THE KOEL AND ITS ALLIES 289 



which, though the Enghsh residents of 

 this country would be incHned to consider 

 to be one too many, is yet the bird of 

 Indian romance. Its range extends all 

 over India except the western provinces 

 of the Punjab and Sind, where it is very 

 rare. It is not known to occur farther 

 west. Eastwards, however, its habitat 

 includes China and the Malay Archipe- 

 lago. 



The most handsome of the four 

 Cuckoos is the Pied Crested Cuckoo or 

 Shah-bulbul {Coccystes jacohinus) which 

 also has a range all over India. In Ben- 

 gal and other parts of Northern India^ 

 it is common during the rains. Gates 

 says — ''Although there is no reason to 

 suppose that it migrates out of India, it 

 moves about a great deal at different 

 seasons ; and in some parts, e.g., in Sind, 

 Indore, parts of the Deccan, around 

 Calcutta, at Faridpur and at Shillong, 

 it is either met with only during rains 

 or more abundantly in that period." It 

 19 



