t object.
The first time one catches sight of this white bird with his satin
streamers floating behind him, one wonders whether he is but an object
seen in a dream.

This flycatcher is a regular visitor in summer to Almora, where it
nests. Six thousand feet appear to be about the limit of its ascent,
and in consequence this beautiful creature is not common at any of
the higher hill stations. I have seen it at the brewery below Naini
Tal, but not at Naini Tal itself.

THE TURDIDAE OR THRUSH FAMILY

This large family is well represented in the hills, and embraces a
number of beautiful and interesting birds.

The dark grey bush-chat (_Oreicola ferrea_) is as common in the hills
as is the robin in the plains. It is about the size of a robin. The
upper plumage of the cock is grey in winter and black in summer. This
change in colour is the result of wear and tear suffered by the
feathers. Each bird is given by nature a new suit of clothes every
autumn, and in most cases the bird, like a Government _chaprassi_,
has to make it last a whole year. Both eat, drink, sleep, and do
everything in their coats. There is, however, this difference between
the bird and the _chaprassi_: the plumage of the former always looks
clean and smart, while the garment of the _chaprassi_ is usually
neither the one nor the other. The coat of the dark grey bush-chat
is made up of black feathers edged with grey. As the margins of the
feathers alone show, the bird looks grey so long as the grey margins
exist, and when these wear away it appears black. The cock has a
conspicuous white eyebrow, and displays some white in his wings and
tail. He is quite a dandy. The hen is a reddish brown bird with a
pale grey eyebrow. This species likes to pretend it is a flycatcher.
The flycatchers proper do not object in the least; in this country
of multitudinous insects there are more than enough for every kind
of bird.

Brief mention must be made here of the Indian bush-chat (_Pratincola
maura_), because this chat is common at Almora, and breeds there.
I have not seen it at other hill stations. It does not appear to ascend
the Himalayas higher than 5500 feet. In the cock the upper parts are
black (brown in winter) with a large white patch on each side of the
neck. The breast is orange-red. The lower parts are ruddy brown. The
hen is a plain reddish brown bird.

We now come to what is, in my opinion, one of the most striking birds
in the Himalayas. I refer t