1 .'.0 JOURNA L, BOMB A Y NA TURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XIX. 



rhesus) which are all too common in the woods around and which destroy 

 nests, eggs, and young to a large extent. It is a question which is the worse 

 depredator. Probably the palm in th's respect should be given to Homo 

 Sapiens. Three nests found were in the usual situations but a fourth was 

 high up on the gnarled branch of a horse chestnut tree on the side of a steep 

 hill at Dunga Gali. Some characteristic notes of this thrush's song may be 

 rendered by the syllables " yee-bre, yee-bre, yee-bre — diddiyit, diddiyit, 

 diddiyit — yip bru, yip-bru." 



676. Merula hoidbovl (The Grey-winged Ouzel), — Though not so loud the 

 song of " The Grey-winged Ouzel " is even superior to and more varied than 

 that of the last species. Many of the notes remind one of the song of The 

 Black bird, Merula merula. Below the Kashmir and Gharial roads at Murree 

 when, save for the occasional call of a Cuckoo, the mournful " Kroo "-" Kroo " 

 of The Spotted Dove (Turiur surafensis) and the charming song- of the present 

 species, there is a lull in the babel of forest sounds, little effort is required to 

 imagine oneself buried in the depths of a Surrey or Hampshire Wood in June. 

 Not all are equally good songsters, but one bird heard between Dunga and 

 Changla Gali on the 24th of June was the finest singing Thrush I have listened 

 to either at home or in India. The variety and mellowness of the notes were 

 remarkable. This Thrush is a doughty defender of hearth and home. I was 

 watching a male bird singing while his mate sat on the nest close by. when nn 

 inquisitive " Black-throated Jay " {Garrulns lanceolatus') invaded the precincts of 

 the nest. With an angry " churr " the male bird hurled the jay into the 

 Vihv.raumfcetens scrub below and to judge by the sounds that issued therefrom 

 •' boulboul " was having all the fun. Presently the combatants separated and 

 the jay reappeared flying unsteadily down the khud and minus some of his 

 pteryllic adornment (if I may coin such an adjective) while the gallant Ouzel 

 returned to his perch and resumed his song. Unfortunately this nest was pull- 

 ed down by monkeys a few days later. It deserved a better fate. At Dunga 

 Gali I saw a " Himalayan Whistling Thrush " (Myiojjhomus temrninclci) attacked 

 in much the same fashion for unwittingly venturing into the vicinity of a nest 

 of the present species. This Ouzel appears to be naturally of a pugnacious 

 disposition, for a tame one I have possessed for some years, used when allowed 

 out of his cage (his wings having been cut by his former owner a native) to " go 

 for " the bare toes of the native servants and on one occasion he fairly put a 

 man to flight. Curiously enough a pair of boots or shoes invariably excited his 

 ire and it was most amusing to see him worrying the laces, the only part he 

 could get a good grip of. He is, even now, always ready to " square up " to one's 

 finger if introduced between the bars of his cage, and, as he daily devours 

 almost his own weight in earthworms, he keeps in beautiful feather and 

 fighting trim. Two nests of this Ouzel seen this year were built about lO feet 

 up against the trunks of trees. At Murree and in the Galis it occurs from 

 7,000 and 7.500 feet downwards, respectively, and would be far more common 

 but for the depredations mentioned. 



