NATURAL HISTORY AND SPORT IN THE HIMALAYAS. 291 
deodars surround it on all sides, and the slopes of the hills used 
to be entirely covered with this stately tree. A good deal of the 
forest has lately been cut down, and the land thus reclaimed has 
been devoted to potatoes, which thrive remarkably well, and are 
much used by the hill-men, or taken for sale to the neighbouring 
stations; they are invariably roasted in the ashes by the Paharees, 
who have not yet taken to boiling them. I had never been in a 
forest of deodars before, and found its grandeur impressive; but 
there were few species of birds procurable, and on this account I 
was somewhat disappointed. ‘There were two species of Green 
Woodpeckers, Gecinus squamatus and G. occipitalis, about equally 
common, and conspicuous by their harsh, rattling call, and their 
peculiar flight. I got also good specimens of other Woodpeckers 
to-day: Picus Himalayanus; P. pygmeus, which I more than 
once noticed in parties of half a dozen; and P. brunneifrons, 
which is probably the most common species. A single Gecinus 
flavinucha was observed, but I missed him. Several noisy parties 
of Garrulax were seen, but I did not ascertain the species, G. 
erythrocephalus and G. variegatus most probably. In a consider- 
able clearing of the forest I came on a party of nearly a dozen of 
Pomatorhinus erythrogenys, busily turning up the fallen leaves 
and keeping up an animated conversation the while. This 
congregation surprised me, for they are usually found in pairs, as 
are the other species of the Scimitar-billed Babblers. It is a 
common bird all over these hills, so I only fired into the flock 
to verify my observation, knocking over a pair. A much prettier 
species is P. leucogaster, which keeps more to the lower ranges, 
descending to the foot of the hills in winter. A third, P. 
Horsfieldi, is restricted to the Nilgherries and the Western Ghats. 
They are common at Mahableshwur, and there go by the fancy 
name of “John and Mary,” from the quaint answering notes of 
the male and female birds. Sibia capistrata was common in pairs. 
Tt is a lively neatly-plumaged bird, noisy, and by no means shy. 
I have never met with it off the hills, but there it has a wide 
range. I have several times brought it up from the nest, feeding 
it on plantain, guava, and other fruit. 
In the afternoon, as I was toiling up the steep pine-clad hill 
towards the house, I heard the note of a Woodpecker, which 
sounded strange to me, for by much watching by eye and ear I 
was then pretty well ‘ posted” in Woodpeckers, always a favourite 
