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whistle, slowly uttered like the other, but the middle note 
double, thus, ‘‘ whew—whew-whew—whew ; wy boys too who 
are keen observers of these things and prowl about, gun in 
hand, sometimes till 10 o’clock at night, positively insist upon 
it that the double note belongs to Hphiaites alone, and that G. 
Brodiet has only the four notes “ whew—whew-whew—whew.” 
I am by no means sure that this species docs as Dr. Jerdon 
remarks, live chiefly on insects. One shot in the valley of the 
Surjoo, about sundown, had a Phylloscopus in his claws, the 
head so mauled, that the species could not be made out, and 
none of the stomachs of three other specimens of which I have 
notes contained insects. 
This little Owl is very watchful; by day at any rate he sits 
motionless, doubled up on a considerable sized branch, looking 
like a knot or excrescence ; but, point in his direction, and he is 
off like a shot, nay as a rule, the moment your eyes fix on him, 
he is aware that he has been recognized and darts away. 
These wee birds are as daring as the Falconets. I once wit- 
nessed a curious encounter between one and a Jay. I was 
sitting on Lurya Kanta, beyond Nyneetal, watching one, from 
behind another tree. A Jay (G. Bispecularis) was threading in 
and out of the branches, as is their wont, when arriving on the 
bough where the Owlet sat, he, for some reason best known to 
himself, gave three or four lolloping, sideway hops, and for all 
the world like a school boy at play with a comrade, went bump 
up against the little ball of feathers. He did not peck at her, 
or attack her, as being a corvine bird he was bound to do, but 
flopped against her sideways. ‘This upset the diminutive 
Minerva’s sense of propriety and gravity, she opened her wings, 
to avoid falling, swore at large, (a squeaky, scratchy, combina- 
tion of hiss and chatter) flew about a yard, wheeled round and 
fell on the Jay’s head in a style, that sent him to the right about 
screaming, after which with sundry ejaculations and many 
shakes of her feathers, the pigmy settled down again exactly 
on her former perch. Nothing more was seen of the Jay; but 
I expect he went and told tales, for soon after a mob of Pari 
and Machlolophi worked their way up into the tree, and soon 
began reviling her ladyship, in such very improper language, 
that with a sudden dart, she disappeared down the khud, almost 
without a second flap of her wings. ; 
As far as is yet known, this species is a purely Indian one, 
and is found only on the Himalayahs, the IKhasya Hills, 
(whence I have received a specimen) and the “ mountainous 
interior of the 'Tenasserim Provinces where Col. Tickell obtain- 
ed it.” 
