The Common Birds of the Palni Hills 



8. lole icteria. The yellow-browed bulbul. 

 Otocompsa fustic audata. The southern red- 

 whiskered bulbul or hill-bulbul. As in the 

 Nilgiris so in the Palnis, this is the most 

 abundant bird on the higher hills. 



9. MolpasUs hcemorrhous. The Madras red- 

 vented bulbul. The higher one ascends, the 

 rarer this bird becomes. 



10. Hypsipetes ganeesa. The southern black 

 bulbul. 



11. Myophoneus horsfieldi. The Malabar 

 whistling-thrush or idle schoolboy. This fine 

 but shy bird is found on the streams up to 

 6000 feet. It is a bird as large as a crow, with 

 glossy black plumage, in which are patches of 

 bright cobalt blue. 



It is better known to the ear than to the eye. 

 It emits a number of cheerful whistling notes. 



THE SITTIDiE OR NUTHATCH FAMILY 



12. Sitta frontalis. The velvet-fronted blue 

 nuthatch. This bird is found in every part of 

 the Palnis where there are trees. 



THE DICRURID^E OR DRONGO FAMILY 



13. Chaptia cenea. The bronzed drongo. 



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