Certhia hodgsoni, _Brooks, Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 243 bis.
Hodgson's Tree-Creeper is the supposed _C. familiaris_ obtained by Dr.
Jerdon in Cashmir, of which he gave me two specimens.
Mr. Brooks says:--"It was seen at Gulmurg and also at Sonamurg, where
Captain Cock took a few nests. The egg is much more densely
spotted than that of the English Creeper, so as almost to hide the
reddish-white ground-colour. Size 0·59 to 0·65 inch long by 0·48 inch
broad; time of laying, the _first_ week in June."
The egg is of smooth texture, without gloss, of a purplish-white
ground-colour, and fully spotted all over with light brownish red,
especially at the larger end. Numerous spots of reddish grey or pale
inky purple are intermingled with red ones.
In shape the egg varies from a somewhat elongated oval, more or less
compressed towards the smaller end, to a comparatively broad oval,
also slightly compressed towards the latter end. In all the eggs that
I have seen, the markings were more or less confluent towards the
large end. Their dimensions are correctly recorded by Mr. Brooks.