o the bird known to men of science as
_Henicurus maculatus_, or the western spotted forktail. Those
Europeans who are not men of science call it the hill-wagtail on
account of its habits, or the _dhobi_ bird because of its
unaccountable predilection for the spot where the grunting,
perspiring washerman pursues his destructive calling. The head and
neck of this showy bird are jet black save for a conspicuous white
patch running from the centre of the crown to the base of the bill,
which gives the bird a curious appearance. The shoulders are decorated
by a cape or tippet of black, copiously spotted with white. The wings
are black and white. The tail feathers are black, but each has a broad
white band at the tip, and, as the two median feathers are the shortest,
and each succeeding pair longer, the tail has, when closed, the
appearance of being composed of alternate broad black and narrow white
V-shaped bars. The lower back and rump are white, but these are
scarcely visible except during flight or when the bird is preening
its feathers. The legs are pinkish white. This forktail is a trifle
larger than a wagtail, and its tail is over 6 inches in length. It
is never found away from streams.

I will not dilate further upon the habits of this bird because a
separate essay is devoted to it.

Two other water-birds must now be mentioned. These love not the
_dhobi_, and dwell by preference far from the madding crowd. They
are very common in the interior of the hills, and everyone who has
travelled in the inner ranges must be familiar with them, even if
he do not know what to call them. The white-capped redstart
(_Chimarrhornis leucocephalus_) is a bird that compels attention.
His black plumage looks as though it were made of rich velvet. On
his head he wears a cap as white as snow. His tail, rump, and abdomen
are bright chestnut red, so that, as he leaps into the air after the
circling gnat, he looks almost as if he were on fire.

The third common bird of Himalayan streams is the plumbeous redstart
or water-robin (_Rhyacornis fuliginosus_). This species is very
robin-like in appearance. The body is dusky indigo blue; the tail
and abdomen are ferruginous. The habits of this and the bird just
described are similar. Both species love to disport themselves on
rocks and boulders lapped by the gentle-flowing stream in the valley,
or lashed by the torrent on the hillside. Like all redstarts, these
constantly flirt the tail.

The gr