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As has already been stated, the avifauna of Almora, a little station in the inner hills nearly forty miles from the plains, is a very curious one. I have not only heard the koel calling there, but have seen a young koel being fed by crows. Now, at Almora alone of the hill stations does Corvus splendens, the Indian house-crow, occur, and this is the usual victim of the koel.
It is a dull green bird with some yellow on the head, neck, and back; the abdomen is 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 cock is easily recognised by his bright cinnamon-coloured head and shoulders.
The majority of the kites appear to migrate from the Nilgiris during the south-west monsoon. The shikra is very like the brain-fever bird in appearance. It is a little smaller than the common house-crow. The upper plumage is ashy grey. The tail is of the same hue, but with broad dark brown cross-bars.
Nevertheless few people who have not actually been in both localities are able to realise the startlingly abrupt transformation of the bird-fauna seen by one who passes from the plains to the hills. The 5-mile journey from Rajpur to Mussoorie transports the traveller from one bird-realm to another. The caw of the house-crow is replaced by the deeper note of the corby.
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