Common Birds of Western Himalayas 



brown. It has a black eyebrow and shows 

 a fine expanse of white shirt front. It goes 

 about in large flocks and continually utters a 

 cry, loud and plaintive and not in the least 

 like laughter. 



The remaining laughing-thrushes are known 

 as the rufous-chinned (Ianthocincla rufigularis) 

 and the red-headed (Trochalopterum erythroce- 

 fhalum). The former may be distinguished 

 from the white-throated species by the fact 

 that the lower part only of its throat is white, 

 the chin being red. The red-headed laugh- 

 ing-thrush has no white at all in the under 

 parts. The next member of the family of the 

 Crateropodidae that demands our attention 

 is the rusty-cheeked scimitar-babbler (Pomato- 

 rhinus erythrogenys). 



Scimitar-babblers are so called because of 

 the long, slender, compressed beak, which is 

 curved downwards like that of a sunbird. 



Several species of scimitar-babbler occur in 

 the Himalayas. The above mentioned is the 

 most abundant in the Western Himalayas. 

 This species is known as the Banbakra at 

 Mussoorie. Its bill is \\ inch long. The 

 upper plumage is olive brown. The forehead, 

 cheeks, sides of the neck, and thighs are 



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