8^ 
Birds of the .Jhclum District. 
Birds of the Jhelum District. 
By H. Wiiistleu, l.P, M.Ii.O.U. 
ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FliOM THE PUNJAH. 
Our various periodicals ou Natural History contain so many 
diaries on bird observation in the British Isles, that it may possih'y 
be oi' interest to our members to read a similar diary i'rom India, as 
from it some idea may be gaini'il of the richness of the material that 
lies ready for the observation of the Ornithologist in that country. 
Although the notes from which this calendar was compiled were 
written uo daily I have thought it better to write up the calendar 
at the end of the month, so as to gain a better perspective 
of the relative importance of the notes made : this will account for 
various observations which would dhcrwisu .^ccm a little like prophecy ! I 
regret that the exigencies of time and distance do not allow the notes to 
appear in the month following that to which they would refer ; it would 
then have been more interesting for comparison with the almost eontcm- 
jiorarj' conditions in England. 
Unless otherwise stated all notes refer to the immediate neigh- 
.)Curhood, of Jhelum City, situated on the River Jhelum, and head- 
quarters of the Jlielum district, which is bounded on the north by Rawal 
Find) district and Jammu Native State (at the foot of the [linjalayas ), 
and on the south by Gujrat district. Within half a mile of my bungalow 
is a Government Reserved I'orest Block or fiak, situated ou the right 
bank of the river. This Rak and the River beside it are an ideal col- 
lecting ground. Otherwise the immediate neighbourhood is chief!}' cul- 
tivation on sandy soil with scattered trees. 
The nomenclature is mainlj* that of Blandford ami Oates, Fauna 
of Biilish India — Birds. 
Jan. 1. — One of the most interesting features of bird life at present 
is the enormous quantities of Rooks and Jackdaws which 
come to roost nightly in the Government Forest Block near 
my bungalow : these birds arrived in the district in the 
middle of October, obtaining their full strength of num- 
bers by the end of that montli ; and from their first arrival 
they came to roost in company with the House Crows 
(fiorvm splcndens) which sleep in the Block all the year 
round . 
The stream of birds arriving to roost starts about t\vo 
hours before sunset, the House Crows being the .flrst to 
arrive ; the Rooks and the Jackdaws keep together, and 
arrive as a rule apart from the Crows, some of the bands 
coming at a tremendous height. When the weather was 
warmer the sand-banks of the River Jhelum, which runs 
alongside the Block, were black with the numbers of birds 
that settled for a final drink ; but now that the weather 
is cold this "night-cap" is mostly discontinued. 
