MOLPASTES, 381 



appears to be a late breeder, no eggs liaving been taken earlier 

 than June except one by Mandelli in May. 



Habits. The Striated Green Bulbul is a bird of high elevations 

 only, not descending below 4,000 feet even in the cold weather. 

 Jerdon says that it keeps much to the tops of high trees but in 

 N. Cachar we found it frequenting smaller trees and scrub- 

 jungle. Here it was restlessly moving about from one bush to 

 another and when disturbed made its way into safety by short 

 flights of a few yards at a time, altliough they are good flyers 

 when really forced to take wing into the open, with a faster, 

 more direct flight than most Bulbuls. Their principal note is 

 " a loud, mellow whistle," as referred to by Jerdon but they are 

 really rather silent birds on the whole. They consort in small 

 flocks in the non-breeding season and eat fruits, seeds and insects. 



Genus MOLPASTES Hume, 1873. 



The genus M oJjxtst es compriHes some Bulbuls which are amongst 

 the most fauiiliar of Indian and Burmese garden birds. They are 

 very widely distributed and tiiough there are but few species 

 these are represented by very numerous geographical races. 



In Molpastes the crest is thick and of considerable length, the 

 feathers growing from every portion of the crown and nape. 

 The nuchal hairs are extremely short and difficult to detect. The 

 wing is blunt and the tail very slightly rounded. All the birds of 

 this genus are remarkable for the bright colour of the under tail- 

 coverts and are further to be recognized by the broad white tips 

 to the tail-feathers. 



r 



Fig. 77- — Head of ^1/. /. humii. 



One of the species or races hitherto recognized cannot be 

 maintained. This is Molpastes magrathi ("Whitehead, Bull. 

 B. O. C, xxi, p. 48) which is only a rather common hybrid between 

 M. h. intermedius and M. leucoiis, partaking of the characters of 

 these two birds in varying degree, some individuals showing 

 more of the former and some more of the latter. 



The question of the status of the Chinese birds chryson-lioides 

 is one of some doubt. Eobinson and Kloss consider that there 

 are two good species, chnjsorrlioides and Iwmorrlwus. both con- 

 taining one or more races. To me it seems tl)at we have but one 

 species, extending from Ceylon to China, for there is no real 

 break in the continuity of gradation from the dark western forms 



