254 COMMON BIRDS OF AN INDIAN GARDEN 



a whole series of extraordinary sounds, something 

 like those occasionally emitted by " crow-pheasants." 

 These are apt to be evoked when the birds are 

 suddenly disturbed in their diurnal lurking-places, 

 and are apparently protective in function, as they 

 certainly give rise to astonishment and alarm in 

 dogs, and may well serve to scare away predaceous 

 animals from the neighbourhood of their eggs or 

 young ones. The common call has a pleasantly 

 soothing character, and one greets the sound of 

 it, as it breaks in upon the darkness of a wakeful 

 night with feelings very different from those excited 

 by the din with which the great Caprimulgus 

 macrurus often renders the nocturnal hours hideous 

 in places in the hills. 



At any time in winter specimens of the orange- 

 headed ground-thrush, Geocichla citrina, may 

 occasionally be met with, busily hunting for snails 

 and insects among the dead leaves beneath groups 

 of trees and thick shrubberies. The contrasting tints 

 of orange and soft slate-colour in their plumage are 

 very decorative, and would in themselves suffice to 

 attract attention. They are, however, rendered addi- 

 tionally alluring when occurring on birds who are so 

 vividly reminiscent of the familiar song-thrush in the 

 energy with which they extract worms from the 

 soil and hammer snails on stones in order to break 

 their shells. A Geocichla is a charming addition 

 to an aviary, being very easy to keep in good 



