42G BIRDS OF INDIA. 



on insects, which they capture on the wing, or on the ground, or 

 occasionally on leaves or flowers ; their legs are short, and feet 

 fitted only for grasping. Some live in the open country, in gardens 

 and fields, others occur only in the forests ; and they are found from 

 the level of the sea to 8,000 ft. and upwards. There are a most 

 characteristic feature of Indian ornithology ; for, go where you will 

 in India, you are sure to see one or more of the genus. They 

 build a rather loosely constructed nest, and lay three or four 

 eggs, usually white, with a reddish tinge, and marked with spots 

 and blotches of various shades of red or purple. They moult after 

 breeding in July, August, and September. 



The few species known to the older authors were classed under 

 Lanius and Corvus. Vieillot named them Dicrurus, and Cuvier 

 Edolius. Of late they have been sub-divided, and with good reason, 

 into several genera. Gray classes this sub-family among his 

 AmpeliddB ; in my opinion a very erroneous view, whether you 

 regard the structure of the birds, or their habits, which are wholly 

 insectivorous, whilst in the AmpelidcB the food is almost universally 

 mixed, insects and fruits, the latter pei'haps prevailing. Mr. Blyth 

 places his fam. DicruridcB following the ArtamidcB, and next the 

 TehitreadcB (part of our Muscicapidce). Horsfield classes them as 

 a sub-family of the Laniadce^ in which I fully agree with him. 

 The Drongo Shrikes appear to grade, on the one side, into the 

 Campephagince, and on the other, perhaps, into the sub-fam. 

 TcIdtreincB of the Fh^catchers, through Melanornis of Gray, {Mela- 

 sonia, Swainson,) one species of which is named M. edolioides. 



Gen. DiCRURUS, Vieillot. 



Syn. Bnchanga, Flodgson. 



Cltar. — Bill moderate or rather long, stout, depressed at the 

 base, moderately liooked, and the culmen more or less keeled, and 

 distinctly notched at the tip ; nostrils small, partially covered by 

 short feathers and bristles ; rictal bristles strong ; wings lengthen- 

 ed ; 1st quill short, 2nd shorter than the 6th ; tail long, deeply 

 forked ; tarsus moderate, strongly scaled in front : outer toe slightly 

 the longest ; claws sharp. 



