Birds of several species were found from 17,000 feet upwards. The Tibetan snow-partridge (Tetraogallus tibetanus) is common in large parties up to the snow-line. Dippers (Cinclus cashmirensis) are found in the streams up to 17,000 feet, and at about the same altitude lives in the big boulders of moraines a small and very dark wren, which is almost certainly new, but only one immature bird was brought home. Snow-finches and the Eastern alpine accentor appeared to be resident up to the snow-line. Several migrating birds were seen in September at 17,000 feet and above, among them Temminck's stint, painted snipe, pin-tailed snipe, house-martin and several pipits. More than once at night the cry of migrating waders was heard, curlew being unmistakable, and (I think) bar-tailed godwit.
Our camps at 17,000 feet and at 20,000 feet were visited daily by Lämmergeier, raven, red-billed chough, alpine chough and black-eared kite, and I saw twice a hoopoe fly over the Kharta Glacier at about 21,000 feet; a small pale hawk flew overhead at the same time. The highest bird seen was a Lämmergeier (bearded vulture); when I was taking photographs from our camp on the Lhakpa La (22,350 feet) I saw one of these birds come sailing over the top of the North peak of Everest and apparently high above the peak, probably at an altitude of not less than 25,000 feet.[19]
Footnotes:
[18] We marked many of the best-flowering specimens with the intention of collecting their seeds on our return in the autumn. Unfortunately when we came over the Jelep La in October it was in a heavy snowstorm which made collecting impossible.
[19] Detailed accounts of the collections made will be found: Mammals, Annals and Magazine of Nat. Hist., Feb. 1922. Birds, Ibid., July, 1922. Insects, Annals and Magazine of Nat. Hist., May and June, 1922.
CHAPTER XX
AN APPRECIATION OF THE RECONNAISSANCE
By Professor NORMAN COLLIE, F.R.S.
President of the Alpine Club