142 WANDERINGS OF A 



the mortification to fiud out that the ram had caught a 

 glimpse of me, for he sprang to his feet, and, sending forth a 

 loud whistle, disappeared with his companion among the 

 tortuous lanes. This mishap was one of many such like, 

 from which, as my experience increased, I was taught " never 

 to lose a good opportunity in hopes of obtaining a better " — 

 an advice I recommend in all its bearings to every young 

 hunter. 



The gray-capped bunting {Erriberiza caniceps), the bearded 

 vulture, and the blue water-thrush, before seen only on the 

 Himalayas, were here occasionally observed. The bearded 

 vulture feeds sumptuously at this season on the young 

 houriar, which are dropped in March. The raven is common, 

 but rather smaller than the bird of Tibet and Europe.* The 

 Indian carrion crow {Gorvus culminatus) was not seen on the 

 Salt range, nor about Eawul Pindee, where, however, the rook 

 is plentiful during the cold months. Now and then the pied 

 woodpecker (P. himalayanus) was observed on the acacia and 

 other trees ; its similarity to the- greater spotted woodpecker 

 of Europe and Western Asia, is striking ; the differences lie 

 chiefly in a less brilliant state of plumage. Again, in China 

 there is the Picus cabanisi, and on the ranges of Nepal another 

 species, P. majoroides ; all these are perhaps capable of being 

 brought into one species did we only know the range and 

 limits of each in Asia. The hare {L. nigricoUis) is not com- 

 mon. 



"We pitched our teHt in the most retired spot we could 

 discover, far distant from the villages, and in the centre of the 

 salt district, where the houriar repair at dusk to lick the salt- 



* The raven of Tibet has been called C. tibetanus by Mr. Hodgson (An. 

 and Mag. Nat. Hist. iii. p. 203), for the reason that it "is somewhat larger 

 than C. corax." 



