4 PET BIRDS or BENGAL 



The Sliama, in freedom, is not a familiar 

 sight to us. It is a denizen of thick jungles 

 and dense forests, keeping generally to the 

 underwood. It loves to frequent thickets in 



glades and valleys located in the 

 /^ ^ ^' midst of hills or mountains. It is, 



therefore, absent in the districts 

 devoid of these natural features. In Bengal, 

 which is one of the most thickly populated 

 provinces, this bird confines itself to those 

 jungly districts where human habitation is 

 scarce. Por this reason, it rarely makes the 

 Deltaic portion of Bengal its place of abode, 

 but is often a dweller of the western skirts 

 of the districts of Midnapore and Birbhum. 

 Eastwards from the Padma in the verdant 

 hills of Cachar, Assam, and Tipperah, it is 

 very numerous. In other parts of India, its 

 most important ranges are the Terai districts 

 of the Sub-Himalayan regions from Nepal to 

 Dibrugarh in Assam. It is also represented 

 in the well-wooded hills and forests of 

 Central India, Orissa, Chotanagpur, and the 

 Bajmahal Hills. In Southern India, it is 



