TREFACE 



The object of this book is to enable people 

 interested in birds to identify those they meet 

 with while walking in the hill stations of the 

 Himalayas and Kashmir and those they see 

 in the Kashmir valley. 



The birds dealt with are the ones commonly 

 seen in summer at such places. As nine out 

 of ten species of hill birds move to lower 

 levels in winter, the bird population of a hill 

 station in winter differs from that in summer. 



Had the scope of this book included birds 

 seen in winter at the various hill stations, and 

 those found in summer only at lower eleva- 

 tions than 5000 feet above the sea-level or 

 higher altitudes than 7500, its bulk would have 

 been considerably increased. It would have 

 attained even greater dimensions had I noticed 

 the rare birds that are sometimes seen in hill 

 stations in summer. 



Paradoxical though it may sound, the value 

 of this book lies largely in its omissions ! 



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