THE FLYCATCHERS, Di 
chestnut, the crested head being glossy blue-black, the 
breast grey and the belly white. The bill is of a beautiful 
blue, and the inside of the mouth a bright yellow, as 
if it had been painted with mustard ; the eyelids are also 
blue. Nestling birds have very dull or even brown heads. 
In his second autumn, the young cock gets a pair of long 
centre tail-feathers, but these are chestnut like the rest of 
his upper plumage. In two more years nearly all the 
plumage except the head becomes white. All red tinge 
being lost, and he then resembles the figure, and is one 
of the most beautiful and striking birds in any country. 
Europeans as well as natives notice him, and have also 
bestowed on him special names, such as ‘‘ Indian Bird- 
of-Paradise,’’ and ‘‘ Rocket Bird. ”’ 
The bird is found all over India and Ceylon, ascending 
the hills to nine thousand feet in summer; in Burma 
it is replaced by a very similar species (Terpsvphone affinis) 
which hardly differs except in having no crest, the 
head-plumage being short. 
The Indian species, at all events, is not a very abun- 
dant bird; I have only seen two specimens in the wild 
state and these, being without the long tail-feathers, 
were either hens or quite young cocks. 
Mr. F. Groser, who has had much better opportunities of 
studying it than I have, tells me that it feeds much on 
butterflies, whose wings it cuts off by the snap of the beak 
which captures them. Some people say it has a fine song, 
but the only notes I have heard from captive specimens 
were harsh and unpleasant to a degree. It can be kept 
caged, but requires a great deal of care, and ought 
