PASSERINE BIRDS OF CEYLON. 51 



becomes largely green, the black persisting most on the head 

 and nape ; the wings and tail remain black, but the white 

 tips on the coverts are more pronounced ; the lower parts 

 are less rich in hue. 



Female : Upper plumage dull grass-green ; forehead and 

 upper tail coverts tinged with yellow ; scapulars darker, 

 and tail dusky-green ; lesser wing coverts dusky -green, median 

 coverts blackish with broad white tips faintlj'" edged with 

 yellow ; in the greater coverts the white is confined to the 

 outer webs and more conspicuously tinged with yellow ; 

 primaries blacldsh with faint Avhite edges on the outer webs 

 and broader white inner margins on the basal portions ; 

 nner quills with broad white margins which are tinged with 

 yellow, especially on the outer webs ; lores, sides of head, and 

 all the lower parts yellow, shading into green on the flanks. 



Bill, upper mandible black with blue margins, lower 

 mandible blue ; iris, in males gray, mottled with brown, 

 in females olive-gray ; legs and feet slate blue. 



Length 5'4 ; wing 2'5 ; tail r9 ; tarsus '75; bill from 

 gape -7. 



Distribution.' — The present sub-species occurs in Ceylon, 

 Southern India, and the Malay Peninsula ; typical J5J. iiphia 

 occurs over the rest of India, except in the north-west. This 

 Bulbul is common, and widelj' distributed over the whole 

 of the low-country and up to about 2,500 feet. 



Habits. — A familiar little bird which keeps to leafy trees, 

 either in gardens and open scattered groves, or on the edge 

 of the jungle, by roadsides, &c. It is generally seen in pairs, 

 actively flitting about among the leaves searching for insects. 

 The male has a clear gentle whistle of two notes " wheee-too."' 

 The breeding season lasts intermittently from November to 

 June. The nest is a beautiful little cup of fine grass and 

 fibres, thickly coated with cobwebs and glued on to the top 

 of a bough, or attached to a fork from 6 to 20 feet from the 

 ground. I have never found more than two eggs. They 

 are slightly pointed ovals of grajdsh-white, with rather large 

 longitudinal streaks of bluish-gray and light brown. Average 

 size -70 by -53. 



