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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Birds of the Indian Hills, by Douglas Dewar
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Birds of the Indian Hills
+
+Author: Douglas Dewar
+
+Release Date: December 6, 2007 [EBook #23755]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIRDS OF THE INDIAN HILLS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Ron Swanson
+
+
+
+
+
+BIRDS OF THE INDIAN HILLS
+
+BY DOUGLAS DEWAR
+
+
+
+
+_A COMPANION VOLUME TO THE BIRD VOLUMES OF
+"THE FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA"_
+
+
+
+
+LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD
+NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY
+TORONTO: BELL & COCKBURN
+
+MCMXV
+
+
+
+
+_All rights reserved_
+
+
+
+
+Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
+at the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh
+
+
+
+
+Considerable portions of this book have already appeared as articles
+in one or other of the following newspapers or periodicals: _The
+Pioneer_, _Madras Mail_, _Englishman_, _Indian Field_, _Bird Notes_.
+I am indebted to the editors of the above publications for permission
+to republish the portions of the book that have already appeared in
+print.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+PART I
+BIRDS OF THE HIMALAYAS  . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
+    INTRODUCTION  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
+    THE HABITAT OF HIMALAYAN BIRDS  . . . . . .  13
+    THE COMMON BIRDS OF THE WESTERN HIMALAYAS .  29
+    THE COMMON BIRDS OF THE EASTERN HIMALAYAS . 105
+    TITS AT WORK  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
+    THE PEKIN-ROBIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
+    BLACK BULBULS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
+    A WARBLER OF DISTINCTION  . . . . . . . . . 145
+    THE SPOTTED FORKTAIL  . . . . . . . . . . . 151
+    THE NEST OF THE GREY-WINGED OUZEL . . . . . 158
+    THE BLACK-AND-YELLOW GROSBEAK . . . . . . . 164
+    THE GREAT HIMALAYAN BARBET  . . . . . . . . 174
+
+PART II
+THE COMMON BIRDS OF THE NILGIRIS  . . . . . . . 181
+
+PART III
+THE COMMON BIRDS OF THE PALNI HILLS . . . . . . 233
+
+APPENDICES  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
+INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
+
+
+
+
+_PART I_
+_Birds of the Himalayas_
+
+
+
+
+_INTRODUCTION_
+
+
+The avifauna of the Himalayas is a large one. It includes birds found
+throughout the range, birds confined to the eastern or western
+portions, birds resident all through the year, birds that are mere
+seasonal visitors, birds found only at high elevations, birds
+confined to the lower hills, birds abundant everywhere, birds nowhere
+common. Most ornithological books treat of all these sorts and
+conditions of birds impartially, with the result that the
+non-ornithological reader who dips into them finds himself
+completely out of his depth.
+
+He who plunges into the essays that follow need have no fear of getting
+out of his depth. With the object of guarding against this catastrophe,
+I have described as few birds as possible. I have ignored all those
+that are not likely to be seen daily in summer in the Himalayas at
+elevations between 5000 and 7000 feet above the sea-level. Moreover,
+the birds of the Western have been separated from those of the Eastern
+Himalayas. The result is that he who peruses this book will be
+confronted with comparatively few birds, and should experience
+little difficulty in recognising them when he meets them in the flesh.
+I am fully alive to the fact that the method I have adopted has
+drawbacks. Some readers are likely to come across birds at the various
+hill stations which do not find place in this book. Such will doubtless
+charge me with sins of omission. I meet these charges in anticipation
+by adopting the defence of the Irishman, charged with the theft of
+a chicken, whose crime had been witnessed by several persons: "For
+every witness who saw me steal the chicken, I'll bring twenty who
+didn't see me steal it!"
+
+The reader will come across twenty birds which the essays that follow
+will enable him to identify for every one he sees not described in
+them.
+
+
+
+
+_THE HABITAT OF HIMALAYAN BIRDS_
+
+
+Himalayan birds inhabit what is perhaps the most wonderful tract of
+country in the world. The Himalayas are not so much a chain of
+mountains as a mountainous country, some eighty miles broad and
+several hundred long--a country composed entirely of mountains and
+valleys with no large plains or broad plateaux.
+
+There is a saying of an ancient Sanskrit poet which, being translated
+into English, runs: "In a hundred ages of the gods I could not tell
+you of the glories of Himachal." This every writer on things Himalayan
+contrives to drag into his composition. Some begin with the quotation,
+while others reserve it for the last, and make it do duty for the
+epigram which stylists assure us should terminate every essay.
+
+Some there are who quote the Indian sage only to mock him. Such assert
+that the beauties of the Himalayas have been greatly exaggerated--that,
+as regards grandeur, their scenery compares unfavourably with that of
+the Andes, while their beauty is surpassed by that of the Alps. Not
+having seen the Andes, I am unable to criticise the assertion
+regarding the grandeur of the Himalayas, but I find it difficult to
+imagine anything finer than their scenery.
+
+As regards beauty, the Himalayas at their best surpass the Alps,
+because they exhibit far more variety, and present everything on a
+grander scale.
+
+The Himalayas are a kind of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. They have two
+faces--the fair and the plain. In May they are at their worst. Those
+of the hillsides which are not afforested are brown, arid, and
+desolate, and the valleys, in addition to being unpleasantly hot,
+are dry and dusty. The foliage of the trees lacks freshness, and
+everywhere there is a remarkable absence of water, save in the valleys
+through which the rivers flow. On the other hand, September is the
+month in which the Himalayas attain perfection or something
+approaching it. The eye is refreshed by the bright emerald garment
+which the hills have newly donned. The foliage is green and luxuriant.
+Waterfalls, cascades, mighty torrents and rivulets abound. Himachal
+has been converted into fairyland by the monsoon rains.
+
+A remarkable feature of the Himalayas is the abruptness with which
+they rise from the plains in most places. In some parts there are
+low foothills; but speaking generally the mountains that rise from
+the plain attain a height of 4000 or 5000 feet.
+
+It is difficult for any person who has not passed from the plains
+of India to the Himalayas to realise fully the vast difference between
+the two countries and the dramatic suddenness with which the change
+takes place.
+
+The plains are as flat as the proverbial pancake--a dead monotony
+of cultivated alluvium, square mile upon square mile of wheat, rice,
+vetch, sugar-cane, and other crops, amidst which mango groves, bamboo
+clumps, palms, and hamlets are scattered promiscuously. In some
+places the hills rise sheer from this, in others they are separated
+from the alluvial plains by belts of country known as the Tarai and
+Bhabar. The Tarai is low-lying, marshy land covered with tall,
+feathery grass, beautifully monotonous. This is succeeded by a
+stretch of gently-rising ground, 10 or 20 miles in breadth, known
+as the Bhabar--a strip of forest composed mainly of tall evergreen
+_sal_ trees (_Shorea robusta_). These trees grow so close together
+that the forest is difficult to penetrate, especially after the rains,
+when the undergrowth is dense and rank. Very beautiful is the Bhabar,
+and very stimulating to the imagination. One writer speaks of it as
+"a jungle rhapsody, an extravagant, impossible botanical _tour de
+force_, intensely modern in its Titanic, incoherent magnificence."
+It is the home of the elephant, the tiger, the panther, the wild boar,
+several species of deer, and of many strange and beautiful birds.
+
+Whether from the flat plains or the gently-sloping Bhabar, the
+mountains rise with startling suddenness.
+
+The flora and fauna of the Himalayas differ from those of the
+neighbouring plains as greatly as the trees and animals of England
+differ from those of Africa.
+
+Of the common trees of the plains of India--the _nim_, mango, babul,
+tamarind, shesham, palm, and plantain--not one is to be found growing
+on the hills. The lower slopes are covered with _sal_ trees like the
+Bhabar. These cease to grow at elevations of 3000 feet above the
+sea-level, and, higher up, every rise of 1000 feet means a
+considerable change in the flora. Above the _sal_ belt come several
+species of tropical evergreen trees, among the stems and branches
+of which great creepers entangle themselves in fantastic figures.
+At elevations of 4000 feet the long-leaved pine (_Pinus longifolia_)
+appears. From 5000 to 10,000 feet, several species of evergreen oaks
+abound. Above 6000 feet are to be seen the rhododendron, the deodar
+and other hill cypresses, and the beautiful horse-chestnut. On the
+lower slopes the undergrowth is composed largely of begonias and
+berberry. Higher up maidenhair and other ferns abound, and the trunks
+of the oaks and rhododendrons are festooned with hanging moss.
+
+Between elevations of 10,000 and 12,000 feet the silver fir is the
+commonest tree. Above 12,000 feet the firs become stunted and dwarfed,
+on account of the low temperatures that prevail, and juniper and birch
+are the characteristic trees.
+
+There are spots in the Himalayas, at heights varying from 10,000 to
+12,000 feet, where wild raspberries grow, and the yellow colt's-foot,
+the dandelion, the blue gentian, the Michaelmas daisy, the purple
+columbine, the centauria, the anemone, and the edelweiss occur in
+profusion. Orchids grow in large numbers in most parts of the
+Himalayas.
+
+Every hillside is not covered with foliage. Many are rugged and bare.
+Some of these are too precipitous to sustain vegetation, others are
+masses of quartz and granite. On the hillsides most exposed to the
+wind, only grass and small shrubs are able to obtain a foothold.
+
+"On the vast ridges of elevated mountain masses," writes Weber in
+_The Forests of Upper India_, "which constitute the Himalayas are
+found different regions of distinct character. The loftiest peaks
+of the snowy range abutting on the great plateaux of Central Asia
+and Tibet run like a great belt across the globe, falling towards
+the south-west to the plains of India. Between the summit and the
+plains, a distance of 60 to 70 miles, there are higher, middle, and
+lower ranges, so cut up by deep and winding valleys and river-courses,
+that no labyrinth could be found more confusing or difficult to
+unravel. There is nowhere any tableland, as at the Cape or in Colorado,
+with horizontal strata of rock cut down by water into valleys or
+canyons. The strata seem, on the contrary, to have been shoved up
+and crumpled in all directions by some powerful shrinkage of the
+earth's crust, due perhaps to cooling; and the result is such a jumble
+of contorted rock masses, that it looks as if some great castle had
+been blown up by dynamite and its walls hurled in all directions.
+The great central masses, however, consist generally of crystalline
+granite, gneiss, and quartz rock, protruding from the bowels of the
+earth and shoving up the stratified envelope of rocks nearly 6 miles
+above sea-level.... The higher you get up ... the rougher and more
+difficult becomes the climbing; the valleys are deeper and more cut
+into ravines, the rocks more fantastically and rudely torn asunder,
+and the very vitals of the earth exposed; while the heights above
+tower to the skies. The torrents rushing from under the glaciers which
+flow from the snow-clad summits roar and foam, eating their way ever
+into the misty gorges."
+
+Those who have not visited the Himalayas may perhaps best obtain an
+idea of the nature of the country from a brief description of that
+traversed by a path leading from the plain to the snowy range. Let
+us take the path from Kathgodam, the terminus of the Rohilkhand and
+Kumaun railway, to the Pindari glacier.
+
+For the first two miles the journey is along the cart-road to Naini
+Tal, on the right bank of the Gola river.
+
+At Ranibagh the pilgrim to the Pindari glacier leaves the cart-road
+and follows a bridle-path which, having crossed the Gola by a
+suspension bridge, mounts the steep hill on the left bank. Skirting
+this hill on its upward course, the road reaches the far side, which
+slopes down to the Barakheri stream. A fairly steep ascent of 5 miles
+through well-wooded country brings the traveller to Bhim Tal, a lake
+4500 feet above the level of the sea. This lake, of which the area
+is about 150 acres, is one of the largest of a series of lakes formed
+by the flow of mountain streams into cup-like valleys. The path skirts
+the lake and then ascends the Gagar range, which attains a height
+of over 7000 feet. From the pass over this range a very fine view
+is obtainable. To the north the snowy range stretches, and between
+it and the pass lie 60 miles of mountain and valley. To the south
+are to be seen Bhim Tal, Sat Tal, and other lakes, nestling in the
+outer ranges, and, beyond the hills, the vast expanse of the plains.
+
+The Gagar range is well wooded. The majority of the trees are
+rhododendrons: these, when they put forth their blossoms in spring,
+display a mass of crimson colouring. From the Gagar pass the road
+descends for some 3 miles through forest to the valley of the Ramganga.
+For about a mile the path follows the left bank of this small stream;
+it then crosses it by a suspension bridge, and forthwith begins to
+mount gradually the bare rocky Pathargarhi mountain. On the mountain
+side, a few hundred feet above the Ramganga, is a village of three
+score double-storeyed houses. These are very picturesque. Their
+white walls are set off by dark brown woodwork. But alas they are
+as whited sepulchres. It is only from a distance that they are
+picturesque. They are typical abodes of the hill folk.
+
+From the Pathargarhi pass the path makes a steep descent down a
+well-wooded mountain-side to the Deodar stream. After crossing this
+by a stone bridge, the path continues its switch-back course upwards
+on a wooded hillside to the Laldana Binaik pass, whence it descends
+gradually for 6 miles, through first rhododendron then pine forest
+to the Sual river. This river is crossed by a suspension bridge. From
+the Sual the path makes an ascent of 3 miles on a rocky hillside to
+Almora, which is 36 miles from Kathgodam.
+
+Almora used to be a Gurkha stronghold, and is now a charming little
+hill station situated some 5300 feet above the sea-level.
+
+The town and the civil and military station are built on a
+saddle-backed ridge which is about 2 miles in length.
+
+The Almora hill was almost completely denuded of trees by the Gurkhas,
+but the ridge has since become well wooded. Deodar, pine, _tun_,
+horse-chestnut, and alder trees are plentiful, and throughout the
+cantonment grows a spiraea hedge.
+
+The avifauna of Almora is very interesting, consisting as it does
+of a strange mixture of hills and plains birds. Among the latter the
+most prominent are the grey-necked crow, the koel, the myna, the
+king-crow and the magpie-robin. In the spring paradise flycatchers
+are very abundant.
+
+From Almora the road to the snowy range runs over an almost treeless
+rocky mountain called Kalimat, which rises to a height of 6500 feet.
+From Kalimat the road descends to Takula--16 miles from Almora. Then
+there is a further descent of 11 miles to Bageswar--a small town
+situated on the Sarju river. The inhabitants of Bageswar lead a sleepy
+existence for 360 days in the year, awakening for a short time in
+January, when a big fair is held, to which flock men of Dhanpur,
+Thibetans, Bhotias, Nepalese, Garwalis, and Kumaunis. These bring
+wool, borax, and skins, which they exchange for the produce of the
+plains.
+
+From Bageswar the Pindari road is almost level for 22 miles, and runs
+alongside the Sarju. At first the valley is wide and well cultivated.
+Here and there are studded villages, of which the houses are roofed
+with thatching composed of pine needles.
+
+At a place about 16 miles above Bageswar the valley of the Sarju
+suddenly contracts into a gorge with precipitous cliffs.
+
+The scenery here is superb. The path passes through a shady glade
+in the midst of which rushes the roaring, foaming river. The trunks
+and larger branches of the trees are covered with ferns and hanging
+moss. The landscape might well be the original for a phase of a
+transformation scene at a pantomime. In the midst of this glade the
+stream is crossed by a wooden bridge.
+
+At a spot 2 miles above this the path, leaving the Sarju, takes a
+sharp turn to the left, and begins a steep ascent of 5 miles up the
+Dhakuri mountain. The base of this hill is well wooded. Higher up
+the trees are less numerous. On the ridge the rhododendron and oak
+forest alternates with large patches of grassland, on which wild
+raspberries and brightly-coloured alpine flowers grow.
+
+From the summit of the Dhakuri mountain a magnificent panorama
+delights the eye. To the north is a deep valley, above which the
+snow-clad mountains rise almost precipitously. Towering above the
+observer are the peaks of the highest mountains in British territory.
+The peaks and 14,000 feet of the slopes are covered with snow. Below
+the snow is a series of glaciers: these are succeeded by rocks, grass,
+and stunted vegetation until the tree-line is reached.
+
+To the south lies the world displayed. Near at hand are 50 miles of
+rugged mountainous country, and beyond the apparently limitless
+plains. On a clear day it is said to be possible to distinguish the
+minarets of Delhi, 300 miles away. In the early morning, when the
+clouds still hover in the valleys, one seems to gaze upon a white
+billowy sea studded with rocky islets.
+
+From the Dhakuri pass the path descends about 2000 feet, and then
+follows the valley of the Pindari river. The scenery here is
+magnificent. Unlike that of the Sarju, this valley is narrow. It is
+not much cultivated; amaranthus is almost the only crop grown. The
+villages are few and the huts which constitute them are rudely
+constructed. The cliffs are very high, and rise almost
+perpendicularly, like giant walls, so that the numerous feeders of
+the river take the form of cascades, in many of which the water falls
+without interruption for a distance of over 1000 feet.
+
+The Kuphini river joins the Pindar 8 miles from its source. Beyond
+the junction the path to the glacier crosses to the left bank of the
+Pindar, and then the ascent becomes steep. During the ascent the
+character of the flora changes. Trees become fewer and flowers more
+numerous; yellow colt's-foot, dandelions, gentians, Michaelmas
+daisies, columbines, centaurias, anemones, and edelweiss grow in
+profusion. Choughs, monal pheasants, and snow-pigeons are the
+characteristic birds of this region.
+
+Thus the birds of the Himalayas inhabit a country in every respect
+unlike the plains of India. They dwell in a different environment,
+are subjected to a different climate, and feed upon different food.
+It is therefore not surprising that the two avifaunas should exhibit
+great divergence. Nevertheless few people who have not actually been
+in both localities are able to realise the startlingly abrupt
+transformation of the bird-fauna seen by one who passes from the
+plains to the hills.
+
+The 5-mile journey from Rajpur to Mussoorie transports the traveller
+from one bird-realm to another.
+
+The caw of the house-crow is replaced by the deeper note of the corby.
+Instead of the crescendo shriek of the koel, the pleasing double note
+of the European cuckoo meets the ear. For the eternal _coo-coo-coo-coo_
+of the little brown dove, the melodious _kokla-kokla_ of the hill
+green-pigeon is substituted. The harsh cries of the rose-ringed
+paroquets give place to the softer call of the slaty-headed species.
+The monotonous _tonk-tonk-tonk_ of the coppersmith and the
+_kutur-kutur-kutur_ of the green barbet are no more heard; in their
+stead the curious calls of the great Himalayan barbet resound among
+the hills. The dissonant voices of the seven sisters no longer issue
+from the thicket; their place is taken by the weird but less unpleasant
+calls of the Himalayan streaked laughing-thrushes. Even the sounds of
+the night are different. The chuckles and cackles of the spotted owlets
+no longer fill the welkin; the silence of the darkness is broken in the
+mountains by the low monotonous whistle of the pigmy-collared owlet.
+
+The eye equally with the ear testifies to the traveller that when
+he has reached an altitude of 5000 feet he has entered another avian
+realm. The golden-backed woodpecker, the green bee-eater, the "blue
+jay" or roller, the paddy bird, the Indian and the magpie-robin, most
+familiar birds of the plains, are no longer seen. Their places are
+taken by the blue-magpies, the beautiful verditer flycatcher, the
+Himalayan and the black-headed jays, the black bulbul, and tits of
+several species.
+
+All the birds, it is true, are not new. Some of our familiar friends
+of the plains are still with us. There are the kite, the scavenger
+vulture, the common myna, and a number of others, but these are the
+exceptions which prove the rule.
+
+Scientific ornithologists recognise this great difference between
+the two faunas, and include the Himalayas in the Palaearctic region,
+while the plains form part of the Oriental region.
+
+The chief things which affect the distribution of birds appear to
+be food-supply and temperature. Hence it is evident that in the
+Himalayas the avifauna along the snow-line differs greatly from that
+of the low, warm valleys. The range of temperature in all parts of
+the hills varies greatly with the season. At the ordinary hill
+stations the minimum temperature in the summer is sometimes as high
+as 70 degrees, while in the winter it may drop to 23 degrees F. Thus
+in midwinter many of the birds which normally live near the snow-line
+at 12,000 feet descend to 7000 or 6000 feet, and not a few hill birds
+leave the Himalayas for a time and tarry in the plains until the
+severity of the winter has passed away.
+
+
+
+
+_THE COMMON BIRDS OF THE WESTERN HIMALAYAS_
+
+
+THE CORVIDAE OR CROW FAMILY
+
+This family, which is well represented in the Himalayas, includes
+the true crows, with their allies, the choughs, pies, jays, and tits.
+
+The common Indian house-crow (_Corvus splendens_), with which every
+Anglo-Indian is only too familiar, loveth not great altitudes, hence
+does not occur in any of the higher hill stations. Almora is the one
+place in the hills where he appears to be common. There he displays
+all the shameless impudence of his brethren in the plains.
+
+The common crow of the Himalayas is the large all-black species which
+is known as the Indian corby or jungle crow (_C. macrorhynchus_).
+Unlike its grey-necked cousin, this bird is not a public nuisance;
+nevertheless it occasionally renders itself objectionable by
+carrying off a chicken or a tame pigeon. In May or June it constructs,
+high up in a tree, a rough nest, which is usually well concealed by
+the thick foliage. The nest is a shallow cup or platform in the midst
+of which is a depression, lined with grass and hair. Horse-hair is
+used in preference to other kinds of hair; if this be not available
+crows will use human hair, or hair plucked from off the backs of cattle.
+Those who put out skins to dry are warned that nesting crows are apt
+to damage them seriously. Three or four eggs are laid. These are dull
+green, speckled with brown. Crows affect great secrecy regarding
+their nests. If a pair think that their nursery is being looked at
+by a human being, they show their displeasure by swearing as only
+crows can, and by tearing pieces of moss off the branch of some tree
+and dropping these on the offender's head!
+
+Two species of chough, the red-billed (_Graculus eremita_), which
+is identical with the European form, and the yellow-billed chough
+(_Pyrrhocorax alpinus_), are found in the Himalayas; but he who would
+see them must either ascend nearly to the snow-line or remain on in
+the hills during the winter.
+
+Blue-magpies are truly magnificent birds, being in appearance not
+unlike small pheasants. Two species grace the Himalayas: the
+red-billed (_Urocissa occipitalis_) and the yellow-billed
+blue-magpie (_U. flavirostris_). These are distinguishable one from
+the other mainly by the colour of the beak. A blue-magpie is a bird
+over 2 feet in length, of which the fine tail accounts for
+three-fourths. The head, neck, and breast are black, and the remainder
+of the plumage is a beautiful blue with handsome white markings. It
+is quite unnecessary to describe the blue-magpie in detail. It is
+impossible to mistake it. Even a blind man cannot fail to notice it
+because of its loud ringing call. East of Simla the red-billed species
+is by far the commoner, while to the west the yellow-billed form rules
+the roost. The vernacular names for the blue-magpie are _Nilkhant_
+at Mussoorie and _Dig-dall_ at Simla.
+
+The Himalayan tree-pie (_Dendrocitta himalayensis_), although a fine
+bird, looks mean in comparison with his blue cousins. This species
+is like a dull edition of the tree-pie of the plains. It is dressed
+like a quaker. It is easily recognised when on the wing. Its flight
+is very characteristic, consisting of a few rapid flaps of the pinions
+followed by a sail on outstretched wings. The median pair of tail
+feathers is much longer than the others, the pair next to the middle
+one is the second longest, and the outer one shortest of all. Thus
+the tail, when expanded during flight, has a curious appearance.
+
+We now come to the jays. That brilliant study in light and dark blue,
+so common in the plains, which we call the blue-jay, does not occur
+in the Himalayas; nor is it a jay at all: its proper name is the Indian
+roller (_Coracias indica_). It is in no way connected with the jay
+tribe, being not even a passerine bird. We know this because of the
+arrangement of its deep plantar tendons, because its palate is
+desmognathous instead of aegithognathous, because--but I think I
+will not proceed further with these reasons; if I do, this article
+will resemble a letter written by the conscientious undergraduate
+who used to copy into each of his epistles to his mother, a page of
+_A Complete Guide to the Town of Cambridge_. The fond mother doubtless
+found her son's letters very instructive, but they were not exactly
+what she wanted. Let it suffice that the familiar bird with wings
+of two shades of blue is not a jay, nor even one of the Corviniae,
+but a blood relation of the kingfishers and bee-eaters.
+
+Two true jays, however, are common in the Western Himalayas. These
+are known to science as the Himalayan jay (_Garrulus bispecularis_)
+and the black-throated jay (_G. lanceolatus_). The former is a
+fawn-coloured bird, with a black moustachial streak. As birds do not
+usually indulge in moustaches, this streak renders the bird an easy
+one to identify. The tail is black, and the wing has the characteristic
+blue band with narrow black cross-bars. This species goes about in
+large noisy flocks. Once at Naini Tal I came upon a flock which cannot
+have numbered fewer than forty individuals.
+
+The handsome black-throated jay is a bird that must be familiar to
+every one who visits a Himalayan hill station with his eyes open.
+Nevertheless no one seems to have taken the trouble to write about
+it. Those who have compiled lists of birds usually dismiss it in their
+notes with such adjectives as "abundant," and "very common." It is
+remarkable that many popular writers should have discoursed upon the
+feathered folk of the plains, while few have devoted themselves to
+the interesting birds of the hills. There seem to be two reasons for
+this neglect of the latter. Firstly, it is only the favoured few to
+whom it is given to spend more than ten days at a time in the cool
+heights; most of us have to toil in the hot plains. Secondly, the
+thick foliage of the mountain-side makes bird-watching a somewhat
+difficult operation. The observer frequently catches sight of an
+interesting-looking bird, only to see it disappear among the foliage
+before he has had time even to identify it.
+
+The black-throated jay is a handsome bird, more striking in appearance
+even than the jay of England (_G. glandarius_). Its crested head is
+black. Its back is a beautiful French grey, its wings are black and
+white with a bar of the peculiar shade of blue which is characteristic
+of the jay family and so rarely seen in nature or art. Across this
+blue bar run thin black transverse lines. The tail is of the same
+blue with similar black cross-bars, and each feather is tipped with
+white. The throat is black, with short white lines on it. The legs
+are pinkish slaty, and the bill is slate coloured in some individuals,
+and almost white in others. The size of this jay is the same as that
+of our familiar English one. Black-throated jays go about in flocks.
+This is a characteristic of a great many Himalayan birds. Probably
+the majority of the common birds of these mountains lead a sociable
+existence, like that of the "seven sisters" of the plains. A man may
+walk for half-an-hour through a Himalayan wood without seeing a bird
+or hearing any bird-sound save the distant scream of a kite or the
+raucous voice of the black crow; then suddenly he comes upon quite
+a congregation of birds, a flock of a hundred or more noisy
+laughing-thrushes, or numbers of cheeping white-eyes and tits, or
+it may be a flock of rowdy black bulbuls. All the birds of the wood
+seem to be collected in one place. This flocking of the birds in the
+hills must, I think, be accounted for by the fact that birds are by
+nature sociable creatures, and that food is particularly abundant.
+In a dense wood every tree offers either insect or vegetable food,
+so that a large number of birds can live in company without fear of
+starving each other out. In the plains food is less abundant, hence
+most birds that dwell there are able to gratify their fondness for
+each other's society only at roosting time; during the day they are
+obliged to separate, in order to find the wherewithal to feed upon.
+
+Like all sociable birds, the black-throated jay is very noisy. Birds
+have a language of a kind, a language composed entirely of
+interjections, a language in which only the simplest emotions--fear,
+joy, hunger, and maternal care--can be expressed. Now, when a
+considerable flock of birds is wandering through a dense forest, it
+is obvious that the individuals which compose it would be very liable
+to lose touch with one another had they no means of informing one
+another of their whereabouts. The result is that such a means has
+been developed. Every bird, whose habit it is to go about in company,
+has the habit of continually uttering some kind of call or cry. It
+probably does this unconsciously, without being aware that it is
+making any sound.
+
+In Madras a white-headed babbler nestling was once brought to me.
+I took charge of it and fed it, and noticed that when it was not asleep
+it kept up a continuous cheeping all day long, even when it was eating,
+although it had no companion. The habit of continually uttering its
+note was inherited. When the flock is stationary the note is a
+comparatively low one; but when an individual makes up its mind to
+fly any distance, say ten or a dozen yards, it gives vent to a louder
+call, so as to inform its companions that it is moving. This sound
+seems to induce others to follow its lead. This is especially
+noticeable in the case of the white-throated laughing-thrush. I have
+seen one of these birds fly to a branch in a tree, uttering its curious
+call, and then hop on to another branch in the same tree. Scarcely
+has it left the first branch when a second laughing-thrush flies to
+it; then a fourth, a fifth, and so on; so that the birds look as though
+they might be playing "Follow the man from Cook's." The black-throated
+jay is noisy even for a sociable bird. The sound which it seems to
+produce more often than any other is very like the harsh anger-cry
+of the common myna. Many Himalayan birds have rather discordant notes,
+and in this respect these mountains do not compare favourably with
+the Nilgiris, where the blithe notes of the bulbuls are very pleasing
+to the ear.
+
+Jays are by nature bold birds. They are inclined to be timid in England,
+because they are so much persecuted by the game-keeper. In the
+Himalayas they are as bold as the crow. It is not uncommon to see
+two or three jays hopping about outside a kitchen picking up the scraps
+pitched out by the cook. Sometimes two jays make a dash at the same
+morsel. Then a tiff ensues, but it is mostly made up of menacing
+screeches. One bird bears away the coveted morsel, swearing lustily,
+and the unsuccessful claimant lets him go in peace. When a jay comes
+upon a morsel of food too large to be swallowed whole, it flies with
+it to a tree and holds it under one foot and tears it up with its
+beak. This is a characteristically corvine habit. The black-throated
+jay is an exceedingly restless bird; it is always on the move. Like
+its English cousin, it is not a bird of very powerful flight. As
+Gilbert White says: "Magpies and jays flutter with powerless wings,
+and make no despatch." In the Himalayas there is no necessity for
+it to make much despatch; it rarely has to cover any distance on the
+wing. When it does fly a dozen yards or so, its passage is marked
+by much noisy flapping of the pinions.
+
+The nutcrackers can scarcely be numbered among the common birds, but
+are sometimes seen in our hill stations, and, such is the "cussedness"
+of birds that if I omit to notice the nutcrackers several are certain
+to show themselves to many of those who read these lines. A
+chocolate-brown bird, bigger than a crow, and spotted and barred with
+white all over, can be nothing other than one of the Himalayan
+nutcrackers. It may be the Himalayan species (_Nucifraga hemispila_),
+or the larger spotted nutcracker (_N. multipunctata_).
+
+The members of the crow family which I have attempted to describe
+above are all large birds, birds bigger than a crow. It now behoves
+us to consider the smaller members of the corvine clan.
+
+The tits form a sub-family of the crows. Now at first sight the crow
+and the tit seem to have but little in common. However, close
+inspection, whether by the anatomist or the naturalist, reveals the
+mark of the corvidae in the tits. First, there is the habit of holding
+food under the foot while it is being devoured. Then there is the
+aggressiveness of the tits. This is Lloyd-Georgian or even Winstonian
+in its magnitude. "Tits," writes Jerdon, "are excessively bold and
+even ferocious, the larger ones occasionally destroying young and
+sickly birds, both in a wild state and in confinement."
+
+Many species of tit dwell in the Himalayas. To describe them all would
+bewilder the reader; I will, therefore, content myself with brief
+descriptions of four species, each of which is to be seen daily in
+every hill station of the Western Himalayas.
+
+The green-backed tit (_Parus monticola_) is a glorified edition of
+our English great tit. It is a bird considerably smaller than a
+sparrow.
+
+The cheeks are white, the rest of the head is black, as are the breast
+and a characteristic line running along the abdomen. The back is
+greenish yellow, the lower parts are deep yellow. The wings are black
+with two white bars, the tail is black tipped with white. This is
+one of the commonest birds in most hill stations.
+
+Like the sparrow, it is ever ready to rear up its brood in a hole
+in the wall of a house. Any kind of a hole will do, provided the aperture
+is too small to admit of the entrance of birds larger than itself.
+
+The nesting operations of a pair of green-backed tits form the subject
+of a separate essay.
+
+Another tit much in evidence is the yellow-cheeked tit, _Machlolophus
+xanthogenys_. I apologise for its scientific name. Take a
+green-backed tit, paint its cheeks bright yellow, and give it a black
+crest tipped with yellow, and you will have transformed him into a
+yellow-cheeked tit.
+
+There remain to be described two pigmy tits. The first of these is
+that feathered exquisite, the red-headed tit (_AEgithaliscus
+erythrocephalus_). I will not again apologise for the name; it must
+suffice that the average ornithologist is never happy unless he be
+either saddling a small bird with a big name or altering the
+denomination of some unfortunate fowl. This fussy little mite is not
+so long as a man's thumb. It is crestless; the spot where the crest
+ought to be is chestnut red. The remainder of the upper plumage is
+bluish grey, while the lower plumage is the colour of rust. The black
+face is set off by a white eyebrow. Last, but not least, of our common
+tits is the crested black tit (_Lophophanes melanopterus_). The
+crested head and breast of this midget are black. The cheeks and nape
+are white, while the rest of the upper plumage is iron grey.
+
+There is yet another tit of which mention must be made, because he
+is the common tit of Almora. The climate of Almora is so much milder
+than that of other hill stations that its birds are intermediate
+between those of the hills and the plains. The Indian grey tit (_Parus
+atriceps_) is a bird of wide distribution. It is the common tit of
+the Nilgiris, is found in many of the better-wooded parts of the plains,
+and ascends the Himalayas up to 6000 feet. It is a grey bird with
+the head, neck, breast, and abdominal line black. The cheeks are white.
+It is less gregarious than the other tits. Its notes are harsh and
+varied, being usually a _ti-ti-chee_ or _pretty-pretty_.
+
+I have not noticed this species at either Mussoorie or Naini Tal,
+but, as I have stated, it is common at Almora.
+
+As has been mentioned above, tits usually go about in flocks. It is
+no uncommon thing for a flock to contain all of the four species of
+tit just described, a number of white-eyes, some nuthatches, warblers,
+tree-creepers, a woodpecker or two, and possibly some sibias and
+laughing-thrushes.
+
+
+THE CRATEROPODIDAE OR BABBLER FAMILY
+
+The Crateropodidae form a most heterogeneous collection of birds,
+including, as they do, such divers fowls as babblers,
+whistling-thrushes, bulbuls, and white-eyes. Whenever a systematist
+comes across an Asiatic bird of which he can make nothing, he classes
+it among the Crateropodidae. This is convenient for the systematist,
+but embarrassing for the naturalist.
+
+The most characteristic members of the family are those ugly, untidy,
+noisy earth-coloured birds which occur everywhere in the plains, and
+always go about in little companies, whence their popular name "seven
+sisters."
+
+To men of science these birds are known as babblers. Babblers proper
+are essentially birds of the plains. In the hills they are replaced
+by their cousins, the laughing-thrushes. Laughing-thrushes are
+merely glorified babblers. The Himalayan streaked laughing-thrush
+(_Trochalopterum lineatum_) is one of the commonest of the birds of
+our hill stations. It is a reddish brown fowl, about eight inches
+long. Each of its feathers has a black shaft; it is these dark shafts
+that give the bird its streaked appearance. Its chin, throat, and
+breast are chestnut-red, and on each cheek there is a patch of similar
+hue. The general appearance of the streaked laughing-thrush is that
+of one of the seven sisters who is wearing her best frock. Like their
+sisters of the plains, Himalayan streaked laughing-thrushes go about
+in small flocks and are exceedingly noisy. Sometimes a number of them
+assemble, apparently for the sole purpose of holding a speaking
+competition. They are never so happy as when thus engaged.
+
+Streaked laughing-thrushes frequent gardens, and, as they are
+inordinately fond of hearing their own voices, it is certainly not
+their fault if they escape observation. By way of a nest they build
+a rough-and-ready cup-shaped structure in a low bush or on the ground;
+but, as Hume remarked, "the bird, as a rule, conceals the nest so
+well that, though a loose, and for the size of the architect, a large
+structure, it is difficult to find, even when one closely examines
+the bush in which it is."
+
+Three other species of laughing-thrush must be numbered among common
+birds of the Himalayas, although they, like the heroine of _A Bad
+Girl's Diary_, are often heard and not seen. The white-throated
+laughing-thrush (_Garrulax albigularis_) is a handsome bird larger
+than a myna. Its general colour is rich olive brown. It has a black
+eyebrow and shows a fine expanse of white shirt front. It goes about
+in large flocks and continually utters a cry, loud and plaintive and
+not in the least like laughter.
+
+The remaining laughing-thrushes are known as the rufous-chinned
+(_Ianthocincla rufigularis_) and the red-headed (_Trochalopterum
+erythrocephalum_). The former may be distinguished from the
+white-throated species by the fact that the lower part only of its
+throat is white, the chin being red. The red-headed laughing-thrush
+has no white at all in the under parts. The next member of the family
+of the Crateropodidae that demands our attention is the rusty-cheeked
+scimitar-babbler (_Pomatorhinus erythrogenys_).
+
+Scimitar-babblers are so called because of the long, slender,
+compressed beak, which is curved downwards like that of a sunbird.
+
+Several species of scimitar-babbler occur in the Himalayas. The above
+mentioned is the most abundant in the Western Himalayas. This species
+is known as the _Banbakra_ at Mussoorie. Its bill is 1-1/2 inch long.
+The upper plumage is olive brown. The forehead, cheeks, sides of the
+neck, and thighs are chestnut-red, as is a patch under the tail. The
+chin and throat and the median portion of the breast and abdomen are
+white with faint grey stripes. Scimitar-babblers have habits similar
+to those of laughing-thrushes. They go about in pairs, seeking for
+insects among fallen leaves. The call is a loud whistle.
+
+Very different in habits and appearance from any of the babblers
+mentioned above is the famous Himalayan whistling-thrush
+(_Myiophoneous temmincki_). To see this bird it is necessary to repair
+to some mountain stream. It is always in evidence in the neighbourhood
+of the dhobi's ghat at Naini Tal, and is particularly abundant on
+the banks of the Kosi river round about Khairna. At first sight the
+Himalayan whistling-thrush looks very like a cock blackbird. His
+yellow bill adds to the similitude. It is only when he is seen with
+the sun shining upon him that the cobalt blue patches in his plumage
+are noticed. His habit is to perch on the boulders which are washed
+by the foaming waters of a mountain torrent. On these he finds plenty
+of insects and snails, which constitute the chief items on his menu.
+He pursues the elusive insect in much the same way as a wagtail does,
+calling his wings to his assistance when chasing a particularly nimble
+creature. He has the habit of frequently expanding his tail. This
+species utters a loud and pleasant call, also a shrill cry like that
+of the spotted forktail. All torrent-haunting birds are in the habit
+of uttering such a note; indeed it is no easy task to distinguish
+between the alarm notes of the various species that frequent mountain
+streams.
+
+Of very different habits is the black-headed sibia (_Lioptila
+capistrata_). This species is strictly arboreal. As mentioned
+previously, it is often found in company with flocks of tits and other
+gregarious birds. It feeds on insects, which it picks off the leaves
+of trees. Its usual call is a harsh twitter. It is a reddish brown
+bird, rather larger than a bulbul, with a black-crested head. There
+is a white bar on the wing.
+
+The Indian white-eye (_Zosterops palbebrosa_) is not at all like any
+of the babblers hitherto described. In size, appearance, and habits,
+it approximates closely to the tits, with which it often consorts.
+Indeed, Jerdon calls the bird the white-eyed tit. It occurs in all
+well-wooded parts of the country, both in the plains and the hills.
+No bird is easier to identify. The upper parts are greenish yellow,
+and the lower bright yellow, while round the eye runs a broad
+conspicuous ring of white feathers, whence the popular names of the
+species, white-eye and spectacle-bird. Except at the breeding season,
+it goes about in flocks of considerable size. Each individual utters
+unceasingly a low, plaintive, sonorous, cheeping note. As was stated
+above, all arboreal gregarious birds have this habit. It is by means
+of this call note that they keep each other apprised of their
+whereabouts. But for such a signal it would scarcely be possible for
+the flock to hold together. At the breeding season the cock white-eye
+acquires an unusually sweet song. The nest is an exquisite little
+cup, which hangs, like a hammock, suspended from a slender forked
+branch. Two pretty pale blue eggs are laid.
+
+A very diminutive member of the babbler clan is the fire-cap
+(_Cephalopyrus flammiceps_). The upper parts of its plumage are olive
+green; the lower portions are golden yellow. In the cock the chin
+is suffused with red. The cock wears a further ornament in the shape
+of a cap of flaming red, which renders his identification easy.
+
+Until recently all ornithologists agreed that the curious
+starling-like bird known as the spotted-wing (_Psaroglossa
+spiloptera_) was a kind of aberrant starling, but systematists have
+lately relegated it to the Crateropodidae. At Mussoorie the natives
+call it the _Puli_. Its upper parts are dark grey spotted with black.
+The wings are glossy greenish black with white spots. The lower parts
+are reddish. A flock of half-a-dozen or more birds having a
+starling-like appearance, which twitter like stares and keep to the
+topmost branches of trees, may be set down safely as spotted-wings.
+
+We now come to the last of the Crateropodidae--the bulbuls. These
+birds are so different from most of their brethren that they are held
+to constitute a sub-family. I presume that every reader is familiar
+with the common bulbul of the plains. To every one who is not, my
+advice is that he should go into the verandah in the spring and look
+among the leaves of the croton plants. The chances are in favour of
+this search leading to the discovery of a neat cup-shaped nest owned
+by a pair of handsome crested birds, which wear a bright crimson patch
+under the tail, and give forth at frequent intervals tinkling notes
+that are blithe and gay.
+
+Both the species of bulbul common in the plains ascend the lower ranges
+of the Himalayas. These are the Bengal red-vented bulbul (_Molpastes
+bengalensis_) and the Bengal red-whiskered bulbul (_Otocompsa
+emeria_).
+
+The addition of the adjective "Bengal" is important, for every
+province of India has its own special species of bulbul.
+
+The Molpastes bulbul is a bird about half as big again as the sparrow,
+but with a longer tail. The black head is marked by a short crest.
+The cheeks are brown. There is a conspicuous crimson patch under the
+tail. The remainder of the plumage is brown, but each feather on the
+body is margined with creamy white, so that the bird is marked by
+a pattern that is, as "Eha" pointed out, not unlike the scales on
+a fish. Both ends of the tail feathers are creamy white.
+
+Otocompsa is a far more showy bird. The crest is long and pointed
+and curves forward a little over the bill. There is the usual crimson
+patch under the tail and another on each cheek. The rest of the cheek
+is white, as is the lower plumage. A black necklace, interrupted in
+front, marks the junction of the throat and the breast. Neither of
+these bulbuls ascends the hills very high, but I have seen the former
+at the Brewery below Naini Tal.
+
+The common bulbul of the Himalayas is the white-cheeked species
+(_Molpastes leucogenys_). This bird, which is very common at Almora,
+has the habits of its brethren in the plains. Its crest is pointed
+and its cheeks are white like those of an Otocompsa bulbul. But it
+has rather a weedy appearance and lacks the red feathers on the sides
+of the head. The patch of feathers under the tail is bright
+sulphur-yellow instead of crimson.
+
+The only other species of bulbul commonly seen in the hills is a very
+different bird. It is known as the black bulbul (_Hypsipetes
+psaroides_).
+
+The bulbuls that we have been considering are inoffensive little birds
+which lead quiet and respectable lives. Not so the black bulbuls.
+These are aggressive, disreputable-looking creatures which go about
+in disorderly, rowdy gangs.
+
+The song of most bulbuls is a medley of pleasant tinkling notes; the
+cries of the black bulbuls are harsh and unlovely.
+
+Black bulbuls look black only when seen from a distance. When closely
+inspected their plumage is seen to be dark grey. The bill and legs
+are red. The crest, I regret to say, usually looks the worse for wear.
+Black bulbuls seem never to descend to the ground. They keep almost
+exclusively to tops of lofty trees. They are very partial to the nectar
+enclosed within the calyces of rhododendron flowers. A party of half
+a dozen untidy black birds, with moderately long tails, which keep
+to the tops of trees and make much noise, may with certainty be set
+down as black bulbuls.
+
+These curious birds form the subject of a separate essay.
+
+
+THE SITTIDAE OR NUTHATCH FAMILY
+
+The Sittidae are a well-defined family of little birds. When not
+occupied with domestic cares, they congregate in small flocks that
+run up and down the trunks and branches of trees in search of insects.
+The nuthatch most commonly seen in the hills is the white-tailed
+species (_Sitta himalayensis_). The general hue of this bird is slaty
+blue. The forehead and a broad line running down the sides of the
+head and neck are black. There is a good deal of white in the tail,
+which is short in this and in all species of nuthatch. The under-parts
+are of a chestnut hue. The Himalayan nuthatch is very partial to the
+red berries of _Arisaema jacque-montii_--a small plant of the family
+to which the arums and the "lords and ladies" belong. Half a dozen
+nuthatches attacking one of the red spikes of this plant present a
+pretty sight. The berries ripen in July and August, and at Naini Tal
+one rarely comes across a complete spike because the nuthatches pounce
+upon every berry the moment it is ripe.
+
+
+THE DICRURIDAE OR DRONGO FAMILY
+
+The famous black drongo or king-crow (_Dicrurus ater_) is the type
+of this well-marked family of passerine birds. The king-crow is about
+the size of a bulbul, but he has a tail 6 or 7 inches long, which
+is gracefully forked. His whole plumage is glossy jet black. He loves
+to sit on a telegraph wire or other exposed perch, and thence make
+sallies into the air after flying insects. He is one of the commonest
+birds in India. His cheery call--half-squeak, half-whistle--must be
+familiar to every Anglo-Indian. As to his character, I will repeat
+what I have said elsewhere: "The king-crow is the Black Prince of
+the bird world--the embodiment of pluck. The thing in feathers of
+which he is afraid has yet to be evolved. Like the mediaeval knight,
+he goes about seeking those on whom he can perform some small feat
+of arms. In certain parts of India he is known as the kotwal--the
+official who stands forth to the poor as the impersonation of the
+might and majesty of the British raj."
+
+The king-crow is fairly abundant in the hills. On the lower ranges,
+and especially at Almora, it is nearly as common as in the plains.
+On the higher slopes, however, it is largely replaced by the ashy
+drongo (_Dicrurus longicaudatus_). At most hill stations both
+species occur. The note of the ashy drongo differs considerably from
+that of the king-crow: otherwise the habits of the two species are
+very similar. Take thirty-three per cent. off the pugnacity of the
+king-crow and you will arrive at a fair estimate of that of the ashy
+drongo. The latter looks like a king-crow with an unusually long tail,
+a king-crow of which the black plumage has worn grey like an old
+broadcloth coat.
+
+The handsome _Bhimraj_ or larger racket-tailed drongo (_Dissemurus
+paradiseus_), a glorified king-crow with a tail fully 20 inches in
+length, is a Himalayan bird, but he dwells far from the madding crowd,
+and is not likely to be seen at any hill station except as a captive.
+
+
+THE CERTHIIDAE OR WREN FAMILY
+
+The only member of this family common about our hill stations is the
+Himalayan tree-creeper (_Certhia himalayana_). This is a small brown
+bird, striped and barred with black, which spends the day creeping
+over the trunks of trees seeking its insect quarry. It is an
+unobtrusive creature, and, as its plumage assimilates very closely
+to the bark over which it crawls, it would escape observation more
+often than it does, but for its call, which is a shrill one.
+
+
+THE SYLVIIDAE OR WARBLER FAMILY
+
+The sylviidae comprise a large number of birds of small size and,
+with a few exceptions, of plain plumage. The result is that the great
+majority of them resemble one another so closely that it is as
+difficult to identify them when at large as it is to see through a
+brick wall. Small wonder, then, that field naturalists fight rather
+shy of this family. Of the 110 species of warbler which exist in India,
+I propose to deal with only one, and that favoured bird is Hodgson's
+grey-headed flycatcher-warbler (_Cryptolopha xanthoschista_). My
+reasons for raising this particular species from among the vulgar
+herd of warblers are two. The first is that it is the commonest bird
+in our hill stations. The second is that it is distinctively coloured,
+and in consequence easy to identify.
+
+It is impossible for a human being to visit any hill station between
+Murree and Naini Tal in spring without remarking this warbler. I do
+not exaggerate when I say that its voice issues from every second
+tree.
+
+This species may be said to be _the_ warbler of the Western Himalayas,
+and, as such, it has been made the subject of a separate essay.
+
+
+THE LANIIDAE OR SHRIKE FAMILY
+
+The butcher-birds are the best-known members of this fraternity.
+Undoubtedly passerine in structure, shrikes are as indubitably
+raptores by nature. They are nothing less than pocket hawks.
+
+Their habit is to sit on an exposed perch and pounce from thence on
+to some insect on the ground. The larger species attack small birds.
+
+Four species of butcher-bird may perhaps be classed among the common
+birds of the Himalayas; but they are inhabitants of the lower ranges
+only. It is unusual to see a shrike at as high an elevation as 6000
+feet. In consequence they are seldom observed at hill stations.
+
+It is true that the grey-backed shrike does occur as high as 9000
+feet, but this species, being confined mainly to the inner ranges,
+does not occur at most hill stations.
+
+The bay-backed shrike (_Lanius vittatus_) is a bird rather smaller
+than a bulbul. Its head is grey except for a broad black band running
+through the eye. The wings and tail are black and white. The back
+is chestnut red and the rump white.
+
+The rufous-backed shrike (_L. erythronotus_) is very like the last
+species, but it is a larger bird. It has no white in the wings and
+tail, and its rump is red instead of being white.
+
+The grey-backed shrike (_L. tephronotus_) is very like the
+rufous-backed species, but may be distinguished by the fact that the
+grey of the head extends more than half-way down the back.
+
+As its name indicates, the black-headed shrike (_L. nigriceps_) has
+the whole head black; but the cheeks, chin, and throat are white.
+
+Butcher-birds are of striking rather than beautiful appearance. They
+have some very handsome relatives which are known as minivets. Every
+person must have seen a company of small birds with somewhat long
+tails, clothed in bright scarlet and black--birds which flit about
+among the trees like sparks driven before the wind. These are cock
+minivets. The hens, which are often found in company with them, are
+in their way equally beautiful and conspicuous, for they are bright
+yellow in those parts of the plumage where the cocks are scarlet.
+It is impossible to mistake a minivet, but it is quite another matter
+to say to which species any particular minivet belongs. The species
+commonly seen about our hill stations are _Pericrocotus speciosus_,
+the Indian scarlet minivet, and _P. brevirostris_, the short-billed
+minivet. The former is 9 inches long, while the latter is but 7-1/2.
+Again, the red of the former is scarlet and that of the latter crimson
+rather than scarlet. These distinctions are sufficiently apparent
+when two species are seen side by side, but are scarcely sufficient
+to enable the ordinary observer to determine the species of a flock
+seen flitting about amid the foliage. This, however, need not disturb
+us. Most people are quite satisfied to know that these exquisite
+little birds are all called minivets.
+
+
+THE ORIOLIDAE OR ORIOLE FAMILY
+
+The beautiful orioles are birds of the plains rather than of the hills.
+One species, however, the Indian Oriole (_Oriolus kundoo_) is a summer
+visitor to the Himalayas. The cock is a bright yellow bird with a
+pink bill. There is some black on his cheeks and wing feathers. The
+hen is less brilliantly coloured, the yellow of her plumage being
+dull and mixed with green. Orioles are a little larger than bulbuls.
+They rarely, if ever, descend to the ground. I do not remember having
+seen the birds at Murree, Mussoorie, or Naini Tal, but they are common
+at Almora in summer.
+
+
+THE STURNIDAE OR STARLING FAMILY
+
+The Himalayan starling (_Sturnus humii_) is so like his European
+brother in appearance that it is scarcely possible to distinguish
+between the two species unless they are seen side by side. Is it
+necessary to describe the starling? Does an Englishman exist who is
+not well acquainted with the vivacious bird which makes itself at
+home in his garden or on his housetop in England? We have all admired
+its dark plumage, which displays a green or bronze sheen in the
+sunlight, and which is so curiously spotted with buff.
+
+The Himalayan species is, I think, common only in the more westerly
+parts of the hills.
+
+The common myna (_Acridotheres tristis_) is nearly as abundant in
+the hills as it is in the plains. I should not have deemed it necessary
+to describe this bird, had not a lady asked me a few days ago whether
+a pair of mynas, which were fighting as only mynas can fight, were
+seven sisters.
+
+The myna is a bird considerably smaller than a crow. His head, neck,
+and upper breast are black, while the rest of his plumage is quaker
+brown, save for a broad white wing-bar, very conspicuous during flight,
+and some white in the tail. The legs and bill look as though they
+had been dipped in the mustard pot, and there is a bare patch of
+mustard-coloured skin on either side of the head. This sprightly bird
+is sociably inclined. Grasshoppers form its favourite food. These
+it seeks on the grass, over which it struts with as much dignity as
+a stout raja. In the spring the mynas make free with our bungalows,
+seizing on any convenient holes or ledges as sites for their nests.
+The nest is a conglomeration of straw, rags, paper, and any rubbish
+that comes to beak. The eggs are a beautiful blue.
+
+The only other myna commonly seen in Himalayan hill stations is the
+jungle myna (_AEthiopsar fuscus_). This is so like the species just
+described, that nine out of ten people fail to differentiate between
+the two birds. Close inspection shows that this species has a little
+tuft of feathers on the forehead, which the common myna lacks. On
+the other hand, the yellow patch of skin round the eyes is wanting
+in the jungle myna.
+
+
+THE MUSCICAPIDAE OR FLYCATCHER FAMILY
+
+The family of the flycatchers is well represented in the hills, for
+its members love trees. The great majority of them seem never to
+descend to the ground at all. Flycatchers are birds that feed
+exclusively on insects, which they catch on the wing. Their habit
+is to make from some perch little sallies into the air after their
+quarry. But, we must bear in mind that a bird that behaves thus is
+not necessarily a flycatcher. Other birds, as, for example,
+king-crows and bee-eaters, have discovered how excellent a way this
+is of securing a good supply of food. The beautiful verditer
+flycatcher (_Stoparola melanops_) must be familiar to everyone who
+has visited the Himalayas. The plumage of this flycatcher is pale
+blue--blue of that peculiar shade known as verditer blue. There is
+a little black on the head. The plumage of the hen is distinctly duller
+than that of the cock. This species loves to sit on a telegraph wire
+or at the very summit of a tree and pour forth its song, which consists
+of a pleasant, if somewhat harsh, trill or warble of a dozen or more
+notes. The next flycatcher that demands notice is the white-browed
+blue flycatcher (_Cyornis superciliaris_). In this species the hen
+differs considerably from the cock in appearance. The upper plumage
+of the latter is a dull blue, set off by a white eyebrow. The lower
+plumage is white save for a blue collaret, which is interrupted in
+the middle. The upper plumage of the hen is olive brown, washed with
+blue in parts. Beneath she is pale buff. This species, like the last,
+nests in a hole.
+
+There are yet four other species of flycatcher which, although less
+frequently seen than the two just mentioned, deserve place among the
+common birds of the Himalayas. Two of these are homely-looking little
+creatures, while two are as striking as it is possible for a fowl
+of the air to be, and this is saying a great deal.
+
+The brown flycatcher (_Alseonax latirostris_) is a bird that may pass
+for a small sparrow if not carefully looked at. Of course its habits
+are very different to those of the sparrow; moreover, it has a narrow
+ring of white feathers round the eye. The grey-headed flycatcher
+(_Culicicapa ceylonensis_) is a species of which the sexes are alike.
+The head, neck, and breast are grey; the wings and tail are brown;
+the back is dull yellow, and the lower plumage bright yellow.
+Notwithstanding all this yellow, the bird is not conspicuous except
+during flight, because the wings when closed cover up nearly all the
+yellow. This bird frequents all the hill streams. At Naini Tal any
+person may be tolerably certain of coming across it by going down
+the Khairna road to the place where that road meets the stream. The
+nest of this species is a beautiful pocket of moss attached to some
+moss-covered rock or tree.
+
+The rufous-bellied niltava (_Niltava sundara_) or fairy blue-chat,
+as Jerdon calls it, is the kind of bird one would expect to find in
+fairyland. The front and sides of the head, and the chin and throat
+of the cock are deep velvety black. His crown, nape, and lower back,
+and a spot on cheeks and wings, are glistening blue. He also sports
+some light blue in his tail. His lower plumage is chestnut red. The
+upper plumage of the hen is olive brown save for a brilliant blue
+patch on either side of the head. Her tail is chestnut red. This
+beautiful species is about the size of a sparrow.
+
+Even more splendid is the paradise flycatcher (_Terpsiphone
+paradisi_). The hen, and the cock, when he is quite young, look rather
+like specimens of the bulbul family, being rich chestnut-hued birds
+with the head and crest metallic bluish black. The hen is content
+with a gown of this style throughout her life. Not so the cock. No
+sooner does he reach the years of discretion than he assumes a
+magnificent caudal appendage. His two middle tail feathers suddenly
+begin to grow, and go on growing till they become three or four times
+as long as he is, and so flutter behind him in the wind like streamers
+when he flies. Nor does he rest content with this finery. When he
+is about three years old he doffs his chestnut plumage, and in its
+place dons a snowy white one. He is then a truly magnificent object.
+The first time one catches sight of this white bird with his satin
+streamers floating behind him, one wonders whether he is but an object
+seen in a dream.
+
+This flycatcher is a regular visitor in summer to Almora, where it
+nests. Six thousand feet appear to be about the limit of its ascent,
+and in consequence this beautiful creature is not common at any of
+the higher hill stations. I have seen it at the brewery below Naini
+Tal, but not at Naini Tal itself.
+
+
+THE TURDIDAE OR THRUSH FAMILY
+
+This large family is well represented in the hills, and embraces a
+number of beautiful and interesting birds.
+
+The dark grey bush-chat (_Oreicola ferrea_) is as common in the hills
+as is the robin in the plains. It is about the size of a robin. The
+upper plumage of the cock is grey in winter and black in summer. This
+change in colour is the result of wear and tear suffered by the
+feathers. Each bird is given by nature a new suit of clothes every
+autumn, and in most cases the bird, like a Government _chaprassi_,
+has to make it last a whole year. Both eat, drink, sleep, and do
+everything in their coats. There is, however, this difference between
+the bird and the _chaprassi_: the plumage of the former always looks
+clean and smart, while the garment of the _chaprassi_ is usually
+neither the one nor the other. The coat of the dark grey bush-chat
+is made up of black feathers edged with grey. As the margins of the
+feathers alone show, the bird looks grey so long as the grey margins
+exist, and when these wear away it appears black. The cock has a
+conspicuous white eyebrow, and displays some white in his wings and
+tail. He is quite a dandy. The hen is a reddish brown bird with a
+pale grey eyebrow. This species likes to pretend it is a flycatcher.
+The flycatchers proper do not object in the least; in this country
+of multitudinous insects there are more than enough for every kind
+of bird.
+
+Brief mention must be made here of the Indian bush-chat (_Pratincola
+maura_), because this chat is common at Almora, and breeds there.
+I have not seen it at other hill stations. It does not appear to ascend
+the Himalayas higher than 5500 feet. In the cock the upper parts are
+black (brown in winter) with a large white patch on each side of the
+neck. The breast is orange-red. The lower parts are ruddy brown. The
+hen is a plain reddish brown bird.
+
+We now come to what is, in my opinion, one of the most striking birds
+in the Himalayas. I refer to the bird known to men of science as
+_Henicurus maculatus_, or the western spotted forktail. Those
+Europeans who are not men of science call it the hill-wagtail on
+account of its habits, or the _dhobi_ bird because of its
+unaccountable predilection for the spot where the grunting,
+perspiring washerman pursues his destructive calling. The head and
+neck of this showy bird are jet black save for a conspicuous white
+patch running from the centre of the crown to the base of the bill,
+which gives the bird a curious appearance. The shoulders are decorated
+by a cape or tippet of black, copiously spotted with white. The wings
+are black and white. The tail feathers are black, but each has a broad
+white band at the tip, and, as the two median feathers are the shortest,
+and each succeeding pair longer, the tail has, when closed, the
+appearance of being composed of alternate broad black and narrow white
+V-shaped bars. The lower back and rump are white, but these are
+scarcely visible except during flight or when the bird is preening
+its feathers. The legs are pinkish white. This forktail is a trifle
+larger than a wagtail, and its tail is over 6 inches in length. It
+is never found away from streams.
+
+I will not dilate further upon the habits of this bird because a
+separate essay is devoted to it.
+
+Two other water-birds must now be mentioned. These love not the
+_dhobi_, and dwell by preference far from the madding crowd. They
+are very common in the interior of the hills, and everyone who has
+travelled in the inner ranges must be familiar with them, even if
+he do not know what to call them. The white-capped redstart
+(_Chimarrhornis leucocephalus_) is a bird that compels attention.
+His black plumage looks as though it were made of rich velvet. On
+his head he wears a cap as white as snow. His tail, rump, and abdomen
+are bright chestnut red, so that, as he leaps into the air after the
+circling gnat, he looks almost as if he were on fire.
+
+The third common bird of Himalayan streams is the plumbeous redstart
+or water-robin (_Rhyacornis fuliginosus_). This species is very
+robin-like in appearance. The body is dusky indigo blue; the tail
+and abdomen are ferruginous. The habits of this and the bird just
+described are similar. Both species love to disport themselves on
+rocks and boulders lapped by the gentle-flowing stream in the valley,
+or lashed by the torrent on the hillside. Like all redstarts, these
+constantly flirt the tail.
+
+The grey-winged ouzel (_Merula boulboul_) is perhaps the finest
+songster in the Himalayas. Throughout the early summer the cock makes
+the wooded hillsides ring with his blackbird-like melody. The
+grey-winged ouzel is a near relative of the English blackbird. Take
+a cock blackbird and paint his wings dark grey, and cover his bill
+with red colouring matter, and you will have to all appearances a
+grey-winged ouzel. In order to effect the transformation of the brown
+female, it is only necessary to redden her bill.
+
+The nesting operations of this species are described in the essay
+near the end of Part I.
+
+Two other species allied to the grey-winged ouzel demand our attention.
+The first is the blue-headed rock-thrush (_Petrophila cinclorhyncha_).
+This is not like any bird found in England. The head, chin, and throat
+of the cock are cobalt blue; there is also a patch of this colour on
+his wing; the sides of the head and neck are black, as are the back
+and wing feathers. The rump and lower parts are chestnut. The hen, as
+is the case with many of her sex, is an inconspicuous olive-brown
+bird. This species spends most of its time on the ground, and
+frequents, as its name implies, open rocky ground.
+
+The last of the Turdidae which has to be considered is the small-billed
+mountain-thrush (_Oreocincla dauma_). This bird is as like the thrush
+of our English gardens as one pea is like another. Unfortunately it
+does not visit gardens in this country, and is not a very common bird.
+
+
+THE FRINGILLIDAE OR FINCH FAMILY
+
+The vulgar sparrow and the immaculate canary are members of this large
+and flourishing family of birds. The distinguishing feature of the
+finches is a massive beak, admirably adapted to the husking of the
+grain on which the members of the family feed largely. In some species,
+as for example the grosbeaks, the bill is immensely thick. Only one
+species of grosbeak appears to be common in the Himalayas. This is
+_Pycnorhamphus icteroides_, the black-and-yellow grosbeak. The
+colouring of the cock is so like that of the black-headed oriole that
+it is doubtless frequently mistaken for the latter.
+
+This bird forms the subject of a separate essay, where it is fully
+described.
+
+The Himalayan greenfinch (_Hypacanthis spinoides_) is an unobtrusive
+little bird that loves to sit at the summit of a tree and utter a
+forlorn _peee_ fifty times a minute. It is a dull green bird with
+some yellow on the head, neck, and back; the abdomen is of a brighter
+hue of yellow.
+
+The house-sparrow, like the house-crow, is a bird of the plains rather
+than of the hills. The common sparrow of the Himalayas is the handsome
+cinnamon tree-sparrow (_Passer cinamomeus_). The cock is easily
+recognised by his bright cinnamon-coloured head and shoulders.
+Imagine a house-sparrow shorn of sixty per cent. of his impudence,
+and you will have arrived at a fair estimate of the character of the
+tree-sparrow.
+
+The only other members of the Finch family that concern us are the
+buntings. A bunting is a rather superior kind of sparrow--a Lord
+Curzon among sparrows--a sparrow with a refined beak. The familiar
+English yellowhammer is a bunting. Two buntings are common in the
+Western Himalayas. The first of these, the eastern meadow-bunting
+(_Emberiza stracheyi_), looks like a large, well-groomed sparrow.
+A broad slate-coloured band runs from the base of the beak over the
+top of the head to the nape of the neck. In addition to this, there
+are on each side of the head blackish bars, like those on the head
+of the quail. By these signs the bird may be recognised. The other
+species is the white-capped bunting (_Emberiza stewarti_). This is
+a chestnut-coloured bird with a pale grey cap. Buntings associate
+in small flocks and affect open rather than well-wooded country. They
+are not very interesting birds.
+
+
+THE HIRUNDINIDAE OR SWALLOW FAMILY
+
+A small bird that spends hours together on the wing, dashing through
+the air at great speed, frequently changing its course, now flying
+high, now just skimming the ground, must be either a swallow or a
+swift. Many people are totally at a loss to distinguish between a
+swallow and a swift. The two birds differ anatomically. A swift is
+not a passerine bird. It cannot perch. When it wants to take a rest
+it has to repair to its nest. Swallows, on the other hand, are fond
+of settling on telegraph wires. It is quite easy to distinguish
+between the birds when they are on the wing. A flying swift may be
+compared to an anchor with enormous flukes (the wings), or to an arrow
+(the body) attached to a bow (the wings). As the swift dashes through
+the air at a speed of fully 100 miles an hour, it never closes its
+wings to the sides of its body; it merely whips the air rapidly with
+the tips of them. On the other hand, the swallow, when it flies, closes
+its wings to its body at every stroke. Notwithstanding its greater
+effort, it does not move nearly so rapidly as the swift. The swifts
+will be considered in their proper place. Three species of swallow
+are likely to be seen in the Himalayas. A small ashy brown swallow
+with a short tail is the crag-martin (_Ptyonoprogne rupestris_).
+
+The common swallow of England (_Hirundo rustica_) occurs in large
+numbers at all hill stations in the Himalayas. This bird should
+require no description. Its glossy purple-blue plumage, the patches
+of chestnut red on the forehead and throat, and the elegantly-forked
+tail must be familiar to every Englishman. 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. Numbers
+of red-rumped swallows are to be seen daily seeking their insect
+quarry over the lake at Naini Tal.
+
+
+THE MOTACILLIDAE OR WAGTAIL FAMILY
+
+The great majority of the wagtails are merely winter visitors to India.
+Thus they are likely to be seen in the hills only when resting from
+their travels. That is to say, in April and May, when homeward bound,
+or in September and October, when they move southwards. A few wagtails,
+however, tarry in the hills till quite late in the season. The wagtail
+most likely to be seen is the grey wagtail (_Motacilla melanope_).
+This species, notwithstanding its name, has bright yellow lower
+plumage. It nests in Kashmir.
+
+Allied to the wagtails are the pipits. These display the elegant form
+of the wagtail and the sober colouring of the lark.
+
+They affect open country and feed on the ground. The upland pipit
+(_Oreocorys sylvanus_) is the common species of the Himalayas. It
+constructs a nest of grass on the ground, into which the common cuckoo,
+of which more anon, frequently drops an egg.
+
+
+THE NECTARINIDAE OR SUNBIRD FAMILY
+
+The sunbirds are feathered exquisites. They take in the Old World
+the place in the New World occupied by the humming-birds. Sunbirds,
+however, are superior to humming-birds in that they possess the gift
+of song. They are not particularly abundant in the Himalayas, and,
+as they do not seem to occur west of Garhwal, I am perhaps not justified
+in giving them a place in this essay.
+
+I do so because one species is fairly common round about Naini Tal.
+I have seen this bird--the Himalayan yellow-backed sunbird
+(_AEthopyga scheriae_)--flitting about, sucking honey from the
+flowers in the verandah of the hotel at the brewery below Naini Tal.
+
+The head and neck of the cock are glistening green. The back, shoulders,
+chin, throat, breast, and sides of the head are crimson.
+
+The lower parts are greenish yellow. The two median tail feathers
+are longer than the others. The bill is long and curved. The hen is
+a comparatively dull greenish-brown bird.
+
+
+THE DICAEIDAE OR FLOWER-PECKER FAMILY
+
+The fire-breasted flower-pecker (_Dicaeum ignipectus_) is perhaps
+the smallest bird in India. Its total length does not exceed 3 inches.
+The upper parts are greenish black and the lower parts buff. The cock
+has a large patch of crimson on his breast, with a black patch lower
+down. As this species frequents lofty trees, it is usually seen from
+below, and the crimson breast renders the cock unmistakeable.
+
+
+THE PICIDAE OR WOODPECKER FAMILY
+
+Woodpeckers abound in the well-wooded Himalayas.
+
+The woodpecker most commonly seen in the western hill stations is
+the brown-fronted pied species (_Dendrocopus auriceps_). This is a
+black bird, spotted and barred with white: some might call it a white
+bird, heavily spotted and barred with black. The forehead is amber
+brown. That is the distinguishing feature of this species. The cock
+has a red-and-gold crest, which the hen lacks. Both sexes rejoice
+in a crimson patch under the tail--a feature common to all species
+of pied woodpecker. _Dendrocopus auriceps_ nests earlier in the year
+than do most hill-birds, so that by the time the majority of the
+European visitors arrive in the hills, the young woodpeckers have
+left their nest, which is a hole excavated by the parents in a tree,
+a rhododendron by preference.
+
+Two other species of pied woodpecker are common in the hills--the
+rufous-bellied (_Hypopicus hypererythrus_) and the Western
+Himalayan species (_Dendrocopus himalayensis_). The former is
+particularly abundant at Murree. These two species are distinguished
+from the brown-fronted pied woodpecker by having no brown on the
+forehead. The rufous abdomen serves to differentiate the
+rufous-bellied from the Western Himalayan species. The above
+woodpeckers are not much larger than mynas.
+
+There remains yet another common species--the West Himalayan
+scaly-bellied green woodpecker (_Gecinus squamatus_). The English
+name of this bird is very cumbrous. There is no help for this. Numerous
+adjectives and adjectival adjuncts are necessary to each species to
+distinguish it from each of the host of other woodpeckers. This
+particular species is larger than a crow and is recognisable by its
+green colour. It might be possible to condense an accurate description
+of the plumage of this bird into half a column of print. I will, however,
+refrain. There is a limit to the patience of even the Anglo-Indian.
+
+
+THE CAPITONIDAE OR BARBET FAMILY
+
+The only member of this family common in the Himalayas is that fine
+bird known as the great Himalayan barbet (_Megalaema marshallorum_).
+As this forms the subject of a separate essay, detailed description
+is unnecessary in the present one. It will suffice that the bird is
+over a foot in length and has a large yellow beak. Its prevailing
+hue is grass green. It has a bright red patch under the tail. It goes
+about in small flocks and constantly utters a loud plaintive
+dissyllabic note.
+
+
+THE ALCEDINIDAE OR KINGFISHER FAMILY
+
+The Himalayan pied kingfisher (_Ceryle lugubris_) is a bird as large
+as a crow. Its plumage is speckled black and white, like that of a
+Hamburg fowl. It feeds entirely on fish, and frequents the larger
+hill streams. Its habit is to squat on a branch, or if the day be
+cloudy, on a boulder in mid-stream, whence it dives into the water
+after its quarry. Sometimes, kestrel-like, it hovers in the air on
+rapidly-vibrating pinions until it espies a fish in the water below,
+when it closes its wings and drops with a splash in the water, to
+emerge with a silvery object in its bill.
+
+
+THE UPUPIDAE OR HOOPOE FAMILY
+
+The unique hoopoe (_Upupa epops_) next demands our attention. This
+is a bird about the size of a myna. The wings and tail are boldly
+marked with alternate bands of black and white. The remainder of the
+plumage is of a fawn colour. The bill is long and slender, like that
+of a snipe, but slightly curved. The crest is the feature that
+distinguishes the hoopoe from all other birds. This opens and closes
+like a lady's fan. Normally it remains closed, but when the bird is
+startled, and at the moment when the hoopoe alights on the ground,
+the crest opens to form a magnificent corona. Hoopoes seek their food
+on grass-covered land, digging insects out of the earth with their
+long, pick-like bills. They are very partial to a dust-bath. During
+the breeding season--that is to say, in April and May in the
+Himalayas--hoopoes continually utter in low tones _uk-uk-uk_. The
+call is not unlike that of the coppersmith, but less metallic and
+much more subdued. The flight of the hoopoe is undulating or jerky,
+like that of a butterfly. Young hoopoes are reared up in a hole in
+a building, or in a bank. The nest is incredibly malodoriferous.
+
+
+THE CYPSELIDAE OR SWIFT FAMILY
+
+The flight and general appearance of the swifts have already been
+described. The common Indian swift (_Cypselus affinis_) is perhaps
+the bird most frequently seen in the Himalayas. A small dark sooty
+brown bird with a broad white bar across the back, a living monoplane
+that dashes through the air at the rate of 100 miles an hour,
+continually giving vent to what Jerdon has so well described as a
+"shivering scream," can be none other than this species. It nests
+under the eaves of houses or in verandahs. Hundreds of these swifts
+nest in the Landour bazar, and there is scarcely a _dak_ bungalow
+or a deserted building in the whole of Kumaun which does not afford
+nesting sites for at least a dozen pairs of swifts. About sunset these
+birds indulge in riotous exercise, dashing with loud screams in and
+out among the pillars that support the roof of the verandah in which
+their nests are placed. The nest is composed of mud and feathers and
+straw. The saliva of the swift is sticky and makes excellent cement.
+
+The other swift commonly seen in the Himalayas is the Alpine swift
+(_Cypselus melba_). This is distinguishable from the Indian species
+by its white abdomen and dark rump. It is perhaps the swiftest flier
+among birds. Like the species already described, it utters a shrill
+cry when on the wing.
+
+
+THE CUCULIDAE OR CUCKOO FAMILY
+
+It is not possible for anyone of sound hearing to be an hour in a
+hill station in the early summer without being aware of the presence
+of cuckoos. The Himalayas literally teem with them. From March to
+June, or even July, the cheerful double note of the common cuckoo
+(_Cuculus canorus_) emanates from every second tree. This species,
+as all the world knows, looks like a hawk and flies like a hawk.
+
+According to some naturalists, the cuckoo profits by its similarity
+to a bird of prey. The little birds which it imposes upon are supposed
+to fly away in terror when they see it, thus allowing it to work
+unmolested its wicked will in their nests. My experience is that
+little birds have a habit of attacking birds of prey that venture
+near their nest. The presence of eggs or young ones makes the most
+timid creatures as bold as the proverbial lion. I therefore do not
+believe that these cuckoos which resemble birds of prey derive any
+benefit therefrom.
+
+The hen European cuckoo differs very slightly from the cock. In some
+species, as, for example, the famous "brain-fever bird"
+(_Hierococcyx varius_), there is no external difference between the
+sexes, while in others, such as the Indian koel (_Eudynamis honorata_),
+and the violet cuckoo (_Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus_), the sexes are
+very dissimilar. I commend these facts to the notice of those who
+profess to explain sexual dimorphism (the different appearance of
+the sexes) by means of natural or sexual selection. The comfortable
+theory that the hens are less showily coloured than the cocks, because
+they stand in greater need of protective colouring while sitting on
+the nest, cannot be applied to the parasitic cuckoos, for these build
+no nests, neither do they incubate their eggs.
+
+In the Himalayas the common cuckoo victimises chiefly pipits, larks,
+and chats, but its eggs have been found in the nests of many other
+birds, including the magpie-robin, white-cheeked bulbul, spotted
+forktail, rufous-backed shrike, and the jungle babbler.
+
+The eggs of _Cuculus canorus_ display considerable variation in
+colour. Those who are interested in the subject are referred to Mr.
+Stuart Baker's papers on the Oology of the Indian Cuckoos in Volume
+XVII of the _Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society_.
+
+It often happens that the eggs laid by the cuckoo are not unlike those
+of the birds in the nests of which they are deposited. Hence, some
+naturalists assert that the cuckoo, having laid an egg, flies about
+with it in her bill until she comes upon a clutch which matches her
+egg. Perhaps the best reply to this theory is that such refinement
+on the part of the cuckoo is wholly unnecessary. Most birds, when
+seized by the mania of incubation, will sit upon anything which even
+remotely resembles an egg.
+
+Mr. Stuart Baker writes that he has not found that there is any proof
+of the cuckoo trying to match its eggs with those of the intended
+foster-mother, or that it selects a foster-mother whose eggs shall
+match its own. He adds that not one of his correspondents has advanced
+this suggestion, and states that he has little doubt that convenience
+of site and propinquity to the cuckoo about to lay its eggs are the
+main requisitions.
+
+Almost indistinguishable from the common cuckoo in appearance is the
+Himalayan cuckoo (_Cuculus saturatus_). The call of this bird, which
+continues later in the year than that of the common cuckoo, is not
+unlike the _whoot-whoot-whoot_ of the crow-pheasant or coucal.
+Perhaps it is even more like the _uk-uk-uk_ of the hoopoe repeated
+very loudly. It may be syllabised as _cuck-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo_. Not very
+much is known about the habits of this species. It is believed to
+victimise chiefly willow-warblers.
+
+The Indian cuckoo (_Cuculus micropterus_) resembles in appearance
+the two species already described. Blanford speaks of its call as
+a fine melodious whistle. I would not describe the note as a whistle.
+To me it sounds like _wherefore_, _wherefore_, impressively and
+sonorously intoned. The vernacular names _Boukotako_ and
+_Kyphulpakka_ are onomatopoetic, as is Broken Pekoe Bird, by which
+name the species is known to many Europeans.
+
+Last, but not least of the common Himalayan cuckoos, are the famous
+brain-fever birds, whose crescendo _brain-fever_, _BRAIN-FEVER_,
+_BRAIN-FEVER_, which is shrieked at all hours of the day and the night,
+has called forth untold volumes of awful profanity from jaded
+Europeans living in the plains, and has earned the highest encomiums
+of Indians.
+
+There are two species of brain-fever bird that disport themselves
+in the Himalayas. These are known respectively as the large and the
+common hawk-cuckoo (_Hierococcyx sparverioides_ and _H. varius_).
+I do not profess to distinguish with certainty between the notes of
+these two birds, but am under the impression that the larger form
+is the one that makes itself heard at Naini Tal and Mussoorie.
+
+The Indian koel (_Eudynamis honorata_) is not to be numbered among
+the common birds of the Himalayas. Its noisy call _kuil_, _kuil_,
+_kuil_, which may be expressed by the words _you're-ill_,
+_you're-ill_, _who-are-you?_ _who-are-you?_ is heard throughout the
+sub-Himalayan regions in the early summer, and I have heard it as
+high up as Rajpur below Mussoorie, but have not noticed the bird at
+any of the hill stations except Almora. As has already been stated,
+the avifauna of Almora, a little station in the inner hills nearly
+forty miles from the plains, is a very curious one. I have not only
+heard the koel calling there, but have seen a young koel being fed
+by crows. Now, at Almora alone of the hill stations does _Corvus
+splendens_, the Indian house-crow, occur, and this is the usual victim
+of the koel. I would therefore attribute the presence of the koel
+at Almora and its absence from other hill stations to the fact that
+at Almora alone the koel's dupe occurs.
+
+
+THE PSITTACIDAE OR PARROT FAMILY
+
+The parrots are not strongly represented in the Himalayas. Only one
+species is commonly seen at the various hill stations. This is the
+slaty-headed paroquet (_Palaeornis schisticeps_). In appearance it
+closely resembles the common green parrot of the plains (_P.
+torquatus_), differing chiefly in having the head slate coloured
+instead of green. The cock, moreover, has a red patch on the shoulder.
+The habits of the slaty-headed paroquet are those of the common green
+parrot: its cries, however, are less harsh, and it is less
+aggressively bold. The pretty little western blossom-headed paroquet
+(_P. cyanocephalus_) ascends the hills to a height of some 5000 feet.
+It is recognisable by the fact that the head of the cock is red, tinged
+with blue like the bloom on a plum.
+
+
+THE STRIGIDAE OR OWL FAMILY
+
+We now come to those much-abused birds--the owls. The Himalayas, in
+common with most other parts of the world, are well stocked with these
+pirates of the night. The vast majority of owls, being strictly
+nocturnal, escape observation. Usually the presence of any species
+of owl in a locality is made known only by its voice. I may here remark
+that diurnal birds know as little about nocturnal birds as the man
+in the street does, hence the savage manner in which they mob any
+luckless owl that happens to be abroad in the daytime. Birds are
+intensely conservative; they resent strongly what they regard as an
+addition to the local avifauna. This assertion may be proved by
+setting free a cockatoo in the plains of India. Before the bird has
+been at large for ten minutes it will be surrounded by a mob of reviling
+crows.
+
+The collared pigmy owlet (_Glaucidium brodiei_) is perhaps the
+commonest owl in the Himalayas: at any rate, it is the species that
+makes itself heard most often. Those who sit out of doors after dinner
+cannot fail to have remarked a soft low whistle heard at regular
+intervals of about thirty seconds. That is the call of the pigmy
+collared owlet. The owlet itself is a tiny creature, about the size
+of a sparrow. Like several other little owls, it sometimes shows
+itself during the daytime. Once at Mussoorie I noticed a pigmy
+collared owlet sitting as bold as brass on a conspicuous branch about
+midday and making grimaces at me. The other species likely to be heard
+at hill stations are the brown wood-owl (_Syrnium indrani_), the call
+of which has been syllabised _to-whoo_, and the little spotted
+Himalayan scops owl (_Scops spilocephalus_), of which the note is
+double whistle _who-who_.
+
+
+THE VULTURIDAE OR VULTURE FAMILY
+
+From the owls to the diurnal birds of prey it is but a short step.
+Next to the warblers, the raptores are the most difficult birds to
+distinguish one from the other. Nearly all of them are creatures of
+mottled-brown plumage, and, as the plumage changes with the period
+of life, it is impossible to differentiate them by descriptions of
+their colouring.
+
+The vultures are perhaps the ugliest of all birds. Most of them have
+the head devoid of feathers, and they are thus enabled to bury this
+member in their loathsome food without soiling their feathers. In
+the air, owing to the magnificent ease with which they fly, they are
+splendid objects. Their habit is to rise high above the earth and
+hang motionless in the atmosphere on outstretched wings, or sail in
+circles without any perceptible motion of the pinions. Vultures are
+not the only raptorial birds that do this. Kites are almost equally
+skilled. But kites are distinguished by having a fairly long tail,
+that of vultures being short and wedge shaped. The sides of the wings
+of the vultures are straight, and the wings stand out at right angles
+to the body. In all species, except the scavenger vulture, the tips
+of the wings are turned up as the birds float or sail in the air,
+and the ends of the wings are much cut up, looking like fingers.
+
+Perhaps the commonest vulture of the Himalayas is that very familiar
+fowl--the small white scavenger vulture (_Neophron ginginianus_),
+often called Pharaoh's chicken and other opprobrious names that I
+will not mention. This bird eats everything that is filthy and unclean.
+The natural consequence is that it looks untidy and disreputable.
+It is, without exception, the ugliest bird in the world. It is about
+the size of a kite. The plumage is a dirty white, except the edges
+of the wing feathers, which are shabby black. The naked face is of
+a pale mustard colour, as are the bill and legs. The feathers on the
+back of the head project like the back hairs of an untidy schoolboy.
+Its walk is an ungainly waddle. Nevertheless--so great is the magic
+of wings--this bird, as it soars high above the earth, looks a noble
+fowl; it then appears to be snow-white with black margins to the wings.
+
+Another vulture frequently met with is the Indian white-backed
+vulture (_Pseudogyps bengalensis_). The plumage of this species is
+a very dark grey, almost black. The naked head is rather lighter than
+the rest of the body. The lower back is white: this makes the bird
+easy to identify when it is perched. It has some white in the wings,
+and this, during flight, is visible as a very broad band that runs
+from the body nearly to the tip of the wing. Thus the wing from below
+appears to be white with broad black edges. During flight this species
+may be distinguished from the last by the fingered tips of its wings,
+by both edges of the wing being black and the body being dark instead
+of white.
+
+The third common vulture is the Himalayan griffon (_Gyps
+himalayensis_). This is distinguishable from the two species already
+described by having no white in the wings.
+
+The lammergeyer or bearded vulture (_Gypaetus barbatus_) is the king
+of the vultures. Some ornithologists classify it with the eagles.
+It is a connecting link between the two families. It is 4 feet in
+length and is known to the hillmen as the Argul.
+
+During flight it may be recognised by the whitish head and nape, the
+pale brown lower plumage and the dark rounded tail.
+
+Usually it keeps to rocky hills and mountains, over which it beats
+with a steady, sailing, vulturine flight. Numerous stories are told
+of its swooping down and carrying off young children, lambs, goats,
+and other small animals. Those who will may believe these stories.
+I do not. The lammergeyer is quite content to make a meal of offal,
+old bones, or other refuse.
+
+
+THE FALCONIDAE OR FAMILY OF BIRDS OF PREY
+
+First and foremost of the Falconidae are the eagles. Let me preface
+what little I have to say about these birds with the remark that I
+am unable to set forth any characteristics whereby a novice may
+recognise an eagle when he sees one on the wing. The reader should
+disabuse his mind of the idea he may have obtained from the writings
+of the poets of the grandeur of the eagle. Eagles may be, and doubtless
+often are, mistaken for kites. They are simply rather large falcons.
+They are mostly coloured very like the kite.
+
+All true eagles have the leg feathered to the toe. I give this method
+of diagnosis for what it is worth, and that is, I fear, not very much,
+because eagles as a rule do not willingly afford the observer an
+opportunity of inspecting their tarsi.
+
+The eagles most commonly seen in the Himalayas are the imperial eagle
+(_Aquila helica_), the booted eagle (_Hieraetus pennatus_),
+Bonelli's eagle (_Hieraetus fasciatus_), the changeable hawk-eagle
+(_Spizaetus limnaetus_), and Hodgson's hawk-eagle (_Spizaetus
+nepalensis_).
+
+The imperial eagle has perhaps the darkest plumage of all the eagles.
+This species does not live up to its name. It feeds largely on carrion,
+and probably never catches anything larger than a rat. The imperial
+eagle is common about Mussoorie except in the rains. Captain Hutton
+states that he has seen as many as fifty of them together in the month
+of October when they reassemble after the monsoon.
+
+The booted eagle has a very shrill call. Its lower parts are pale
+in hue.
+
+Bonelli's eagle is fairly common both at Naini Tal and Mussoorie.
+It is a fine bird, and has plenty of courage. It often stoops to fowls
+and is destructive to game birds. It is of slighter build than the
+two eagles above described. Its lower parts are white.
+
+The changeable hawk-eagle is also a fine bird. It is very addicted
+to peafowl. The hillmen call it the _Mohrhaita_, which, being
+interpreted, is the peacock-killer. It utters a loud cry, which
+Thompson renders _whee-whick_, _whee-whick_. This call is uttered
+by the bird both when on the wing and at rest. Another cry of this
+species has been syllabised _toot_, _toot_, _toot_, _toot-twee_.
+
+Hodgson's hawk-eagle is also destructive to game. It emits a shrill
+musical whistle which can sometimes be heard when the bird is so high
+as to appear a mere speck against the sky. This species has a narrow
+crest.
+
+Allied to the true eagles are the serpent-eagles. In these the leg
+is not feathered to the toe, so they may be said to form a link between
+the true eagles and the falcons.
+
+One species--the crested serpent-eagle (_Spilornis cheela_)--is
+common in the Himalayas up to 8000 feet.
+
+This eagle is perhaps the most handsome of the birds of prey. The
+crest is large and imposing. The upper parts are dark brown, almost
+black, with a purple or green gloss. The breast and under parts are
+rich deep brown profusely dotted with white ocelli. On the tail and
+wings are white bars. The wing bars are very conspicuous during flight.
+The crested serpent-eagle flies with the wings held very far back,
+so that it looks, as "Exile" says, like a large butterfly. When flying
+it constantly utters its shrill, plaintive call composed of two short
+sharp cries and three prolonged notes, the latter being in a slightly
+higher key.
+
+Of the remaining birds of prey perhaps only two can fairly be numbered
+among the common birds of the Himalayas, and both of these are easy
+to recognise. They are the kite and the kestrel.
+
+The common pariah kite (_Milvus govinda_) is the most familiar
+raptorial bird in India. Hundreds of kites dwell at every hill-station.
+They spend the greater part of the day on the wing, either sailing
+gracefully in circles high overhead or gliding on outstretched
+pinions over mountain and valley, with head pointing downwards,
+looking for the refuse on which they feed. To mistake a kite is
+impossible. Throughout the day it makes the welkin ring with its
+querulous _chee-hee-hee-hee-hee_. Some kites are larger than others,
+consequently ornithologists, who are never so happy as when splitting
+up species, have made a separate species of the larger race. This
+latter is called _Milvus melanotis_, the large Indian kite. It is
+common in the hills.
+
+The kestrel (_Tinnunculus alaudarius_) is perhaps the easiest of all
+the birds of prey to identify. It is a greyish fowl with dull brick-red
+wings and shoulders. Its flight is very distinctive. It flaps the
+wings more rapidly than do most of its kind. While beating over the
+country it checks its flight now and again and hovers on rapidly
+vibrating wings. It does this when it fancies it has seen a mouse,
+lizard, or other living thing moving on the ground below. If its
+surmise proves correct, it drops from above and thus takes its quarry
+completely by surprise. It is on account of this peculiar habit of
+hovering in the air that the kestrel is often called the wind-hover
+in England. Needless to say, the kestrel affects open tracts rather
+than forest country. One of these birds is usually to be seen engaged
+in its craft above the bare slope of the hill on which Mussoorie is
+built. Other places where kestrels are always to be seen are the bare
+hills round Almora. The nest of this species is usually placed on
+an inaccessible crag.
+
+
+THE COLUMBIDAE OR DOVE FAMILY
+
+The cooing community is not much in evidence in the hills. In the
+Himalayas doves do not obtrude themselves upon our notice in the way
+that they do in the plains.
+
+The green-pigeon of the mountains is the kokla (_Sphenocercus
+sphenurus_), so called on account of its melodious call, _kok-la_,
+_kok-la_. In appearance it is very like the green-pigeon of the plains
+and is equally difficult to distinguish from its leafy surroundings.
+The bronze-winged dove (_Chalcophaps indica_) I have never observed
+at any hill-station, but it is abundant in the lower ranges and in
+the Terai. Every sportsman must be familiar with the bird. Its
+magnificent bronzed metallic, green plumage renders its
+identification easy. The commonest dove of the Himalayan
+hill-stations is the Indian turtle-dove (_Turtur ferago_). Its
+plumage is of that grey hue which is so characteristic of doves as
+to be called dove-colour. The turtle-dove has a conspicuous patch
+of black-and-white feathers on each side of the neck. The only other
+dove seen in the hills with which it can be confounded is the little
+brown dove (_T. cambayensis_). The latter is a much smaller bird,
+and I have not observed it anywhere higher than 4500 feet above the
+sea-level.
+
+The spotted dove (_T. suratensis_) occurs in small numbers in most
+parts of the Himalayas up to 7000 feet. It is distinguished by the
+wing coverts being spotted with rufous and black.
+
+The Indian ring-dove (_T. risorius_) also occurs in the Western
+Himalayas. It is of a paler hue than the other doves and has no patch
+of black-and-white feathers on the sides of the neck, but has a black
+collar, with a narrow white border, round the back of the neck.
+
+One other dove should perhaps be mentioned among the common birds
+of the Himalayas, namely, the bar-tailed cuckoo-dove (_Macropygia
+tusalia_). A dove with a long barred tail, of which the feathers are
+graduated, the median ones being the longest, may be set down as this
+species.
+
+
+THE PHASIANIDAE OR FAMILY OF GAME BIRDS
+
+The Himalayas are the home of many species of gallinaceous birds.
+In the highest ranges the snow-cocks, the tragopans, the
+blood-pheasant, and the glorious monaul or Impeyan pheasant abound.
+The foothills are the happy hunting-grounds of the ancestral
+cock-a-doodle-doo.
+
+As this book is written with the object of enabling persons staying
+at the various hill-stations to identify the commoner birds, I do
+not propose to describe the gallinaceous denizens of the higher ranges
+or the foothills. In the ranges of moderate elevation, on which all
+the hill-stations are situated, the kalij, the cheer, and the koklas
+pheasants are common. Of these three the kalij is the only one likely
+to be seen in the ordinary course of a walk. The others are not likely
+to show themselves unless flushed by a dog.
+
+The white-crested kalij-pheasant (_Gennaeus albicristatus_) may
+occasionally be seen in the vicinity of a village.
+
+The bird does not come up to the Englishman's ideal of a pheasant.
+The bushy tail causes it to look rather like a product of the farmyard.
+The cock is over two feet in length, the hen is five inches shorter.
+The plumage of the former is dark brown, tinged with blue, each feather
+having a pale margin. The rump is white with broad black bars. The
+hen is uniformly brown, each feather having a narrow buff margin.
+Both sexes rejoice in a long backwardly-directed crest and a patch
+of bare crimson skin round each eye. The tail is much shorter and
+more bushy than that of the English pheasant. The crest is white in
+the cock and reddish yellow in the hen. Baldwin describes the call
+of this pheasant as "a sharp _twut_, _twut_, _twut_. Sometimes very
+low, with a pause between each note, then suddenly increasing loudly
+and excitedly."
+
+The kalij usually affords rather poor sport.
+
+The koklas pheasant (_Pucrasia macrolopha_) is another short-tailed
+species; but it is more game-like in appearance than the kalij and
+provides better sport.
+
+It may be distinguished from the kalij by its not having the red patch
+of skin round the eye. The cock of this species has a curious crest,
+the middle portion of which is short and of a fawn colour; on each
+side of this is a long lateral tuft coloured black with a green gloss.
+The cry of this bird has been syllabised as _kok-kok-pokrass_.
+
+In the cheer-pheasant (_Catreus wellichi_) both sexes have a long
+crest, like that of the kalij, and a red patch of skin round the eye.
+The tail of this species, however, is long and attenuated like that
+of the English pheasant, measuring nearly two feet. Wilson says, of
+the call of this bird: "Both males and females often crow at daybreak
+and dusk and, in cloudy weather, sometimes during the day. The crow
+is loud and singular, and, when there is nothing to interrupt, the
+sound may be heard for at least a mile. It is something like the words
+_chir-a-pir_, _chir-a-pir_, _chir-a-pir_, _chirwa_, _chirwa_, but
+a good deal varied."
+
+The grey quail (_Coturnix communis_) is a common bird of the Himalayas
+during a few days only in the year. Large numbers of these birds rest
+in the fields of ripening grain in the course of their long migratory
+flight. Almost as regularly as clockwork do they appear in the Western
+Himalayas early in October on their way south, and again in April
+on their northward journey. By walking through the terraced fields
+at those times with a gun, considerable bags of quail can be secured.
+These birds migrate at night. Writing of them, Hume said: "One
+moonlight night about the third week in April, standing at the top
+of Benog, a few miles from Mussoorie, a dense cloud many hundred yards
+in length and fifty yards, I suppose, in breadth of small birds swept
+over me with the sound of a rushing wind. They were not, I believe,
+twenty yards above the level of my head, and their quite unmistakable
+call was uttered by several of those nearest me as they passed."
+
+We must now consider the partridges that patronise the hills. The
+species most commonly met with in the Himalayas is the chakor
+(_Caccabis chucar_). In appearance this is very like the French or
+red-legged partridge, to which it is related. Its prevailing hue is
+pale reddish brown, the particular shade varying greatly with the
+individual. The most striking features of this partridge are a black
+band that runs across the forehead to the eyes and then down the sides
+of the head round the throat, forming a gorget, and a number of black
+bars on each flank. The favourite haunts of the chakor are bare grassy
+hillsides on which a few terraced fields exist. Chakor are noisy birds.
+The note most commonly heard is the double call from which their name
+is taken.
+
+The black partridge or common francolin (_Francolinus vulgaris_) is
+abundant on the lower ranges of the Himalayas. At Mussoorie its
+curious call is often heard. This is so high-pitched as to be inaudible
+to some people. To those who can hear it, the call sounds like
+_juk-juk-tee-tee-tur_. This species has the habit of feigning a
+broken wing when an enemy approaches its young ones. The cock is a
+very handsome bird. The prevailing hue of his plumage is black with
+white spots on the flanks and narrow white bars on the back. The
+feathers of the crown and wings are buff and dark brown. A chestnut
+collar runs round the neck, while each side of the head is adorned
+by a white patch. The whole plumage of the hen is coloured like the
+wings of the cock.
+
+The common hill-partridge (_Arboricola torqueola_) is a great
+skulker. He haunts dark densely jungled water-courses and ravines,
+and so is not likely to be seen about a hill-station; we will therefore
+pass him over without description.
+
+
+THE CHARADRIIDAE OR PLOVER FAMILY
+
+In conclusion mention must be made of the woodcock (_Scolopax
+rusticola_). This species, although it breeds throughout the
+Himalayas, usually remains during the summer at altitudes above those
+at which hill-stations are situate. The lowest height at which its
+nest has been found is, I believe, 9500 feet.
+
+
+
+
+_THE COMMON BIRDS OF THE EASTERN HIMALAYAS_
+
+
+The majority of the birds which are common in the Eastern Himalayas
+are also abundant in the western part of the range, and have in
+consequence been described already. In order to avoid repetition this
+chapter has been put into the form of a list. The list that follows
+includes all the birds likely to be seen daily by those who in summer
+visit Darjeeling and other hill-stations east of Nepal.
+
+Of the birds which find place in the list only those are described
+which have not been mentioned in the essay on the common birds of
+the Western Himalayas.
+
+Short accounts of all the birds that follow which are not described
+in this chapter are to be found in the previous one.
+
+
+THE CORVIDAE OR CROW FAMILY
+
+1. _Corvus macrorhynchus_. The jungle-crow or Indian corby.
+
+2. _Dendrocitta himalayensis_. The Himalayan tree-pie. Abundant.
+
+3. _Graculus eremita_. The red-billed chough. In summer this species
+is not usually found much below elevations of 11,000 feet above the
+sea-level.
+
+4. _Pyrrhocorax alpinus_. The yellow-billed chough. In summer this
+species is not usually seen at elevations below 11,000 feet.
+
+5. _Garrulus bispecularis_. The Himalayan jay. Not so abundant as
+in the Western Himalayas.
+
+6. _Parus monticola_. The green-backed tit. A common bird. Very
+abundant round about Darjeeling.
+
+7. _Machlolophus spilonotus_. The black-spotted yellow tit. This is
+very like _M. xanthogenys_ (the yellow-cheeked tit), which it
+replaces in the Eastern Himalayas. It is distinguished by having the
+forehead bright yellow instead of black as in the yellow-cheeked
+species. It is not very common.
+
+8. _AEgithaliscus erythrocephalus_. The red-headed tit. Very common
+at Darjeeling.
+
+9. _Parus atriceps_. The Indian grey tit.
+
+
+THE CRATEROPODIDAE OR BABBLER FAMILY
+
+Since most species of babblers are notoriously birds of limited
+distribution, it is not surprising that the kinds common in the
+Eastern Himalayas should not be the same as those that are abundant
+west of Nepal.
+
+10. _Garrulax leucolophus_. The Himalayan white-crested
+laughing-thrush. This is the Eastern counterpart of the
+white-throated laughing-thrush (_Garrulax albigularis_). This
+species has a large white crest. It goes about in flocks of about
+a score. The members of the flock scream and chatter and make
+discordant sounds which some might deem to resemble laughter.
+
+11. _Ianthocincla ocellata_. The white-spotted laughing-thrush.
+This is the Eastern counterpart of _Ianthocincla rufigularis_. It
+has no white in the throat, and the upper plumage is spotted with
+white. It is found only at high elevations in summer.
+
+12. _Trochalopterum chrysopterum_. The eastern yellow-winged
+laughing-thrush. This is perhaps the most common bird about
+Darjeeling. Parties hop about the roads picking up unconsidered
+trifles.
+
+The forehead is grey, as is much of the remaining plumage. The back
+of the head is bright chestnut. The throat is chestnut-brown. The
+wings are chestnut and bright yellow.
+
+13. _Trochalopterum squamatum_. The blue-winged laughing-thrush.
+This is another common bird. Like all its clan it goes about in flocks.
+Its wings are chestnut and blue.
+
+14. _Grammatophila striata_. The striated laughing-thrush. A common
+bird, but as it keeps to dense foliage it is heard more often than
+seen. Of its curious cries Jerdon likens one to the clucking of a
+hen which has just laid an egg. The tail is chestnut. The rest of
+the plumage is umber brown, but every feather has a white streak along
+the middle. These white streaks give the bird the striated appearance
+from which it obtains its name.
+
+15. _Pomatorhinus erythrogenys_. The rusty-cheeked
+scimitar-babbler.
+
+16. _Pomatorhinus schisticeps_. The slaty-headed scimitar-babbler.
+This is easily distinguished from the foregoing species by its
+conspicuous white eyebrow.
+
+17. _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. It utters a low
+twittering call.
+
+18. _Stachyrhis nigriceps_. The black-throated babbler or
+wren-babbler. This is another small bird. Its general hue is olive
+brown. The throat is black, as is the head, but the latter has white
+streaks.
+
+It is common about Darjeeling and goes about in flocks that keep to
+trees.
+
+19. _Stachyrhidopsis ruficeps_. The red-headed babbler or
+wren-babbler. Another small bird with habits similar to the last.
+
+An olive-brown bird with a chestnut-red cap. The lower parts are
+reddish yellow.
+
+20. _Myiophoneus temmincki_. The Himalayan whistling-thrush. Common
+at Darjeeling.
+
+21. _Lioptila capistrata_. The black-headed sibia, one of the most
+abundant birds about Darjeeling.
+
+22. _Actinodura egertoni_. The rufous bar-wing. A bird about the size
+of a bulbul. It associates in small flocks which never leave the trees.
+Common about Darjeeling. A reddish brown bird, with a crest. There
+is a black bar in the wing.
+
+23. _Zosterops palpebrosa_. The Indian white-eye.
+
+24. _Siva cyanuroptera_. The blue-winged siva or hill-tit. A pretty
+little bird, about the size of a sparrow. The head is blue, deeper
+on the sides than on the crown, streaked with brown. The visible
+portions of the closed wing and tail are cobalt-blue.
+
+This species goes about in flocks and has all the habits of a tit.
+It utters a cheerful chirrup.
+
+25. _Liothrix lutea_. The red-billed liothrix or hill-tit, or the
+Pekin-robin. This interesting bird forms the subject of a separate
+essay.
+
+26. _Ixulus flavicollis_. The yellow-naped ixulus. A small tit-like
+bird with a crest. Like tits these birds associate in small flocks,
+which move about amid the foliage uttering a continual twittering.
+
+Brown above, pale yellow below. Chin and throat white. Back of neck
+rusty yellow. This colour is continued in a demi-collar round the
+sides of the neck. Common about Darjeeling.
+
+27. _Yuhina gularis_. The striped-throated yuhina. Another tiny bird
+with all the habits of the tits. A flock of dull-brown birds, about
+the size of sparrows, having the chin and throat streaked with black,
+are likely to be striped-throated yuhinas.
+
+28. _Minla igneitincta_. The red-tailed minla or hill-tit. This
+tit-like babbler is often seen in company with the true tits, which
+it resembles in habits and size. The head is black with a white eyebrow.
+The wings and tail are black and crimson. The rest of the upper plumage
+is yellowish olive. The throat is white, and the remainder of the
+lower plumage is bright yellow.
+
+
+NOTE ON THE TITS AND SMALL BABBLERS
+
+Tits are small birds, smaller than sparrows, which usually go about
+in flocks. They spend most of their lives in trees. In seeking for
+insects, on which they feed largely, they often hang upside down from
+a branch. All tits have these habits; but all birds of these habits
+are not tits. Thus the following of the babblers described above have
+all the habits of tits: the white-eye, the black-throated babbler,
+the red-headed babbler, the blue-winged siva, the yellow-naped
+ixulus, the striped-throated yuhina, and the red-tailed minla.
+
+The above are all birds of distinctive colouring and may be easily
+distinguished.
+
+Other small birds which are neither tits nor babblers go about in
+flocks, as, for example, nuthatches, but these other birds differ
+in shape and habits from babblers and tits, so that no one is likely
+to confound them with the smaller Corvidae or Crateropodidae.
+
+
+29. _Molpastes leucogenys_. The white-cheeked bulbul. Common below
+elevations of 5000 feet.
+
+30. _Hypsipetes psaroides_. The Himalayan black bulbul. Not very
+common.
+
+31. _Alcurus striatus_. The striated green bulbul. Upper plumage
+olive-green with yellow streaks. Cheeks dark brown, streaked with
+pale yellow. Chin and throat yellow, with dark spots on throat. Patch
+under tail bright yellow.
+
+Striated green bulbuls go about in flocks which keep to the tops of
+trees. They utter a mellow warbling note. They are abundant about
+Darjeeling.
+
+
+THE SITTIDAE OR NUTHATCH FAMILY
+
+32. _Sitta himalayensis_. Very abundant in the neighbourhood of
+Darjeeling.
+
+
+THE DICRURIDAE OR DRONGO FAMILY
+
+33. _Dicrurus longicaudatus_. The Indian Ashy Drongo.
+
+
+THE CERTHIIDAE OR WREN FAMILY
+
+34. _Certhia discolor_. The Sikhim tree-creeper. This species
+displaces the Himalayan tree-creeper in the Eastern Himalayas. The
+two species are similar in appearance.
+
+35. _Pneopyga squamata_. The scaly-breasted wren. In shape and size
+this is very like the wren of England, but its upper plumage is not
+barred with black, as in the English species.
+
+It is fairly common about Darjeeling, but is of retiring habits.
+
+
+THE SYLVIIDAE OR WARBLER FAMILY
+
+36. _Abrornis superciliaris_. The yellow-bellied
+flycatcher-warbler.
+
+A tiny bird about the size of a wren. The head is grey and the remainder
+of the upper plumage brownish yellow. The eyebrow is white, as are
+the chin, throat, and upper breast: the remainder of the lower plumage
+is bright yellow.
+
+37. _Suya atrigularis_. The black-throated hill-warbler. The upper
+plumage is olive brown, darkest on the head. The chin, throat, breast,
+and upper abdomen are black.
+
+
+THE LANIIDAE OR SHRIKE FAMILY
+
+38. _Lanius tephronotus_. The grey-backed shrike.
+
+39. _Pericrocotus brevirostris_. The short-billed minivet. Very
+common about Darjeeling.
+
+40. _Campophaga melanoschista_. The dark-grey cuckoo-shrike.
+
+Plumage is dark grey, wings black, tail black tipped with white.
+Rather larger than a bulbul. Cuckoo-shrikes keep to trees, and rarely,
+if ever, descend to the ground.
+
+
+THE MUSCICAPIDAE OR FLYCATCHER FAMILY
+
+Of the common flycatchers of the Western Himalayas, the following
+occur in the Eastern Himalayas:
+
+41. _Stoparola melanops_. The verditer flycatcher. Very common at
+Darjeeling.
+
+42. _Cyornis superciliaris_. The white-browed blue-flycatcher.
+
+43. _Alseonax latirostris_. The brown flycatcher. Not very common.
+
+44. _Niltava sundara_. The rufous-bellied niltava. Very abundant at
+Darjeeling. In addition to the rufous-bellied niltava, two other
+niltavas occur in the Eastern Himalayas.
+
+45. _Niltava grandis_. The large niltava. This may be readily
+distinguished on account of its comparatively large size. It is as
+large as a bulbul. It is very common about Darjeeling.
+
+46. _Niltava macgrigoriae_. The small niltava. This is considerably
+smaller than a sparrow and does not occur above 5000 feet.
+
+47. _Terpsiphone affinis_. The Burmese paradise flycatcher. This
+replaces the Indian species in the Eastern Himalayas, but it is not
+found so high up as Darjeeling, being confined to the lower ranges.
+
+The other flycatchers commonly seen in the Eastern Himalayas are:
+
+48. _Rhipidura allicollis_. The white-throated fantail flycatcher.
+This beautiful bird is abundant in the vicinity of Darjeeling. It
+is a black bird, with a white eyebrow, a whitish throat, and white
+tips to the outer tail feathers. It is easily recognised by its
+cheerful song and the way in which it pirouettes among the foliage
+and spreads its tail into a fan.
+
+49. _Hemichelidon sibirica_. The sooty flycatcher. This is a tiny
+bird of dull brown hue which, as Jerdon says, has very much the aspect
+of a swallow.
+
+50. _Hemichelidon ferruginea_. The ferruginous flycatcher. A
+rusty-brown bird (the rusty hue being most pronounced in the rump
+and tail) with a white throat.
+
+51. _Cyornis rubeculoides_. The blue-throated flycatcher. The cock
+is a blue bird with a red breast. There is some black on the cheeks
+and in the wings.
+
+The hen is a brown bird tinged with red on the breast. This species,
+which is smaller than a sparrow, keeps mainly to the lower branches
+of trees.
+
+52. _Anthipes moniliger_. Hodgson's white-gorgeted flycatcher. A
+small reddish-brown bird with a white chin and throat surrounded by
+a black band, that sits on a low branch and makes occasional sallies
+into the air after insects, can be none other than this flycatcher.
+
+53. _Siphia strophiata_. The orange-gorgeted flycatcher. A small
+brown bird with an oval patch of bright chestnut on the throat, and
+some white at the base of the tail. (This white is very conspicuous
+when the bird is flying.) This flycatcher, which is very common about
+Darjeeling, often alights on the ground.
+
+54. _Cyornis melanoleucus_. The little pied flycatcher. A very small
+bird. The upper plumage of the cock is black with a white eyebrow
+and some white in the wings and tail. The lower parts are white. The
+hen is an olive-brown bird with a distinct red tinge on the lower
+back. This flycatcher is not very common.
+
+
+THE TURDIDAE OR THRUSH FAMILY
+
+55. _Oreicola ferrea_. The dark-grey bush-chat. Not so abundant in
+the Eastern as in the Western Himalayas.
+
+56. _Henicurus maculatus_. The Western spotted forktail.
+
+57. _Microcichla scouleri_. The little forktail. This is
+distinguishable from the foregoing by its very short tail. It does
+not occur commonly at elevations over 5000 feet.
+
+58. _Rhyacornis fuliginosus_. The plumbeous redstart or water-robin.
+Not common above 5000 feet in the Eastern Himalayas.
+
+59. _Merula boulboul_. The grey-winged ouzel.
+
+60. _Petrophila cinclorhyncha_. The blue-headed rock-thrush.
+
+61. _Oreocincla molissima_. The plain-backed mountain-thrush. This
+is the thrush most likely to be seen in the Eastern Himalayas. It
+is like the European thrush, except that the back is olive brown
+without any dark markings.
+
+
+THE FRINGILLIDAE OR FINCH FAMILY
+
+62. _Haematospiza sipahi_. The scarlet finch. The cock is a scarlet
+bird, nearly as large as a bulbul, with black on the thighs and in
+the wings and tail.
+
+The hen is dusky brown with a bright yellow rump. This species has
+a massive beak.
+
+63. _Passer montanus_. The tree-sparrow. 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.
+
+
+THE HIRUNDINIDAE OR SWALLOW FAMILY
+
+64. _Hirundo rustica_. The common swallow.
+
+65. _Hirundo nepalensis_. Hodgson's striated swallow.
+
+
+THE MOTACILLIDAE OR WAGTAIL FAMILY
+
+66. _Oreocorys sylvanus_. The upland pipit. This is not very common
+east of Nepal.
+
+
+THE NECTARINIDAE OR SUNBIRD FAMILY
+
+67. _AEthopyga nepalensis_. The Nepal yellow-backed sunbird. This
+replaces _AEthopyga scheriae_ 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.
+
+
+THE DICAEIDAE OR FLOWER-PECKER FAMILY
+
+68. _Dicaeum ignipectus_. The fire-breasted flower-pecker.
+
+
+THE PICIDAE OR WOODPECKER FAMILY
+
+69. Of the woodpeckers mentioned as common in the Western Himalayas,
+the only one likely to be seen at Darjeeling is _Hypopicus
+hypererythrus_--the rufous-bellied pied woodpecker, and this is by
+no means common. The woodpeckers most often seen in the Eastern
+Himalayas are:
+
+70. _Dendrocopus cathpharius_. The lesser pied woodpecker. A
+speckled black-and-white woodpecker about the size of a bulbul. The
+top of the head and the sides of the neck are red in both sexes; the
+nape also is red in the cock.
+
+71. _Gecinus occipitalis_. The black-naped green woodpecker. This
+bird, as its name implies, is green with a black nape. The head is
+red in the cock and black in the hen. This species is about the size
+of a crow.
+
+72. _Gecinus chlorolophus_. The small Himalayan yellow-naped
+woodpecker. This species is distinguishable from the last by its small
+size, a crimson band on each side of the head, and the nape being
+golden yellow.
+
+73. _Pyrrhopicus pyrrhotis_. The red-eared bay woodpecker. The head
+is brown. The rest of the upper plumage is cinnamon or chestnut-red
+with blackish cross-bars. There is a crimson patch behind each ear,
+which forms a semi-collar in the male. This species seeks its food
+largely on the ground.
+
+In addition to the above, two tiny little woodpeckers much smaller
+than sparrows are common in the Eastern Himalayas. They feed on the
+ground largely. They are:
+
+74. _Picumnus innominatus_. The speckled piculet.
+
+75. _Sasia ochracea_. The rufous piculet. The former has an
+olive-green forehead. In the latter the cock has a golden-yellow
+forehead and the hen a reddish-brown forehead.
+
+
+THE CAPITONIDAE OR BARBET FAMILY
+
+76. _Megalaema marshallorum_. The great Himalayan barbet.
+
+77. _Cyanops franklini_. The golden-throated barbet. About the size
+of a bulbul. General hue grass green tinged with blue. The chin and
+throat are golden yellow. The forehead and a patch on the crown are
+crimson. The rest of the crown is golden yellow. The call has been
+syllabised as _kattak-kattak-kattak_.
+
+
+THE ALCEDINIDAE OR KINGFISHER FAMILY
+
+78. _Ceryle lugubris_. The Himalayan pied kingfisher.
+
+
+THE BUCEROTIDAE OR HORNBILL FAMILY
+
+Hornbills are to be numbered among the curiosities of nature. They
+are characterised by the disproportionately large beak. In some
+species this is nearly a foot in length. The beak has on the upper
+mandible an excrescence which in some species is nearly as large as
+the bill itself. The nesting habits are not less curious than the
+structure of hornbills. The eggs are laid in a cavity of a tree. The
+hen alone sits. When she has entered the hole she and the cock plaster
+up the orifice until it is only just large enough to allow the
+insertion of the hornbill's beak. The cock feeds the sitting hen
+during the whole period of her voluntary incarceration.
+
+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.
+
+79. _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
+8-1/2 inches. The hen is wholly black, save for a little white in
+the wings and tail. In the cock the head, neck, and lower parts are
+bright reddish brown. The rest of his plumage is black and white.
+In both sexes the bill is yellow with chestnut grooves. The naked
+skin round the eye is blue, and that of the throat is scarlet. The
+call of this species is a deep hoarse croak.
+
+
+THE CYPSELIDAE OR SWIFT FAMILY
+
+80. _Cypselus affinis_. The common Indian swift.
+
+81. _Chaetura nudipes_. The white-necked spine-tail. A black bird
+glossed with green, having the chin, throat, and front and sides of
+the neck white.
+
+
+THE CUCULIDAE OR CUCKOO FAMILY
+
+82. _Cuculus canorus_. The common or European cuckoo.
+
+83. _Cuculus saturatus_. The Himalayan cuckoo.
+
+84. _Cuculus poliocephalus_. The small cuckoo. This is very like the
+common cuckoo in appearance, but it is considerably smaller. Its loud
+unmusical call has been syllabised _pichu-giapo_.
+
+85. _Cuculus micropterus_. The Indian cuckoo.
+
+86. _Hierococcyx varius_. The common hawk-cuckoo.
+
+87. _Hierococcyx sparverioides_. The large hawk-cuckoo.
+
+
+THE PSITTACIDAE OR PARROT FAMILY
+
+88. _Palaeornis schisticeps_. The slaty-headed paroquet. This bird
+is not nearly so common in the Eastern as in the Western Himalayas.
+
+
+THE STRIGIDAE OR OWL FAMILY
+
+89. _Glaucidium brodei_. The collared pigmy owlet.
+
+90. _Syrnium indrani_. The brown wood-owl.
+
+91. _Scops spilocephalus_. The spotted Himalayan scops owl.
+
+
+THE VULTURIDAE OR VULTURE FAMILY
+
+92. _Gyps himalayensis_. The Himalayan griffon.
+
+93. _Pseudogyps bengalensis_. The white-backed vulture.
+
+
+THE FALCONIDAE OR FAMILY OF BIRDS OF PREY
+
+94. _Aquila helica_. The imperial eagle.
+
+95. _Hieraetus fasciatus_. Bonelli's eagle.
+
+96. _Ictinaetus malayensis_. The black eagle. This is easily
+recognised by its dark, almost black, plumage.
+
+97. _Spilornis cheela_. The crested serpent eagle.
+
+98. _Milvus govinda_. The common pariah kite.
+
+99. _Tinnunculus alaudaris_. The kestrel.
+
+
+THE COLUMBIDAE OR DOVE FAMILY
+
+100. _Sphenocercus sphenurus_. The kokla green-pigeon.
+
+101. _Turtur suratensis_. The spotted dove.
+
+102. _Macropygia tusalia_. The bar-tailed cuckoo-dove.
+
+
+THE PHASIANIDAE OR PHEASANT FAMILY
+
+103. _Gennaeus leucomelanus_. The Nepal kalij pheasant. This is the
+only pheasant at all common about Darjeeling. It is distinguished
+from the white-crested kalij pheasant by the cock having a glossy
+blue-black crest. The hens of the two species resemble one another
+closely in appearance.
+
+104. _Coturnix communis_. The grey quail.
+
+105. _Arboricola torqueola_. The common hill partridge.
+
+106. _Francolinus vulgaris_. The black partridge. Fairly common at
+elevations below 4000 feet.
+
+
+THE CHARADRIIDAE OR PLOVER FAMILY
+
+107. _Scolopax rusticola_. The woodcock.
+
+In the summer this bird is not likely to be seen below altitudes of
+8000 feet above the sea-level.
+
+
+
+
+_TITS AT WORK_
+
+
+The average Himalayan house is such a ramshackle affair that it is
+a miracle how it holds together. The roof does not fit properly on
+to the walls, and in these latter there are cracks and chinks galore.
+Perhaps it is due to these defects that hill houses do not fall down
+more often than they do.
+
+Thanks to their numerous cracks they do not offer half the resistance
+to a gale of wind that a well-built house would.
+
+Be this as it may, the style of architecture that finds favour in
+the hills is quite a godsend to the birds, or rather to such of the
+feathered folk as nestle in holes. A house in the Himalayas is, from
+an avian point of view, a maze of nesting sites, a hotel in which
+unfurnished rooms are always available.
+
+The sparrow usually monopolises these nesting sites. He is a regular
+dog-in-the-manger, for he keeps other birds out of the holes he
+himself cannot utilise. However, the sparrow is not quite ubiquitous.
+In most large hill stations there are more houses than he is able
+to monopolise.
+
+I recently spent a couple of days in one of such, in a house situated
+some distance from the bazaar, a house surrounded by trees.
+
+Two green-backed tits (_Parus monticola_) were busy preparing a
+nursery for their prospective offspring in one of the many holes
+presented by the building in question. This had once been a
+respectable bungalow, surrounded by a broad verandah. But the day
+came when it fell into the hands of a boarding-house keeper, and it
+shared the fate of all buildings to which this happens. The verandahs
+were enclosed and divided up by partitions, to form, in the words
+of the advertisement, "fine, large, airy rooms." There can be no doubt
+as to their airiness, but captious persons might dispute their title
+to the other epithets. A _kachcha_ verandah had been thrown out with
+a galvanised iron roof and wooden supporting pillars. The
+subsequently-added roof did not fit properly on to that of the
+original verandah, and there was a considerable chink between the
+beam that supported it and the wall that enclosed the old verandah,
+so that the house afforded endless nesting sites. An inch-wide crack
+is quite large enough to admit of the passage of a tit; when this
+was negotiated the space between the old and the new roof afforded
+endless possibilities. Small wonder, then, that a pair of tits had
+elected to nest there.
+
+The green-backed tit is one of the most abundant birds in the Himalayas.
+It is about the size of a sparrow. The head is black with a small
+perky crest. The cheeks are spotless white. The back of the head is
+connected by a narrow black collar with an expansive shirtfront of
+this hue. The remainder of the plumage is bright yellow. The back
+is greenish yellow, the rest of the plumage is slaty with some dashes
+of black and white. Thus the green-backed tit is a smart little bird.
+It is as vivacious as it is smart. It constantly utters a sharp, not
+unpleasant, metallic dissyllabic call, which sounds like _kiss me_,
+_kiss me_, _kiss me_, _kiss me_. This is one of the most familiar
+of the tunes that enliven our northern hill stations.
+
+So much for the bird: now for its nest. A nest in a hole possesses
+many advantages. Its preparation does not entail very much labour.
+It has not to be built; it merely needs furnishing, and this does
+not occupy long if the occupiers have Spartan tastes. The tits in
+question were luxuriously inclined, if we may judge by the amount
+of moss that they carried into that hole. By the time it was finished
+it must have been considerably softer than the bed that was provided
+for my accommodation!
+
+Moss in plenty was to be had for the taking; the trunks and larger
+branches of the trees which surrounded the "hotel" were covered with
+soft green moss. The tits experienced no difficulty in ripping this
+off with the beak.
+
+The entrance to the nest hole faced downwards and was guarded on one
+side by the wall of the house, and on the other by a beam, so that
+it was not altogether easy of access even to a bird. Consequently
+a good deal of the moss gathered by the tits did not reach its
+destination; they let it fall while they were negotiating the
+entrance.
+
+When a piece of moss dropped from the bird's beak, no attempt was
+made to retrieve it, although it only fell some 10 feet on to the
+floor of the verandah. In this respect all birds behave alike. They
+never attempt to reclaim that which they have let fall. A bird will
+spend the greater part of half an hour in wrenching a twig from a
+tree: yet, if this is dropped while being carried to the nest, the
+bird seems to lose all further interest in it.
+
+By the end of the first day's work at the nest, the pair of tits had
+left quite a respectable collection of moss on the floor. This was
+swept away next morning. On the second day much less was dropped;
+practice had taught the tits how best to enter the nest hole.
+
+It will be noticed that I speak of "tits." I believe I am correct
+in so doing; I think that both cock and hen work at the nest. I cannot
+say for certain, for I am not able to distinguish a lady- from a
+gentleman-tit. I never saw them together at the nest, but I noticed
+that the bird bringing material to it sometimes flew direct from a
+tree and at others alighted on the projecting end of a roof beam which
+the carpenters had been too lazy to saw off. It is my belief that
+the bird that used to alight on the beam was not the same as the one
+that flew direct from the tree. Birds are creatures of habit. If you
+observe a mother bird feeding her young, you will notice that she,
+when not disturbed, almost invariably approaches the nest in a certain
+fixed manner. She will perch, time after time, on one particular
+branch near the nest, and thence fly to her open-mouthed brood. When
+both parents bring food to the nest, each approaches in a way peculiar
+to itself; the hen will perhaps always come in from the left and the
+cock from the right.
+
+The tits in question worked spasmodically at the nest throughout the
+hours of daylight. For ten minutes or so they would bring in piece
+after piece of moss at a great pace and then indulge in a little
+relaxation. All work and no play makes a tit a dull bird.
+
+I had to leave the hotel late on the second day, so was not able to
+follow up the fortunes of the two little birds. I have, however, to
+thank them for affording me some amusement and giving me pleasant
+recollections of the place. It was good to lounge in a long chair,
+drink in the cool air, and watch the little birds at work. I shall
+soon forget the tumble-down appearance of the house, its seedy
+furniture, its coarse durries, and its hard beds, but shall long
+remember the great snow-capped peaks in the distance, the green
+moss-clad trees near about, the birds that sang in these, the sunbeams
+that played among the leaves, and, above all, the two little tits
+that worked so industriously at their nest.
+
+
+
+
+_THE PEKIN-ROBIN_
+
+
+This is not a robin, nor does it seem to be nearly related to the
+familiar redbreast; Pekin- or China-robin is merely the name the
+dealers give it, because a great many specimens are imported from
+China. Its classical name is _Liothrix lutea_. Oates calls it the
+red-billed liothrix. It is a bird about the size of a sparrow. The
+prevailing hue of the upper plumage is olive green, but the forehead
+is yellow. There is also a yellow ring round the eye, and the lower
+parts are of varying shades of this colour. Some of the wing feathers
+are edged with yellow and some with crimson, so that the wings, when
+closed, look as though lines of these colours are pencilled upon them.
+Oates, I notice, states that the hen has no red in the wing, but this
+does not seem to be the case in all examples. In the Pekin-robins
+that hail from China the chief difference between the sexes is that
+the plumage of the hen is a little duller than that of the cock. The
+bill is bright red. It is thus evident that the _liothrix_ is a
+handsome bird, its beauty being of the quiet type which bears close
+inspection. But the very great charm of this sprightly little creature
+lies, not so much in its colouring, as in its form and movements.
+Its perfect proportions give it a very athletic air. In this respect
+it resembles the nimble wagtails. Next to these I like the appearance
+of the Pekin-robin better than that of any other little bird. Finn
+bestows even greater praise upon it, for he says: "Altogether it is
+the most generally attractive small bird I know of--everyone seems
+to admire it."
+
+There is no bird more full of life. When kept in a cage, Pekin-robins
+hop from perch to perch with extraordinary agility, seeming scarcely
+to have touched one perch with their feet before they are off to
+another. I am inclined to think that the _liothrix_, like Camilla,
+Queen of the Volscians, could trip across a field of corn without
+causing the blades to move. This truly admirable bird is a songster
+of no mean capacity. Small wonder, then, that it has long been a
+favourite with fanciers. Moreover, it stands captivity remarkably
+well. It is the only insectivorous bird which is largely exported
+from India. So hardy is it that Finn attempted to introduce it into
+England, and with this object set free a number of specimens in St.
+James's Park some years ago, but they did not succeed in establishing
+themselves, although some individuals survived for several months.
+The English climate is to Asiatic birds much what that of the West
+Coast of Africa is to white men. J. K. Jerome once suggested that
+Life Insurance Companies should abolish the application form with
+its long list of queries concerning the ailments of the would-be
+insurer, his parents, grandparents, and other relatives, and
+substitute for it the German cigar test. If, said he, the applicant
+can come up smiling immediately after having smoked a German cigar,
+the Company could be certain that he was "a good life," to use the
+technical term. As regards birds, the survival of an English winter
+is an equally efficient test. The Pekin-robin is a very intelligent
+little bird. Finn found that it was not deceived by the resemblance
+between an edible and an unpalatable Indian swallow-tailed butterfly,
+although the sharp king-crow was deceived by the likeness.
+
+Those Anglo-Indians who wish to make the acquaintance of the bird
+must either resort to some fancier's shop, or hie themselves to the
+cool heights of Mussoorie, or, better still, of Darjeeling, where
+the _liothrix_ is exceptionally abundant. But even at Darjeeling the
+Pekin-robin will have to be looked for carefully, for it is of shy
+and retiring habits, and a small bird of such a disposition is apt
+to elude observation. In one respect the plains (let us give even
+the devil his due) are superior to the hills. The naturalist usually
+experiences little difficulty in observing birds in the
+sparsely-wooded flat country, but in the tree-covered mountains the
+feathered folk often require to be stalked. If you would see the
+Pekin-robin in a state of nature, go to some clearing in the Himalayan
+forest, where the cool breezes blow upon you direct from the snows,
+whence you can see the most beautiful sight in the world, that of
+snow-capped mountains standing forth against an azure sky. Tear your
+eyes away from the white peaks and direct them to the low bushes and
+trees which are springing up in the clearing, for in this you are
+likely to meet with a small flock of Pekin-robins. You will probably
+hear them before you see them. The sound to listen for is well
+described by Finn as "a peculiar five-noted call,
+_tee-tee-tee-tee-tee_." As has been stated already, most, if not all,
+birds that go about in flocks in wooded country continually utter
+a call note, as it is by this means that the members of the flock
+keep together. Jerdon states that the food of the _liothrix_ consists
+of "berries, fruit, seeds, and insects." He should, I think, have
+reversed the order of the bird's menu, for it comes of an insectivorous
+family--the babblers--and undoubtedly is very partial to insects--so
+much so that Finn suggests its introduction into St. Helena to keep
+them down. At the nesting season, in the early spring, the flock breaks
+up into pairs, which take upon themselves what Mr. E. D. Cuming calls
+"brow-wrinkling family responsibilities," and each pair builds in
+a low bush a cup-shaped nest.
+
+
+
+
+_BLACK BULBULS_
+
+
+All passerine birds which have hairs springing from the back of the
+head, and of which the tarsus--the lower half of the leg--is shorter
+than the middle toe, plus its claw, are classified by scientific men
+as members of the sub-family Brachypodinae, or Bulbuls. This
+classification, although doubtless unassailable from the standpoint
+of the anatomist, has the effect of bringing together some creatures
+which can scarcely be described as "birds of a feather." The typical
+bulbul, as exemplified by the common species of the plains--Molpastes
+and Otocompsa--is a dear, meek, unsophisticated little bird, the kind
+of creature held up in copy-books as an example to youth, a veritable
+"Captain Desmond, V.C." Bulbuls of the nobler sort pair for life,
+and the harmony of their conjugal existence is rarely marred by
+quarrels; they behave after marriage as they did in the days of
+courtship: they love to sit on a leafy bough, close up against one
+another, and express their mutual admiration and affection by means
+of a cheery, if rather feeble, lay. They build a model nest in which
+prettily-coloured eggs are deposited. These they make but little
+attempt to conceal, for they are birds without guile. But, alas, their
+artlessness often results in a rascally lizard or squirrel eating
+the eggs for his breakfast. When their eggs are put to this base use,
+the bulbuls, to quote "Eha," are "sorry," but their grief is
+short-lived. Within a few hours of the tragedy they are twittering
+gaily to one another, and in a wonderfully short space of time a new
+clutch of eggs replaces the old one. If this shares the fate of the
+first set, some more are laid, so that eventually a family of bulbuls
+hatches out.
+
+Such is, in brief, the character of the great majority of bulbuls;
+they present a fine example of rewarded virtue, for these amiable
+little birds are very abundant; they flourish like the green bay tree.
+As at least one pair is to be found in every Indian garden, they
+exemplify the truth of the saying, the meek "shall inherit the earth,"
+and give a new meaning to the expression, "the survival of the
+fittest." There are, however, some bulbuls which are so unlike the
+birds described above that the latter might reasonably deny
+relationship to them as indignantly as some human beings decline to
+acknowledge apes and monkeys as poor relations. As we have seen, most
+bulbuls are inoffensive, respectable birds, that lead a quiet,
+domesticated life. The cock and hen are so wrapped up in one another
+as to pay little heed to the outer world. Not so the black bulbuls.
+These are the antithesis of everything bulbuline. They are aggressive,
+disreputable-looking creatures, who go about in disorderly, rowdy
+gangs. The song of most bulbuls consists of many pleasant, blithe
+tinkling notes; that of the black bulbul, or at any rate of the
+Himalayan black bulbul, is scarcely as musical as the bray of the
+ass. Most bulbuls are pretty birds and are most particular about their
+personal appearance. Black bulbuls are as untidy as it is possible
+for a bird to be. The two types of bulbul stand to one another in
+much the same relationship as does the honest Breton peasant to the
+inhabitant of the Quartier Latin in Paris.
+
+Black bulbuls belong to the genus _Hypsipetes_. Three species occur
+in India--the Himalayan (_H. psaroides_), the Burmese (_H.
+concolor_), and the South Indian (_H. ganeesa_). All three species
+resemble one another closely in appearance. Take a king-crow
+(_Dicrurus ater_), dip his bill and legs in red ink, cut down his
+tail a little, dust him all over so as to make his glossy black plumage
+look grey and shabby, ruffle his feathers, apply a little _pomade
+hongroise_ to the feathers on the back of his head, and make some
+of them stick out to look like a dilapidated crest, and you may flatter
+yourself that you have produced a very fair imitation of a black bulbul
+as it appears when flitting about from one tree summit to another.
+Closer inspection of the bird reveals the fact that "black" is
+scarcely the right adjective to apply to it. Dark grey is the
+prevailing hue of its plumage, with some black on the head and a
+quantity of brown on the wings and tail.
+
+The Himalayan species has a black cheek stripe, which the other forms
+lack; but it is quite unnecessary to dilate upon these minute
+differences. I trust I have said sufficient to enable any man, woman,
+or suffragette to recognise a noisy black bulbul, and, as the
+distribution of each species is well defined and does not overlap
+that of the other species, the fact that a bird is found in any
+particular place at once settles the question of its species. The
+South Indian bird occurs only in Ceylon and the hills of South-west
+India; hence Jerdon called this species the Nilgiri or Ghaut black
+bulbul. Men of science in their wisdom have given the Himalayan bird
+the sibilant name of _Hypsipetes psaroides_. The inelegance of the
+appellation perhaps explains why the bird has been permitted to retain
+it for quite a long while unchanged.
+
+I have been charged with unnecessarily making fun of ornithological
+nomenclature. As a matter of fact, I have dealt far too leniently
+with the peccadillos of the ornithological systematist. Recently a
+book was published in the United States entitled _The Birds of
+Illinois and Wisconsin_. Needless to state that while the author was
+writing the book, ornithological terminology underwent many changes;
+but the author was able to keep pace with these and with those that
+occurred while the various proofs were passing through the press.
+It was after this that his real troubles began. Several changes took
+place between the interval of the passing of the final proof and the
+appearance of the book, so that the unfortunate author in his desire
+to be up to date had to insert in each volume a slip to the effect
+that the American Ornithologists' Union had in the course of the past
+few days changed the name of no fewer than three genera; consequently
+the genus Glaux had again become Cryptoglaux, and the genera Trochilus
+and Coturniculus had become, respectively, Archilochus and
+Ammodramus! But we are wandering away from our black bulbuls. The
+hillmen call the Himalayan species the _Ban Bakra_, which means the
+jungle goat. Why it should be so named I have not an idea, unless
+it be because the bird habitually "plays the goat!"
+
+Black bulbuls seem never to descend to the ground; they keep almost
+entirely to the tops of lofty trees and so occur only in well-wooded
+parts of the hills. When the rhododendrons are in flower, these birds
+partake very freely of the nectar enclosed within their crimson
+calyces. Now, I am fully persuaded that the nectar of flowers is an
+intoxicant to birds, and of course this will account, not only in
+part for the rowdiness of the black bulbuls, but for the pugnacity
+of those creatures, such as sunbirds, which habitually feed upon this
+stimulating diet. Black bulbuls, like sunbirds, get well dusted with
+pollen while diving into flowers after nectar, and so probably act
+the part of insects as regards the cross-fertilisation of large
+flowers. In respect of nesting habits, black bulbuls conform more
+closely to the ways of their tribe than they do in other matters.
+The nesting season is early spring. The nursery, which is built in
+a tree, not in a bush, is a small cup composed largely of moss, dried
+grass, and leaves, held together by being well smeared with cobweb.
+The eggs have a pink background, much spotted with reddish purple.
+They display a great lack of uniformity as regards both shape and
+colouring.
+
+
+
+
+_A WARBLER OF DISTINCTION_
+
+
+So great is the number of species of warbler which either visit India
+every winter or remain always in the country, so small and
+insignificant in appearance are these birds, so greatly do they
+resemble one another, and so similar are their habits, that even the
+expert ornithologist cannot identify the majority of them unless,
+having the skin in one hand and a key to the warblers in the other,
+he sets himself thinking strenuously. For these reasons I pay but
+little attention to the warbler clan. Usually when I meet one of them,
+I am content to set him down as a warbler and let him depart in peace.
+But I make a few exceptions in the case of those that I may perhaps
+call warblers of distinction--warblers that stand out from among
+their fellows on account of their architectural skill, their peculiar
+habits, or unusual colouring. The famous tailor-bird (_Orthotomus
+sartorius_) is the best known of the warblers distinguished on account
+of architectural skill. As a warbler of peculiar habits, I may cite
+the ashy wren-warbler (_Prinia socialis_), which, as it flits about
+among the bushes, makes a curious snapping noise, the cause of which
+has not yet been satisfactorily determined. As warblers of unusual
+colouring, the flycatcher-warblers are pre-eminent. In appearance
+these resemble tits or white-eyes rather than the typical quaker-like
+warblers.
+
+_Cryptolopha xanthoschista_ and Hodgson's grey-headed
+flycatcher-warbler are the names that ornithologists have given to
+a very small bird. But, diminutive though he be, he is heard, if not
+seen, more often than any other bird in all parts of the Western
+Himalayas. It is impossible for a human being to visit any station
+between Naini Tal and Murree without remarking this warbler. It is
+no exaggeration to state that the bird's voice is heard in every second
+tree. Oates writes of the flycatcher-warblers, "they are not known
+to have any song." This is true or the reverse, according to the
+interpretation placed on the word "song." If song denotes only sweet
+melodies such as those of the shama and the nightingale, then indeed
+flycatcher-warblers are not singers. Nevertheless they incessantly
+make a joyful noise. I can vouch for the fact that their lay is heard
+all day long from March to October. Before attempting to describe
+the familiar sound, I deem it prudent to recall to the mind of the
+reader the notice that once appeared in a third-rate music-hall:--"The
+audience are respectfully requested not to throw things at the
+pianist. He is doing his best." To say that this warbler emits
+incessantly four or five high-pitched, not very musical notes, is to
+give but a poor rendering of his vocal efforts, but it is, I fear, the
+best I can do for him. He is small, so that the volume of sound he
+emits is not great, but it is penetrating. Even as the cheery lay of
+the _Otocompsa_ bulbuls forms the dominant note of the bird chorus in
+our southern hill stations, so does the less melodious but not less
+cheerful call of the flycatcher-warblers run as an undercurrent
+through the melody of the feathered choir of the Himalayas.
+
+In what follows I shall speak of Hodgson's grey-headed
+flycatcher-warbler as our hero, because I shrink from constant
+repetition of his double double-barrelled name. I should prefer to
+give him Jerdon's name, the white-browed warbler, but for the fact
+that there are a score or more other warblers with white eyebrows.
+Our hero is considerably smaller than a sparrow, being only a fraction
+over four inches in length, and of this over one-third is composed
+of tail. The head and neck are grey, the former being set off by a
+cream-coloured eyebrow. Along the middle of the head runs a band of
+pale grey; this "mesial coronal band," as Oates calls it, is far more
+distinct in some specimens than in others. The remainder of the upper
+plumage is olive green, and the lower parts are bright yellow.
+Coloured plate, No. XX, in Hume and Henderson's _Lahore to Yarkand_,
+contains a very good reproduction of the bird. The upper picture on
+the plate represents our hero, the lower one depicting an allied
+species, Brook's grey-headed flycatcher-warbler (_C. Jerdoni_). It
+is necessary to state this because the book in question was written
+in 1873, since when, needless to say, the scientific names of most
+birds have undergone changes. The plate in question also demonstrates
+the slenderness of the foundation upon which specific differences
+among warblers rest.
+
+Our hero is an exceedingly active little bird. He is ever on the move,
+and so rapid are his movements that to watch him for any length of
+time through field-glasses is no mean feat. He and his mate, with
+perhaps a few friends, hop about from leaf to leaf looking for quarry,
+large and small. The manner in which he stows away a caterpillar an
+inch long is a sight for the gods!
+
+Sometimes two or three of these warblers attach themselves,
+temporarily at any rate, to one of those flocks, composed mainly of
+various species of tits and nuthatches, which form so well-marked
+a feature of all wooded hills in India. Hodgson's warblers are
+pugnacious little creatures. Squabbles are frequent. It is
+impossible to watch two or three of them for long without seeing what
+looks like one tiny animated golden fluff ball pursuing another from
+branch to branch and even from tree to tree.
+
+The breeding season lasts from March to June. The nest is globular
+in shape, made of moss or coarse grass, and lined with some soft
+material, such as wool. The entrance is usually at one side. The nest
+is placed on a sloping bank at the foot of a bush, so that it is likely
+to escape observation unless one sees the bird flying to it. Three
+or four glossy white eggs are laid. Many years ago Colonel Marshall
+recorded the case of a nest at Naini Tal "at the side of a narrow
+glen with a northern aspect and about four feet above the pathway,
+close to a spring from which my _bhisti_ daily draws water, the bird
+sitting fearlessly while passed and repassed by people going down
+the glen within a foot or two of the nest." At the same station I
+recently had a very different experience. Some weeks ago I noticed
+one of these warblers fly with a straw in its beak to a place on a
+steep bank under a small bush. I could not see what it was doing there,
+but in a few seconds it emerged with the bill empty. Shortly afterwards
+it returned with another straw. Having seen several pieces of building
+material carried to the spot, I descended the bank to try to find
+the nest. I could find nothing; the nest was evidently only just
+commenced. I then went back to the spot from which I had been watching
+the birds, but they did not return again. I had frightened them away.
+Individual birds of the same species sometimes differ considerably
+in their behaviour at the nesting season. Some will desert the nest
+on the slightest provocation, while others will cling to it in the
+most quixotic manner. It is never safe to dogmatise regarding the
+behaviour of birds. No sooner does an ornithologist lay down a law
+than some bird proceeds to break it.
+
+
+
+
+_THE SPOTTED FORKTAIL_
+
+
+"Striking" is, in my opinion, the correct adjective to apply to the
+spotted forktail (_Henicurus maculatus_). Like the paradise
+flycatcher, it is a bird which cannot fail to obtrude itself upon
+the most unobservant person, and, once seen, it is never likely to
+be forgotten. I well remember the first occasion on which I saw a
+spotted forktail; I was walking down a Himalayan path, alongside of
+which a brook was flowing, when suddenly from a rock in mid-stream
+there arose a black-and-white apparition, that flitted away,
+displaying a long tail fluttering behind it. The plumage of this
+magnificent bird has already been described.
+
+As was stated above, this species is often called the hill-wagtail.
+The name is not a particularly good one, because wagtails proper occur
+in the Himalayas.
+
+The forktail, however, has many of the habits of the true wagtail.
+I was on the point of calling it a glorified wagtail, but I refrain.
+Surely it is impossible to improve upon a wagtail.
+
+In India forktails are confined to the Himalayas and the mountainous
+parts of Burma.
+
+There are no fewer than eight Indian species, but I propose to confine
+myself to the spotted forktail. This is essentially a bird of mountain
+streams. It is never found far from water, but occurs at all altitudes
+up to the snow-line, so that, as Jerdon says, it is one of the
+characteristic adjuncts of Himalayan scenery. Indeed I know of few
+things more enjoyable than to sit, when the sun is shining, on the
+bank of a well-shaded burn, and, soothed by the soft melody of running
+water, watch the forktails moving nimbly over the boulders and stones
+with fairy tread, half-flight half-hop.
+
+Forktails continually wag the tail, just as wagtails do, but not with
+quite the same vigour, possibly because there is so much more to wag!
+
+Like wagtails, they do not object to their feet being wet, indeed
+they love to stand in running water.
+
+Forktails often seek their quarry among the dead leaves that become
+collected in the various angles in the bed of the stream; when so
+doing they pick up each leaf, turn it over, and cast it aside just
+as the seven sisters do. They seem to like to work upstream when
+seeking for food. Jerdon states that he does not remember ever having
+seen a forktail perch; nevertheless the bird frequently flies on to
+a branch overhanging the brook, and rests there, slowly vibrating
+its forked tail as if in deep meditation.
+
+Spotted forktails are often seen near the places where the _dhobis_
+wash clothes by banging them violently against rocks, hence the name
+dhobi-birds, by which they are called by many Europeans. The little
+forktail does not haunt the washerman's _ghat_ for the sake of human
+companionship, for it is a bird that usually avoids man. The
+explanation is probably that the shallow pool in which the _dhobi_
+works and grunts is well adapted to the feeding habits of the forktail.
+I may here remark that in the Himalayas the washerman usually pursues
+his occupation in a pool in a mountain stream overhung with oaks and
+rhododendron trees, amid scenery that would annually attract
+thousands of visitors did it happen to be within a hundred miles of
+London. Not that the prosaic _dhobi_ cares two straws for the
+scenery--nor, I fear, does the pretty little forktail. As I have
+already hinted, forktails are rather shy birds. If they think they
+are being watched they become restless and stand about on boulders,
+uttering a prolonged plaintive note, which is repeated at intervals
+of a few seconds. When startled they fly off, emitting a loud scream.
+But they are pugnacious to others of their kind, especially at the
+breeding season. I once saw a pair attack and drive away from the
+vicinity of their nest a Himalayan whistling-thrush (_Myiophoneus
+temmincki_)--another bird that frequents hill-streams, and a near
+relation of the Malabar whistling-thrush or idle schoolboy.
+
+The nursery of the forktail, although quite a large cup-shaped
+structure, is not easy to discover; it blends well with its
+surroundings, and the birds certainly will not betray its presence
+if they know they are being watched. The nest is, to use Hume's words,
+"sometimes hidden in a rocky niche, sometimes on a bare ledge of rock
+overhung by drooping ferns and sometimes on a sloping bank, at the
+root of some old tree, in a very forest of club moss." I once spent
+several afternoons in discovering a forktail's nest which I was
+positive existed and contained young, because I had repeatedly seen
+the parents carrying grubs in the bill. My difficulty was that the
+stream to which the birds had attached themselves was in a deep ravine,
+the sides of which were so steep that no animal save a cat could have
+descended it without making a noise and being seen by the birds.
+Eventually I decorated my _topi_ with bracken fronds, after the
+fashion of 'Arry at Burnham Beeches on the August bank holiday. Thus
+arrayed, I descended to the stream and hid myself in the hollow stump
+of a tree, near the place where I knew the nest must be. By crouching
+down and drawing some foliage about me, I was able to command a small
+stretch of the stream. My arrival was of course the signal for loud
+outcries on the part of the parent forktails. However, after I had
+been squatting about ten minutes in my _cache_, to the delight of
+hundreds of winged insects, the suspicions of the forktails subsided,
+and the birds began collecting food, working their way upstream. They
+came nearer and nearer, until one of them passed out of sight, although
+it was within 10 feet of me. It was thus evident that the nest was
+so situated that what remained of the tree-trunk obstructed my view
+of it. This was annoying, but I had one resource left, namely, to
+sit patiently until the sound of chirping told me that a parent bird
+was at the nest with food.
+
+This sound was not long in coming, and the moment I heard it, up I
+jumped like a Jack-in-the-box, but without the squeak, in time to
+see a forktail leave a spot on the bank about 6 feet above the water.
+I was surprised, as I had the day before examined that place without
+discovering the nest. However, I went straight to the spot from which
+the forktail had flown, and found the nest after a little searching.
+The bank was steep and of uneven surface. Here and there a slab of
+stone projected from it and pointed downwards. Into a natural hollow
+under one of these projecting slabs a nest consisting of a large mass
+of green moss and liver-worts had been wedged. From the earth above
+the slab grew some ferns, which partially overhung the nest. Across
+the nest, a few inches in front of it, ran a moss-covered root. From
+out of the mossy walls of the nest there emerged a growing plant.
+All these things served to divert attention from the nest, bulky
+though this was, its outer walls being over 2 inches thick. The inner
+wall was thin--a mere lining to the earth. The nest contained four
+young birds, whose eyes were barely open. The young ones were covered
+with tiny parasites, which seemed quite ready for a change of diet,
+for immediately after picking up one of the young forktails, I found
+some thirty or forty of these parasites crawling over my hand!
+
+There is luck in finding birds' nests, as in everything else. A few
+days after I had discovered the one above mentioned, I came upon
+another without looking for it. When I was walking along a hill-stream
+a forktail flew out from the bank close beside me, and a search of
+thirty seconds sufficed to reveal a well-concealed nest containing
+three eggs. These are much longer than they are broad. They are
+cream-coloured, mottled and speckled with tiny red markings.
+
+
+
+
+_THE NEST OF THE GREY-WINGED OUZEL_
+
+
+On several occasions this year (1910) I have listened with unalloyed
+pleasure to the sweet blackbird-like song of the grey-winged ouzel
+(_Merula boulboul_) at Naini Tal--a station in the Himalayas,
+consisting of over a hundred bungalows dotted on the well-wooded
+hillsides that tower 1200 feet above a mountain lake that is itself
+6000 feet above the level of the sea. On the northern slope of one
+of the mountains on the north side of the Naini Tal lake, is a deep
+ravine, through which runs a little stream. The sides of the ravine
+are covered with trees--mainly rhododendron, oak, and holly.
+
+On July 1st I went 1000 feet down this ravine to visit the nest of
+a spotted forktail (_Henicurus maculatus_) which I had discovered
+a week previously. Having duly inspected the blind, naked,
+newly-hatched forktails, I went farther down the stream to try to
+see something of a pair of red-billed blue magpies (_Urocissa
+occipitalis_).
+
+The magpies were not at home that afternoon, and while waiting for
+them I caught sight of a bird among the foliage lower down the hill.
+At first I took this for a Himalayan whistling-thrush. I followed
+its movements through my field-glasses, and saw it alight on part
+of the gnarled and twisted trunk of a rhododendron tree. Closer
+inspection showed that the bird was a grey-winged ouzel. He had
+apparently caught sight of me, for his whole attitude was that of
+a suspicious bird with a nest in the vicinity. He remained motionless
+for several minutes.
+
+As I watched him a ray of sunlight penetrated the thick foliage and
+fell upon the part of the tree where he was standing, and revealed
+to me that he was on the edge of a cunningly-placed nest.
+
+The trunk of the rhododendron tree bifurcated about 20 feet above
+the ground; one limb grew nearly upright, the other almost
+horizontally for a few feet, and then broke up into five branches,
+or, rather, gave off four upwardly-directed branches, each as thick
+as a man's wrist, and then continued its horizontal direction, greatly
+diminished in size.
+
+The four upwardly-directed branches took various directions, each
+being considerably twisted, and one actually curling round its
+neighbour. At the junction of the various branches lay the nest,
+resting on the flat surface, much as a large, shallow pill-box might
+rest in the half-closed palm of the hand of a man whose fingers were
+rugged and twisted with years of hard toil.
+
+The upper part of the trunk was covered by a thick growth of green
+moss, and from it two or three ferns sprang.
+
+As the exterior of the nest consisted entirely of green moss, it
+blended perfectly with its surroundings. From below it could not
+possibly have been seen. When I caught sight of it I was standing
+above it at the top of the ravine, and even then I should probably
+have missed seeing it, had not that ray of sunlight fallen on the
+nest and imparted a golden tint to the fawn-coloured plumage of the
+nestlings which almost completely filled the nest cup.
+
+The situation of this nest may be said to be typical, although cases
+are on record of the nursery being placed on the ground at the root
+of a tree, or on the ledge of a rock. Many ouzels' nests are placed
+on the stumps of pollard trees, and in such cases the shoots which
+grow out of the stump often serve to hide the nest from view. The
+nests built by grey-winged ouzels vary considerably in structure.
+The commonest form is that of a massive cup, composed exteriorly of
+moss and lined with dry grass, a layer of mud being inserted between
+the moss and the grass lining. This mud layer does not invariably
+occur.
+
+The cock ouzel remained for fully five minutes with one eye on me,
+and then flew off. I seized the opportunity to approach nearer the
+nest, and took up a position on the hillside level with it, at a
+distance of about 14 feet.
+
+In a few minutes the hen bird appeared. Her prevailing hue is reddish
+brown, while the cock is black all over, save for some large patches
+of dark grey on the wings. In each sex the bill and legs are reddish
+yellow, the bill being the more brightly coloured. The hen caught
+sight of me and beat a hurried retreat, without approaching the nest.
+
+The young ouzels kept very still; occasionally one of them would half
+raise its head. That was almost the only movement I noticed.
+
+Presently the cock appeared, with his beak full of caterpillars. He
+alighted on a branch a few feet from the nest, where he caught sight
+of me; but instead of flying off as the hen had done, he held his
+ground and fixed his eye on me, no doubt swearing inwardly, but no
+audible sound escaped him.
+
+Whenever I have watched a pair of birds feeding their young, I have
+almost invariably noticed that one of them is far more alarmed at
+my presence than the other. The ouzels proved no exception to the
+rule. In this case it was the cock who showed himself the bolder spirit.
+He remained watching me for fully ten minutes, his legs and body as
+immobile as those of a statue, but he occasionally turned his head
+to one side in order to obtain a better view of me; and I could then
+see, outlined against the sky, the wriggling forms of several
+caterpillars hanging from his bill. I hoped that he would pluck up
+courage to feed his youngsters before my eyes; but his heart failed
+him, for presently he flew to another tree a little farther away,
+whence he again contemplated me. After this he kept changing his
+position, never uttering a sound, and always retaining hold of the
+beakful of caterpillars. After a little the hen returned with her
+bill full of caterpillars, but she did not venture within 75 feet
+of the nest. I was not permitted to observe how long it would take
+the parental instinct to overcome the natural timidity of the birds.
+The sky suddenly became overcast, and a few minutes later I found
+myself enveloped in what the Scotch call a "wet mist." At certain
+seasons of the year rain storms come up as unexpectedly in the
+Himalayas as they do in the Grampians.
+
+The rain put a final end to my observations on that nest, as I had
+to leave Naini Tal on the following day--an event which caused more
+sorrow to me than to the ouzels!
+
+
+
+
+_THE BLACK-AND-YELLOW GROSBEAK_
+
+
+The Indian grosbeaks are birds of limited distribution; they appear
+to be confined to the forests on the higher ranges of the Himalayas.
+Their most striking feature is the stout conical bill, which is an
+exaggeration of that of the typical finch, and is responsible for
+the bird's name. In one genus of grosbeak--_Mycerobas_--the bill is
+as deep as it is long, while in the other genus--_Pycnorhamphus_--it
+is nearly as massive. Three species belonging to this latter genus
+occur in India, namely, _P. icteroides_, the black-and-yellow
+grosbeak, found in the Western Himalayas; _P. affinis_, the allied
+grosbeak, found in Nepal, Sikkim, Tibet, and Western China; and _P.
+carneipes_, the white-winged grosbeak, which occurs all along the
+higher Himalayas.
+
+There is only one Indian species of the other genus; this is known
+as the spotted-winged grosbeak (_Mycerobas melanoxanthus_), the
+localities in which this occurs are said to be "the Himalayas from
+the Hazara country to Sikkim at considerable elevations and Manipur."
+
+The only Indian grosbeak which I have met in the flesh is the
+yellow-and-black species. This bird is common in the hills round about
+Murree, so that, when on ten days' leave there, I had some opportunity
+of studying its habits. It is a bird of the same size as the Indian
+oriole (_Oriolus kundoo_). The cock grosbeak, indeed, bears a
+striking resemblance to the black-headed oriole (_Oriolus
+melanocephalus_). His whole head, chin, throat, wings, shoulders,
+upper-tail-coverts, and thighs are black, the remainder of the
+plumage is a rich yellow, tinged with orange at the hind neck. Thus
+the colour and markings are almost identical with those of the
+black-headed oriole, the chief difference being that the latter has
+a little yellow in the wing. So great is the resemblance that the
+casual observer will, in nine cases out of ten, mistake the grosbeak
+for an oriole. The resemblance extends to size and shape, as the
+following table shows:
+
+                 Length    Length    Length     Length      Length
+                of Bird.  of Tail.  of Wing.  of Tarsus.  of Beak.
+  Grosbeak . .  9.0 in.   3.7 in.   5.2 in.    1.0 in.    1.0 in.
+  Oriole . . .  9.5  "    3.4  "    5.4  "     1.0  "     1.3  "
+
+The hen grosbeak differs considerably in colour and marking both from
+the cock of her species and from the hen black-headed oriole. She
+is a dull ashy-grey bird, tinged faintly with yellowish red on the
+back and abdomen. Her wings and tail are black. The only young grosbeak
+that I have seen resembled the female in appearance, except that it
+had a yellow rump. It was being fed by a cock bird.
+
+Grosbeaks live in forests, and go about either in couples or in small
+companies. They seem to feed largely on the ground, picking up insects.
+The beak of the finch tribe is adapted to a diet of seeds; nevertheless,
+many finches vary this food with insects. I saw a grosbeak seize,
+shake, and devour a caterpillar about two inches in length. Grosbeaks
+also eat berries and stone fruit. When disturbed they at once betake
+themselves to a tree, among the branches of which they are able to
+make their way with great agility. Grosbeaks are restless birds,
+always on the move, here to-day and gone to-morrow. The cock emits
+a call at frequent intervals. This is not easy to describe. It sounds
+something like _kiu kree_.
+
+The nest is a cup-shaped structure, composed exteriorly of twigs,
+grass, and moss, and lined with stalks of maiden-hair fern and fine
+roots. It is usually placed high up in a fir tree. Colonel Rattray
+believes that the birds bring up two broods in the year. They lay
+first in May, and, as soon as the young are able to shift for themselves,
+a second nest is made. Thus in July both young birds at large and
+nests with eggs are likely to be seen. The eggs are not unlike those
+of the English hawfinch; the ground colour is pale greenish grey,
+blotched and spotted with blackish brown. Sometimes the markings
+occur chiefly at the broad end of the eggs.
+
+The most striking feature of the black-and-yellow grosbeak, and that
+on which I wish particularly to dwell, is the extraordinary
+resemblance that the cock bird bears to the cock black-headed oriole.
+If this extended to the hen, and if the grosbeak were parasitic on
+the oriole, it would be held up as an example of mimicry. We should
+be told that owing to its resemblance to its dupe it was able to
+approach the nest without raising any suspicion and deposit its egg.
+But the grosbeak is not parasitic on the oriole, and it is the cock
+and not the hen that bears the resemblance; moreover, the black-headed
+oriole does not occur in the Himalayas, so that neither the grosbeak
+nor the oriole can possibly derive any benefit from this resemblance.
+
+Now, cabinet zoologists are never tired of writing about mimicry.
+They assert that when organisms belonging to different families bear
+a close external resemblance, this resemblance has been brought about
+by natural selection. Having made this assertion, they expend reams
+of paper in demonstrating how one or both of the species benefits
+by the resemblance.
+
+However, scientific books make no mention of the resemblance between
+the oriole and the grosbeak. The reason for this is, of course, that
+the resemblance in this instance cannot be a case of mimicry. Now,
+I regret to have to say that men of science take up the same attitude
+towards their theories as lawyers do regarding the cases they argue
+in Courts of Justice. There would be no harm in taking up this attitude
+if men of science were to explain that they are acting the part of
+advocates, that they are fighting for a theory, and trying to persuade
+the world to accept this theory. It is because they masquerade as
+judges, and put forward a one-sided case as a matured judicial finding,
+that I take exception to their methods.
+
+The trouble is that scientific men to-day form a brotherhood, a
+hierarchy, which lays claim to infallibility, or rather tacitly
+assumes infallibility.
+
+They form a league into which none are admitted except those who take
+the oath of allegiance; and, of course, to expose the weakness of
+the scientific doctrines of the time is equivalent to violating the
+oath of allegiance. Now, the man of science who has to earn his living
+by his science, has either to join the league or run the risk of
+starving. This explains how a small coterie of men has things very
+much its own way; how it can lay down the law without fear of
+contradiction. If a man does arise and declines to accept the fiats
+of this league, it is not difficult for the members to combine and
+tell the general public that that man is a foolish crank, who does
+not know what he is talking about; and the public naturally accepts
+this dictum.
+
+The only scientific men who, as a class, are characterised by humility
+are the meteorologists. I always feel sorry for the meteorologist.
+He has to predict the weather, and every man is able to test the value
+of these predictions. The zoologist, on the other hand, does not
+predict anything. He merely lays down the law to people who know
+nothing of law. He assures the world that he can explain all organic
+phenomena, and the world believes him.
+
+As a matter of fact, zoology is quite as backward as meteorology.
+Those who do not wish to be deceived will do well to receive with
+caution all the zoological theories which at present hold the field.
+Before many years have passed all of them will have been modified
+beyond recognition. Most of them are already out of date.
+
+There are doubtless good reasons for the colouring of both the
+grosbeak and the oriole; what these reasons are we know not. But as
+neither derives any benefit from the resemblance to the other, this
+_resemblance_ cannot have been effected by natural selection. Now,
+if the unknown forces, which cause the various organisms to take their
+varied colours and forms, sometimes produce two organisms of
+different families which closely resemble one another, and the
+organisms in question are so distributed that neither can derive the
+slightest advantage in the struggle for existence from the
+resemblance, there is no reason why similar resemblances should not
+be produced in the case of organisms which occupy the same areas of
+the earth. Thus it is quite possible that many so-called cases of
+mimicry are nothing of the kind.
+
+The mere fact that one of the organisms in question may profit by
+the likeness is not sufficient to demonstrate that natural selection
+is responsible for the resemblance.
+
+In this connection we must bear in mind that, according to the orthodox
+Darwinian theory, the resemblance must have come about gradually,
+and in its beginnings it cannot have profited the mimic _as a
+resemblance_.
+
+So plastic are organisms, and so great is the number of living things
+in the earth, that it is not surprising that very similar forms should
+sometimes arise independently and in different parts of the globe.
+Several instances of this fortuitous resemblance are cited in
+Beddard's _Animal Colouration_; others are cited in _The Making of
+Species_ by Finn, and myself.
+
+Perhaps the most striking case is that of a cuckoo found in New Zealand,
+known as _Eudynamis taitensis_. This is a near relative of the Indian
+koel, which bears remarkable resemblance to an American hawk
+(_Accipiter cooperi_). Writing of this cuckoo, Sir Walter Buller
+says: "Not only has our cuckoo the general contour of Cooper's
+sparrow-hawk, but the tear-shaped markings on the underparts, and
+the arrow-head bars on the femoral plumes are exactly similar in both.
+The resemblance is carried still further, in the beautifully-banded
+tail and marginal wing coverts, and likewise in the distribution of
+colours and markings on the sides of the neck. On turning to Mr.
+Sharpe's description of the young male of this species in his
+catalogue of the Accipitres in the British Museum, it will be seen
+how many of the terms employed apply equally to our Eudynamis, even
+to the general words, 'deep brown above with a chocolate gloss, all
+the feathers of the upper surface broadly edged with rufous.' ...
+Beyond the general grouping of the colours there is nothing to remind
+us of our own Bush-hawk; and that there is no great protective
+resemblance is sufficiently manifested, from the fact that our cuckoo
+is persecuted on every possible occasion by the tits, which are
+timorous enough in the presence of a hawk."
+
+These cases of chance resemblance should make us unwilling to talk
+about "mimicry," unless there is actual proof that one or other of
+the similar species benefits by the resemblance.
+
+These cases, further, throw light on the origin of protective mimicry
+where it does exist.
+
+Protective mimicry is usually said to have been brought about by the
+action of natural selection. This is not strictly accurate. Natural
+selection cannot cause two showy, dissimilar species to resemble one
+another; all it can do is to seize upon and perfect a resemblance
+that has been caused by the numerous factors that have co-operated
+to bring about all the diversity of organic life upon this earth.
+
+
+
+
+_THE GREAT HIMALAYAN BARBET_
+
+
+Barbets may be described as woodpeckers that are trying to become
+toucans. The most toucan-like of them all is the great Himalayan
+barbet (_Megalaema marshallorum_). Barbets are heavily-built birds
+of medium size, armed with formidable beaks, which they do not
+hesitate to use for aggressive purposes. As regards the nests they
+excavate, the eggs they lay, the pad that grows on the hocks of young
+birds, and their flight, they resemble their cousins the woodpeckers.
+But they are fruit-eating birds, and not insectivorous; it is this
+that constitutes the chief difference between them and the
+woodpeckers. Barbets are found throughout the tropical world. A
+number of species occur in India. The best known of these is the
+coppersmith, or crimson-breasted barbet (_Xantholaema haematocephala_),
+the little green fiend, gaudily painted about the head, which makes the
+hot weather in India seem worse than it really is by filling the welkin
+with the eternal monotone that resembles the sound of a hammer on a
+brazen vessel. Nearly as widely distributed are the various species of
+green barbet (_Thereiceryx_), whose call is scarcely less exasperating
+than that of the coppersmith, and may be described as the word _kutur_
+shouted many times and usually preceded by a harsh laugh or cackle.
+
+The finest of all the barbets are the _Megalaemas_. The great
+Himalayan barbet attains a length of 13 inches. There is no lack of
+colour in its plumage. The head and neck are a rich violet blue. The
+upper back is brownish olive with pale green longitudinal streaks.
+The lower back and the tail are bright green. The wings are green
+washed with blue, brown, and yellow. The upper breast is brown, and
+the remainder of the lower plumage, with the exception of a scarlet
+patch of feathers under the tail, is yellow with a blue band running
+along the middle line. This bright red patch under the tail is not
+uncommon in the bird world, and, curiously enough, it occurs in birds
+in no way related to one another and having little or nothing in common
+as regards habits. It is seen in many bulbuls, robins, and woodpeckers,
+and in the pitta. The existence of these red under tail-coverts in
+such diverse species can, I think, be explained only on the hypothesis
+that there is an inherent tendency to variation in this direction
+in many species.
+
+A striking feature of the great Himalayan barbet is its massive yellow
+bill, which is as large as that of some species of toucan. Although
+the bird displays a number of brilliant colours, it is not at all
+easy to distinguish from its leafy surroundings. It is one of those
+birds which are heard more often than seen.
+
+Barbets are never so happy as when listening to their own voices.
+Most birds sing and make a joyful noise only at the nesting season.
+Not so the barbets; they call all the year round; even unfledged
+nestlings raise up the voices of infantile squeakiness.
+
+The call of the great Himalayan barbet is very distinctive and easy
+to recognise, but is far from easy to portray in words. Jerdon
+described the call as a plaintive _pi-o_, _pi-o_. Hutton speaks of
+it as _hoo-hoo-hoo_. Scully syllabises it as _till-low_, _till-low_,
+_till-low_. Perhaps the best description of the note is that it is
+a mournful wailing, _pee-yu_, _pee-yu_, _pee-yu_. Some like the note,
+and consider it both striking and pleasant. Others would leave out
+the second adjective. Not a few regard the cry as the reverse of
+pleasant, and consider the bird a nuisance. As the bird is always
+on the move--its call at one moment ascends from the depths of a leafy
+valley and at the next emanates from a tree on the summit of some
+hill--the note does not get on one's nerves as that of the coppersmith
+does. Whether men like its note or not, they all agree that it is
+plaintive and wailing. This, too, is the opinion of hillmen, some
+of whom declare that the souls of men who have suffered injuries in
+the Law Courts, and who have in consequence died of broken hearts,
+transmigrate into the great Himalayan barbets, and that is why these
+birds wail unceasingly _un-nee-ow_, _un-nee-ow_, which means
+"injustice, injustice." Obviously, the hillmen have not a high
+opinion of our Law Courts!
+
+Himalayan barbets go about in small flocks, the members of which call
+out in chorus. They keep to the top of high trees, where, as has been
+said, they are not easily distinguished from the foliage. When perched
+they have a curious habit of wagging the tail from side to side, as
+a dog does, but with a jerky, mechanical movement. Their flight is
+noisy and undulating, like that of a woodpecker. They are said to
+subsist exclusively on fruit. This is an assertion which I feel
+inclined to challenge. In the first place, the species remains in
+the Himalayas all the year round, and fruit must be very scarce there
+in winter. Moreover, Mr. S. M. Townsend records that a barbet kept
+by him in captivity on one occasion devoured with gusto a dead mouse
+that had been placed in its cage. Barbets nest in cavities in the
+trunks of trees, which they themselves excavate with their powerful
+beaks, after the manner of woodpeckers. The entrance to the nest
+cavity is a neat circular hole in a tree at heights varying from 15
+to 50 feet. Most birds which rear their broods in holes enter and
+leave the nest cavity fearlessly, even when they know they are being
+watched by human beings, evidently feeling that their eggs or young
+birds are securely hidden away in the heart of the tree. Not so the
+_Megalaema_. It is as nervous about the site of its nest as a lapwing
+is. Nevertheless, on one occasion, when the nest of a pair of the
+great Himalayan barbets was opened out and found to contain an egg
+and a young bird, which latter was left unmolested, the parent birds
+continued to feed the young one, notwithstanding the fact that the
+nest had been so greatly damaged. The eggs are white, like those of
+all species which habitually nest in holes.
+
+
+
+
+_PART II_
+_The Common Birds of the Nilgiris_
+
+
+
+
+_THE COMMON BIRDS OF THE NILGIRIS_
+
+
+The avifauna of the Nilgiris is considerably smaller than that of
+the Himalayas. This phenomenon is easily explained. The Nilgiris
+occupy a far less extensive area; they display less diversity of
+climate and scenery; the lofty peaks, covered with eternal snow, which
+form the most conspicuous feature of the Himalayan landscape, are
+wanting in the Nilgiris.
+
+The birds found in and about a Nilgiri hill station differ in character
+from those of the plains distant but a score of miles.
+
+Of the common birds of the plains of Madras, the only ones that are
+really abundant on the Nilgiris are the black crow, the sparrow, the
+white-eye, the Madras bulbul, the myna, the purple sunbird, the
+tailor-bird, the ashy wren-warbler, the rufous-backed shrike, the
+white-browed fantail flycatcher, the Indian pipit, the Indian
+skylark, the common kingfisher, the pied crested cuckoo, the
+scavenger vulture, the Pondicherry vulture, the white-backed vulture,
+the shikra, the spotted dove, and the little brown dove.
+
+The distribution of the avifauna of mountainous countries is largely
+a matter of elevation. At the base of the Nilgiris all the plains
+birds of the neighbourhood occur, and most of them extend some way
+up the hillsides. The majority, however, do not ascend as high as
+1000 feet.
+
+At elevations of 3000 feet the avifauna of the hills is already
+markedly different from that of the plains; nevertheless many of the
+hill species do not descend to this level, at any rate in the summer.
+
+It is, therefore, necessary, when speaking of a plains bird as
+occurring or not occurring on the hills, to define precisely what
+is intended by this expression.
+
+That which follows is written for people who visit the Nilgiri hill
+stations in the hot weather, and therefore the birds described are
+those which occur at elevations of 5500 feet and upwards in the summer.
+Those which visit the hills only in winter are either altogether
+ignored or given but the briefest mention.
+
+This article does not deal exhaustively with the birds of the
+Nilgiris; it is merely a short account of the birds commonly seen
+in the higher regions of those hills during the summer months. To
+compile an exhaustive list would be easy. I refrain from doing so
+because a reader unacquainted with Indian ornithology would, if
+confronted by such a list, find it difficult to identify the common
+birds.
+
+With this by way of introduction, I will proceed to describe the birds
+in question, dealing with them according to the classification
+adopted in the standard book on Indian ornithology--the bird volumes
+of the "Fauna of British India" series.
+
+
+THE CORVIDAE OR CROW FAMILY
+
+This family is not nearly so well represented on the Nilgiris as it
+is in the Himalayas. The only crow found on the Nilgiris is the Indian
+corby (_Corvus macrorhynchus_)--the large black crow familiar to
+persons living in the plains. He, alas, is plentiful in the various
+hill stations; but it is some consolation that the grey-necked
+_Corvus_ ceases from troubling those who seek the cool heights.
+
+Like the grey-necked crow, the Indian tree-pie is not found at the
+Nilgiri hill stations--5000 feet appears to be the highest elevation
+to which he attains.
+
+Of the tits only one species can be said to be common on the higher
+Nilgiris: this is the Indian grey tit (_Parus atriceps_)--a striking
+little bird, smaller than a sparrow. The head, throat, and neck are
+black, and a strip of this hue runs down the middle of the abdomen.
+The wings and tail are grey. The cheeks, the sides of the abdomen,
+and a patch on the back of the head are white. There is also a narrow
+white bar in the wing, and the grey tail is edged with white. The
+bird is found all over India, but is far more abundant on the hills
+than in the plains.
+
+Another tit which, I believe, does not ascend so high as Ootacamund,
+but which is not uncommon in the vicinity of Coonoor is the southern
+yellow tit (_Machlolophus haplonotus_). This bird is not, as its name
+would seem to imply, clothed from head to foot in yellow. Its
+prevailing hues are green and brown. The head, breast, and upper
+abdomen are bright yellow, except the crown, crest, a broad streak
+behind the eye, and a band running from the chin to the abdomen, which
+are black. It is impossible to mistake this sprightly little bird,
+which is like the English tom-tit in shape. Tits are arboreal in
+habits; they seldom descend to the ground. Sometimes they go about
+in small flocks. They are supposed to live chiefly on insects, but
+most of them feed on fruit and seeds also, and the grey tit, alas,
+eats peas, among which it works sad havoc. The inhabitants of the
+Nilgiris call this last _Puttani kurivi_, which, I understand, means
+the pea-bird.
+
+
+THE CRATEROPODIDAE OR BABBLER FAMILY
+
+This heterogeneous family is well represented in the Nilgiris.
+
+The Madras seven sisters (_Crateropus griseus_) do not ascend the
+hills to any considerable height. But, of course there are seven
+sisters in the hills. Every part of India has its flocks of babblers.
+The Nilgiri babbler is a shy bird; it seems to dislike being watched.
+One might think it is aware that it is not so beautiful as it might
+be. But this cannot be the reason, because it has no objection to
+any person hearing its voice, which may be likened to the squeak of
+a rusty axle. This Nilgiri babbler does not enter gardens unless they
+are somewhat unkempt and contain plenty of thick bushes.
+
+_Mirabile dictu_, this shy and retiring bird is none other than the
+jungle babbler (_Crateropus canorus_)--the common seven sisters or
+_sath bhai_--which in northern India is as bold and almost as
+confiding as the robin. No one has attempted to explain why the habits
+of this species on the Nilgiris should differ so much from those it
+displays in other places.
+
+The southern scimitar-babbler (_Pomatorhinus horsfieldi_), like the
+jungle babbler on the Nilgiris, is a bird heard more often than seen.
+
+Every person who has spent any time at Coonoor must be well acquainted
+with the notes of this species. A common call is a loud
+_ko-ko-ko-e-e-e_. Sometimes one bird calls _ko-ko-ko_, and another
+answers _ko-ee_. When the birds are feeding in company, they keep
+up a continual chatter, which is not unpleasing to the ear. When
+alarmed they give vent to a harsh cry of a kind characteristic of
+the babbler tribe. The scimitar-babbler is a bird nearly as big as
+a myna. It is of brownish hue and has a tail of moderate length. The
+breast and chin are pure white, and there is a white line running
+along each side of the head from front to back. The yellow beak is
+long and curved, hence the adjectival "scimitar." It is impossible
+to mistake the bird. The difficulty is to obtain anything more than
+a fleeting glimpse of it. It is so shy that it takes cover the instant
+it knows that it is being watched. It hops about in thick bushes with
+considerable address, much as a crow-pheasant does. It feeds on
+insects, which it picks off the ground or from leaves and trunks of
+trees. It uses the long bill as a probe, by means of which it secures
+insects lurking in the crevices of bark.
+
+The Nilgiri laughing-thrush (_Trochalopterum cachinnans_) is a very
+common bird on the hills. Like the two species of babbler already
+described, it is a shy creature, living amid thick shrubs, from which
+it seldom ventures far. The head is slightly crested, the upper
+plumage, including the wings and tail, is olive brown. The head is
+set off by a white eyebrow. The under parts are chestnut. The beak
+and legs are black. Laughing-thrushes congregate in small flocks.
+They subsist chiefly on fruit. Their cry is loud and characteristic;
+it may be described as a bird's imitation of human laughter. Their
+cheerful calls are among the sounds heard most often at Ootacamund
+and Coonoor.
+
+The Indian white-eye (_Zosterops palpebrosa_) is a bird that has
+puzzled systematists. Jerdon classed it among the tits, and its habits
+certainly justify the measure; but later ornithologists have not
+accepted the dictum "Manners makyth bird," and have placed the
+white-eye among the babblers.
+
+The white-eye is a plump little bird, considerably smaller than a
+sparrow. The head and back are yellowish green, becoming almost golden
+in the sunlight. The wings and tail are brown. The chin, breast, and
+feathers under the tail are bright yellow, the abdomen is white. Round
+the eye is a ring of white feathers, interrupted in front by a black
+patch.
+
+From this ring--its most striking feature--the bird has derived its
+name. The ring is very regular, and causes the bird to look as though
+it had been decorating its eye with Aspinall's best enamel.
+
+White-eyes invariably go about in flocks; each member of the company
+utters unceasingly a cheeping note in order to keep his fellows
+apprized of his movements. These birds feed largely on insects, which
+they pick off leaves in truly tit-like manner, sometimes even hanging
+head downwards in order to secure a morsel.
+
+The beautiful southern green-bulbul (_Chloropsis malabarica_) is
+numbered among the Crateropodidae. It is not a true bulbul. It is
+common on the lower slopes of the Nilgiris, but does not often venture
+as high as Coonoor. A rich green bulbul-like bird with a golden
+forehead, a black chin and throat, and a patch of blue on the wing
+can be none other than this species.
+
+The true bulbuls are also classified among the Crateropodidae.
+
+My experience is that the common bulbul of the plains--_Molpastes
+haemorrhous_, or the Madras red-vented bulbul--is very rarely seen
+at the Nilgiri hill stations. Jerdon, likewise, states that it ascends
+the Nilgiris only up to about 6000 feet. Davison, however, declares
+that the bird begins to get common 4 miles from Ootacamund and is
+very numerous about Coonoor and all down the ghats. Be this as it
+may, the Madras red-vented bulbul is not the common bulbul of the
+Nilgiris. Its sweet notes are very largely, if not entirely, replaced
+by the yet sweeter and more cheery calls of the hill-bulbul. It will
+be labour lost to look up this name in Oates's ornithology, because
+it does not occur in that work. The smart, lively little bird, whose
+unceasing twittering melody gives our southern hill stations half
+their charm, has been saddled by men of science with the pompous
+appellation _Otocompsa fuscicaudata_. Even more objectionable is the
+English name for the pretty, perky bird. What shall I say of the good
+taste of those who call it the red-whiskered bulbul, as though it
+were a seedy Mohammedan who dips his grizzly beard in a pot of red
+dye by way of beautifying it? I prefer to call this bird the southern
+hill-bulbul. This name, I admit, leaves something to be desired,
+because the species is not confined to the hills. It is to be found
+in most places along the west coast. Nor is it the only bulbul living
+on the hills. The justification for the name is that if a census were
+taken of the bird-folk who dwell in our hill stations, it would show
+that _Otocompsa fuscicaudata_ outnumbered all the crows, mynas,
+sparrows, flycatchers, and sunbirds put together. It is _the_ bird
+of the southern hills. Every thicket, every tree--nay, every bush
+on the hills--has its pair of bulbuls. This species has distinctive
+plumage. Its most striking feature is a perky crest, which arises
+from the crown of the head and terminates in a forwardly-directed
+point, like Mr. Punch's cap. The crest is black and gives the bird
+a very saucy air. The wings and tail are dark brown, but each feather
+has a pale edge, which makes a pattern like scales on a fish. Below
+the eye is a brilliant patch of crimson. A similarly-coloured but
+larger patch is displayed at the base of the tail. The lower part
+of the cheek is white; this is divided off from the snowy breast by
+a narrow black band. The breast is, in its turn, separated from the
+greyish abdomen by a broad black band, which ornithologists term a
+collaret. Sometimes the collaret is interrupted in the middle. The
+hill-bulbul is a most vivacious bird. From dawn to sunset it is an
+example of perpetual motion. Its vocal cords are as active as its
+wings. The tinkling sounds of this bulbul form the dominant notes
+of the bird chorus. Husband and wife almost always move about in
+company. They flit from tree to tree, from bush to bush, plucking
+raspberries and other hill fruit as they pass. Bulbuls eat insects,
+but not when fruit is available. Like all birds bulbuls have large
+appetites. Recently I saw an Otocompsa devour three wild raspberries
+within as many minutes, each berry was swallowed at one gulp--a
+surprising feat, considering the small size of the bird's bill.
+
+A bulbul's nest is a beautifully-shaped cup, usually placed in a bush
+at about 3 feet from the ground. As a rule, the bulbul selects an
+exposed site for its nest; in consequence many of the eggs are devoured
+by lizards. Crows in particular are addicted to young bulbuls, and
+take full advantage of the simplicity of the parent birds. Probably,
+three out of four broods never reach maturity. But the bulbul is a
+philosophic little bird. It never cries over broken eggs. If one
+clutch is destroyed it lays another.
+
+The yellow-browed bulbul (_Iole icteria_) demands notice in passing,
+because it is common on the minor ranges. Its upper plumage is greenish
+yellow, the wings being darker than the back. The lower parts are
+canary yellow; the bird has also a yellow ring round the eye. Its
+note has been described as a soft, mellow whistle.
+
+A very different bird is the southern or Nilgiri black bulbul
+(_Hypsipetes ganeesa_). This is an untidy-looking creature. Its
+crest is ragged. Its general hue is shabby black or brown, tinged
+with grey in places. The bill and feet are bright coral red. Black
+bulbuls utter a variety of notes, most of which are pleasing to the
+human ear, although they incline to harshness. The birds go about
+in flocks.
+
+
+THE SITTIDAE OR NUTHATCH FAMILY
+
+Nuthatches are little climbing birds characterised by short tails.
+Like woodpeckers, they feed on insects, which they pick off the trunks
+and branches of trees. Unlike woodpeckers, however, they move about
+the trunks of trees with the head pointing indifferently downwards
+or upwards. The common nuthatch of the Nilgiris is the velvet-fronted
+blue nuthatch (_Sitta frontalis_). The upper plumage is dark blue,
+the cock having a velvety-black forehead and a black streak through
+the eye. The lower parts are creamy white. The bill is coral red.
+The note is a loud _tee-tee-tee_.
+
+
+THE DICRURIDAE OR DRONGO FAMILY
+
+Several species of drongo or king-crow occur on the Nilgiris, but
+not one of them is sufficiently abundant to be numbered among the
+common birds of the hill stations.
+
+
+THE SYLVIIDAE OR WARBLER FAMILY
+
+Of the warblers it may be said "their name is legion." So many species
+exist, and the various species are so difficult to differentiate,
+that the family drives most field ornithologists to the verge of
+despair. Many of the Indian warblers are only winter visitors to India.
+Eliminating these, only two warblers are entitled to a place among
+the common birds of the Nilgiris. These are the tailor-bird and the
+ashy wren-warbler.
+
+At Coonoor the tailor-bird (_Orthotomus sartorius_) is nearly as
+abundant as it is in the plains. Oates, be it noted, states that this
+species does not ascend the hills higher than 4000 feet. As a matter
+of fact, the tailor-bird does not venture quite up to the plateau,
+but it is perfectly at home at all elevations below 6000 feet. This
+species may be likened to a wren that has grown a respectable tail.
+The forehead is ruddy brown, the back of the head is grey, the back
+is brown tinged with green. The lower plumage is a pale cream colour.
+There is a black patch or bar on each side of the neck, visible only
+when the bird stretches its neck to utter its loud _to-wee_, _to-wee_,
+_to-wee_. In the breeding season the shafts of the middle pair of
+tail feathers of the cock grow out beyond the rest. These projecting,
+bristle-like feathers render the cock easy of identification.
+
+The ashy wren-warbler (_Prinia socialis_) is another "tiny brownie
+bird." The wings and tail are brown, the remainder of the upper plumage
+is the colour of ashes, the under parts are cream coloured. This
+warbler is a slight, loosely-built bird, and is easily distinguished
+from others of its kind by the curious snapping noise it makes as
+it flits from bush to bush. It occurs in pairs or singly. Davison
+remarks that it is "very fond of working its way up to some conspicuous
+post--to the top of one of the long flower-stalks of _Lobelia excelsa_,
+for instance--where it will halt for a minute or two, and then, after
+making a feeble attempt at a song, will dive suddenly in the brushwood
+and disappear."
+
+
+THE LANIIDAE OR SHRIKE FAMILY
+
+Shrikes or butcher-birds are hawks in miniature, as regards habits
+if not in structure. With the exception of the brown shrike (_Lanius
+cristatus_), which is merely a winter visitor to India, the
+rufous-backed shrike (_L. erythronotus_) is the only butcher-bird
+common on the Nilgiris. The head of this species is pale grey, the
+back is of ruddy hue. The lower parts are white. The forehead and
+a broad band running through the eye are black. A bird having a broad
+black band through the eye is probably a shrike, and if the bird in
+question habitually sits on an exposed branch or other point of
+vantage, and from thence swoops on to the ground to secure some insect,
+the probability of its being a butcher-bird becomes a certainty.
+
+Closely related to the shrikes are the minivets. Minivets are birds
+of tit-like habits which wander about in small flocks from place to
+place picking insects from the leaves of trees. They are essentially
+arboreal birds. I have never seen a minivet on the ground.
+
+The common minivet of the Nilgiris is the orange minivet
+(_Pericrocotus flammeus_). The head and back of the cock are black.
+His wings are black and flame-colour, the red being so arranged as
+to form a band running lengthwise and not across the wing. The tail
+feathers are red, save the median pair, which are black. During flight
+the flashing red obliterates the black, so that the moving birds
+resemble tongues of flame and present a beautiful and striking
+spectacle. The hen is marked like the cock, but in her the red is
+replaced by bright yellow. This beautiful bird ceases to be abundant
+at elevations higher than Coonoor.
+
+
+THE ORIOLIDAE OR ORIOLE FAMILY
+
+Both the Indian oriole (_Oriolus kundoo_) and the black-headed oriole
+(_O. melanocephalus_) occur on the Nilgiris, but on the higher ranges
+they are nowhere numerous. They therefore merit only passing notice.
+
+
+THE STURNIDAE OR STARLING FAMILY
+
+The common myna of the Nilgiris is not _Acridotheres tristis_ but
+_AEthiopsar fuscus_--the jungle myna. The casual observer usually
+fails to notice any difference between the two species, so closely
+do they resemble one another. Careful inspection, however, shows that
+the jungle myna has a little patch of feathers in front of the head
+over the beak. _AEthiopsar fuscus_ has all the habits of the common
+myna. Like the latter, it struts about sedately in company with cattle
+in order to snatch up the grasshoppers disturbed by the moving
+quadrupeds. It feeds largely on the insects that infest the capsules
+of _Lobelia excelsa_, and is often to be seen clinging, like a tit,
+to the stem in order to secure the insects. Davidson gives these mynas
+a very bad character, he declares that they do immense damage to the
+fruit gardens on the Nilgiris, so that without the aid of nets, it
+is next to impossible to preserve pears from their depredations.
+
+No other species of myna is common on the Nilgiris.
+
+
+THE MUSCICAPIDAE OR FLYCATCHER FAMILY
+
+As in the Himalayas so on the Nilgiris the family of flycatchers is
+well represented. In one small Nilgiri wood I have come across no
+fewer than six species of flycatcher.
+
+The beautiful little black-and-orange flycatcher (_Ochromela
+nigrirufa_) is a bird peculiar to the hills of Southern India.
+
+The head and wings of the cock are black, the rest of the body is
+orange, of deeper hue on the back and breast than on the other parts.
+The portions of the plumage that are black in the cock are slaty brown
+in the hen. This flycatcher feeds on insects. But unlike most of its
+kind, it picks them off the ground more often than it secures them
+in the air.
+
+It never takes a long flight, and almost invariably perches on a branch
+not more than two feet above the ground. It emits a low cheeping
+note--a _chur-r-r_, which is not unlike the sound made by some
+insects.
+
+The Nilgiri blue-flycatcher (_Stoparola albicaudata_) is
+stoutly-built and a little larger than a sparrow. The male is clothed
+from head to tail in dark blue; his wife is more dingy, having a
+plentiful admixture of brownish grey in her plumage. Blue-flycatchers
+often occur in little flocks. They have the usual habits of their
+family, except that they seem sometimes to eat fruit.
+
+A pretty little bird, of which the head, back, tail, and wings are
+deep blue, and the breast is orange fading into pale yellow towards
+the abdomen, is Tickell's blue-flycatcher (_Cyornis tickelli_). It
+has the characteristic habits of its tribe, and continually makes,
+from a perch, little sallies into the air after flying insects. But,
+more often than not it starts from one branch, and, having secured
+its quarry, alights on another. It sings a joyous lay, not unlike
+that of the fantail-flycatcher, but less sweet and powerful. It nests
+in a hole in a tree or bank, laying in May two or three eggs very
+thickly speckled with red spots.
+
+The grey-headed flycatcher (_Culicicapa ceylonensis_) is a bird of
+somewhat sombre plumage. Its total length is only five inches, and
+of this half is composed of tail. The head is ashy grey, the back
+and wings are greenish; the lower plumage is bright yellow, but this
+is not conspicuous except when the bird is on the wing. This flycatcher
+has a loud song, which may be syllabised: _Think of me.... Never to
+be_.
+
+The white-browed fantail-flycatcher (_Rhipidura albifrontata_),
+which delights the inhabitants of Madras with its cheerful whistle
+of five or six notes, occurs on the Nilgiris, but is there largely
+replaced by an allied species--the white-spotted fantail-flycatcher
+(_R. pectoralis_). The latter has all the habits of the former. Both
+make the same melody, and each has the habit of spreading out and
+erecting the tail whenever it settles on a perch after a flight. The
+white-spotted is distinguishable from the white-browed species by
+the white eyebrow being much narrower and less conspicuous. It is
+a black bird with a white abdomen, some white in the wings and tail,
+a few white spots on the chin, and the white eyebrow mentioned above.
+
+The most beautiful of all the flycatchers is _Terpsiphone
+paradisi_--the paradise-flycatcher, or ribbon-bird, as it is often
+called. This is fairly abundant on the Nilgiris. The cock in the full
+glory of his adult plumage is a truly magnificent object. His crested
+head is metallic blue-black. This stands out in sharp contrast to
+the remainder of the plumage, which is as white as snow. Two of his
+tail feathers, being 12 inches longer than the others, hang down like
+satin streamers. Young cocks are chestnut instead of white. Birds
+in both phases of plumage breed. The hen has the metallic blue-black
+crested head, but she lacks the elongated tail feathers. Her plumage
+is chestnut, like that of the young cock. In both the hen and the
+young cock the breast is white. As "Eha" remarks, the hen looks very
+like a bulbul.
+
+
+THE TURDIDAE OR THRUSH FAMILY
+
+This heterogeneous family includes thrushes, chats, robins,
+accentors, and dippers.
+
+The southern pied bush-chat (_Pratincola atrata_) is one of the
+commonest and most familiar birds of the Nilgiris. It frequents
+gardens and is often found near houses: hence it is known as the
+hill-robin. The cock is clothed in black except the lower part of
+the back, the under parts, and a bar on the wing, which are white.
+Those parts that are black in the cock are brown in the hen, while
+her back and under parts are russet instead of white, but the white
+bar on the wing persists. This species lives on insects. It dwells
+in low shrubs and captures its quarry on the ground. It nests in a
+hole in a bank or well, lining the same with grass or hair. But summer
+visitors to the hills are not likely to come across the eggs, because
+these are usually hatched before May.
+
+The Nilgiri blackbird (_Merula simillima_) is very like the blackbird
+of England. The plumage of the cock, however, is not so black, and
+the legs, instead of being brown, are reddish. Its charming song,
+with which all who have visited Ootacamund are familiar, is almost
+indistinguishable from that of its European cousin.
+
+The Nilgiri thrush (_Oreocincla nilgirensis_) resembles the European
+thrush in appearance. Its upper plumage is pale brown, spotted with
+black and buff; its throat and abdomen are white with black drops.
+This bird has a fine powerful song, but he who wishes to hear it has
+usually to resort to one of the forests on the plateau of the Nilgiris.
+
+
+THE PLOCEIDAE OR WEAVER-BIRD FAMILY
+
+This family includes the weaver-birds, famous for their wonderful
+hanging retort-shaped nests, and the munias, of which the amadavat
+or _lal_ is familiar to every resident of India as a cage bird.
+
+The weaver-birds do not ascend the hills, but several species of munia
+are found on the Nilgiris. Spotted munias (_Uroloncha punctulata_)
+are abundant in the vicinity of both Coonoor and Ootacamund. They
+occur in flocks on closely-cropped grassland. They feed on the ground.
+They are tiny birds, not much larger than white-eyes. The upper
+plumage is chocolate brown, becoming a rich chestnut about the head
+and neck, while the breast and abdomen are mottled black and white,
+hence the popular name. The black spots on the breast and abdomen
+cause these to look like the surface of a nutmeg grater; for that
+reason this munia is sometimes spoken of as the nutmeg-bird. The
+rufous-bellied munia (_Uroloncha pectoralis_) occurs abundantly a
+little below Coonoor, but does not appear to ascend so high as
+Ootacamund. Its upper parts are chocolate brown, save the feathers
+above the tail, which Oates describes as "glistening fulvous." The
+wings and tail are black, as are the cheeks, chin, and throat. The
+lower parts are pinkish brown. The stout bill is slaty blue. Like
+the spotted munia, this species is considerably smaller than a
+sparrow.
+
+The Indian red-munia or red waxbill or _lal_ (_Sporaeginthus
+amandava_) is another very small bird. Its bill and eyes are bright
+red. Over its brown plumage are dotted many tiny white spots. There
+are also some large patches of red or crimson, notably one on the
+rump. The amount of crimson varies considerably; in the breeding
+season nearly the whole of the upper plumage of the cock is crimson.
+Amadavats go about in flocks and utter a cheeping note during flight.
+Their happy hunting grounds are tangles of long grass. Amadavats occur
+all over the Nilgiris.
+
+
+THE FRINGILLIDAE OR FINCH FAMILY
+
+Finches are seed-eating birds characterised by a stout bill, which
+is used for husking grain.
+
+The common sparrow (_Passer domesticus_) is the best known member
+of the finch family. Most of us see too much of him. He is to be observed
+in every garden on the Nilgiris, looking as though the particular
+garden in which he happens to be belongs to him. As a rule, sparrows
+nest about houses, but numbers of them breed in the steep cuttings
+on the road between Coonoor and Ootacamund.
+
+The only other finch common on the Nilgiris is the rose-finch
+(_Carpodacus erythrinus_). This, however, is only a winter visitor:
+it departs from the Nilgiris in April and does not return until the
+summer season is over.
+
+
+THE HIRUNDINIDAE OR SWALLOW FAMILY
+
+This family includes the swallows and the martins.
+
+The swallows commonly found on the Nilgiris in summer are the Nilgiri
+house-swallow (_Hirundo javanica_) and the red-rumped or mosque
+swallow (_H. erythropygia_). I regret to have to state that Oates
+has saddled the latter with the name "Sykes's striated swallow"; he
+was apparently seduced by the sibilant alliteration!
+
+Those two swallows are easily distinguished. The latter is the larger
+bird; its upper parts are glossy steel-blue, except the rump, which
+is of chestnut hue. The house-swallow has the rump glossy black, but
+it displays a good deal of red about the head and neck.
+
+In the cold weather the European swallow and two species of martin
+visit the Nilgiris.
+
+
+THE MOTACILLIDAE OR WAGTAIL FAMILY
+
+In the winter several kinds of wagtail visit the Nilgiris, but only
+one species remains all the year round. This is the beautiful pied
+wagtail (_Motacilla maderaspatensis_), of which the charming song
+must be familiar to all residents of Madras. On the Nilgiris the bird
+is not sufficiently common to require more than passing notice.
+
+The pipits are members of the wagtail family. They have not the lively
+colouring of the wagtails, being clothed, like skylarks, in homely
+brown, spotted or streaked with dark brown or black. They have the
+wagtail trick of wagging the tail, but they perform the action in
+a half-hearted manner.
+
+The two pipits most often seen on the Nilgiris in summer are the
+Nilgiri pipit (_Anthus nilgirensis_) and the Indian pipit (_A.
+rufulus_). I know of no certain method of distinguishing these two
+species without catching them and examining the hind toe. This is
+much shorter in the former than in the latter species. The Nilgiri
+pipit goes about singly or in pairs, and, although it frequents grassy
+land, it usually keeps to cover and flies into a tree or bush when
+alarmed. It is confined to the highest parts of the Nilgiris. The
+Indian pipit affects open country and seems never to perch in trees.
+
+
+THE ALAUDIDAE OR LARK FAMILY
+
+The Indian skylark (_Alauda gulgula_) is common on the Nilgiris.
+Wherever there is a grassy plain this species is found. Like the
+English skylark, it rises to a great height in the air, and there
+pours forth its fine song.
+
+To the ordinary observer the Indian skylark is indistinguishable from
+its European congener.
+
+The other common lark of the Nilgiris is the Malabar crested lark
+(_Galerita cristata_). This is in shape and colouring very like the
+Indian skylark, but is easily distinguished by the pointed crest that
+projects upwards and backwards from the hind part of the head. The
+crested lark has a pretty song, which is often poured forth when the
+bird is in the air. This species does not soar so high as the skylark.
+Like the latter, it frequents open spaces.
+
+
+THE NECTARINIDAE OR SUNBIRD FAMILY
+
+A bird of the plains which is to be seen in every Nilgiri garden is
+the beautiful little purple sunbird (_Arachnecthra asiatica_). He
+flits about in the sunbeams, passing from flower to flower, extracting
+with his long tubular tongue the nectar hidden away in their calyces.
+He is especially addicted to gladioli. His head gets well dusted with
+yellow pollen, which he carries like a bee from one bloom to another.
+In the case of flowers with very deep calyces, he sometimes makes
+short cut to the honey by piercing with his sharp curved bill a hole
+in the side through which to insert the tongue. The cock purple sunbird
+needs no description. His glistening metallic plumage compels
+attention. He is usually accompanied by his spouse, who is earthy
+brown above and pale yellow below.
+
+The other sunbird commonly seen in hill-gardens is one appropriately
+named the tiny sun bird or honeysucker (_Arachnecthra minima_), being
+less than two-thirds the size of a sparrow. As is usual with sunbirds,
+the cock is attired more gaily than the hen. He is a veritable
+feathered exquisite. Dame Nature has lavished on his diminutive body
+most of the hues to be found in her well-stocked paint-box. His
+forehead and crown are metallic green. His back is red, crimson on
+the shoulders. His lower plumage might be a model for the colouring
+of a Neapolitan ice-cream; from the chin downwards it displays the
+following order of colours: lilac, crimson, black, yellow. The hen
+is brown above, with a dull red rump, and yellow below.
+
+The purple-rumped sunbird (_Arachnecthra zeylonica_), which is very
+abundant in and about Madras, does not ascend the Nilgiris above 3000
+feet. Loten's sunbird (_A. lotenia_) ventures some 2500 feet higher,
+and has been seen in the vicinity of Coonoor. This species is in
+colouring almost indistinguishable from the purple sunbird, but its
+long beak renders it unmistakable.
+
+
+THE DICAEIDAE OR FLOWER-PECKER FAMILY
+
+Flower-peckers, like sunbirds, are feathered exquisites. The habits
+of the two families are very similar, save that flower-peckers dwell
+among the foliage of trees, while sunbirds, after the manner of
+butterflies, sip the nectar from flowers that grow near the ground.
+
+Every hill-garden can boast of one or two flower-peckers. These are
+among the smallest birds in existence. They are as restless as they
+are diminutive. So restless are they that it is very difficult to
+follow their movements through field-glasses, and they are so tiny
+that without the aid of field-glasses it is difficult to see them
+among the foliage in which they live, move, and have their being.
+These elusive mites continually utter a sharp _chick-chick-chick_.
+Two species are common on the Nilgiris.
+
+They are known as the Nilgiri flower-pecker (_Dicaeum concolor_) and
+Tickell's flower-pecker (_D. erythrorhynchus_). The latter is the
+more numerous. Both are olive-green birds, paler below than above.
+Tickell's species has the bill yellow: in the other the beak is
+lavender blue.
+
+
+THE PICIDAE OR WOODPECKER FAMILY
+
+Woodpeckers are birds that feed exclusively on insects, which they
+pick off the trunks of trees. They move about over the bark with great
+address. Whether progressing upwards, downwards, or sideways, the
+head is always pointed upwards.
+
+For some reason or other there is a paucity of woodpeckers on the
+Nilgiris. The Indian Empire can boast of no fewer than fifty-four
+species; of these only six patronise the Nilgiris, and but two appear
+to ascend higher than 5000 feet. The only woodpecker that I have
+noticed in the vicinity of Coonoor is Tickell's golden-backed
+woodpecker (_Chrysocolaptes gutticristatus_). I apologise for the
+name; fortunately the bird never has to sign it in full. This
+woodpecker is a magnificent bird, over a foot in length, being 1-1/2
+inch longer than the golden-backed species found in Madras itself.
+The cock has a crimson crest, the sides of the head and neck and the
+under parts are white, relieved by black streaks that run
+longitudinally. The back and wings appear golden olive in the shade,
+and when the sun shines on them they become a beautiful coppery red.
+The lower part of the back is crimson. The tail is black. The hen
+differs from the cock in having the crest black. When these birds
+fly, their wings make much noise. The species utters a high-pitched
+but somewhat faint screaming note.
+
+
+THE CAPITONIDAE OR BARBET FAMILY
+
+Barbets are tree-haunting birds characterised by massive bills. They
+have loud calls of two or three notes, which they repeat with much
+persistence. They nestle in trees, themselves excavating the nest
+cavity. The entrance to the nest is invariably marked by a neat round
+hole, a little larger than a rupee, in the trunk or a branch of a
+tree. The coppersmith is the most familiar member of the clan. It
+does not occur on the Nilgiris, but a near relative is to be numbered
+among the commonest birds of those hills, being found in every wood
+and in almost every garden. This bird is fully as vociferous as the
+coppersmith, but instead of crying, _tonk-tonk-tonk_, it suddenly
+bursts into a kind of hoarse laugh, and then settles down to a steady
+_kutur-kutur-kutur_, which resounds throughout the hillside. This
+call is perhaps the most familiar sound heard in the hills. This
+species is called the lesser green barbet (_Thereiceryx viridis_)
+to distinguish it from the larger green barbet of the plains (_T.
+zeylonicus_). It is a vivid green bird with a dull yellow patch, devoid
+of feathers, round the eye. There are some brown streaks on the breast.
+
+
+THE ALCEDINIDAE OR KINGFISHER FAMILY
+
+The only kingfisher that occurs abundantly throughout the Nilgiris
+is the common kingfisher (_Alcedo ispida_). This bird is not much
+larger than a sparrow. The head and nape are blue with faint black
+cross-bars. The back is glistening pale blue and the tail blue of
+darker hue. The wings are greenish blue. The sides of the head are
+gaily tinted with red, blue, black, and white. The lower parts are
+rusty red. The bill is black and the feet coral red. The beautiful
+white-breasted kingfisher (_Halcyon smyrnensis_)--the large blue
+species with the chocolate-coloured head and white breast--occurs
+on the Nilgiris at all elevations, but is not nearly so abundant as
+its smaller relative.
+
+
+THE CYPSELIDAE OR SWIFT FAMILY
+
+Four species of swift are to be seen on the Nilgiris; two of them
+are the fleetest birds in existence; these are the alpine swift
+(_Cypselus melba_) and the brown-necked spine-tail (_Chaetura
+indica_). The former progresses with ease at the rate of 100 miles
+an hour: the latter can cover 125 miles, while the former is flying
+100. If we poor human beings were possessed of the motive power of
+swifts we should think nothing of flying to England on ten days' casual
+leave. This may be possible a few years hence, thanks to the aeroplane;
+but even then the swifts will have the advantage as regards cheapness
+of transit. The lower parts of the alpine swift are white, while those
+of the spine-tail are rich brown. Hence the two species may be
+differentiated at a glance.
+
+The edible-nest swiftlet (_Collocalia fuciphaga_) is the commonest
+swift on the Nilgiris. It is only about half the size of the species
+mentioned above, being less than 5 inches in length. In my opinion,
+this bird is misnamed the edible-nest swiftlet, because a
+considerable quantity of grass and feathers is worked into the nest,
+and I, for my part, find neither grass nor feathers edible. But _chacun
+a son gout_.
+
+There is, however, an allied species--the little grey-rumped
+swiftlet (_C. francicia_)--found in the Andaman Islands--of which
+the nests are really good to eat. This species constructs its tiny
+saucer-shaped nursery entirely of its own saliva.
+
+April and May are the months in which to seek for the nests of the
+Nilgiri swiftlet, and the insides of caves the places where a search
+should be made.
+
+The fourth swift of the Nilgiris, the crested swift (_Macropteryx
+coronata_), is not sufficiently abundant to merit description in this
+essay.
+
+
+THE CAPRIMULGIDAE OR NIGHTJAR FAMILY
+
+Nightjars, or goatsuckers, to give them their ancient and
+time-honoured name, are birds that lie up during the day in shady
+woods and issue forth at dusk on silent wing in order to hawk insects.
+The most characteristic feature of a nightjar is its enormous
+frog-like mouth; but it is not easy to make this out in the twilight
+or darkness, so that the observer has to rely on other features in
+order to recognise goatsuckers when he sees them on the wing, such
+as their long tail and wings, their curious silent fluttering flight,
+their dark plumage with white or buff in the wings and tail, their
+crepuscular and nocturnal habits, and their large size. Nightjars
+are as large as pigeons.
+
+The common species of the Nilgiris is the jungle nightjar
+(_Caprimulgus indicus_). For a couple of hours after nightfall, and
+the same period before dawn in the spring, this bird utters its curious
+call--a rapidly-repeated _cuck-chug-chuck-chuck_.
+
+Horsfield's nightjar (_C. macrurus_) is perhaps not sufficiently
+abundant on the Nilgiris to deserve mention in this essay. A bird
+which after dark makes a noise like that produced by striking a plank
+with a hammer can be none other than this species.
+
+
+THE CUCULIDAE OR CUCKOO FAMILY
+
+The koel (_Eudynamis honorata_) occurs on the Nilgiris and has been
+shot at Ootacamund. It betrays its presence by its loud _ku-il_,
+_ku-il_, _ku-il_. The common cuckoo of the hills is the hawk-cuckoo
+(_Hierococcyx varius_) or brain-fever bird. Its crescendo
+_brain-fever_, BRAIN-FEVER, BRAIN-FEVER prevents any person from
+failing to notice it. It victimises laughing-thrushes and babblers.
+It has a large cousin (_H. sparverioides_), which also occurs on the
+Nilgiris, and which likewise screams _brain-fever_ at the top of its
+voice. Both species are like sparrow-hawks in appearance. The
+handsome pied crested cuckoo (_Coccystes jacobinus_), which cuckolds
+the seven sisters, is a bird easy to identify. It has a conspicuous
+crest. The upper plumage is glossy black, save for a white wing bar
+and white tips to the tail feathers. The lower parts are white.
+
+The common coucal or crow-pheasant (_Centropus sinensis_) is a cuckoo
+that builds a nest and incubates its eggs. It is as big as a pheasant,
+and is known as the Griff's pheasant because new arrivals in India
+sometimes shoot it as a game bird. If naturalists could show that
+this cuckoo derived any benefit from its resemblance to a pheasant,
+I doubt not that they would hold it up as an example of protective
+mimicry. It is a black bird with rich chestnut wings. The black tail
+is nearly a foot long. The coucal is fairly abundant on the Nilgiris.
+
+
+THE PSITTACIDAE OR PARROT FAMILY
+
+The green parrots of the plains do not venture far up the slopes of
+the hills. The only species likely to be seen on the Nilgiris at
+elevations of 4000 feet and upwards is the blue-winged paroquet
+(_Palaeornis columboides_). This is distinguishable from the green
+parrots of the plains by having the head, neck, breast, and upper
+back dove-coloured. It has none of the aggressive habits of its
+brethren of the plains. It keeps mainly to dense forests. Jerdon
+describes its cry as "mellow, subdued, and agreeable." It is the prima
+donna of the Psittaci.
+
+Another member of the parrot family found on the Nilgiris is the Indian
+loriquet, or love-bird or pigmy parrot (_Loriculus vernalis_). This
+is a short-tailed bird about the size of a sparrow. It is grass green
+in colour, save for the red beak, a large crimson patch on the rump,
+and a small blue patch on the throat. This species does not obtrude
+itself on the observer. It is seen in cages more often than in a state
+of nature. It sleeps with the head hanging down after the manner of
+bats, hence Finn calls this pretty little bird the bat-parrot.
+
+
+THE STRIGIDAE OR OWL FAMILY
+
+Owls, like woodpeckers, do not patronise the Nilgiris very largely.
+The only owl that commonly makes itself heard on those mountains is
+the brown wood-owl (_Syrnium indrani_). This is the bird which perches
+on the roof of the house at night and calls _to-whoo_.
+
+Occasionally, especially round about Ootacamund, the grunting
+_ur-ur-ur-ur_ of the brown fish-owl (_Ketupa zeylonensis_) disturbs
+the silence of the night on the Nilgiris.
+
+
+THE VULTURIDAE OR VULTURE FAMILY
+
+Only four species of vulture occur on the hills of South India. One
+of these is the smaller white scavenger vulture (_Neophron
+ginginianus_), which is probably the ugliest bird in the world. Its
+plumage is dirty white, except the tips of the wings, which are black.
+The head is not bald, as is the case with most vultures; it is covered
+with projecting feathers that form an exceedingly bedraggled crest.
+The bill, the naked face, and the legs are yellow. This vulture is
+popularly known as the shawk or Pharaoh's chicken. Young scavenger
+vultures are sooty brown.
+
+The other three vultures common on the Nilgiris are the Pondicherry
+vulture (_Otogyps calvus_), the long-billed vulture (_Gyps indicus_),
+and the white-backed vulture (_Pseudogyps bengalensis_). The first
+is easily identified by means of its white waistcoat, a patch of white
+on the thighs, and large red wattles that hang down like the ears
+of a blood-hound. With the above exceptions the plumage is black.
+
+The long-billed vulture is of a uniform brown-grey colour.
+
+The white-backed vulture is a dark brown, almost black, bird, with
+a white back and a broad white band on the under surface of each wing,
+which is very noticeable when the bird is soaring high in the air
+on the watch for carrion.
+
+The two commonest vultures of the Nilgiris are the scavenger and the
+white-backed species.
+
+
+THE FALCONIDAE OR FAMILY OF BIRDS OF PREY
+
+The raptores are not very strongly represented on the Nilgiris. The
+only two eagles likely to be seen are Bonelli's eagle (_Hieraetus
+fasciatus_) and the black eagle (_Ictinaetus malayensis_). The
+plumage of the latter is of much darker hue than that of the former.
+
+Bonelli's eagle is a bold bird that works great havoc among tame
+pigeons. It sometimes carries off a barnyard fowl.
+
+The black eagle is content with smaller quarry: young birds, rats,
+and snakes, seem to constitute the chief articles of its diet.
+
+Needless to state, the common pariah kite (_Milvus govinda_) is found
+on the Nilgiris. This useful bird usually sails in graceful circles
+high overhead, looking for food. Its cry is not heard so frequently
+on those hills as in the Himalayas, the reason being the different
+configuration of the two ranges. The Nilgiris are undulating and
+downlike, hence the kites are able, while hovering higher than the
+summits of the hills, to see what is happening in the valleys. In
+the Himalayas they cannot do this, because the valleys are usually
+deep. The kites, therefore, sail there at a lower level than the
+hill-tops, and their plaintive _chee-hee-hee-hee-hee_ is heard
+throughout the day. It is not a very cheerful sound, so that in this
+respect the Nilgiris have an advantage over the Himalayas.
+
+The majority of the kites appear to migrate from the Nilgiris during
+the south-west monsoon.
+
+The Brahmany kite (_Haliastur indus_)--the handsome kite with white
+head and breast and rich chestnut-red wings--is sometimes seen on
+the Nilgiris, but scarcely sufficiently often to merit a place among
+the common birds.
+
+The three remaining raptores that are of frequent occurrence on the
+hills of South India are the shikra (_Astur badius_), the crested
+goshawk (_Lophospizias trivirgatus_), and the kestrel (_Tinnunculus
+alaudarius_). The shikra is very like the brain-fever bird in
+appearance. It is a little smaller than the common house-crow. The
+upper plumage is ashy grey. The tail is of the same hue, but with
+broad dark brown cross-bars. In young birds the breast is white with
+dark drops; in older birds the drops become replaced by wavy
+rust-coloured cross-bars. The eye is bright yellow, as is the cere
+or base of the beak. The crested goshawk may be described in brief
+as a large shikra with a crest.
+
+The kestrel is the bird known in England as the windhover, on account
+of its habit of hovering in mid-air on rapidly-vibrating wings before
+pouncing on the lizard or other small fry, for which it is ever on
+the watch. This species is about the same size as the shikra. The
+head, neck, and tail are grey; the back and wings are dull red. The
+lower parts are cream-coloured, spotted with brown.
+
+
+THE COLUMBIDAE OR DOVE FAMILY
+
+Jerdon's imperial pigeon (_Ducula cuprea_) is a beautiful bird 17
+inches long, of which the tail accounts for 7 inches. The prevailing
+hue of this pigeon is grey. The head, breast, abdomen, and neck are
+suffused with lilac. The back and wings are olive brown. The legs
+are dull lake red, as is the bill, except the tip, which is blue.
+This fine bird is confined to dense forest; it is said to be fond
+of the wild nutmeg.
+
+The Nilgiri wood-pigeon (_Alsocomus elphistonii_) is another
+forest-haunting bird. Its prevailing hue is dove grey, with a
+beautiful gloss on the back, which appears lilac in some lights and
+green in others. The only other ornament in its plumage is a
+black-and-white shepherd's plaid tippet. The wood-pigeon is as large
+as the imperial pigeon. Of the doves, that which is most often seen
+on the Nilgiris is the spotted dove (_Turtur suratensis_). This is
+easily distinguished from the other members of the family by its
+reddish wings spotted with dark brown and pale buff. The only other
+dove likely to be seen at the Nilgiri hill stations is the little
+brown dove (_T. cambayensis_), which utters a five-or-six-syllabled
+coo.
+
+
+THE PHASIANIDAE OR PHEASANT FAMILY
+
+This important family includes the pea- and the jungle-fowl and the
+various pheasants.
+
+The peacock is not found at altitudes above 4000 feet.
+
+Jungle-fowl are abundant on the Nilgiris. He who keeps his eyes open
+may occasionally see one of these birds running across a road in the
+hills. This must not lead the observer to think that jungle-fowl spend
+most of their time in sprinting across roads. The fact of the matter
+is that the fowl tribe do not appreciate their food unless they have
+to scratch for it. Paths and roads are highly scratchable objects,
+hence they are largely resorted to for food; further, they are used
+for the purpose of the daily dust-bath in which every self-respecting
+fowl indulges. If these birds are disturbed when feeding or bathing,
+they do not make for the nearest cover as most other birds do: they
+insist on running across the road, thereby giving the grateful
+sportsman a clear shot. The domestic rooster has the same habit. So
+has the Indian child. To test the truth of these assertions, it is
+only necessary to drive briskly along a street at the side of which
+children or fowls are playing in perfect safety. At the sight of the
+horse, the child or hen, as the case may be, makes a dash for the
+far side of the road, and passes almost under the horse's nose. The
+fowl always gets across safely. The child is not so fortunate.
+
+Two species of jungle-fowl have partitioned the Indian peninsula
+between them. The red species (_Gallus ferrugineus_) has
+appropriated the part of India which lies between Kashmir and the
+Godavery; while the grey jungle-fowl (_G. sonnerati_) has possessed
+itself of the territory south of the Godavery. The third jungle-fowl
+(_G. lafayetti_) has to be content with Ceylon, but the size of its
+name very nearly makes up for its deficiency in acres!
+
+Davison is my authority for stating that the _Strobilanthes whitiani_,
+which constitutes the main undergrowth of many of the forests of the
+Nilgiris, seeds only once in about seven years, and that when this
+plant is seeding the grey jungle-fowl assemble in vast numbers to
+feed on the seed. They collect in the same way for the sake of bamboo
+seeds. The crow of the cock, which is heard chiefly in the morning
+and the evening, is not like that of the red jungle-fowl. It has been
+syllabised _kuk-kah-kah-kaha-kuk_. The call of the hen may be
+expressed by the syllables _kukkun-kukkun_.
+
+The red spur-fowl (_Galloperdix spadicea_) is perhaps the most
+abundant game bird of the Nilgiris. It is quite partridge-like in
+shape. Both sexes have red legs and a patch of red skin round the
+eye. The feathers of the cock are dull red with blue edges, while
+those of the hen are black with broad buff margins. The cock may be
+described as a dull red bird with a grey head and some buff scale-like
+markings, and the hen as a grey bird, heavily barred with black.
+
+The only quail commonly seen on the Nilgiris is the painted bush-quail
+(_Microperdix erythrorhynchus_). A bird in shape like a partridge,
+but not much larger than a sparrow, is probably this species. The
+prevailing hue is umber brown with coarse black blotches. The cock
+has the breast white and the head black with a white eyebrow. The
+head of the hen is dull red. The bill, legs, and feet of both sexes
+are red.
+
+
+THE CHARADRIIDAE OR PLOVER FAMILY
+
+This very large family includes the plovers, sandpipers, and snipes.
+It is not very well represented on the Nilgiris. In winter snipe and
+woodcock visit those mountains and afford good sport to the human
+residents, but all have gone northward long before the summer visitors
+arrive.
+
+Several species of sandpiper likewise visit the Nilgiris in winter;
+one of these--the wood sandpiper (_Totanus glareola_)--tarries on
+until after the beginning of summer. This is a bird as large as a
+dove; its plumage is speckled brown and white. It looks somewhat like
+a snipe with a short bill. It lives on the margins of ponds and
+constantly wags its apology for a tail.
+
+
+THE RALLIDAE OR RAIL FAMILY
+
+The rails are not well represented on the Nilgiris.
+
+The water-hen (_Gallinula chloropus_) is common on the lake at
+Ootacamund. This is an olive-green bird about the size of a pigeon.
+Its bill and forehead are red; there is a patch of white under the
+tail. This species swims like a duck.
+
+Another rail which may be seen sometimes in the Botanical Gardens
+at Ootacamund is the white-breasted water-hen (_Amaurornis
+phoenicurus_). This is a black bird with the face, throat, and breast
+white. There is a chestnut-hued patch under the tail.
+
+
+THE ARDEIDAE OR HERON FAMILY
+
+Almost the only member of the heron family that visits the Nilgiri
+hill stations is the pond-heron or paddy-bird (_Ardeola grayii_).
+
+A colony of these birds pursues its avocations on the margin of the
+lake at Ootacamund, but I believe that I am right in saying that the
+paddy-birds of Ootacamund go to the plains for nesting purposes.
+
+
+
+
+_PART III_
+_The Common Birds of the Palni Hills_
+
+
+
+
+_THE COMMON BIRDS OF THE PALNI HILLS_
+
+
+For the benefit of those who visit Kodikanal I have compiled a list
+of the birds most commonly seen at altitudes of over 5000 feet in
+the Palni hills. I must here state that I have no first-hand knowledge
+of the avifauna of those hills, and the list that follows is based
+on the observations of Dr. Fairbank, made nearly 40 years ago.
+
+The avifauna of the Palni is a comparatively restricted one: which
+is in part doubtless explained by the comparatively small area of
+the higher ranges that is covered by forest.
+
+The great majority of the birds that follow have been described in
+the chapter on the birds of the Nilgiris, and I have contented myself
+with merely naming such.
+
+
+THE CORVIDAE OR CROW FAMILY
+
+1. _Corvus macrorhynchus_. The Indian corby. This is not very abundant
+above 5500 feet.
+
+2. _Dendrocitta rufa_. The tree-pie. This does not appear to occur
+above 5000 feet.
+
+3. _Machlolophus haplonotus_. The southern yellow tit. Occurs at
+Kodikanal, but is not very common there.
+
+
+THE CRATEROPODIDAE OR BABBLER FAMILY
+
+4. _Crateropus canorus_. The jungle babbler. This rarely ascends
+higher than 5000 feet.
+
+5. _Trochalopterum fairbanki_. The Palni laughing-thrush. This
+species is peculiar to the Palnis and the Anamallis. The head is very
+dark brown, almost black, with a broad white eyebrow. The cheeks are
+grey, as are the chin, throat, and breast. The back, wings, and tail
+are olive brown tinged with rusty red. The abdomen is bright rufous.
+The noisy cries of this bird are among the most familiar sounds of
+Kodikanal. It is destructive to peaches and raspberries.
+
+6. _Pomatorhinus horsfieldi_. The southern scimitar-babbler. This
+is not nearly so abundant on the Palnis as on the Nilgiris.
+
+7. _Zosterops palpebrosa_. The Indian white-eye. A common bird.
+
+8. _Iole icteria_. The yellow-browed bulbul. _Otocompsa
+fuscicaudata_. The southern red-whiskered bulbul or hill-bulbul. As
+in the Nilgiris so in the Palnis, this is the most abundant bird on
+the higher hills.
+
+9. _Molpastes haemorrhous_. The Madras red-vented bulbul. The higher
+one ascends, the rarer this bird becomes.
+
+10. _Hypsipetes ganeesa_. The southern black bulbul.
+
+11. _Myiophoneus horsfieldi_. The Malabar whistling-thrush or idle
+schoolboy. This fine but shy bird is found on the streams up to 6000
+feet. It is a bird as large as a crow, with glossy black plumage,
+in which are patches of bright cobalt blue.
+
+It is better known to the ear than to the eye. It emits a number of
+cheerful whistling notes.
+
+
+THE SITTIDAE OR NUTHATCH FAMILY
+
+12. _Sitta frontalis_. The velvet-fronted blue nuthatch. This bird
+is found in every part of the Palnis where there are trees.
+
+
+THE DICRURIDAE OR DRONGO FAMILY
+
+13. _Chaptia aenea_. The bronzed drongo. This species is not often
+seen at altitudes of more than 5000 feet above sea-level.
+
+It is like the common king-crow in appearance, but the plumage is
+glossed with a bronze sheen, and the tail is less markedly forked.
+
+
+THE SYLVIIDAE OR WARBLER FAMILY
+
+14. _Orthotomus sartorius_. The tailor bird. This has been seen as
+high as 5500 feet above the sea-level.
+
+15. _Prinia socialis_. The ashy wren-warbler.
+
+16. _Prinia inorata_. The Indian wren-warbler. This is very like the
+ashy wren-warbler in appearance. Its upper plumage is earthy-brown,
+and not reddish brown, and it does not make during flight the curious
+snapping noise so characteristic of _P. socialis_.
+
+
+THE LANIIDAE OR SHRIKE FAMILY
+
+17. _Lanius erythronotus_. The rufous-backed shrike.
+
+18. _Pericrocotus flammeus_. The orange minivet. This beautiful bird
+occurs from the bottom to the top of the Palnis.
+
+19. _Pericrocotus peregrinus_. The little minivet. This is a bird
+of the plains rather than of the hills. But as Fairbank observed it
+in the Palnis as high as 5000 feet, it is given a place in this list.
+_Cock_: Head and shoulders slaty grey, lower back deep scarlet, wings
+black with red bar, tail black with red at tip, chin and throat
+blackish, breast scarlet; lower plumage orange yellow. _Hen_: upper
+parts grey, lower parts creamy white, wing brown with yellow or orange
+bar, tail black with red tip.
+
+This species is smaller than a sparrow, but the tail is 3 inches long.
+
+
+THE ORIOLIDAE OR ORIOLE FAMILY
+
+20. _Oriolus melanocephalus_. The black-headed oriole. This species
+has been seen as high as 5000 feet above the sea-level. The cock is
+bright yellow, with a black head and some black in the wings and tail.
+The hen is of a much duller yellow and has the back tinged with green.
+
+
+THE STURNIDAE OR STARLING FAMILY
+
+Fairbank does not mention the jungle myna (_AEthiopsar fuscus_) in
+his list of the birds of the Palnis (_Stray Feathers_, vol. v, 1877).
+Yet this is precisely the myna one would expect to find on the Palnis,
+and it should be looked for.
+
+21. On the other hand, the Brahmany myna (_Temenuchus pagodarum_),
+which is essentially a bird of the plains, is said by Fairbank to
+occur "well up the hillsides."
+
+Of the common myna (_Acridotheres tristis_), he writes: "This is
+common around villages at 4000 feet."
+
+22. _Temenuchus pagodarum_. The Brahmany myna. Head and recumbent
+crest black. Wings black and grey. Tail brown with a white tip.
+Remainder of plumage rich buff. Beak blue with yellow tip. Legs bright
+yellow.
+
+
+THE EULABETIDAE OR GRACKLE FAMILY
+
+23. _Eulabes religiosa_. The southern grackle or hill-myna. This bird
+occurs in the forests of the Palnis between elevations of 4000 and
+5000 feet. It is familiar to every one as a cage bird. A glossy black
+bird with a white wing bar. The wattles, legs, and bill are yellow.
+
+
+THE MUSCICAPIDAE OR FLYCATCHER FAMILY
+
+24. _Ochromela nigrirufa_. The black-and-orange flycatcher.
+
+25. _Stoparola albicaudata_. The Nilgiri blue-flycatcher.
+
+26. _Cyornis tickelli_. Tickell's blue-flycatcher. Less common than
+on the Nilgiris.
+
+27. _Culicicapa ceylonensis_. The grey-headed flycatcher.
+
+28. _Rhipidura albifrontata_. The white-browed fantail flycatcher.
+Fairbank did not find this bird at altitudes over 4000 feet.
+
+
+THE TURDIDAE OR THRUSH FAMILY
+
+29. _Pratincola atrata_. The southern pied bush-chat or hill-robin.
+Not nearly so abundant on the Palnis as on the Nilgiris.
+
+30. _Merula simillima_. The Nilgiri blackbird. In spring its
+delightful song gladdens the groves of the higher Palnis.
+
+31. _Copschychus saularis_. The magpie-robin. Has been observed as
+high as 5000 feet. The cock is black, and the hen grey, with a white
+breast and white in the wings and tail. The distribution of the black
+and white is like that in the common magpie.
+
+
+THE FRINGILLIDAE OR FINCH FAMILY
+
+32. _Passer domesticus_. The common sparrow. Does not occur much above
+5000 feet.
+
+
+THE HIRUNDINIDAE OR SWALLOW FAMILY
+
+33. _Hirunda javanica_. The Nilgiri house-swallow.
+
+
+THE MOTACILLIDAE OR WAGTAIL FAMILY
+
+34. _Anthus nilgirensis_. The Nilgiri pipit. Common on the grassy
+fields at the summit of the Palnis.
+
+
+THE NECTARINIDAE OR SUNBIRD FAMILY
+
+35. _Arachnecthra minima_. The tiny sunbird or honeysucker. Common
+from 4000 feet upwards.
+
+
+THE DICAEIDAE OR FLOWER-PECKER FAMILY
+
+36. _Dicaeum concolor_. The Nilgiri flower-pecker. This frequents
+the flowers of the parasitic _Loranthus_.
+
+37. _Dicaeum erythrorhynchus_. Tickell's flower-pecker. This
+species does not appear to ascend the Palnis to any great height.
+It is abundant at the foot of the hills.
+
+
+THE PICIDAE OR WOODPECKER FAMILY
+
+38. _Chrysocolaptes gutticristatus_. Tickell's golden-backed
+woodpecker. As in the Nilgiris so in the Palnis, this is the common
+woodpecker.
+
+39. _Brachypternus aurantius_. The golden-backed woodpecker. This
+is the common woodpecker of the plains: it ascends the Palnis to
+elevations of 5000 feet. This is distinguishable from the foregoing
+species by its smaller size, and in having the rump velvety black
+instead of crimson.
+
+40. _Liopicus mahrattensis_. The yellow-fronted pied woodpecker.
+This plains species ascends the Palnis to elevations of 5000 feet.
+It is much smaller than either of the two foregoing species. The
+plumage is spotted black and white, with a patch of red on the abdomen.
+There is a yellow patch on the forehead. The cock has a short red
+crest.
+
+
+THE CAPITONIDAE OR BARBET FAMILY
+
+41. _Thereiceryx viridis_. The small green barbet. (The coppersmith
+does not ascend higher than 4000 feet.)
+
+
+THE ALCEDINIDAE OR KINGFISHER FAMILY
+
+42. The only kingfisher found in the Palnis seems to be the
+white-breasted kingfisher (_Halcyon smyrnensis_), but this species
+is confined to the lower hills.
+
+
+THE UPUPIDAE OR HOOPOE FAMILY
+
+43. The Indian hoopoe (_Upupa indica_) occurs on the lower ranges,
+but does not appear to ascend the hills as far as Kodikanal.
+
+
+THE CYPSELIDAE OR SWIFT FAMILY
+
+44. Swifts are not abundant in the Palnis. The only one observed by
+Fairbank was the common Indian swift (_Cypselus affinis_), seen at
+an elevation of 3000 feet. This is easily distinguished by the white
+band across the rump.
+
+
+THE CUCULIDAE OR CUCKOO FAMILY
+
+45. _Hierococcyx varius_. The hawk-cuckoo.
+
+46. _Eudynamis honorata_. The Indian koel. This species is not common
+on the Palnis.
+
+47. _Centropus sinensis_. The common coucal or crow-pheasant. This
+is not very common.
+
+
+THE PSITTACIDAE OR PARROT FAMILY
+
+48. _Palaeornis columboides_. The blue-winged paroquet.
+
+49. _Loriculus vernalis_. The Indian loriquet or love-bird.
+
+
+THE STRIGIDAE OR OWL FAMILY
+
+50. _Ketupa zeylonensis_. The brown fish-owl. A large bird with
+aigrettes. The eyes are bright yellow. The legs are devoid of feathers.
+The call is a series of grunts.
+
+
+THE VULTURIDAE OR VULTURE FAMILY
+
+51. _Neophron ginginianus_. The smaller white scavenger vulture.
+This occurs up to at least 5000 feet. Fairbank did not observe any
+other vultures on the higher hills, but it is unlikely that
+_Pseudogyps bengalensis_ (the white-backed vulture), _Gyps indicus_
+(the long-billed vulture), and _Otogyps calvus_ (the black or
+Pondicherry vulture) do not visit the higher hills. These three birds
+should be looked for, especially the first.
+
+
+THE FALCONIDAE OR FAMILY OF BIRDS OF PREY
+
+52. _Ictinaetus malayensis_. The black eagle. Not very common.
+
+53. _Milvus govinda_. The common pariah kite. Fairbank did not see
+this above 3000 feet.
+
+54. _Haliastur indus_. The Brahmany kite. Occurs up to at least 4000
+feet.
+
+55. _Tinnunculus alaudarius_. The kestrel.
+
+
+THE COLUMBIDAE OR DOVE FAMILY
+
+56. _Alsocomus elphistonii_. The Nilgiri wood-pigeon.
+
+The spotted and the little brown doves (_Turtur suratensis_ and _T.
+cambayensis_) are found only on the lower hills.
+
+
+THE PHASIANIDAE OR PHEASANT FAMILY
+
+57. _Gallus sonnerati_. The grey jungle fowl. Not so common as on
+the Nilgiris.
+
+58. _Galloperdix spadicea_. The red spur-fowl. Not common.
+
+59. _Microperdix erythrorhynchus_. The painted bush-quail.
+
+
+THE CHARADRIIDAE OR PLOVER FAMILY
+
+A few snipe and woodcock visit the Palnis in winter.
+
+
+THE PODICIPEDIDAE OR GREBE FAMILY
+
+60. _Podicipes albipennis_. The little grebe or dabchick. This bird
+never leaves the water. It is smaller than a dove. It has no tail.
+It is dark glossy brown in colour with chestnut on the sides of the
+neck.
+
+
+
+
+_APPENDICES_
+_I. Vernacular Names of Himalayan Birds_
+_II. Vernacular Names of Nilgiri Birds_
+
+
+_I. VERNACULAR NAMES OF HIMALAYAN BIRDS_
+
+Ababil . . . . . . . swallow
+
+Akku . . . . . . . . common cuckoo
+
+Argul  . . . . . . . lammergeyer
+
+Ban-bakra  . . . . . black bulbul, rusty-cheeked scimitar-babbler
+
+Ban-sarrah . . . . . black-throated jay
+
+Ban-titar  . . . . . hill partridge
+
+Bara bharao  . . . . large hawk-cuckoo
+
+Batasi . . . . . . . Indian swift
+
+Bater  . . . . . . . quail
+
+Bhimraj  . . . . . . racquet-tailed drongo
+
+Boukotako  . . . . . Indian cuckoo
+
+Bulaka . . . . . . . brown wood-owl
+
+Bulbul . . . . . . . bulbul
+
+Bunchil  . . . . . . cheer pheasant
+
+Chakru . . . . . . . chakor partridge
+
+Chaman . . . . . . . cheer pheasant
+
+Chanjarol  . . . . . woodcock
+
+Chil . . . . . . . . kite
+
+Chir . . . . . . . . cheer pheasant
+
+Chitla . . . . . . . spotted dove
+
+Chitroka fakhta  . . spotted dove
+
+Chota fakhta . . . . little brown dove
+
+Chukar . . . . . . . chakor partridge
+
+Digg-dall  . . . . . blue magpie
+
+Dhal kowa  . . . . . corby
+
+Dhor fakhta  . . . . ring-dove
+
+Dogra chil . . . . . crested serpent eagle
+
+Durkal . . . . . . . black bulbul
+
+Gagi . . . . . . . . slaty-headed paroquet
+
+Gidh . . . . . . . . vulture
+
+Gir-chaondia . . . . white-capped redstart
+
+Gonriya  . . . . . . house-sparrow
+
+Gugi . . . . . . . . ring-dove
+
+Herril . . . . . . . cheer pheasant
+
+Hud-hud  . . . . . . hoopoe
+
+Il . . . . . . . . . kite
+
+Jel butara . . . . . Himalayan pied kingfisher
+
+Jumiz  . . . . . . . imperial eagle
+
+Kabk . . . . . . . . chakor partridge
+
+Kaindal  . . . . . . hill partridge
+
+Kalesur  . . . . . . kalij pheasant
+
+Kalij  . . . . . . . kalij pheasant
+
+Kali-pholia  . . . . white-capped redstart
+
+Kaljit . . . . . . . Himalayan whistling-thrush
+
+Kangskiri  . . . . . spotted dove
+
+Kastura  . . . . . . Himalayan whistling-thrush, grey-winged ouzel
+
+Kasturi  . . . . . . grey-winged ouzel
+
+Koak . . . . . . . . koklas pheasant
+
+Koin . . . . . . . . Indian turtle-dove
+
+Kokia-kak  . . . . . Himalayan tree-pie
+
+Kokla  . . . . . . . kokla green-pigeon, koklas pheasant
+
+Koklas . . . . . . . koklas pheasant
+
+Kolsa  . . . . . . . kalij pheasant
+
+Krishen-patti  . . . blue-headed rock-thrush
+
+Kuil . . . . . . . . koel
+
+Kukera . . . . . . . kalij pheasant
+
+Kukku  . . . . . . . cuckoo
+
+Kukrola  . . . . . . koklas pheasant
+
+Kupak  . . . . . . . common hawk-cuckoo
+
+Kupwah . . . . . . . cuckoo
+
+Kyphulpakka  . . . . Indian cuckoo
+
+Kyphulpakki  . . . . Indian cuckoo
+
+Machi bagh . . . . . Himalayan pied kingfisher
+
+Madana suga  . . . . slaty-headed paroquet
+
+Maina  . . . . . . . myna
+
+Miouli . . . . . . . great Himalayan barbet
+
+Mohrhaita  . . . . . changeable hawk-eagle
+
+Moraugi  . . . . . . Bonelli's eagle
+
+Neoul  . . . . . . . great Himalayan barbet
+
+Nilkant  . . . . . . blue magpie
+
+Niltau . . . . . . . rufous-bellied niltava
+
+Okhab  . . . . . . . lammergeyer
+
+Pahari maina . . . . jungle myna
+
+Pahari tuiya . . . . slaty-headed paroquet
+
+Painju . . . . . . . white-cheeked bulbul
+
+Panduk . . . . . . . dove
+
+Patariya masaicha  . grey-winged ouzel
+
+Perki  . . . . . . . dove
+
+Peunra . . . . . . . hill partridge
+
+Phupu  . . . . . . . cuckoo
+
+Pilak  . . . . . . . oriole
+
+Plas . . . . . . . . koklas pheasant
+
+Pokras . . . . . . . koklas pheasant
+
+Popiya . . . . . . . common hawk-cuckoo
+
+Puli . . . . . . . . spotted wing
+
+Ram chakru . . . . . hill partridge
+
+Roli . . . . . . . . hill partridge
+
+Sadal  . . . . . . . changeable hawk-eagle
+
+Safed gidh . . . . . scavenger vulture
+
+Sahili . . . . . . . scarlet minivet
+
+Sahim  . . . . . . . ashy drongo
+
+Sakdudu  . . . . . . hoopoe
+
+Satangal . . . . . . imperial eagle
+
+Shah bulbul  . . . . paradise flycatcher
+
+Sibia  . . . . . . . sibia
+
+Sim kukra  . . . . . woodcock
+
+Sim tital  . . . . . woodcock
+
+Takpo  . . . . . . . Indian cuckoo
+
+Toitru fakhta  . . . little brown dove
+
+Traiho . . . . . . . great Himalayan barbet
+
+Tuktola  . . . . . . Western-Himalayan scaly-bellied green woodpecker
+
+Turkan . . . . . . . Western-Himalayan pied woodpecker
+
+Tusal  . . . . . . . bar-tailed cuckoo-dove
+
+Tutitar  . . . . . . woodcock
+
+Ulak . . . . . . . . corby
+
+Zakki  . . . . . . . brown flycatcher
+
+Zird phutki  . . . . grey-headed flycatcher
+
+
+_II. VERNACULAR NAMES OF NILGIRI BIRDS_
+
+Adavikodi  . . . . . grey jungle-fowl
+
+Adavi nalla gedda  . black eagle
+
+Adiki lam kuravi . . sparrow
+
+Boli kadi  . . . . . white-breasted water-hen
+
+Boli kodi  . . . . . moorhen
+
+Buchi gadu . . . . . white-breasted kingfisher
+
+Buruta pitta . . . . Indian skylark
+
+Chandul  . . . . . . crested lark
+
+Chilluka . . . . . . paroquet
+
+Chinna ulanka  . . . wood sandpiper
+
+Chinna wallur  . . . shikra
+
+Chitlu jitta . . . . Nilgiri flower-pecker
+
+Chitti bella guwa  . little brown dove
+
+Dasari pitta . . . . scimitar-babbler, fantail flycatcher
+
+Garud alawa  . . . . Brahmany kite
+
+Garuda mantaru . . . Brahmany kite
+
+Gola kokila  . . . . pied crested cuckoo
+
+Goranka  . . . . . . common myna
+
+Gudi konga . . . . . paddy bird
+
+Guli gadu  . . . . . white-backed vulture
+
+Gurapa madi jitta  . Indian pipit
+
+Jali dega  . . . . . shikra
+
+Jambri kodi  . . . . moorhen
+
+Jitta kodi . . . . . red spear-fowl
+
+Jutu pitta . . . . . crested lark
+
+Kadai  . . . . . . . painted bush quail
+
+Kakka  . . . . . . . black crow
+
+Kakki  . . . . . . . black crow
+
+Kakkara jinuwayi . . spotted munia
+
+Kalli kaka . . . . . crow-pheasant
+
+Kalu prandu  . . . . kite
+
+Kaltu koli . . . . . grey jungle-fowl
+
+Killi  . . . . . . . paroquet
+
+Kokku  . . . . . . . paddy bird
+
+Konda lati . . . . . red-vented bulbul
+
+Kumpa nalanchi . . . pied bush-chat
+
+Kundeli salawa . . . Bonelli's eagle
+
+Kutti pitta  . . . . hawk-cuckoo
+
+Lak muka . . . . . . white-breasted kingfisher
+
+Likku jitta  . . . . tailor-bird
+
+Machayarya . . . . . fantail flycatcher
+
+Malla gedda  . . . . kite
+
+Manam badi . . . . . Indian skylark
+
+Manati . . . . . . . fantail flycatcher
+
+Manju tiridi . . . . scavenger vulture
+
+Meta kali  . . . . . Indian pipit
+
+Namala pitta . . . . scimitar-babbler
+
+Nella borawa . . . . Pondicherry vulture
+
+Niala pichiki  . . . Indian skylark
+
+Nila buchi gadu  . . common kingfisher
+
+Papa . . . . . . . . scavenger vulture
+
+Papa parundu . . . . scavenger vulture
+
+Paria prandu . . . . kite
+
+Pedda sida . . . . . jungle babbler
+
+Pigli pitta  . . . . red-vented bulbul
+
+Pit pitta  . . . . . ashy wren-warbler
+
+Pittri gedda . . . . scavenger vulture
+
+Poda bella guwa  . . spotted dove
+
+Puli pora  . . . . . spotted dove
+
+Rajali . . . . . . . Bonelli's eagle
+
+Sarrava koli . . . . red spur-fowl
+
+Sowata guwa  . . . . little brown dove
+
+Tangada goranka  . . pied crested cuckoo
+
+Tella borawa . . . . scavenger vulture
+
+Than kudi  . . . . . sunbird
+
+Tinna kuruvi . . . . spotted munia
+
+Tondala doshi gadu . kestrel
+
+Tondala muchi gedda  kestrel
+
+Tonka pigli pitta  . paradise flycatcher
+
+Torra jinuwayi . . . red munia
+
+Touta pora . . . . . little brown dove
+
+Turaka pigli pitta . hill or red-whiskered bulbul
+
+Uri pichiki  . . . . sparrow
+
+Vichuli  . . . . . . white-breasted kingfisher
+
+Wal konda lati . . . paradise flycatcher
+
+Yerra belinchi . . . rufous-backed shrike
+
+Yerra kodi . . . . . red spur-fowl
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+Abrornis superciliaris, 113
+
+Accipiter cooperi, 171
+
+Aceros nepalensis, 122
+
+Acridotheres tristis, 60, 199, 240
+
+Actinodura egertoni, 110
+
+AEgithaliscus erythrocephalus, 41, 106
+
+AEthiopsar fuscus, 61, 199, 239
+
+AEthopyga nepalensis, 119
+
+-- scheriae, 76
+
+Alauda gulgula, 210
+
+ALAUDIDAE, 210
+
+ALCEDINIDAE, 79, 121, 215, 243
+
+Alcedo ispida, 215
+
+Alcippe nepalensis, 109
+
+Alcurus striatus, 112
+
+Alder, 22
+
+Almora, 22, 29, 41 _seq._, 51, 54, 59, 65, 67, 87, 97
+
+Alseonax latirostris, 63, 115
+
+Alsocomus elphistonii, 226, 246
+
+Amadavat, 205
+
+Amaranthus, 25
+
+Amaurornis phoenicurus, 230
+
+Anamallis, 236
+
+Andaman Islands, 217
+
+Anemone, 18, 25
+
+"Animal colouration," 171
+
+Anthipes moniliger, 116
+
+Anthus nilgirensis, 209
+
+-- rufulus, 209
+
+Aquila helica, 125
+
+Arachnecthra asiatica, 210
+
+-- lotenia, 212
+
+-- minima, 211, 242
+
+-- zeylonica, 212
+
+Arboricola torqueola, 104, 126
+
+ARDEIDAE, 230
+
+Ardeola grayii, 231
+
+Argul, 92
+
+Arisaema jacque-montii, 53
+
+Astur badius, 224
+
+
+Babblers, 42 _seq._, 48, 107, 109, 111, 187, 236
+
+Babul, 16
+
+Bageswar, 23
+
+Baker, Stuart, 84
+
+Baldwin, 100
+
+Banbakra, 45, 143
+
+Barakheri stream, 20
+
+Barbets, 26, 79, 121, 174 _seq._, 214, 243
+
+Bar-wing, rufous, 110
+
+Bee-eater, 27
+
+Begonia, 17
+
+Benog, 102
+
+Berberry, 17
+
+Bhabar, 15
+
+Bhimraj, 55
+
+Bhim Tal, 20
+
+Bhotias, 23
+
+Birch, 17
+
+"Birds of Illinois and Wisconsin," 142
+
+Birds of prey, 125
+
+Blanford, 85
+
+Blood-pheasant, 99
+
+Blue jay, 27
+
+Borax, 23
+
+Boukotako, 85
+
+Brachypodinae, 138
+
+Brachypternus aurantius, 243
+
+Brain-fever bird, 83, 86, 219
+
+British Museum, 172
+
+Broken Pekoe Bird, 85
+
+BUCEROTIDAE, 122
+
+Bulbul, 27, 35, 42, 49, 50 _seq._, 112, 138
+
+Buller, Sir Walter, 171
+
+Buntings, 72
+
+Burma, 152
+
+Bush-chat, 66 _seq._
+
+Butcher-birds, 56
+
+
+Caccabis chucar, 103
+
+Calls of birds, 36
+
+Campophaga melanoschista, 114
+
+Cape, the, 18
+
+CAPITONIDAE, 79, 121, 214, 243
+
+CAPRIMULGIDAE, 218
+
+Carpodacus erythrinus, 207
+
+Catreus wellichi, 101
+
+Centauria, 18, 25
+
+Centropus sinensis, 219, 244
+
+Cephalopyrus flammiceps, 48
+
+Certhia discolor, 113
+
+-- himalayana, 55
+
+CERTHIIDAE, 55, 113
+
+Ceryle lugubris, 79, 121
+
+Chaetura indica, 216
+
+-- nudipes, 123
+
+Chakor, 103
+
+Chalcophaps indica, 98
+
+Chaptia aenea, 237
+
+CHARADRIIDAE, 104, 126, 229, 246
+
+Cheer, 100
+
+Chimarrhornis leucocephalus, 69
+
+Chloropsis malabarica, 191
+
+Choughs, 25, 29, 30, 106
+
+Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus, 83
+
+Chrysocolaptes gutticristatus, 214, 242
+
+Coccystes jacobinus, 219
+
+Collocalia francicia, 217
+
+-- fuciphaga, 217
+
+Colorado, 18
+
+Colt's-foot, 17, 25
+
+COLUMBIDAE, 97, 125, 225, 246
+
+Columbines, 17, 25
+
+Coonoor, 186, 196, 199, 206 _seq._, 212, 214
+
+Coppersmith, 26, 215
+
+Copschychus saularis, 241
+
+Coracias indica, 32
+
+Corby, 26, 29
+
+CORVIDAE, 29, 105, 185, 235
+
+Corvus macrorhyncus, 29, 105, 185, 235
+
+-- splendens, 29, 87
+
+Coturnix communis, 102, 126
+
+Coucal, 219
+
+CRATEROPODIDAE, 42, 49, 107, 187, 236
+
+Crateropus canorus, 188
+
+Crow, 105, 235
+
+-- black, 35
+
+-- grey-necked, 22
+
+-- jungle, 29
+
+Cryptolopha Jerdoni, 148
+
+-- xanthoschista, 56, 146
+
+Cuckoo-dove, 99, 125
+
+Cuckoo, European, 26
+
+Cuckoos, 82 _seq._, 123, 219, 244
+
+Cuckoo-shrike, 114
+
+CUCULIDAE, 82, 123, 219, 244
+
+Cuculus canorus, 82, 84, 123
+
+-- micropterus, 85, 124
+
+-- poliocephalus, 123
+
+-- saturatus, 85, 123
+
+Culicicapa ceylonensis, 63, 202, 241
+
+Cuming, E. D., 137
+
+Cyanops franklini, 121
+
+Cyornis melanoleucus, 117
+
+-- rubeculoides, 116
+
+-- superciliaris, 63, 115
+
+-- tickelli, 202, 241
+
+Cypress, 17
+
+CYPSELIDAE, 81, 123, 216, 244
+
+Cypselus affinis, 81, 244
+
+-- melba, 82
+
+
+Dabchick, 247
+
+Daisies, 17, 25
+
+Dandelion, 17, 25
+
+Darjeeling, 105 _seq._, 107, 109 _seq._, 113 _seq._, 115, 117 _seq._,
+  125, 136
+
+Darwinian theory, 171
+
+Davison, 191, 228
+
+Delhi, 24
+
+Dendrocitta himalayensis, 31, 106
+
+-- rufa, 236
+
+Dendrocopus auriceps, 77 _seq._
+
+-- cathpharius, 120
+
+-- himalayensis, 78
+
+Deodar, 17, 22
+
+Dhakuri, 24 _seq._
+
+Dhanpur, 23
+
+Dhobi bird, 67, 153
+
+DICAEIDAE, 77, 119, 212, 242
+
+Dicaeum concolor, 213, 242
+
+-- erythrorhyncus, 213, 242
+
+-- ignipectus, 77, 119
+
+DICRURIDAE, 53, 113, 196, 237
+
+Dicrurus ater, 53, 141
+
+-- longicaudatus, 54, 113
+
+Dig-dall, 31
+
+Dimorphism, 83
+
+Dissemurus paradiseus, 55
+
+Dove, 26, 97, 125, 225, 246
+
+Drongo, 53, 113, 196, 237
+
+Ducula cuprea, 225
+
+
+Eagles, 93, 125, 245
+
+Eastern Himalayas, 105
+
+Edelweiss, 18, 25
+
+"Eha," 50, 139, 204
+
+Emberiza stewarti, 73
+
+-- stracheyi, 72
+
+Eudynamis honorata, 83, 86, 219, 244
+
+-- taitensis, 171
+
+Eulabes religiosa, 240
+
+EULABETIDAE, 240
+
+Evergreen oaks, 17
+
+"Exile," 95
+
+
+Fairbank, Dr., 235, 239 _seq._, 244, 246
+
+Fairy blue-chat, 64
+
+FALCONIDAE, 93, 125, 223, 245
+
+Finches, 71, 118, 207, 241
+
+Finn, 136, 221
+
+Fir, silver, 17
+
+Flower-peckers, 77, 119, 212, 242
+
+Flycatchers, 22, 27, 56, 62 _seq._, 114 _seq._, 200, 240
+
+"Forests of Upper India," 18
+
+Forktail, 117, 151 _seq._
+
+Francolinus vulgaris, 103, 126
+
+FRINGILLIDAE, 71, 118, 207, 241
+
+
+Gagar, 20 _seq._
+
+Galerita cristata, 210
+
+Gallinula chloropus, 230
+
+Galloperdix spadicea, 228, 246
+
+Gallus ferrugineus, 228
+
+-- lafayetti, 228
+
+-- sonnerati, 228, 246
+
+Game birds, 99
+
+Garhwal, 76
+
+Garrulax albigularis, 44, 107
+
+-- leucolophus, 107
+
+Garrulus bispecularis, 33, 106
+
+-- glandarius, 34
+
+-- lanceolatus, 33
+
+Garwalis, 23
+
+Gecinus chlorolophus, 120
+
+-- occipitalis, 120
+
+-- squamatus, 78
+
+Gennaeus albicristatus, 100
+
+-- leucomelanus, 125
+
+Gentians, 17, 25
+
+Glaucidium brodiei, 89, 124
+
+Gneiss, 19
+
+Godavery, 228
+
+Gola river, 20
+
+Grackles, 240
+
+Graculus eremita, 30, 106
+
+Grammatophila striata, 108
+
+Granite, 18 _seq._
+
+Grebes, 247
+
+Green-pigeon, 26
+
+Grey-backed shrike, 58
+
+Grey-headed flycatcher, 63, 146
+
+Grey-winged ouzel, 158
+
+Griffon, 92
+
+Griff's pheasant, 220
+
+Grosbeaks, 71, 164
+
+Gypaetus barbatus, 92
+
+Gyps himalayensis, 92, 124
+
+-- indicus, 222, 245
+
+Gurkhas, 22
+
+
+Haematospiza sipahi, 118
+
+Halcyon smyrnensis, 216
+
+Haliastur indus, 224, 246
+
+Hawk-cuckoo, 86
+
+Hemichelidon ferruginea, 116
+
+-- sibirica, 116
+
+Henicurus maculatus, 67, 117, 151, 158
+
+Herons, 230
+
+Hieraetus fasciatus, 125, 223
+
+-- pennatus, 93
+
+Hierococcyx sparverioides, 86, 124, 219
+
+-- varius, 83, 86, 124, 219, 244
+
+Himalayas, 13 _seq._
+
+HIRUNDINIDAE, 73, 119, 208, 242
+
+Hirundo erythropygia, 208
+
+-- javanica, 208
+
+-- nepalensis, 74, 119
+
+-- rustica, 74, 119
+
+Hodgson's hawk-eagle, 95
+
+Hoopoes, 80, 244
+
+Hornbills, 122
+
+Horse-chestnut, 17, 22
+
+House-crow, 26, 29
+
+Houses of the hill folk, 21
+
+Hume, 44, 102, 154
+
+Hutton, 94, 176
+
+Hypacanthis spinoides, 71
+
+Hypopicus hypererythrus, 78, 120
+
+Hypsipetes, 140
+
+-- ganeesa, 195, 237
+
+-- psaroides, 51, 112, 140, 142
+
+
+Ianthocincla ocellata, 107
+
+-- rufigularis, 45, 107
+
+Ictinaetus malayensis, 125, 223, 245
+
+Idle schoolboy, 154
+
+Impeyan pheasant, 99
+
+Iole icteria, 194, 237
+
+Ixulus flavicollis, 110
+
+
+Jays, 27, 29, 32 _seq._, 36 _seq._, 106
+
+Jerdon, 39, 47, 64, 74, 81, 108, 116, 137, 142, 152, 176, 190, 191,
+  220
+
+Jungle-fowl, 226
+
+Jungle myna, 60
+
+Juniper, 17
+
+
+Kalij, 100
+
+Kalimat mountain, 22
+
+Kashmir, 75, 228
+
+Kathgodam, 19, 21
+
+Kestrel, 96, 125, 246
+
+Ketupa zeylonensis, 221, 245
+
+Khairna, 46
+
+King-crow, 22, 53
+
+Kingfishers, 79, 121, 215, 243
+
+Kite, 27, 35, 96, 125, 246
+
+Kodikanal, 235 _seq._
+
+Koel, 22, 26, 83, 86, 219
+
+Kokla green-pigeon, 125
+
+Koklas pheasant, 100 _seq._
+
+Kosi river, 46
+
+Kumaun, 81
+
+Kumaunis, 23
+
+Kuphini river, 25
+
+Kyphulpakka, 85
+
+
+"Lahore to Yarkand," 148
+
+Lal, 205 _seq._
+
+Laldana Binaik pass, 21
+
+Lammergeyer, 92
+
+Landour, 81
+
+LANIIDAE, 56, 114, 198, 238
+
+Lanius cristatus, 198
+
+-- erythronotus, 57, 198, 238
+
+-- nigriceps, 58
+
+-- tephronotus, 58, 114
+
+-- vittatus, 57
+
+Larks, 210
+
+Laughing-thrushes, 27, 42 _seq._, 107
+
+Liopicus mahrattensis, 243
+
+Lioptila capistrata, 47, 109
+
+Liothrix lutea, 110, 133
+
+Lobelia excelsa, 197, 200
+
+Lophophanes melanopterus, 41
+
+Lophospizias trivirgatus, 224
+
+Loriculus vernalis, 221, 245
+
+Love-bird, 245
+
+
+Machlolophus haplonotus, 186, 236
+
+-- spilonotus, 106
+
+-- xanthogenys, 40
+
+Macropteryx coronata, 217
+
+Macropygia tusalia, 99, 125
+
+Madras, 212
+
+Magpie, blue, 27, 30 _seq._
+
+Magpie-robin, 22, 27
+
+Maidenhair, 17
+
+"Making of Species," 171
+
+Malabar whistling-thrush, 154, 237
+
+Mango, 16
+
+Marshall, Colonel, 149
+
+Megalaema marshallorum, 79, 121, 174
+
+Megalaemas, 175, 178
+
+Merula boulboul, 69, 118, 158
+
+-- simillima, 204, 241
+
+Microcichla scouleri, 117
+
+Microperdix erythrorhynchus, 229, 246
+
+Milvus govinda, 96, 125, 223, 245
+
+-- melanotis, 96
+
+Minla igneitincta, 111
+
+Minivets, 58, 114, 198
+
+Mohrhaita, 94
+
+Molpastes, 138
+
+-- bengalensis, 50
+
+-- haemorrhous, 191, 237
+
+-- leucogenys, 51, 112
+
+Monal pheasant, 25
+
+Monaul, 99
+
+Moss, hanging, 17
+
+Motacilla maderaspatensis, 208
+
+-- melanope, 75
+
+MOTACILLIDAE, 75, 119, 208, 242
+
+Mountain-thrush, 118
+
+Munia, 205
+
+Murree, 56, 59, 78, 146
+
+MUSCICAPIDAE, 62, 114, 200, 240
+
+Mussoorie, 26, 42, 45, 49, 59, 86, 89, 94, 97, 103, 136
+
+Mycerobas, 164
+
+-- melanoxanthus, 164
+
+Myna, 22, 27, 37, 44, 60, 199, 240
+
+Myiophoneus horsfieldi, 237
+
+-- temmincki, 46, 109, 154
+
+
+Naini Tal, 20, 33, 42, 46, 51, 53, 56, 59, 64 _seq._, 75 _seq._, 86,
+  94, 146, 149, 158, 163
+
+NECTARINIDAE, 76, 119, 210, 242
+
+Neophron ginginianus, 90, 222, 245
+
+Nepalese, 23
+
+New Zealand, 171
+
+Nightjars, 218
+
+Nilgiris, 37, 42
+
+-- common birds of the, 183
+
+Nilkhant, 31
+
+Niltava grandis, 115
+
+-- macgrigoriae, 115
+
+-- sundara, 64, 115
+
+Nim, 16
+
+Nucifraga hemispila, 39
+
+-- multipunctata, 39
+
+Nutcrackers, 38
+
+Nuthatch, 42, 52, 113, 195
+
+
+Oak, 17
+
+-- forest, 24
+
+Oates, 133, 146, 148, 206, 208
+
+Ochromela nigrirufa, 201, 240
+
+Oology of cuckoos, 84
+
+Ootacamund 186, 206 _seq._, 219, 221, 230 _seq._
+
+Orchid, 18
+
+Oreicola ferrea, 66
+
+Oreocincla dauma, 70
+
+-- molissima, 118
+
+-- nilgirensis, 205
+
+Oreocorys sylvanus, 75, 119
+
+Oriental region, 28
+
+Orioles, 59, 199
+
+ORIOLIDAE, 59, 199, 239
+
+Oriolus kundoo, 59, 165, 199
+
+-- melanocephalus, 165, 199, 239
+
+Orthotomus sartorius, 145, 196, 238
+
+Otocompsa, 138, 147
+
+-- emeria, 50
+
+-- fuscicaudata, 192, 237
+
+Otogyps calvus, 222, 245
+
+Ouzel, 118
+
+-- grey-winged, 69, 158 _seq._
+
+Owlets, spotted, 27
+
+Owls, 88, 124, 221, 245
+
+
+Paddy bird, 27
+
+Palaearctic region, 28
+
+Palaeornis columboides, 220, 244
+
+-- cyanocephalus, 88
+
+-- schisticeps, 87, 124
+
+-- torquatus, 87
+
+Palm, 16
+
+Palni Hills, common birds of the, 235 _seq._
+
+Paradise flycatcher, 64
+
+Paroquets, 26
+
+Parrots, 87, 124, 244
+
+Partridges, 102
+
+Partridge, hill, 126
+
+Parus atriceps, 42, 106, 186
+
+-- monticola, 40, 106, 128
+
+Passer cinamomeus, 72
+
+-- domesticus, 207, 241
+
+-- montanus, 118
+
+Pathargarhi muta, 21
+
+Pea-fowl, 220
+
+Pekin-robin, 110, 133
+
+Pericrocotus brevirostris, 58, 114
+
+-- flammeus, 199, 238
+
+-- peregrinus, 238
+
+-- speciosus, 58
+
+Petrophila cinclorhynca, 70, 118
+
+Pharaoh's chicken, 91
+
+PHASIANIDAE, 99, 125, 226, 246
+
+Pheasants, 125, 246
+
+PICIDAE, 77, 119, 213, 242
+
+Piculets, 121
+
+Picumnus innominatus, 121
+
+Pies, 29
+
+Pigeon, green, 97
+
+Pindari glacier, 19 _seq._
+
+-- river, 25
+
+-- road, 23
+
+Pine, 22
+
+Pinus longifolia, 17
+
+Pipits, 75, 119, 209
+
+Plantain, 16
+
+PLOCEIDAE, 205
+
+Plovers, 104, 126, 229, 246
+
+Plumbeous redstart, 69
+
+Pneopyga squamata, 113
+
+PODICIPEDIDAE, 247
+
+Podicipes albipennis, 247
+
+Pomatorhinus erythrogenys, 45, 108
+
+-- horsfieldi, 188, 236
+
+-- schisticeps, 108
+
+Pratincola atrata, 204, 241
+
+-- maura, 67
+
+Prinia inorata, 238
+
+-- socialis, 146, 197, 238
+
+Psaroglossa spiloptera, 49
+
+Pseudogyps bengalensis, 91, 124, 222, 245
+
+PSITTACIDAE, 87, 124, 220, 244
+
+Ptyonoprogne rupestris, 74
+
+Pucrasia macrolopha, 101
+
+Puli, 49
+
+Puttani kurivi, 187
+
+Pycnorhamphus, 164
+
+-- icteroides, 71, 164
+
+Pyrrhocorax alpinus, 30, 106
+
+Pyrrhopicus pyrrhotis, 120
+
+
+Quail, 102, 126
+
+Quartz, 18 _seq._
+
+
+Rails, 230
+
+Rajpur, 26, 86
+
+RALLIDAE, 230
+
+Ramganga stream, 21
+
+Ranibagh, 20
+
+Raspberries, 17
+
+Rattray, Colonel, 167
+
+Redstart, 118
+
+Red waxbill, 206
+
+Red-whiskered bulbul, 50
+
+Rhipidura albifrontata, 202, 241
+
+-- allicollis, 115
+
+-- pectoralis, 202
+
+Rhododendron, 17, 21, 24
+
+Rhyacornis fuliginosus, 69, 118
+
+Ring-dove, 98
+
+Robin, Indian, 27
+
+Rock-thrush, 70, 118
+
+Rohilkhand, 19
+
+-- and Kumaun Railway, 19
+
+Roller, Indian, 32
+
+Rose-finch, 207
+
+Rufous-backed shrike, 57
+
+-- chinned laughing-thrush, 45
+
+
+Sal, 16
+
+Sarju river, 23 _seq._
+
+Sasia ochracea, 121
+
+Sath bhai, 188
+
+Sat Tal, 20
+
+Scavenger vulture, 27
+
+Scimitar-babblers, 45, 108
+
+Scolopax rusticola, 104, 126
+
+Scops spilocephalus, 89, 124
+
+Scully, 176
+
+Seven sisters, 27, 35, 43
+
+Sharpe, 172
+
+Shesham, 16
+
+Shikra, 224
+
+Shorea robusta, 16
+
+Shrikes, 56 _seq._, 114, 198
+
+Sibia, 42, 47
+
+Simla, 31
+
+Siphia strophiata, 117
+
+Sitta frontalis, 195, 237
+
+-- himalayensis, 52, 113
+
+SITTIDAE, 52, 113, 195, 237
+
+Siva, 110
+
+Small-billed mountain-thrush, 70
+
+Snow-cocks, 99
+
+-- pigeons, 25
+
+Sparrow, 72
+
+Sphenocercus sphenurus, 97, 125
+
+Spilornis cheela, 95, 125
+
+Spiraea, 22
+
+Spizaetus limnaetus, 93
+
+-- nepalensis, 93
+
+Sporaeginthus amandava, 206
+
+Spotted forktail, 67, 151
+
+-- wing, 49
+
+Stachyrhidopsis ruficeps, 109
+
+Stachyrhis nigriceps, 109
+
+Starlings, 60, 199, 239
+
+Stoparola albicaudata, 201, 241
+
+-- melanops, 62, 115
+
+"Stray feathers," 239
+
+Streaked laughing-thrush, 43
+
+STRIGIDAE, 88, 124, 221, 245
+
+Strobilanthes whitiani, 228
+
+STURNIDAE, 60, 199, 239
+
+Sturnus humii, 60
+
+Sual river, 21
+
+Sunbirds, 76, 119, 210, 242
+
+Suya atrigularis, 114
+
+Swallows, 73, 119, 208, 242
+
+Swifts, 73, 81 _seq._, 123, 216, 244
+
+SYLVIIDAE, 55, 113, 196, 238
+
+Syrnium indrani, 89, 124, 221
+
+
+Takula, 22
+
+Tamarind, 16
+
+Tarai, 15
+
+Temenuchus pagodarum, 240
+
+Temperature, 28
+
+Terpsiphone affinis, 115
+
+-- paradisi, 64, 203
+
+Thereiceryx, 175
+
+-- viridis, 215, 243
+
+-- zeylonicus, 215
+
+Thrushes, 35, 37, 46, 66, 117, 204, 241
+
+Tibet, 18
+
+Tibetans, 23
+
+Tinnunculus alaudarius, 96, 125, 224, 246
+
+Tits, 27, 29, 35, 39 _seq._, 106, 111, 129
+
+Totanus glareola, 230
+
+Townsend, 178
+
+Tragopans, 99
+
+Tree-creepers, 42, 113
+
+-- pie, 31, 106
+
+-- sparrow, 118
+
+Trochalopterum cachinnans, 189
+
+-- chrysopterum, 107
+
+-- erythrocephalum, 45
+
+-- fairbanki, 236
+
+-- lineatum, 43
+
+-- squamatum, 108
+
+Tun, 22
+
+TURDIDAE, 66, 117, 204, 241
+
+Turtur cambayensis, 98, 226, 246
+
+-- ferago, 98
+
+-- risorius, 98
+
+-- suratensis, 98, 125, 226, 246
+
+
+Upupa epops, 80
+
+-- indica, 244
+
+UPUPIDAE, 80, 244
+
+Urocissa flavirostris, 31
+
+-- occipitalis, 31, 159
+
+Uroloncha pectoralis, 206
+
+-- punctulata, 205
+
+
+Violet cuckoo, 83
+
+VULTURIDAE, 89, 124, 221, 245
+
+
+Wagtails, 75, 119, 208, 242
+
+Warblers, 42, 55, 113, 196, 238
+
+Warbler of distinction, 145
+
+Water-robin, 69, 118
+
+Weaver-birds, 205
+
+Weber (_Forests of Upper India_), 18
+
+Western Himalayas, 29
+
+Whistling-thrushes, 42, 46, 237
+
+White-capped redstart, 69
+
+White-cheeked bulbul, 51
+
+White-eyes, 35, 42, 47
+
+White, Gilbert, 38
+
+White-throated laughing-thrush, 44
+
+Wilson, 101
+
+Woodcock, 126
+
+Woodpecker, 27, 42, 77 _seq._, 119, 213, 242
+
+Wren, 55, 113
+
+
+Xantholaema haematocephala, 174
+
+
+Yuhina gularis, 111
+
+
+Zosterops palpebrosa, 47, 110, 190, 236
+
+
+
+
+_BY THE SAME AUTHOR_
+
+ANIMALS OF NO IMPORTANCE.
+THE INDIAN CROW--HIS BOOK.
+BOMBAY DUCKS.
+BIRDS OF THE PLAINS.
+INDIAN BIRDS.
+JUNGLE FOLK.
+GLIMPSES OF INDIAN BIRDS.
+
+_IN COLLABORATION WITH FRANK FINN_
+
+THE MAKING OF SPECIES.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Birds of the Indian Hills, by Douglas Dewar
+
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