NATURALIST IN INDIA. 99 



encetothe former, that it seldom mounts so high or remains so 

 long on wing ; it is a summer visitor only, possibly migrat- 

 ing to the lowland valleys in winter. I took a nest and four 

 eggs on the Dugshai hill in May. The eggs were exactly 

 sinular to those of the skylark. 



The pagoda thrush (Acridotheres pagodarwm) is probably 

 the bird referred to in LaUa Eookh : — 



" Mecca's blue saored pigeon, and the thrush 

 Of Sindostan, whose holy warhUngs gush 

 At evening from the tall pagoda's top." 



Making allowances for the glowing imagery of the poet, the 

 song of this bird is sweet, and not without melody, and resem- 

 bles a good deal that of the common paradise grackle, with 

 which it is often found associated. It is more a native of 

 Hindostan than the Himalayas, and is only met with on the 

 lower region during the hot months. I have frequently seen 

 it feeding on the tender shoots of the long-leaved pine, but in- 

 sects seem to constitute its favourite food. — The spotted-winged 

 starling (Saraglossa ^iloptera) is evidently a native of the 

 hills ; although not common, as many as half-a-dozen may 

 be seen at one time among the woods and jungles of the lower 

 hills during the hot months. In winter it may possibly retire 

 to the hot Himalayan vaUeys. 



The two species of kestrel are common about Dugshai ; 

 the lesser kestrel {Tinnunculus cenchris) is the most abundant, 

 and may be seen in numbers hovering over the sides of the 

 mountains and the little terraced fields in quest of beetles and 

 large insects. Independent of size, the latter is distinguished 

 from the other by the light colour of its claws, which are 

 black in the common kestrel. During the fine clear evenings 

 which precede the monsoon, when the vultures are often seen 



