The Great Himalayan Barbet 



and pleasant. Others would leave out the 

 second adjective. Not a few regard the cry as 

 the reverse of pleasant, and consider the bird a 

 nuisance. As the bird is always on the move — 

 its call at one moment ascends from the depths 

 of a leafy valley and at the next emanates from 

 a tree on the summit of some hill — the note 

 does not get on one's nerves as that of the 

 coppersmith does. Whether men like its note 

 or not, they all agree that it is plaintive and 

 wailing. This, too, is the opinion of hillmen, 

 some of whom declare that the souls of men 

 who have suffered injuries in the Law Courts, 

 and who have in consequence died of broken 

 hearts, transmigrate into the great Himalayan 

 barbets, and that is why these birds wail unceas- 

 ingly un-nee-ow, un-nee-ow, which means " in- 

 justice, injustice." Obviously, the hillmen 

 have not a high opinion of our Law Courts ! 



Himalayan barbets go about in small flocks, 

 the members of which call out in chorus. 

 They keep to the top of high trees, where, as 

 has been said, they are not easily distinguished 

 from the foliage. When perched they have 

 a curious habit of wagging the tail from side 

 to side, as a dog does, but with a jerky, 

 mechanical movement. Their flight is noisy 



177 M 



