506 Mr. H. F. Wifherby— Ornithologi cal 



basin, covered with corn and grass and dotted with palm- 

 trees — green and luxuriant. It was the height of spring 

 and the flowers were in perfection : every here and there 

 deep crimson poppies and bright blue gentians, growing 

 thickly together with other flowers of yellow, white, and 

 mauve, formed patches of most brilliant and beautiful 

 colour. The birds here were characteristic of all the lower 

 and fertile valleys. 



In the next pass we were again unfortunate in having a 

 slippery track and in meeting hundreds of heavily-laden 

 donkeys, the foremost of which struggled to pass our mules, 

 and crashing their loads together, fell down one after the 

 other, until the narrow way was blocked with struggling 

 animals. But here again Rock-Nuthatches came to the 

 rescue of my jaded nerves, and that charming Bush-Robin, 

 Erithacus gutturalis, was seen and admired for the first time. 

 At the top of the kotal we passed, as suddenly as usual, 

 from barrenness to fertility, and found ourselves in the 

 small valley of Kamarij, yellow with mustard-plants. In 

 the surrounding hills I first saw the Lammergeier soaring 

 and sweeping along in noble flight with outstretched wings. 

 Red-legged Choughs, with their airy flight and cheerful 

 ways, were also first met with here; and travelling on from 

 this valley into a narrow defile, we saw Great Tits and 

 Syrian Woodpeckers. Passing through the defile, we reached 

 the large valley of Kazran, where fields of opi um-poppies 

 gleamed white amongst the corn, and the Nightingales 

 and Goldfinches sang sweetly in the thickly-planted fruit- 

 gardens. 



But the greatest surprise of all was in store for us. 

 Ascending from the Kazran Valley by the Maiden's Pass — 

 the Kotal-i-Dokhter — we reached the top after a hot and 

 dusty climb, and on turning a sharp bend in the track we saw 

 before us a charming valley thickly studded with oak-trees. 

 It was as though we had been transported in a flash back 

 to England. The oaks were much the same as ours, and 

 the bird-lite at first glance was characteristic of our woods: 

 Nuthatches, Great, Blue, and other Tits, Wood-Pigeons, 



