Red-vented Bulbnl (/!/. bengalensis) or " Kala" Bulbul 

 — "kala" means black — being often kept for fighting 

 purposes by the natives. The bird is tied by a string, 

 about a yard in length, to a T-shaped perch, upon the 

 horizontal part of which it sits. Cloth is wrapped 

 round the perch to save the bird's feet, the owner of 

 the bird using the end of the verticle portion as a 

 handle. In Calcutta, one may often meet a native in 

 the streets, carrying his favourite Bulbul in this wa)'. 



I will just select two species of Bulbuls, with 

 whose nesting habits I am acquainted, namely, the 

 White-cheeketi (/J/, leucogeiiys) and the Bengal Red- 

 whiskered {Otoco7npsa etneria). The White-cheeked 

 Bulbul is found in the Himala3'as up to 7,000 feet, and 

 extends into Afghanistan and Kashmir. In the latter 

 country I found it very plentiful ; in fact it was not 

 only one of the commonest birds, but also the most 

 confiding. It entered the verandahs and rooms of 

 bungalows, almost taking the place of Sparrows. On 

 the river Jhelum at Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir, 

 it was continually to be seen peiched upon the house- 

 boats ; which are so largely resorted to by Europeans 

 from the plains of India during the hot weather. I 

 found a nest of this species in a poplar tree about 12 

 feet from the ground at Baramullah (literall}'^ "twelve 

 priests") in Kashmir. It was a loosely-made structure 

 composed of grasses, containing three hard-set eggs, 

 reddish-white, marked with red. The nest and eggs 

 are now in the Museum of the Bombay Natural 

 History Society. The White-cheeked Bulbul is a 

 soberly-clad bird : its upper plumage is earthy brown, 

 abdomen whitish, and lower tail-coverts yellow. Its 

 chief charm lies in its long pointed crest, which pro- 



