failed
him, for presently he flew to another tree a little farther away,
whence he again contemplated me. After this he kept changing his
position, never uttering a sound, and always retaining hold of the
beakful of caterpillars. After a little the hen returned with her
bill full of caterpillars, but she did not venture within 75 feet
of the nest. I was not permitted to observe how long it would take
the parental instinct to overcome the natural timidity of the birds.
The sky suddenly became overcast, and a few minutes later I found
myself enveloped in what the Scotch call a "wet mist." At certain
seasons of the year rain storms come up as unexpectedly in the
Himalayas as they do in the Grampians.

The rain put a final end to my observations on that nest, as I had
to leave Naini Tal on the following day--an event which caused more
sorrow to me than to the ouzels!

_THE BLACK-AND-YELLOW GROSBEAK_

The Indian grosbeaks are birds of limited distribution; they appear
to be confined to the forests on the higher ranges of the Himalayas.
Their most striking feature is the stout conical bill, which is an
exaggeration of that of the typical finch, and is responsible for
the bird's name. In one genus of grosbeak--_Mycerobas_--the bill is
as deep as it is long, while in the other genus--_Pycnorhamphus_--it
is nearly as massive. Three species belonging to this latter genus
occur in India, namely, _P. icteroides_, the black-and-yellow
grosbeak, found in the Western Himalayas; _P. affinis_, the allied
grosbeak, found in Nepal, Sikkim, Tibet, and Western China; and _P.
carneipes_, the white-winged grosbeak, which occurs all along the
higher Himalayas.

There is only one Indian species of the other genus; this is known
as the spotted-winged grosbeak (_Mycerobas melanoxanthus_), the
localities in which this occurs are said to be "the Himalayas from
the Hazara country to Sikkim at considerable elevations and Manipur."

The only Indian grosbeak which I have met in the flesh is the
yellow-and-black species. This bird is common in the hills round about
Murree, so that, when on ten days' leave there, I had some opportunity
of studying its habits. It is a bird of the same size as the Indian
oriole (_Oriolus kundoo_). The cock grosbeak, indeed, bears a
striking resemblance to the black-headed oriole (_Oriolus
melanocephalus_). His whole head, chin, throat, wings, shoulders,
upper-tail-coverts, and thighs are black, the remainder