BULBULS. 



35 



rich glossy brown ; from the back of neck dark smoky 

 bro\™, ed^'eU with ashy, which is the colour of the 

 rump;' upjier tail-coverts whit* ; tail browTiish black, 

 tipped with while exeeptiny; the two central feathers; 

 winns colmirod like the back; the shoulders and wing- 

 coverts e<li;ed with whitish, below from the breast 

 backwaa-<Is dark brown edged witli ashy and merging 

 into ush c-olour on the lower alHlumen ; vent and under 

 tail-coverts rich crimson; bill and legs black; iris of 

 eye brown; length 8Jin. The lilack Rulbul iidiabits 

 "the lower ranges of the Hinialiiyas from Kum.um to 

 the head of the Assam valley, Oudh, Northern Behar, 

 Bengal east of the longitude of Uui'dwan, Assxm and 

 its hill ranges, Dacca, Cachar, Tipperah," and has 

 been seen from Manipur. — Oates. It breeds from April 



a common |)et in India, being taught by its maistens to 

 fetch and carry, and also (I am sorry to sayl to fight. 

 In Oates's edition of Hume's "Nests and Eggs" it is 

 stated that large sums are lost at times on these 

 combats. The young women in India are in the habit 

 of wearing a wafer on the forehead, between the eyes ; 

 it is called a lita (pronounced teeta) and is either red 

 or white, according to the caste of the wearer; but 

 it is only an ornament, or beauty K|X)t. The youth ot 

 India amuse themselves by pretending to throw at the 

 face of some passing maiden, and a Bulbul, being 

 released at the same moment, flies at the lU-a, picks i; 

 off the forehead nf the wearer and bringB it to its 

 master, who much enjove the girl's discomtiture. 

 I have never had this form of Red-vented Bulbu!, 



Red-vented Rui.buls. 



to June. Its nest is very compact, and forms a rather 

 deep cup about S^in. to 4in. in diameter and 2Ln. in 

 height; it is usually placed in some thick busn, ;uiu 

 is composed of fine grass roots, moss, dry grasses, 

 flower-stalks (chiefly of forget-me-not), always with a 

 few and senerally with plenty of dead leaves, and here 

 and there cobwebs and silky seed -down worked into 

 the outer surface ; sometimes a little tine grass is used 

 as a lining, but more frequently there is no lining 

 beyond finer roote, and these roots constitute 

 the chief variation in the nests of this bird, being 

 tlack in 3ome and pale brown in others. The egg- 

 cavity is often lajge, inasmuch as the walls of the 

 Black Bulbul's nest, though very firm and compact, 

 vary from half an inch to li inch in thickness. The 

 eggs are three or four in number and exhibit the same 

 v.iriations as in P. furmorr/unis. The sonj of this 

 Biiibul is said to be superior to that of its Madras 

 representative, or of the White-cheeked species. It is 



but I should much doubt its superiority as a songster 

 over the Persian species. 



Reu-vented Bulbul (Pijcnonolui luiemorrhoiLS). 



Differs from the Benga-lese form chiefly in the 

 absence of the conspicuous brown ear-coveits and in 

 the black of the occiput and nape ending abruptly, 

 instead of paesing down on to tlie upper part of the 

 back. 



This race ranges from Ceylon northwards to Central 

 India, and on the western side as far north as iSindh. 

 Although essentially a bird of the plains, it is occa- 

 sionally found at considerable elevations on the Nilgirie 

 — in fact, as high up as Ootacamuiid. It frequents 

 gardens and cultivated ground, as well as low bush 

 jungle, and is usually seen either in pairs or small 

 communities flying briskly about in a restkes and 

 inquisitive fashion. Its principal food is fruit, but 

 occasionally it will descend to the ground and hop a 



