Birds of the Indian Hills 



ashy wren- warbler (Prinia socialis), which, 

 as it flits about among the bushes, makes a 

 curious snapping noise, the cause of which has 

 not yet been satisfactorily determined. As 

 warblers of unusual colouring, the flycatcher- 

 warblers are pre-eminent. In appearance these 

 resemble tits or white-eyes rather than the 

 typical quaker-like warblers. 



Cryptolopba xanthoschista and Hodgson's 

 grey-headed flycatcher-warbler are the names 

 that ornithologists have given to a very small 

 bird. But, diminutive though he be, he is 

 heard, if not seen, more often than any other 

 bird in all parts of the Western Himalayas. 

 It is impossible for a human being to visit any 

 station between Naini Tal and Murree without 

 remarking this warbler. It is no exaggeration 

 to state that the bird's voice is heard in every 

 second tree. Oates writes of the flycatcher- 

 warblers, " they are not known to have any 

 song." This is true or the reverse, according 

 to the interpretation placed on the word 

 " song." If song denotes only sweet melodies 

 such as those of the shama and the nightingale, 

 then indeed flycatcher-warblers are not singers. 

 Nevertheless they incessantly make a joyful 



noise. I can vouch for the fact that their lay 

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