INDIAN FLY-CATCHERS 179 



tracts. Four or five species, however, occur com- 

 monly in the plains. With two of these — the glorious 

 paradise fly -catchers (Terpsiphone) and the very 

 elegant fan-tail fly-catchers (Rhipidura) — I have dealt 

 in my former books. I therefore propose to confine 

 myself to some of the many other species. Of these 

 last, the brown fly -catcher (Alseonax latirostris) 

 is the one most frequently met with in the plains. 

 This is the most inornate of all the fly-catchers. As its 

 name implies, brown is its prevailing hue. Its lower 

 parts are, indeed, whitish, and there is an inconspicuous 

 ring of white feathers round the e^^e, but everything 

 else about it is earthy brown. It is the kind of bird 

 the casual observer is likely to pass over, or, if he does 

 happen to observe it, he probably sets it down as one 

 of the scores of warblers that visit India in the cold 

 weather. It is only when the bird makes a sudden 

 dash into the air after an insect that one realises that it 

 is a fly-catcher. The brown fly-catcher is an Ishmaelite. 

 It seems never to remain for long in one place, and, 

 although it may be seen at all times of the year, its 

 nest does not appear ever to have been found in this 

 country. 



A more ornamental fly-catcher which occasionally 

 visits the plains is the grey-headed fly-catcher [Culicapa 

 ceylohensis) . In this species the head, neck, and breast 

 are ash-coloured, the wings and tail are dark brown, 

 the back greenish yellow, and the lower parts dull 

 yellow. This fly-catcher is common both in the Nilgiris 

 and the Himalayas. It has the usual habits of the 

 family. Like the majority of them it is no songster. 



