CENTROPODINiE. 351 



The Lesser Indian Coucal. 



Descr. — Adult. — Head, hind-neck, upper tail-coverts, tail, and 

 beneath, glossy green-black ; wings and back rufous, or cliesnut, 

 infuscated at tlie tips of the wings, and often more or less so on the 

 back, scapulars and tertiaries ; tail-coverts much elongated. 



Bill black ; irides red ; legs plumbeous. 



Length 15 inches ; wing 6^ ; tail 8 ; bill at front 1 ; tarsus 1^ ; 

 hind claw nearly 1. 



The young birds are pale rufous above, with broadish black 

 bands, the rufous forming narrow bands on the upper tail-coverts 

 and tail ; and the black, narrow bands on the back and ^vings ; the 

 head and neck are streaked longitudinally ; the feathers being dusky 

 with a pale rufous centre ; under parts flavescent whitish, with 

 only a few dusky specks and rays : bill pale yellow-horny. 



In another state, in the adult female, the general colour is 

 light rufous, more or less infuscated above, dingy yellowish-white 

 below; the spinous shafts to the feathers of the head, neck, wino-- 

 coverts, and breast, yellowish- white, and showing conspicuously ; 

 being set off with blackish, which brings out the contrasts, and the 

 feathers are more or less barred transversely, especially the scapu- 

 lars, back, and the long upper tail-coverts. In a further stage the 

 feathers are black with yellowish-white shafts on the head, back, 

 wing-coverts, and breast, to a greater or less extent ; and to this the 

 fully adult plumage appears to succeed. 



The small Indian Coucal is a somewhat rare bird, but spreads, 

 more or less, through most parts of India. I have had it 

 from the Eastern Ghats, from Mysore, and Central India. Mr. 

 Bly th has it from Cuttack, from Lower Bengal, &c. ; and I have seen 

 it at Rajmahal and Caragola, in Upper Bengal, in grass jungle. It 

 also occurs in the sub-Himalayan region. It appears to be more 

 common in tbe countries to the east of Bay of Bengal, from x\rracan 

 to the islands. Tytler states, that it is common about Dacca, where 

 found in bush-jungle. " The calls vary," says he, "and are curious, 

 one resembling the bark of the Bengal Fox ; whilst the other might 

 be imitated thus, — cluck cluck, cluck, gouk, gouk, gou/t, kurr, lurry 

 hurr, ^-c." I obtained the nest and egg of this bird in June; the 

 eggs are pure white, and very round. The nest, composed of 



