of a brighter
hue of yellow.

The house-sparrow, like the house-crow, is a bird of the plains rather
than of the hills. The common sparrow of the Himalayas is the handsome
cinnamon tree-sparrow (_Passer cinamomeus_). The cock is easily
recognised by his bright cinnamon-coloured head and shoulders.
Imagine a house-sparrow shorn of sixty per cent. of his impudence,
and you will have arrived at a fair estimate of the character of the
tree-sparrow.

The only other members of the Finch family that concern us are the
buntings. A bunting is a rather superior kind of sparrow--a Lord
Curzon among sparrows--a sparrow with a refined beak. The familiar
English yellowhammer is a bunting. Two buntings are common in the
Western Himalayas. The first of these, the eastern meadow-bunting
(_Emberiza stracheyi_), looks like a large, well-groomed sparrow.
A broad slate-coloured band runs from the base of the beak over the
top of the head to the nape of the neck. In addition to this, there
are on each side of the head blackish bars, like those on the head
of the quail. By these signs the bird may be recognised. The other
species is the white-capped bunting (_Emberiza stewarti_). This is
a chestnut-coloured bird with a pale grey cap. Buntings associate
in small flocks and affect open rather than well-wooded country. They
are not very interesting birds.

THE HIRUNDINIDAE OR SWALLOW FAMILY

A small bird that spends hours together on the wing, dashing through
the air at great speed, frequently changing its course, now flying
high, now just skimming the ground, must be either a swallow or a
swift. Many people are totally at a loss to distinguish between a
swallow and a swift. The two birds differ anatomically. A swift is
not a passerine bird. It cannot perch. When it wants to take a rest
it has to repair to its nest. Swallows, on the other hand, are fond
of settling on telegraph wires. It is quite easy to distinguish
between the birds when they are on the wing. A flying swift may be
compared to an anchor with enormous flukes (the wings), or to an arrow
(the body) attached to a bow (the wings). As the swift dashes through
the air at a speed of fully 100 miles an hour, it never closes its
wings to the sides of its body; it merely whips the air rapidly with
the tips of them. On the other hand, the swallow, when it flies, closes
its wings to its body at every stroke. Notwithstanding its greater
effort, it does not move nearly so rapidly as th