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Other varieties of C. torulosa are those named in gardens and nurseries viridis, a kind devoid of the glaucous foliage of the original; majestica, a robust variety; and nana, a very dwarf and compact-growing sort. There is also a so-called variegated form, but it is not worthy of mention. The synonyms of C. torulosa itself are C. cashmeriana, C. nepalensis, and C. pendula.
This is the only sparrow found at Darjeeling. It has the habits of the house-sparrow. The sexes are alike in appearance. The head is chestnut and the cheeks are white. There is a black patch under the eye, and the chin and throat are black. The remainder of the plumage is very like that of the house-sparrow. Hirundo rustica. The common swallow. Hirundo nepalensis. Hodgson's striated swallow.
It has been crossed with C. nepalensis and C. warczewiczii, and the available historic evidence points to the year 1846 as that of the first cross. This was made by Annee between the indica and the nepalensis; it took ten years to multiply them to the required degree for introduction into commerce.
As in England, this bird constructs under the eaves of roofs its nest of mud lined with feathers. Not unlike the common swallow, but readily distinguishable from it in that the lower back is chestnut red, is Hirundo nepalensis Hodgson's striated swallow, or the red-rumped swallow, as Jerdon well called it. This bird also breeds under eaves.
Another beautiful poppy is the M. nepalensis, which grows in the central dampest regions of Sikkim at elevations of 10,000 to 11,000 feet and resembles a miniature hollyhock, the flowers being of a pale golden or sulphur-yellow, 2 or 3 inches in diameter and several on a stalk.
Oreocorys sylvanus. The upland pipit. This is not very common east of Nepal. Æthopyga nepalensis. The Nepal yellow-backed sunbird. This replaces Æthopyga scheriæ in the Eastern Himalayas, and is distinguished by having the chin and upper throat metallic green instead of crimson. It is the common sunbird about Darjeeling. Dicæum ignipectus. The fire-breasted flower-pecker.
Alcippe nepalensis. The Nepal babbler or quaker-thrush. This is a bird smaller than a sparrow. As its popular name indicates, it is clothed in homely brown; but it has a conspicuous ring of white feathers round the eye and a black line on each side of the head, beginning from the eye. It is very common about Darjeeling. It feeds in trees and bushes, often descending to the ground.
The road rapidly ascends by a narrow winding path, covered with a loose forest of oaks, rhododendrons, and various shrubs, not found at equal elevations on the wetter Dorjiling ranges: amongst, them the beautiful laburnum-like Piptanthus Nepalensis, with golden blossoms, was conspicuous.
Several species of hornbills dwell in the forests at the foot of the Himalayas, but only one species is likely to be found at elevations above 5000 feet. This is the rufous-necked hornbill. Aceros nepalensis. The rufous-necked hornbill. In this species the casque or excrescence on the upper mandible is very slight. It is a large bird 4 feet long, with a tail of 18 inches and a beak of 8½ inches.
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