THE BULBULS. 23 



with white belly will easily distinguish it from all other 

 Indian birds. It is found all over India, both on hills 

 and plains ; in Burma and China a species or variety with 

 a greener back {Zosterops simplex) is also found. This 

 is frequently brought to the Calcutta bazar, \vhere the 

 dealers often try to sell it as a " Humming-bird " ! It 

 makes an excellent cage-companion for the little Waxbills, 

 and has a sweet little note of its own. Soft fruit, bread 

 and milk, and small insects are all it requires, and it is 

 so easy to keep that a good many specimens are sent to 

 Europe. 



The nest of the Indian variety is most commonly foimd 

 in April ; it may be at any height, and is a very delicate 

 little structure, made of cobwebs and vegetable fibres 

 and suspended like a miniature hammock in a forked 

 twig. Only two eggs are laid, of a pale blue. 



THE BULBULS. 



The Bulbuls are usually classed as a distinct family 

 from the Babblers, and this arrangement I shall follow 

 here, although, as in the Fauna of British India, they come 

 next in order of treatment. Bulbuls are birds of very 

 graceful form and movements ; in size they are rather 

 larger than Sparrows ; their wings are short but broad, 

 and their tails are long, and nearly even at the tip, instead 

 of being forked or tapering as is usually the case with 

 longish tails. Their bills are rather slight than stout and 

 of moderate length ; their legs are decidedly short. They 

 usually have crests, bushy or pointed, as the case may be. 

 Cock and hen are alike in plumage. 



