MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 279 
muscles of the syrinx is, apart from the volume of sound, evidenced in the work- 
ing of the lower mandible, the marked distension of the throat, and the jerking 
of the whole body and tail. 
Unlike birds of the passerine families and indeed others of its genus, THE SMALL 
Cuckoo does not usually call at dawn, but generally commences some two hours 
after sunrise. It becomes active in this respect, from about 8 or 9 A.M. till noon, 
then again in the evening, again at dusk, again, moderately so, after dark, and 
even at midnight, and again commonly at about 3 or 4 A. M. 
This is not an easy bird to spot or collect. One hears its notes all round but 
they are ventriloquial in character, and when in a tree and calling, like others 
of its genus, it keeps very still. Under favourable circumstances however, it 
may be seen perched on the topmost twig of a tree, uttering its call, or may be 
found, towards evening, coming to the ground to hunt for caterpillars in the 
undergrowth. 
I do not know what species this cuckoo victimises in Kashmir, but around 
Surphrar, where it was so common, Horornis pallidus occurred in great numbers, 
and Alseonaax ruficaudus was also extremely common. 
Scuttys’ Woop Owt (Syrniwm biddulphi) is, in my experience, by far the com- 
monest owl in Kashmir in summer. It occurs at comparatively high eleva- 
tions, 11,000 to 12,000 feet or over, and occasionally nests above tree limit. This 
latter was the case in one valley I camped in. Here there were only a few scat- 
tered and stunted birches about, and I came to the conclusion that the owls, 
which called so frequently at night, were nesting in holes in cliffs. These 
particular birds certainly belied the generic trivial designation, for there was 
nothing that could be called a wood in the immediate vicinity. Doubtless an 
abundance of food supply explained their presence in these haunts, the hillsides 
being riddled with the holes of mice and voles. Small rodents seem to be the 
staple food of this owl in summer. 
In connection with the food of this species I may remark in passing that a 
solitary Scullys’ Wood Owl took up its winter quarters in the compound of my 
bungalow in Kohat, and roosted there for 2 months or more, in a toon tree about 
10 yards from the bungalow. This bird, I was glad to see, fed mainly on sparrows 
but occasionally, he or she, (I did not discover the sex) varied the fare with a 
bulbul (Molpastes leucogenys) or a shrew. <A feeble attempt at the * hoot’ was 
sometimes to be heard, as the winter passed, but the *‘ khawak’ note was fre- 
quently uttered when on the wing, and occasionally when perched. 
H. A. F. MAGRATH. 
MaanipeE, Co. DUBLIN, 
September 1920. 
No. XIV.—THE AVIFAUNA OF THE NELLIAMPATHY HILLS. 
41. Motacilla melanope. In the series of these notes, published in Vol. XX VIT, 
No. 4, I stated that this bird left early in March. This I then believed to be 
correct, but this year, at any rate, these wagtails are still with us, though in 
greatly reduced numbers, and what I certainly do not remember to have seen 
before, are now in their summer plumage. The Rose Finch, Blue Headed 
Rock Thrush, etc., left here in the first half of March. 
29, Stoparola melanops. Mr. Stuart Baker, in epistola, considers that this 
bird must have wandered so far South as a winter migrant. This is undoubtedly 
correct as I have seen none of these birds since the end of March, but it was 
decidedly common during the cold weather. 
91. Neopheron ginginianus. Observed a solitary bird by some cooly lines on 
the 20th March. 
