284 WANDERINGS OF A 



is called L. brevirostris by Gould, somewhat different from the 

 other, was by no means very apparent in my Ladakh speci- 

 mens. As far as I can make out from comparison of skins, 

 there does not seem sufficient grounds for separating the above 

 and Z. montana. Sir WUliam Jardine, who has likewise 

 carefully compared Ladakh specimens with the above, is of 

 the same opinion. 



The black-headed mountain-finch is usually seen singly ; 

 its flight is powerful ; the seeds of an artemisia constitute its 

 favourite food. The male in the flesh measures 7 iuches. 

 The eye is small; back and wing-covers grayish-black; rump 

 thick and tinged with pink ; tail black, margined with white ; 

 lower parts are dirty-white. The plumage of the back and belly 

 is soft and downy, which is the case with many of the indige- 

 nous birds of these high altitudes, evidently to serve as a protec- 

 tion against the cold of winter. In fact, the extra down takes 

 the place of the woolly pUeage of the mammals of these regions. 

 The rufous-breasted accentor (Accentor strophiatus) frequents 

 the furze bushes, where I found its nest, with four eggs of a 

 white colour, beautifully speckled with light-brown like those 

 of the yellow bunting (K citrinella). Its call somewhat re- 

 sembles the siskin's. The upper parts are brown, with longi- 

 tudinal strise of a darker colour ; throat and neck mouse- 

 brown ; breast rufous ; beUy and lower parts dirty-white. The 

 brown and common water-ousels were again observed ; also a 

 solitary Philippine dotterel. We saw a flock of geese settle 

 on the lake, but could not discern the exact species. How- 

 ever, by the aid of our telescopes, we could recognise mal- 

 lard and teal, but they were likewise a great distance from 

 the shore. I shot a small sand-martin, which at first sight 

 appeared to be identical with the common bank -swallow 

 (H. riparia), but turned out, on closer inspection, to be an 



