4 Mr. J. Davidson — A Short 



we saw appeared to ])e very small^ and wanted the large 

 conspicuous white patch on the underwing. We, however, 

 never got a chance of shooting a Kite in the Sind Valley. 



There were a pair of Haliaetus leucoryplius every two or 

 three miles along the river, and Mr. Bell saved one of 

 these from an untimely end. The bird had in some way 

 got a leg caught between two crooked branches in the 

 extreme top of a mulberry-tree, and must have been there a 

 long time, as it was hanging downwards, apparently dead, 

 and looking in the distance like a piece of cloth. When we 

 got close, however, it made a feeble attempt to flap, and 

 Mr. Bell insisted on risking his neck in climbing up, when 

 he managed with difficulty to release it ; it then slowly flew 

 away, and alighted on a tree a hundred yards ofl^. It is 

 difficult to see hoAv it could have got caught between the 

 branches. 



We reached Srinugger on the night of the 25th, and stayed 

 there till the 30th, making arrangements for our trip. We saw 

 few birds at Srinugger except those of species observed on the 

 road up the Jlielum. On the Tukht-i-Suliraan a few birds 

 were commencing to build, and on the 29th we found there 

 several nests of Sylvia affinis and Emberiza stevjarti just 

 finished, and one nest of the former with four fresh eggs. 

 We also found a nest of the Himalayan Goldfinch [Carduelis 

 caniceps) nearly finished; this we left in charge of one of 

 the boatmen, with orders to send it on with its contents ten 

 days later. 



On the 30th of April we went to Gandarbal, at the mouth 

 of the Sind River, where we stayed till the morning of the 2nd 

 May, but found there only the birds we had previously met 

 with on the Tukht-i-Suliman. Several of the Sylvia affinis, 

 however, had eggs, as also had some Jackdaws. We left 

 on the 2nd, and made four marches to Sonamurg, seeing 

 some interesting birds by the way, and also large flocks of 

 migrating Pipits passing up the Sind-E,ivcr Valley. The only 

 kind we were able to identify was Anthus rosaceus. 



Sonamurg itself we found almost covered with snow, and 

 though we saw a couj)le of nests of Myiuphoneus temmincki 



