A Himalayan Pass. 137 



" saddle back " that forms the actual pass. Once on the 



summit, which is about a quarter of a mile broad, we were able 

 to shelter and take- stock of our surroundings, and, fortified by 

 lunch, to take more interest in them. The southern watershed 

 of the pass forms the source of the River Beas, which is indi- 

 cated by a small shrine enclosing a spring. Here were simple 

 offerings of flowers laid by travellers, and the ground about 

 was spiky with pointed stones set up in tribute to the spirit of 

 tlie pass. My attention turned from these to a cheery 

 White-capped Redstart {Chahnarrhornis IcHCocephalus) who 

 was calling and flirting his tail near the infant Beas, and a pair 

 o^ Stoliczka's Mountain Finch {Montifringilla nemoricola 

 altaica) who were courting in these desolate surroundings. 



The northern watershed of the pass feeds the Chandra 

 river, one of the parents of the Chenab. and across the river 

 down in the valley. 3.000 ft. below, one looks towards the 

 central mass of Lahul, a group of mountains rising to 20,000 ft., 

 with enormous glaciers enshrined amongst the crests. On 

 this face of the summit I spent some time, as the snow water on 

 its way to the valley below had formed a series of small pools 

 surrounded by grassy slopes and stony patches of ground. On 

 the slopes a number of Hodgson's Pipit (Anihns roscatus) were 

 singing and feeding, and several of their newly fledged young 

 were seen, shepherded by anxious parents. 



At one of the pools I noticed a Redshank (Tringa culidris) 

 and this I shot for the collection. There was a faint possibility 

 that it might be a breeding bird, so I searched all the pools for 

 the mate, but without result, and dissection showed later that 

 it was not nesting. My search, however, revealed the presence 

 of a party of 7 or 8 Green Sandpipers {Tringa ochropus), and 

 it is probable that these waders were early migrants in company. 

 While sitting on a rock watching the Sandpipers I suddenly 

 saw. in the distance, two birds fly together and tumble on the 

 ground as if fighting, and in the distance they looked no larger 

 than larks. But cries arose that told me one of the birds was a 

 Green Sandpiper, and when the fight became stationary it was 

 not difficult to guess that the second bird must be a Hawk or 

 Falcon, and at this altitude any such must be a prize. I accord- 

 ingly seized the gun and hurried off in the folds of the ground 

 until I was able to look over a rise and see a lovely male Hobby 



