1 20 BIRDS OF KASHMIR.
2 sembling the cormorant in appearance, is common on
3 the river. I had taken no particular notice of it, but
4 a skin of one was procured by Dr. Henderson, whom
5 I have elsewhere mentioned, and after whom it was
6 deservedly named.
7 The common eagle, and a smaller species, are
8 found in the valley. I have shot two of the latter kind ;
9 it is known in Europe as the aquila Bonelli, and is a
10 very bold and fierce bird. There is a living specimen
11 in the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park.
12 The byri, or peregrine, and the churk falcon, or
13 lanner, are also to be seen in Kashmir. The cuckoo
14 (called the gowk in the North of England) is called
15 the byal-kuk in Kashmir : byal signifies seed, and
16 the farmers say that its note tells them to cast seed
17 into the ground.
18 The magpie is common in Little Tibet, but I
19 never saw one in Kashmir. Ahmed Shah of Iskardo
20 told me that it was thought lucky if one lived near a
21 man's house.
22 The hoopoe, the mina, and the blue blackbird of
23 the Himalaya, whose short but flute-like notes are
24 amongst the sweetest that are produced by the
25 feathered tribe, are common enough.
26 The nightingale is not found, I think, even in
27 Afghanistan ; but they swarm in Persia. The bulbul
28 of Kashmir* is a sorry substitute for the European
29 songster; his note resembles that of the English
30 blackbird, but is by no means so full and musical.
31 He is about seven inches and a half in length — bill,
32 head, and legs black — general colour of plumage,
33 * IxOB Leueogenys.