A MELODIOUS DRONGO 129 



District, I heard a very pleasing but unknown song. 

 Tracking this to the mango tope whence it issued, I 

 discovered that the author was a white-belHed king 

 crow. Last winter a member of this species favoured 

 me with a fine histrionic performance. I was sitting 

 outside my tent one afternoon, when I heard above me 

 a harsh note that was not quite hke that of the king 

 crow. Looking up, I observed, perched on a bare 

 branch at the summit of the tree, a white-bellied 

 drongo. Then, as if for my especial benefit, he began 

 to imitate the call of the shikra ; he followed this up 

 by a very fair reproduction of some of the cries of a 

 tree-pie. Having accomphshed this, he made, first his 

 bow, then his exit. I was much interested in the per- 

 formance, since an aUied species, the bhimraj, is not 

 only one of the best songsters in the East, but a mimic 

 second only to the wonderful mocking-bird of South 

 America. 



The white-belHed drongo is so rare in the peninsula 

 of India that not one of our ornithologists has given 

 us anything like a full account of its habits, and no one 

 appears to have discovered the nest in India. Fortu- 

 nately, it is very common in Ceylon, so that Legge has 

 been able to give some interesting details regarding its 

 habits. We must bear in mind that Legge includes 

 both the white-belhed varieties under one species. 

 If we divide them into two, the question arises to which 

 do his various observations apply ? The reply is to 

 either or both, for Legge was not able to detect any 

 differences between them, except that perhaps the 

 white- vented variety has a more powerful voice. He 



