CHAPTER XIV 



ORNITHOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS 



General migration of birds — Distribution and habits of bulbuls— Plasticity 

 of instinct — Paradise flycatchers — The black drongo— Habits of the 

 purple sunbird — Nesting instinct of the whistling-thrush, the barbet, 

 and the Kashmir martin — Troops of insectivorous birds — Tumbling 

 of birds — Soaring flight of birds. 



I PASS now to some ornithological observations. The 

 migrating season greatly enriched the bird life of the 

 valley. Early in September the stream of migrant 

 birds flows down the mountain flanks, along the valleys 

 and southward over the Peninsula of India. Flocks 

 of wagtails, pied and grey, collect in every stream ; 

 drongos congregate in the green trees ; quail in 

 thousands infest the cornfields ; snipe and duck flow 

 into the marshes. The whole bird life is changing ; 

 a new avifauna of winter is replacing that of summer. 

 Many birds with the paradise flycatchers, the black- 

 headed mynas and the magpie robins leave the 

 mountains to winter in the cooler plains. Others like 

 the woodcock, jackdaw and whisding thrush descend 

 from the higher elevations to seek the shelter of the 

 lower hills. Still others, like the snipe and duck, pass 

 the summer in Europe or Northern Asia and now 

 sweep across the Himalayan ranges on their distant 

 journey to the Indian plains. 



When bird life was more stationary there were some 

 attractive species to be seen in the valley. Three 



258 



