THE CERTHIIDAE OR WREN FAMILY The only member of this family common about our hill stations is the Himalayan tree-creeper (_Certhia himalayana_). This is a small brown bird, striped and barred with black, which spends the day creeping over the trunks of trees seeking its insect quarry. It is an unobtrusive creature, and, as its plumage assimilates very closely to the bark over which it crawls, it would escape observation more often than it does, but for its call, which is a shrill one. THE SYLVIIDAE OR WARBLER FAMILY The sylviidae comprise a large number of birds of small size and, with a few exceptions, of plain plumage. The result is that the great majority of them resemble one another so closely that it is as difficult to identify them when at large as it is to see through a brick wall. Small wonder, then, that field naturalists fight rather shy of this family. Of the 110 species of warbler which exist in India, I propose to deal with only one, and that favoured bird is Hodgson's grey-headed flycatcher-warbler (_Cryptolopha xanthoschista_). My reasons for raising this particular species from among the vulgar herd of warblers are two. The first is that it is the commonest bird in our hill stations. The second is that it is distinctively coloured, and in consequence easy to identify. It is impossible for a human being to visit any hill station between Murree and Naini Tal in spring without remarking this warbler. I do not exaggerate when I say that its voice issues from every second tree. This species may be said to be _the_ warbler of the Western Himalayas, and, as such, it has been made the subject of a separate essay. THE LANIIDAE OR SHRIKE FAMILY The butcher-birds are the best-known members of this fraternity. Undoubtedly passerine in structure, shrikes are as indubitably raptores by nature. They are nothing less than pocket hawks. Their habit is to sit on an exposed perch and pounce from thence on to some insect on the ground. The larger species attack small birds. Four species of butcher-bird may perhaps be classed among the common birds of the Himalayas; but they are inhabitants of the lower ranges only. It is unusual to see a shrike at as high an elevation as 6000 feet. In consequence they are seldom observed at hill stations. It is true that the grey-backed shrike does occur as high as 9000 feet, but this species, being confined mainly to the inner ranges, does not occur at most hill stations. The bay-backed shrike (_Lanius vittatus_) is a bird rather smaller than a bulbul. Its head is grey except for a broad black band running through the eye. The wings and tail are black and white. The back is chestnut red and the rump white. The rufous-backed shrike (_L. erythronotus_) is very like the last species, but it is a larger bird. It has no white in the wings and tail, and its rump is red instead of being white.