188 THE ODYSSEY OF AN ANIMAL COLLECTOR 
fellow, and it gave us an uneasy feeling when we pondered the 
uncanny influences brought about by ingrained customs, beliefs, 
and fears. 
Some of India’s finest teas are produced around Mahanadi, and 
in odd moments it was a joy to look over these well-kept tea 
gardens and to see the inner workings of the factories. The em- 
ployees are mainly Lepchas and Bhutias and differ considerably 
in temperament from the peoples of the plains. It was a particu- 
larly refreshing contrast to see the smiling girls working in the 
tea gardens with apparently much more freedom than their sisters 
in the lowlands. 
It was noticeable at Mahanadi that birds were still making their 
way to higher altitudes to breed. At one period the forest was 
thickly populated with Gray-winged Ouzels, but a week or two 
later all had disappeared. One of the most conspicuous birds in 
the more open situations was the Verditer Flycatcher, which looks 
a real gem as it darts about in the brilliant sunshine hawking 
insects. Blue, in fact, seemed to be the predominant color in many 
birds, including several species of flycatchers, nuthatches, and 
rock-thrushes. In the flycatchers are included the niltavas, which 
are among the prettiest of India’s smaller birds. I was fortunate in 
trapping two Greater Niltavas in a spring net-trap, but this neces- 
sitated a climb of about one thousand feet as there were none 
near our base. The male is a gorgeous creature with a mixture of 
dark blue, violet blue, and cobalt blue. 
The Rufous-bellied Niltava was more common and was not 
very difficult to come by. Although this is a smaller species it is 
equally handsome, having red underparts and an upper surface 
mainly of bright shining blue. 
Among the birds from higher altitudes I collected a number of 
Ixulus and Yuhinas. These are small birds of rather dull plumage 
but have a great attractiveness on account of their sprightly ways, 
reminding one very much of zosterops. They move through the 
tree-tops in small flocks, searching everywhere for small insects 
and consuming a certain amount of berries. 
One of the most interesting of the nectar-feeders in our collec- 
tion was the Great Indian Spider-hunter. Its rather dull plumage 
of olive yellow streaked with black is offset by its rather con- 
CaS See 
