learnt to do of Affghans and
Indians, and here they have in one day, without even a lesson, brought in
excellent specimens, including mosses, etc. I went out to-day to the end
of Meer Alum's territory, this boundary being about one and a quarter
miles beyond Shingan. The valley up to this is beautifully cultivated,
and begins to look green. Saw and shot another Myophonus, a Saxicola and
an Alcedo, the common one of India; this species has strengthening
splints, as it were on both mandibles: and the feet, etc. have no scales,
being very different from those of the generality of birds.

Myophonus I take to be the large beautiful metallic-blue blackbird, with
obscure and elegant white markings. I have observed common to all hills
I have seen, and is always found in damp wet places, this bird is very
wary, and in carriage much like the English blackbird, on alighting from
its short flight, flirting its tail about, etc. This bird leads me to
remark how widely the river chats are distributed. The beautiful white-
crowned black and red species, and the grey, with a red tail, are found
about all hill streams in the north-eastern parts of India; the latter is
a curious bird, radiating its tail out constantly. Enicurus is also
widely distributed.

I also got to-day a beautiful male Lophophorus, the plumage of which
surpasses description; it is a heavy bird, with brown irides, and a
brownish-chesnut tail; it came from Daiwag.

I met with five _kafirs_, when out to-day, only one would come to me; he
was a very tall man, with a savage face, light keen eyes, returning from
a forage on the Safis: he was an _Arunsha_ man, and a _Tor kafir_, who
are represented as very different from the _Espheen_ or white ones, who
are found in the mountains adjacent to Balk, etc. Arunsha is three days
journey from this, and has a lame, or one-_legged_ chief, _Dheemoo_; my
friend's name was _Bazaar_, he was armed with a matchlock taller than
himself, and the usual dagger. How they compete with the Mussulmans I
cannot imagine, as they can only fight in close quarters, and for which
they have daggers about six inches long in the blade.

The _Kafir_ names of the plants brought in are as follows:--

* _Praitsoo_, Hedera.
_Akrumah_, Iris.
* _Kreemapotak_, Melanthium.
_Daisoo_, Urtica urens?
* _Joh_, Laricoides.
_Wheeree_, Ephedroides.
* _Amarr_, Rhamnea.