NATURALIST IN INDIA. 283 



object more than another to attract the eye, and no sound to 

 break the stilbiess around. 



The highest peak (Prang-la) is said to rise 4000 feet above 

 the level of the lake. No fish were seen in its clear waters, 

 although a small species, perhaps the fry of the Himalayan 

 trout, were common in the little mountain-streams where 

 they empty themselves into the lake. The water of the lake 

 had a soft brackish taste. As usual, the alpine pigeon (C. 

 rupestris), black-throated wheatear, raven, Ladakh mountain- 

 finch, were common on the MUs and plains around. The 

 lesser tern was seen occasionally, and I shot, for the first time, 

 a brown-headed gull (Zanos trunnicephalus), which was now 

 and then seen hunting along the margin of the lake. This 

 handsome bird is not unlike the black-headed guU, from which, 

 however, it is distinguished by the colour of the iris, which is 

 white. The head and neck are grayish-brown, turning to 

 black on the lower part. The first six primaries have the 

 proximal half white and the distal half black, with white spots 

 on the tips of the two first quills. We observed the rufous- 

 breasted dotterel (C. leschenaultii) and young, a brood of which 

 •were seen running along the pebbly side of the lake. An 

 adult male measured in the flesh 7 inches. Forehead is black, 

 with a white spot in front of the eye. A black band passes 

 from the bill through the eye ; throat and neck are white ; 

 breast and sides of the neck light rufous. The black-headed 

 mountain-finch (Montifringilla hcematopygia) is often seen 

 around the lake, usually feeding with the short-biUed variety 

 of the mountain-Unnet, which is common in Ladakh. The 

 young of the latter have the edges of the quills more marked 

 with white, and the pink on the rump is paler than in the bird 

 of Northern Europe ; otherwise there is no apparent difference. 

 The smaller bill, which has given the Asiatic bird a character 



