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.