542 Lt.-Col. G. Rippon on the Birds 



169. CuLicicAPA cEYLONENsis (Swaiiis.). (592.) 



Very common at 4000 feet and upwards^ especially where 

 there is running water. 



170. NiLTAVA GRANDIS (Blyth). (593.) 



Common in the shady jungles, at an elevation of above 

 4500 feet. 



171. NiLTAVA suNDARA Hodgs. (594.) 



As the last species. I have shot the two within 50 yards 

 of one another. 



172. NiLTAVA MACGREGORi^ (Burtou). (595.) 

 Met with on Loi Mai only. 



173. Terpsiphone affinis (Hay). (599.) 



174. Hypothymis azurea (Bodd.). (601.) 

 Common at Fort Stedman. 



175. Chelidorhynx hypoxanthus (Blyth). (603.) 



I have not met with this charming bird below about 

 5000 feet. In the ' Fauna of British India/ it is men- 

 tioned, on Blanford's authority, that " this Flycatcher is 

 usually seen in small flocks hunting about trees.^' Nothing 

 could be more misleading so far as my experience goes. It 

 is essentially a Flycatcher of the air, and is as delightfully 

 quarrelsome a bird as can be met with. 



It is not uncommon where the nature of the jungle and 

 the ground suits it. In one place where I camped for some 

 time at above 5000 feet, I knew of many spots where I could 

 always find a pair to watch. Their favourite places are where 

 there is a sharp dip in a ridge, both sides of the dip being- 

 covered with high evergreen trees, juicy balsams, and other 

 undergrowth. Here they choose a perch, frequently the 

 dead branch of a fallen tree, and if there is only another pair 

 within fifty yards or so there will be many fights and chasing 

 of trespassers. 



This bird's method of capturing its food (small flies) difi'ers 

 from that of most Flycatchers; it almost invariably rises from 

 its perch nearly perpendicularly, and the effect of this is very 



