270 THE HIMALAYAN SNOW-COCK. 



fortunately for them are not very numerous, they seldom wait 

 till he makes a stoop, but on his making a wheel near the spot 

 where they are, immediately fly off to another quarter of the 

 hill ; the eagle never flies after or attacks them on the wing, 

 so that, though he allows them little quietude while near their 

 resort, he only occasionally succeeds in securing one. 



" The Jer-moonal never enters forests or jungle, and avoids 

 spots where the grass is long, or where there is underwood of 

 any kind. It is needless to add that it never perches. During 

 the day, if the weather be fine and warm, they sit on the rocks 

 or rugged parts of the hill without moving much about except 

 in the morning and evening. When cold and cloudy, and in 

 rainy weather, they are very brisk, and are moving about and 

 feeding all day long. 



" When feeding they walk slowly up hill, picking up the ten- 

 der blades of grass and young shoots of plants, occasionally 

 stopping to scratch up a certain bulbous root of which they 

 seem very fond. If they reach the summit of the hill, after 

 remaining stationary some time, they fly off to another quarter, 

 alighting some distance down, and again picking their way 

 upwards. When walking, they erect their tails, have a rather 

 ungainly gait, and at a little distance have something the appear- 

 ance of a large grey goose. They are partial to feeding on 

 spots where the sheep have been kept at nights when grazing 

 in the summer pastures. These places have been called ' tat- 

 ters' by the shepherds, and the grass on them keeps green 

 and fresh long after the rest of the hill is quite dry and brown. 

 They roost on the rocks and shelves of precipices, and return 

 to one spot many successive nights. 



" Their call is a low soft whistling, occasionally heard at 

 intervals throughout the day, but more generally at day-break. 

 It is most common in cloudy weather. The first note is con- 

 siderably prolonged and followed by a succession of low rapid 

 whistles, and it is by far the most agreeable song of all our 

 game birds. This note is only heard when the bird is at 

 rest ; when alarmed and walking away, it sometimes utters at 

 short intervals a single low whistle, and when it gets on the 

 wing the whistles are shrill and very rapid. However far it 

 flies, the whistling is continued until it alights, and for a 

 few seconds afterwards, but then slightly changed in tone to 

 a few notes, which seem in a strange manner to express satis- 

 faction at being again on the ground. However odd the com- 

 parison, I can compare the whistling of these birds when 

 flying and alighting to nothing but the difference of sound 

 produced by the wings of a flock of pigeons when flying 

 and when alighting on some spot where they have to flutter 

 a few seconds before they can gain footing. 



" The Jer-moonal is not remarkably wild or shy. When 

 approached from below, on a person getting within eighty or 



