XXI 

 GREEN BULBULS 



SINCE green is a splendid protective colour for 

 an arboreal creature, it is surprising that there 

 are not more green animals in existence. The 

 truth of the matter is that green seems to be 

 a difficult colour to acquire. There does not exist a 

 really green mammal ; while green birds are Relatively 

 few and far between. In India we have, it is true, the 

 green parrots, the barbets, the green pigeons, the green 

 bulbuls, and the bee-eaters. Take away these and 

 you can count the remaining green birds on the fingers 

 of your hands. Curiously enough, the bee-eaters spend 

 very little time in trees ; consequently the beautiful 

 leaf -green livery seems rather wasted on them. And 

 of the other green birds we may almost say that they 

 are precisely those that seem least in need of this 

 form of protection. The parrakeets and barbets, thanks 

 to their powerful beaks, are well adapted to fighting, 

 while more pugnacious birds than bulbuls and pigeons 

 do not exist. I think, therefore, that the green liveries 

 of these birds are not the result of their necessity for 

 protection from raptorial foes. This livery is a luxury 

 rather than a necessity. 



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