Birds of the Indian Hills 



both the hen and the young cock the breast 

 is white. As Eha remarks, the hen looks very 

 like a bulbul. 



THE TURDID^ OR THRUSH FAMILY 



This heterogeneous family includes thrushes, 

 chats, robins, accentors, and dippers. 



The southern pied bush-chat [Pratincola 



atrata) is one of the commonest and most 



familiar birds of the Nilgiris. It frequents 



gardens and is often found near houses : hence 



it is known as the hill-robin. The cock is 



clothed in black except the lower part of the 



back, the under parts, and a bar on the wing, 



which are white. Those parts that are black 



in the cock are brown in the hen, while her 



back and under parts are russet instead of white, 



but the white bar on the wing persists. This 



species lives on insects. It dwells in low shrubs 



and captures its quarry on the ground. It 



nests in a hole in a bank or well, lining the 



same with grass or hair. But summer visitors 



to the hills are not likely to come across the 



eggs, because these are usually hatched before 



May. 



The Nilgiri blackbird {Merula simillima) 

 204 



