424 PYCNONOTID^E. 



Colours of soft parts. Irides various shades of pale blue ; bill 

 very dark plumbeous, nearly black ; mouth and gape bluish, some- 

 times tinged fleshy ; legs dark plumbeous, claws black. 



Measurements. Length about 175 rnm. ; wiug 80 to 86 mm. ; 

 tail about 84 mm. ; tarsus about 13 mm. ; culmen about 13 to 

 14 mm. 



Distribution. Assam, South of the Brahmaputra and Eastern 

 Bengal hill-tracts, Arrakan, Chin Hills, practically the whole of 

 Burma, Shan States, Siam and the whole Malay Peninsula to 

 Sumatra, Java, Borneo and the Philippines. 



Nidification. This Bulbul breeds round Amherst from February 

 to April and iu North Cachar in May, making a very strongly- 

 built cup-shaped nest, which it places in low bushes in evergreen, 

 humid forests from the level of the plains up to 2,000 or 

 3,000 feet. The materials of the nests I have personally seen 

 have consisted principally of the tough but fine stems of a wild 

 bean. With these are twigs, dead leaves and grass blades and the 

 whole is securely wound round the supporting twigs. The lining 

 is of skeleton leaves and grass stems. The eggs number two or 

 three and, like all those of this genus, are easily distinguished from 

 other Bulbuls' eggs. The ground-colour is a pale fleshy-pink to a 

 lilac-pink and the primary markings consist of freckles, specks 

 and small blotches of pale reddish, whilst the secondary, or 

 underlying, markings are of pale grey or pale lilac neutral tint. 

 The latter markings are generally more numerous than the 

 former and give the dominant tint to the egg. Some eggs have 

 the marks so fine and so numerous that they look unicoloured 

 but most eggs have them more numerous at the big end than 

 elsewhere, forming a pronounced ring or cap. The average of seven 

 of my own eggs and six of Mr. J. M. D. Mackenzie's is 20'5 x 

 15-5 mm. and the extremes are 23-Oxl6'6, 19'Oxl5-5, and 

 20'5xl5'0mm. The surface is flue and glossy and the shell 

 fragile. In shape they vary as much as the eggs of Otocompsa and 

 Molpastes. 



Habits. This is a purely forest Bulbul, though in the cold 

 weather it may be found in small or big flocks feeding on trees 

 well away from forest, especially when these are in flower and 

 attracting many insects. It prefers scattered forest or light 

 jungle and was most common in the ravines running from the 

 foot-hills into the plains of Cachar and Sylhet. These ravines 

 were heavily forested, running between grass-covered hills 

 and light forest where the birds came out to feed in the morn- 

 ings and evenings. It keeps almost entirely to the tops of 

 high trees in the cold weather but in the breeding season descends 

 to the smaller trees and undergrowth. Their ordinary note is a 

 musical chirp but they also have a very mournful double whistle 

 like the rainy-weather call of the lora, but deeper and softer. 

 They feed principally ou berries and fruit but also eat small 



