132 
Birds in and about the Station 
our J](litor, into whose hands he passed. In the first instance I 
only kept liim as a call bird in the vain liope that he would 
attract the Black Crested Tit ; he became so confiding that I 
thouglit he might as well go home with the other birds. I did 
not then realise how much brighter he was than the Gi'eat Tit. 
After seven years on end in India I was surprised to find English 
birds duller and larger than I thought they were, the Blue Tit and 
the Chaffinch being the chief offenders. 
The Retl-headed Tit ( Acf/itJialiscus erytlwocephaius) is a 
charming little mite, which I have only seen among the deodars, 
but he is not to be passed by with a mei'e mention. He is a 
prominent member of the hunting parties which, to me, are the 
chief incentive to investigate pure, unmixed deodar forest. 
One is just beginning to wonder why one goes to such 
countries for bird-watching when a little twittering is heard and 
the party soon arrives. Redheads in van, flanks, rear and main 
body. In a good party one will probably find three other species 
of Tit, two species of Nuthatch, some small Warbler beasts (iden- 
tifying warblers is anathema to me). Tree-creepers, Goldcrests, 
with several species of Wood-peckers pretending to be only spec- 
tatoi's. A few Sibias and a Laughing-Thrush or so will also prob- 
ably be seen, but their skulking habits may permit them to escape 
observation. The small fry are as busy as can be and take little 
notice of one's presence. 
It is cui'ious how hard it is to keep up with a party for 
long. In spite of the tameness, and continual twittering, they 
have a wonderful knack of slipping away even on the most fav- 
ourable ground for human feet, which it genei-ally is not. One 
has to give it up, hoping despondently (to be Irish) to " fluke " on 
them again, or at least to come across some Black and Yellow 
Grosbeaks (always good to meet with) or other finch beasts to 
relieve the monotony of the deodars. Still, even if one has no 
further luck, that thirty minutes or so with the hunting party is 
something to remember, and it is quite likely that one tries the 
deodars again at the next opportunity. 
I have not kept the Red-headed Tit nor have I found the nest. 
Ovites desci'ilies it as a round l^all of moss, liclien and roots in the 
branch of an oak or deodar. Their general habits and shapes (Ijar 
the long tail) remind me of the Long-tailed Tit at home. Top of 
