^''''' foyj"'] Hall, The Jungle and the Snows. II5 



From Patiala I passed up to Simla, rising from approximately 

 1,000 feet to 8,000 feet, snow being still at this Himalayan low 

 level. The unique view was beautiful, as nothing else in land 

 masses is on so large a scale : valleys miles deep, with white chains 

 of mountains far distant. I was able to look from the outer 

 Himalayas over the middle to the inner, on the Tibetan side. The 

 Snow Bunting {Emheriza) had just left. These smaller Himalayan 

 l)irds present a likeness to Palaearctic forms as we see in Crossbills 

 and Bullfinches. On tlie higher uplands of the Philippines we 

 have this likeness to the forms of both regions, while in the 

 Celebean sub-region we have the combination of affinity to the 

 Himalayan and Australian species. It is in the Celebes going 

 eastward that we see the last of Oriental and Pahearctic Wood- 

 peckers. Of other Finches I saw, one had an interesting course 

 of migration from east to west, wintering in Xorth-West India 

 and nesting in the Mediterranean. This was the Black-headed 

 Bunting, and it is so with the Rose-coloured Starhng {Pastor), a bird 

 I did not meet. As I was proceeding to the hills I saw, on the 

 plains, one of the elaborate nests of a Weaver Finch. The birds 

 we call Finches in Australia are these Weaver-Birds without the 

 specially made elongated nests. Both lay white eggs, while the 

 African species mostly lay blue or green eggs. Many Pheasants 

 were working up to summer heights. Monals {Lophophorns) are 

 only commonly seen near Narkunda or the Kroll. From the 

 hillside a bird flashing out in the golden sunlight and then 

 suddenlv falling like a rocket to the gorge below is a sight worth 

 seeing. The puhari have the separate name of " bodar " for 

 the female. A bird pointed out to me appeared to tall\- with 

 the description of the western Tragopan. I know the species is 

 found here among the Simla hill States ; it is the most characteristic 

 genus of the Himalayan-Chinese sub-region. I was able to see 

 both the Kaleege {Enplocamits) and Cheer Pheasants in the ravines. 

 The former is among the oak and rhododendron deep, steep slopes, 

 from which they rise with a few whirrs and then shoot down very 

 rapidly. Hearing some low chuckles, you look to see the rise 

 and the get-away. Hunters say it nests as high as Huttoo, or 

 liigher — approximately, 11,000 feet. The habitat of these two 

 Pheasants is so widely different that we look for Cheer on the 

 precipitously grassed hillsides. The rocketting flight is at 

 lightning speed. My shikari indicated where Kaleege Pheasants 

 were calling. In the khud, below Tara Devi Temple, I saw the 

 Partridge Chukar [Caccabis). Later I heard it playing about 

 among the poultry at Khandaghat. It is common in cultivated 

 fields at 1,000 feet near the plains, and as high as 16,000 feet. 

 I caught a glimpse of the bird known as " Lai murghi," a 

 jungle fowl {Callus). Peafowl, Black Partridges, and the 

 common Hill Francolin were occasionally seen, though much 

 climbing is necessary. l-'or instance, Chota Simla is on the 

 ridge and Koti village at the foot of the \-allev lieneath. To get 

 there I walked five miks, al\va}'s descendmg. On tlu' return 



