Common Birds of Western Himalayas 



about in flocks. This is a characteristic of a 

 great many Himalayan birds. Probably the 

 majority of the common birds of these moun- 

 tains lead a sociable existence, like that of the 

 "seven sisters" of the plains. A man may 

 walk for half-an-hour through a Himalayan 

 wood without seeing a bird or hearing any bird- 

 sound save the distant scream of a kite or the 

 raucous voice of the black crow ; then suddenly 

 he comes upon quite a congregation of birds, 

 a flock of a hundred or more noisy laughing- 

 thrushes, or numbers of cheeping white-eyes 

 and tits, or it may be a flock of rowdy black 

 bulbuls. All the birds of the wood seem to be 

 collected in one place. This flocking of the 

 birds in the hills must, I think, be accounted 

 for by the fact that birds are by nature 

 sociable creatures, and that food is particularly 

 abundant. In a dense wood every tree offers 

 either insect or vegetable food, so that a large 

 number of birds can live in company without 

 fear of starving each other out. In the plains 

 food is less abundant, hence most birds that 

 dwell there are able to gratify their fondness for 

 each other's society only at roosting time ; during 

 the day they are obliged to separate, in order to 

 find the wherewithal to feed upon. 



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