THE KASTURi. 207 



M, hourdillotii, which is confined to Tra- 

 vancore. 



Almost with the first streaks of day- 

 light, the Kasturi breaks into song and 



makes the hill-sides ring with its 

 Notes melodious whistles. Its song 



consists of a very clear loud 

 whistle, running down the scale of four 

 notes with a sudden break. The variety 

 and mellowness of its notes are remarkable. 

 Sometimes it discards its own beautiful 

 whistle and takes to imitating: the notes of 

 other birds. It possesses a perfect power 

 of mimicry. 



It does not like open rocky spots like 

 the Kastura (Jf. temmincki). It seems to 

 prefer tree-forests on the hill-sides and pass- 

 es its existence among the lower branches 

 and in thick under-growths, searching for 

 insects and berries. It repairs to the higher 

 branches for relaxation and for indulging in 

 its song. It has a very vigilant way of look- 

 ing for prey. It suddenly makes a short 



