166 Some Interesting Birds. 



expense a good many years ago, and also, because the author- 

 ities rather naturally fear, that a collrctor loose on the district 

 would levy such a vast toll on the bird life that the district 

 would lose one of it's attractions. As a matter of fact the 

 absence of bird life is remarked on by the local "guide." 

 The .author was not a Ivird man I fancy, as the birds are there 

 all right, but are not in evidence mu^'h, as t'le bulk of them 

 prefer the jungle and belong to retiriag species. Even the 

 heavy persecution they undergo from the hands of the 

 " garden " coolies, who lime them for food, has little effect, I 

 believe, on the numbers of the birds of the species which are 

 so caught. There may be some effect indirectly on the carniv- 

 orous birds and animals. However that may be, I was re- 

 stricted to one tea garden and I consider myself lucky to have 

 had trapping rights of that, es'pecially as it ranged from 2,000 

 feet up to nearly 6,000 and contained a good deal of forest. 

 Still, I should have liked to try a bit higher up as well, short 

 as my time was. 



One ought to get quite a nice collection of Laughing- 

 Thrushes. Even the sober coloured ones are charming aviary 

 birds, but, alas, few are safe with smaller fry, hence they are 

 not good birds to bring home from a selling point of view. 

 Also they are not nice birds on the journey, not over -clean and 

 given to sudden uncalled for panics, especially at night. Ex- 

 cept perhaps Sibias, I 'know of no birds more given to stripping 

 themselves or eacTi other, and, thus they "arrive in a condition 

 which spoils the look of a whole consignment, though in reality 

 they may be far fitter than their better feathered fellowi 

 captives. My first experience of them on a voyage made me 

 vow to leave them alone in future, this vow I have already 

 broken and shall probably do so again. 



The Eufous-necked Laughing-Thrush CDryonastcs 

 rujicollis) reminds me rather of a miniature Jackdaw, though 

 the birds are not really at all alike except in being perky. 

 Under the tail and sides of the head bright chestnut; top of 

 head grey; upper breast and tail and remainder of head black: 

 upper plumage and rest of lower plumage olive brown. Bill 

 and legs black. Iris red. Length about 10 inches; tail 4-5 

 Found in the Eastern Himalayas, prolmbly not above 4,000 

 feet (Gates). Jerdon states that it is kept by the natives as 



