410 



INDEX 



Barbets (continued) 



nests, 112 ; work in regular 

 shifts in digging their 

 burrows, 113 ; measure- 

 ments of a nest, 113 ; one 

 caught in a spider's web, 

 115 ; easily kept in cap- 

 tivity, 115 



,, the Coppersmith, Xantho- 

 Icema hcematocephala, 105 ; 

 calling of, determined by 

 atmospheric temperature, 

 105 ; behaviour whilst 

 calling gives rise to ventri- 

 loquial effects, 106 ; re- 

 latively silent during the 

 nesting season, 106 ; nest- 

 ing of, 106 ; bad temper 

 of, 109 ; not easy to keep 

 in a mixed aviary, 109 ; 

 specially fond of the fruits 

 of certain kinds of figs, 

 109 



Bats, very abundant in damp, tropical 

 regions, 287 ; emergence of, 

 at sunset, 287 ; degree to 

 which they abound in large 

 buildings in Upper India, 

 288 ; swimming, 289 

 ,, the Flying - foxes, Pteropus 

 medius, 290 ; abound in 

 Calcutta, 290 ; large colonies 

 of, in Amritsar and Delhi, 290 ; 

 quarrelsome disposition of, 



290 ; trees favoured as roosts, 



291 ; principal colonies of, 

 near Calcutta, 292 ; native 

 methods of taking, 295 



,, the short-nosed Fruit-bats, or 

 small Flying- foxes, Cynopterus 

 margincttus, 296 ; do not live 

 in colonies, 296 ; protective 

 colouring of, 297 



Bee-eaters the common Indian, Merops 

 viridis, 141 ; winter 

 residents of Calcutta, 

 141 ; regularity of their 

 arrival in autumn, 141 ; 

 beauty of their appear- 

 ance and notes, 142 ; 

 ways of, 142 ; extremely 

 keen vision of, 143 ; 



method of disposing of 

 their prey, 143 ; take 

 insects from the surface 

 of water, 144 ; rarely 

 alight on the ground, 

 144 ; very rarely nest 

 near Calcutta, 144 



Bee-eaters the blue - tailed, Merops 

 philippinus, 145 ; larger 

 than M. viridis, 145 ; 

 abundant during the 

 rainy season, 145 ; not 

 so brightly coloured as 

 M. viridis, 145 

 Blood-sucker the, Oalotes vcrsicolor, 



322 

 Brachypternus aurantius, the golden - 



backed Woodpecker, 223 

 Brain-fever-bird, Hierococcyx varius, 



or common Hawk-cuckoo, 71 

 Bubulcus coromandus, the Cattle-egret, 



169 

 Bv/o melanostictus, the common Indian 



Toad, 365 



Bulbuls the Bengal red - vented , 

 Molpastes bengalensis, 91 ; 

 often kept in captivity by 

 natives of India, 91 ; call 

 of, 92 ; nesting of, 92 ; 

 exuberant vitality of, 93 ; 

 often venture far into 

 towns, 87 



,, the Bengal red-whiskered, 

 Otocompsa emeria, 87 ; 

 very abundant in suburban 

 gardens, 88 ; hardly ever 

 enters the town, 88 ; rare 

 attractiveness of their 

 appearance and ways, 88 ; 

 exceptional tameness of, 

 88 ; very rare in the 

 Botanic Garden at Shibpur, 

 89 ; almost always in 

 pairs, 89 ; faithful and 

 loving habits of the mates, 

 89 ; nesting of, 89 

 Bungarus cceruleiis, the Krait, 352 

 ,, fasciatus, the banded Krait, 



354 



Butorides javanica, the little green 

 Heron, 170 



