PASSERINE BIRDS OF CEYLON. 59 



brown on the chest and flecked with pale dingy-yellow ; vent 

 and under tail coverts, wing-lining, and edge of wing pale 

 yellow. 



Bill black ; iris rusty-red to blood -red ; legs and feet dusky 

 lead-colour. 



Length 7.4; wing 3-2; tail 3-1; tarsus -87; bill from 

 gape 'So. 



Distribution. — Very common all over the low-country and 

 in the hills to 3,000 feet or even higher. In India it is found 

 over a great part of the peninsula proper. 



Habits. — Very much the same as those of the Madras Bulbul 

 but it is not nearl}' so partial to cultivation, being especially 

 common in bushy scrub, lantana, chenas, low jungle, and the 

 undergrowth in dry forests. 



It feeds partly on insects, but is very fond of small berries, 

 such as those of the lantana. It is rather a shy bird, evading 

 observation as much as possible. 



It breeds freely from February to June. The nest is 

 scarcely distinguishable from that of the Madras Bulbul, and 

 like it, is generallj'- placed in a Ioav bush. There are, however, 

 seldom more than two eggs. Tj'pically they are longer and 

 narrower than those of the Madras Bulbul, but light specimens 

 are often very hard to distinguish. In more heavily marked 

 eggs the markings are less claret-coloured and more of a 

 light reddish-brown, while the tint of the ground colour, though 

 pale, differs correspondingly. Average size • 91 by '62. 



KeLAARTIA PENCILLATA. 



The Yellow-eared Bulbul. 



Kelaartia pencillata {Oates, Vol. 1., p. 297; Legge, p. 480). 



Description. — A narrow white line from the nostril to the 

 upper part of the eye ; forehead and crown dull black, the 

 feathers broad and loose, giving a scaly effect ; a broad yellow 

 streak from the top of the eye to the nape ; a spot on the 

 upper eyelid and the chin white ; lores and cheeks black ; 

 ear coverts black wdth a yellow spot, behind which the colour 

 changes into a gray patch ; upper plumage olive-green ; 

 wings and tail dark brown washed with olive -green on the 



