Birds of Kohat and Kurram. 113 



[I do not call these birds true P. leucogenys, as they are 

 so much darker on the head, which is nearly blackish, and 

 have not the olive on the back. They illustrate how variable 

 is the coloration of this species in Kohat. In spite of its 

 abundance it is difficult to procure an example true to type. 

 Most of the birds seen have the breast mottled, i. e. in- 

 stead of havinj^ the black of the upper breast clearly defined 

 from the light colour of the lower parts, it graduates into it, 

 frequently combined with a mottled back and sullied cheek- 

 patches and a blackish head with or without a supercilium. 



Major !Magrath, who has specially studied the Bulbuls in 

 Bannu, kindly contributes the following note on the present 

 species : — 



"Dr. Bowdler Sliarpe is, I believe, inclined to the view 

 that this Bulbul differs generically from Molpastes. "With 

 this I can hardly agree. Seen in its natural state, the bird 

 is a true Molpastes. In habits and notes it differs little from 

 the next species, with which it mixes freely, and from which 

 it is aoything but easy to distinguish when in a tree. It 

 seems likely that the two species interbreed, but I have had 

 no opportunity of observing a fertile cross, although I have 

 seen wild birds which looked very like hybrids between the 

 two species. The diet of the present species is perhaps more 

 insectivorous than that of the next. It is much addicted to 

 the habit of fly-catching in tlie evenings, and is often seen 

 on the ground feeding on ants and grubs under trees. It is 

 less of a garden bird than the next species. Its staple food 

 in these parts is the berries of the Ber {Zizyphus vulgaris) 

 and Boquain (Melia azedaracK) trees. Numbers of this 

 species are caught in Bannu in winter and haAvked about the 

 bazaars, perched on pieces of stick, to which they are attached 

 by a long string tied round the body. Although I have 

 examined several of these captives and bought many in order 

 to release them, in no case have I seen among them a bird 

 of the next species, which is also so common at Bannu. I 

 attribute the ease with which the present species is caught 

 to its greater feebleness and to its partiality for the grubs 

 of the white ant, with which the traps are usually baited : 

 this attraction the birds are simply unable to resist." 



SER. IX. VOL. III. i 



