74 PET BIRDS OP BENGAL 



eastern portions of India, being very 



common in Beno;al durino^ the cold weather. 



Gates sa3^s that its range extends only as 



far south as the latitude of Raipur in the 



Central Provinces. 



It is shy and silent, but not devoid of 



pugnacity. Thickets and underwoods are 



its favourite resorts. In the 

 Field . . 



^ Deltaic portion oi Bengal, rank 



grass-jungles, sugar-canes or 



reeds are selected by it as its hunting 



ground. It passes most of its time on the 



ground where it hunts up insects by 



runnino' after them with remarkable adroit- 



hess. Extreme cautiousness, however, sends 



it into cover at the least sound and so it 



seldom '^meets the eye". Its notes have 



been characterised by Mr. P. W. Munn as 



''a plaintive whistling noise". I would not 



call it a *^noise" — -it is far superior to that. 



It is a very pretty bird. In the male the 



upper-plumage is olive-brown. A white line 



from the base of the upper bill passes over 



the eye, and another white streak, broader 



