THE BABBLERS. 21 
taking home. In its nesting habits it much resembles 
the Liothrix. 
There are many charming small Babblers in the hills 
but in the plains few are found. Two, however, need 
notice here. 
Tue Lora (Aegithina tiphia), called Shoubiga, Tofik 
or Fatikjal by the natives, is a common bird all over 
the plains, but is not much seen, as it keeps on the 
trees. Its very sweet, flute-like note, however, often 
reveals its presence. It is a fluffy, short-tailed little 
thing, smaller than a Sparrow. The bird figured in 
the Plate IV (Fig. 4) is acock in breeding plumage ; 
some are more and others less black than this, accord- 
ing to locality, the Southern Indian birds being the 
darkest. The hens are simply olive-green above and 
yellow below, with two white bars on the wing, and 
the cock in winter also becomes olive-green, but 
keeps his black wings and tail. Young birds resemble 
the female. They are occasionally reared by natives 
in Bengal and kept caged: but they are delicate, although 
very tame and nice little pets. I have never seen an 
old bird which had been tamed. The species seems to be 
altogether an insect-feeder, and hence is not a good 
subject for captivity. It begins to breed about May, 
and builds a particularly neat and beautiful little nest, 
a cup formed of fine fibres and coated outside with 
cobweb. The eggs are greyish-white marked with 
brown. 
Another small Babbler of the plains though not one 
of our very commonest birds in the wild state, yet 
