Three Beautiful Nilfaz'as. 25 



" fan. Never miss the Ijath a single morning" and are not happy till they 

 ' get it. I am lucky in possessing such charming pets. — A. Ezra, 

 " B.N., 1914, pp. 33-4." 



I nuist confess to l^ein;.;' very envious of Mr. Ezra when 

 he carried off liis birds, but other equally rare species were 

 C'..ming my way. 



Description: Adult Male. — Upper plumage dark purplish-blue; 

 forehead, lores, cheeks and ear-coverts velvety-black ; crown, patch on each 

 side of neck, shoulders, and upper tail-coverts glistening ultramarine 

 suffused vi'ith cobalt-blue : tail, central feathers purplish-blue, others brown 

 on inner webs and blue on outer ; beneath : chin, throat, and breast velvety- 

 blfck; abdomen black, with purplish sheen; ventral region and under tail- 

 coverts dark blackish-a^h}' tinged with fulvous ; underside of wings and tail 

 black; bill black; feet plumbeous-black. Total length 8|in., tail 3^. 



Female. — Mosth- olive-brown ; crown and nape ashy-ljrcjwn, washed 

 with rufous on the back and i-ump ; wings and tail dark brown, with the 

 outer webs strongly suffused with rufous ; forehead, lores, eye-region, 

 err-coverts, and cheeks fulvous with pale shafts ; the feathers of the chin, 

 tfiroat and breast have also pale shafts, and the centre of abdomen is strongly 

 suffused with ashy-brown ; a bright blue patch adorns each side of the neck ; 

 Leak dark brown ; feet lightish brown. 



Youv};. — "The young nestling is dark brown streaked with fulvous; 

 wings and tail as in the female." (W. O.'VTES — Fauna of Brit. India). " The 

 young male is blackish with dark ferruginous spots, and is very Meruline 

 in appearance." (T. C. Jerdon — Birds of India). 



Wild Life : It is found in the Himalayas from Nepal to 

 Assam at an altitude of from 4,000 to 7,000 ft., the Kasi and 

 Nagra Hills, Manipur. Muleyit Mountains to Tenasserim. 

 While having- the general habits of typical flycatchers, the 

 Large Niltava spends more time upon the ground than does 

 the Rufous-bellied Niltava and than is usual with the typical 

 flycatchers, and it varies its insect tiienu at certain periods v/ith 

 berries and seeds. According to Jerdon it is more shy and 

 retiring than the Rufous-belUed Niltava, favouring thick shady 

 glens in the vicinity of water, gathering much of its insect prey 

 fiom the ground. The nesting period is from April to June; 

 the nest is loosely constructed of moss and mostly placed in the 

 cleft of a rock, or a tree trunk. The eggs are pale buff, spotted 

 with pale red. 



In conclusion I would state that if any of the three species 

 referred to in this article should appear on the market, my 

 readers cannot do better than close with their opportunity, as 

 either as pairs for the aviary, or single males as cage-pets, they 

 are unrivalled. 



