ii8 JUNGLE FOLK 



these green bulbuls became a number of isolated com- 

 munities, with the result that they eventually evolved 

 into several species. In this connection I may mention 

 that the grey on the neck of Corvus splendens is much 

 more marked in birds from the Punjab than in those 

 that worry the inhabitants of Madras. 



Of the green bulbuls only two species occur in South 

 India — the Malabar Chloropsis (C. malaharica) and 

 Jerdon's Chloropsis (C. Jerdoni). The former, as its 

 name tells us, is found in Malabar. The green bulbul 

 of the other parts of South India is Jerdon's form. 

 This handsome bird does not occur in or about the 

 City of Madras ; at least I have never seen it in the 

 neighbourhood, nor indeed nearer than Yercaud. 

 However, not improbably it occurs between the 

 Shevaroys and the east coast. If anyone who reads 

 these lines has seen this bird in that area, I hope that he 

 or she will be kind enough to let me know. Here let me 

 say that to identify a green bulbul is as easy as falling 

 out of a tree. He is of the same size as the common 

 bulbul. His prevailing hue is a rich bright grass- 

 green — the green of grass at its best. His chin 

 and throat are black, and he has a hyacinth-blue 

 moustache, so that he deserves his Telugu name — the 

 " Ornament of the Forest." His wife is pale green 

 where he is black and her moustache is of a paler blue. 

 The Malabar species is easily distinguished by its 

 bright orange forehead. Green bulbuls go about, some- 

 times in small flocks, more frequently in pairs. They 

 rarely, if ever, descend to the ground, but flit about 

 amid the foliage, to which they assimilate so closely, 



