58 PET BIRDS OF BENGAL 



runs about on the ground for catching them. 

 The chief difference is that while the Piddah 

 is shy and avoids the vicinity of man, the 

 Indian Robin is quite the reverse. 



This bird belongs to the genus Thamnobia 



which contains two Indian species with 



distinct ranges of distribution — the species 



cambaiensis ( the brown-backed Indian 



Robin ) belongs to Northern 



India while the species fulicata 



tion ■•- ^ . 



( the black-backed Indian Robin ) 



is confined to southern India. The latitude 



of Bombay seems to be the geographical 



borderland of these two species. In the tract 



of the country from Ahmadnagar to the 



mouth of the Godavari, both the birds are 



found, and, durino- the moultins^ season, it 



becomes difficult to discriminate between the 



two species. Both the species are resident. 



The Northern species is locally known as the 



Kah Shama. It is not common in Bengal 



except in the region west of the Hooghly. 



It is not a bird of the plains and lives in 



rocky, rugged districts where the climate is 



