214 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF NEPAL. 



Of the hills which encircle the valley the lower ones have 

 tlieir summits formed of rounded grassy knolls, with a good 

 deal of bush jungle in the small nullahs which intervene between 

 these : such is the character of Jahar Powah and Kakani 

 Powah. The higher hills^ Chandragiri, Sheopuri, Phulchank 

 are covered with a noble garniture of trees. These forests are 

 most I'ich in bird life, and to any ornithologist who may visit 

 the Nepal Valley I especially recommend Sheopuri. There, 

 camped in a grassy glade on the crest of the hill, he may 

 wander through the grand forest day after day, to find tiie 

 huge gnarled trees with their branches covered with mosses, 

 ferns and oi'chids, the dense undergrowth of bushes, and the 

 splendid rhododendrons giving shelter to birds in wonderful 

 profusion of species and individuals. 



Immediately beyond the hills of the Nepal Valley, on the 

 east and south-east, are two fertile and well-cultivated valleys, 

 Banepa and Panouti, whose streams fall into the Kosi ; and on 

 the western side are the deep Dhuni and Kolpu Valleys, much 

 lower and hotter than Kathmandu. Nawakot, which lies north- 

 west of the valley, merits more detailed description. 



Before quitting the Nepal Valley I must not omit to mention 

 the fine sight which is obtained from it during the greater 

 portion of the cold weather. I refer to the view of the snows. 

 Probably none of our Himalayan stations can furnish such an 

 extensive and magnificent prospect of the snowy range as is to 

 be seen from the neighbourhood of Kathmandu. On a clear 

 day, and especially from the crests of the surrounding hills, 

 an uninterrupted view of the snow-clad chain can be seen over 

 some 120 degrees of the horizon, including Doulagiri, Gosain 

 Than, Mount Everest and Kinchinjunga. From the Residency 

 grounds even, during the clear weather of the winter months, 

 the sunset eff'ects on the snows present a picture never to be 

 forgotten : the bright golden glow of the peaks gradually 

 shading into the most delicate rose colour ; then a cold grey 

 for a minute or two, which gives way to an after-glow tinge 

 of the most delicate pink ; and as this again fades away, the 

 mighty walls of snow settle into a pale grey shade cruelly 

 sugoestive of the most extreme cold. 



In position, as well as in elevation, the Nepal Valley forms 

 a characteristic portion of Mr. Hodgson's " Central Region," 

 which he defined as a tract of country equidistant from the 

 plains and the snows, and having an elevation of from 4,000 

 to 10,000 feet. We have now to visit a part of Nepal (the 

 Nawakot district) which, although further north and nearer to 

 the snows than the Great Valley, is so much lower and hotter 

 than the latter, that it must be considered to belong to the lower 



