. of Birds in Mus. Asiat. Soc., p. 156.
As its name implies, this species inhabits the rich forests of Nepaul; it is also a native o f Sikim and Bhotan,
from all of which countries I have seen specimens ; it is, however, still a rare bird in the collections of this
country, all the examples that have come under my notice being in the possession of the British Museum,
the East India Company, Sir William Jardine, Bart., and myself. It is more nearly allied to the P . c&rulea
than to any other member o f the genus, but possesses many well-marked characters which distinguish it from
th at species. All the information we possess respecting it has been made known to us by Mr. Hodgson,
who in a paper published by him in the “ Journal o f the Asiatic Society o f Bengal,” “ On three new Genera
or Subgenera o f Thrushes,” says, “ This bird never quits the forests, and usually frequents those parts of
them only which abound with thick low brushwood ; it seldom perches except a t night, and then only on
low bushes; it feeds principally in swamps and rills, upon the hard insects proper to such situations : of
berries and seeds it seldom, if ever, partakes. I t flies so badly and is so stupid» that I have seen it taken by
a single man.”’
The sexes are very similar in colour, but the female differs from the male in having the back of the neck
of a pale dull green instead of a rich deep greenish blue; in some specimens a gular band o f small crescentic
marks o f dark brown is observable, but this does not appear to be constant.
Mr. Hodgson’s description, in which he speaks of the wing-coverts having large buff drops at the end of
each plume, doubtless applies to the immature bird, for nothing of the kind is to be found in the adult birds
tbat I have seen.
Forehead, ear-coverts and all the under surface deep buff, fading into buffy white on the throat and under
tail-coverts; hinder part of the head and the nape rich deep greenish blue; upper surface and wing-coverts
dull green shaded with rufous brown ; wings and tail brown, with paler edges ; in some specimens a gular
band of crescentic marks of brown, produced by the basal brown of the feathers not being quite hidden by
the succeeding o n e s; culmen and tip of the bill dark brown ; base of the mandibles and the scales on the
front of the tarsi and upper ^urface o f the toes reddish flesh-colour; hinder portion of the tarsi and
remainder of the toes ordinary flesh-colour; nails whitish horn-colour; irides brown.
I am indebted to Sir William Jardine, Bart, for the loan of one of the specimens figured in the accompanying
Plate, which represents the male and female of the natural size.