289 



(Hypsipetes psaroides). Some birds found in the plains have no Himalayan 

 counterparts, but as a set-off we find many new forms on the mountains, as. 

 for example, the various Jays, Laughing Thrushes, Tits, Warblers, the White- 

 capped {Chimarrhomis leucocephalus) and the Plumbeous {Rhyacomis fuli- 

 ginostis) Redstarts, the Grosbeaks, the Ouzels, Rock Thrushes, Greenfinches, 

 Pheasants and the Woodcock (Scolopnx rusticula). But I must refrain from 

 further cataloguing. 



How greatly the avifauna of the Himalayas differs from that of the 

 plains is demonstrated by a comparison of the nesting experiences of 

 Colonel Rattray, in the Murree hills, and myself, at Lahore, which may be 

 taken as typical of the plains of the Punjab. In the course of two years' 

 observation Colonel Rattray fouud nests of 104 species of birds. I did not 

 keep a record of the two years I spent at Lahore, but I think I may safely 

 say that I saw the nests of over 60 species of birds, and of these only seven 

 are included in Colonel Rattray's list, published in the Journal of the Bom- 

 bay Natural History Society. Nor is this all. The Himalayas have what 

 Jerdon calls a "double fauna." The birds of the eastern portion are com- 

 mon to the Himalayas and to the hilly regions of Assam and Burma, while 

 those found at the western portion of the range include a large number of 

 European species, and are, to a large extent, common to the Himalayas 

 and to Tibet and Northern Asia. Then, again, the Malabar Coast and the 

 Nilgiris possesses not a few species of birds found nowhere else. It is 

 therefore, possible to divide the Indian Empire into four geographical 

 regions, each having a distinctive avifauna. Such, then, are the birds that 

 render India an El Dorado for the naturalist. 



Let us now consider them from three different standpoints. Firstly, 

 from that of the bird-lover, of him who watches the feathered folk chiefly, 

 if not solely, on acconnt of the pleasure he derives from so doing. Then 

 from the standpoint of the biologist, who studies the fowls of the air, as he 

 studies other forms of life, in the hope of elucidating some of the mysteries 

 presented by the natural universe. Lastly, from the utilitarian standpoint 

 of the economist, who concerns himself with, birds in order to determine 

 how they may be made to serve the best interests of man. 



{To be con Untied . .) 



HWbite-spotteD Xaucjbtno ^brushes, 



{Ianthocincla ocellata). 



By O. Millsum. 



This charming pair of birds came into my possession from 



our fellow member and my esteemed friend Dr. Walker, and as 



he intends eventually to publish in another form descriptions of 



the habits, etc., of the various birds that have passed through 



