8 WRENS The Wrens are very small brown birds of the densest under-growth in the ever-green hilly forests. They live entirely on insects which they pursue with great energy, scrambling over mossy boulders and fallen trees. "Great skulkers and very shy, they are loath to take flight and prefer to creep away silently, if disturbed". The Brown Wren of Nepal is "a dark brown bird that creeps about under-growth like a mouse; the under-parts, which one seldom sees are white with blackish markings. Its ordinary note is a single 'zip' uttered at long intervals; in the breeding season it attempts a little song. If forced to fly it rises with a sharp 'chick' 'chick', 'chick' (Smythies). The Wrens of Kashmir and Nepal thus appear to be another group of little birds with mouse-like ways known as "चिकुर' ('चि' इति कुरति- -making the 'chi' or 'chick' sound) in Sanskrit, and the propriety of the name would seem to be highly probable. 9 DIPPERS The Dippers are curious little grey-brown birds not over nine inches long. Their short, rotund and stout bodies are specially fitted for an aquatic life. They have a dense and waterproof plumage with even the eyelids covered with feathers. Two or three species of them are found in the Hima- layas from Kashmir through Nepal to Assam. They live on water-insects and their larvae which are captured by wading, swimming and diving. They even possess the faculty of walking on the bed of the stream under water and are as perfectly at home on the most turbulent Himalayan stream as on a placid pool of water. The Brown Dipper is a common bird in Kashmir and Nepal as in other parts of the Himalayas and must have been observed by the curious ancients and named by them. Now is the name of a bird that can walk or move under water: "वजति चलति जले बज्जुल: "1 and as the most striking characteristic of the Dipper is its power of walking under water-not possessed by any other bird-the name should belong to it by right. It is known as in Hindi, perhaps a mistake in F.B.I. for, the ame as as explained above. The Dabchick or the Grebe is also because of its love of reeds and cane- brakes, known as , amongst which it places its nest and skulks about in case of danger. It is from this habit of the Grebe that the water-cane is named alsof (beloved of the bird). The Grebe too swims under water and can well claim, its name in the etymological sense of the word as brought out in the commentary of the Unādi Sūtra as quoted above. 1. उणादिनूवाणि with प्रक्रिया of नारायण, 1.93.
