CACK I'.IHDS 



BIRDS 



Falcons 



Myna. 



Bhimraj. 

 Koel. 



With iv^'ifi !' th. second group it w probable tliat some of them do more injurious Binto. 



harm than u., ,,| i,, tin- crops amount u lu-h t h.-v an* to he found. Their pro- 

 is not. therefore, so necessary, and those of them that are utilised econ<> 

 inn-ally or iinlu-t rialU will In- d.-iilt with in furl her paragraphs. 



.'. Birds often Reared in Cages, etc. K. Finn (Cage-Birds Cage Birds. 

 ilcutta, in Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc. (reprinted from The 

 xiv., 564-78) furnishes full particulars on this subject, and to 

 ..ilualili- paper the reader is accordingly referred. 



The following alphabetical enumeration gives the names of the birds most 

 Ntly seen in confinement in India, as also the reference (within brackets) 

 .mfonl. whrrr a full account of each species will be found : 



Acanthis fringillirostrls, the Indian Linnet (ii., 228). 



Acridotheres tristls, the Common Myna (i., 537). Baber, Emperor of 

 a (Memoirs, 1519-25. 319), and Abul Fazl in the Ain-i-Akbari (Jarrett, 

 -1., iii., 121) call this the shdrak, and the latter characterises it as an astonishing 

 talk,-r. [Cf. E. H. A., Times of India, March 25, 1899.] 



Caccabls chucar, the chukor or Himalayan Partridge (iv., 131). 



Carpodacus erythrlnus, the Indian or Rose Finch (ii., 219). 



Coturnix communls, the Ram or Grey Quail (iv., 114). 



Chloropsis aurifrons, the hurriba or Gold-fronted Green Bulbul (i., 234). 



Cittocincla macrura, the shama (ii., 118). 



Dendrocitta rufa. the Indian Tree-pie (i., 30). 



Dlssemurus paradlseus, the bhimraj or Larger Racket-tailed Drongo (i., 325). 



Dryonastes chlnensis, the Black-throated Laughing-thrush (i., 74). 



Eudynamis honorata, the Indian Koel (iii., 228). The Ain-i-Akbari (I.e. 121) 



;rves, " Romance sings of its loves as of those of the bulbul." The Emperor 

 iber (I.e. 323) describes it as the nightingale of India. 



Eulabes intermedia, the Nepal or Talking Myna, The Indian Grackle (i., 511). Nepal Myna. 



seems to be the pinddweli or meina in Baber's Memoirs, and which in 

 the Ain-i-Akbari is said to imitate the human voice and to speak with great 

 distinctness. [Cf. Thevenot, Travels in Levant, Indostan, etc., 1687, iii., 68.] 



Francollnus pondlcerianus, the titar or Grey Partridge (iv., 139). 



Galerita crtstata, the chendul or Crested Lark (ii., 337). 



Garrulax leucolophus, the White-crested Laughing-thrush (i., 77). 



Hierococcyx varius, the Brain-fever Bird, The Common Hawk-cuckoo or 

 kupak (iii., 213). 



Melanocorypha bimaculata, the Calandra Lark (ii., 323). 



Molpastes bengalensis, the Red-vented Bulbul (i., 271). [Cf. E. H. A., I.e., Bulbul. 

 7, 1898.] 



Palaeornis cyanocephalus, the Blossom-headed Paroquet (iii., 251). 



P. nepalensis, the Large Indian Paroquet, chandana (iii., 248). 



P. torquatus, the Rose-ring Paroquet, tota (iii., 250). Baber (I.e.) alludes to Paroquet, 

 bird. 



Pomatorhinus schisticeps, the Scimitar Babbler (i., 116). 



Turtur communls, the Turtle-dove (iv., 42). 



T. risorius, the Indian Ring-dove (iv., 46). 



Of the imported birds a long list might be given, but it is only necessary to 

 say that a fairly large trade exists in canaries brought from the Straits and China : 

 the Java Sparrow (.nun in oryxirora) has become acclimatised and the Malayan 

 Lorikeet is extremely popular. It would appear that Cockatoos were imported into 

 India as long ago as in the time of Jahangir, for Mr. Finn tells us he has seen 

 a picture of that period depicting a yellow-crested species. The same observer 

 points to the significant fact that there is a larger percentage of insectivorous 

 and frugivorous birds reared by Indian bird-fanciers than in Europe, a circum- 

 stance that has led to the creation, as a village craft, of the practice of collecting 

 and selling live insects, white-ants, etc., for these birds. Some years ago it was 

 suggested that one solution of the periodic plague of locusts that here and there 

 annually invades India would be to collect, dry and export these insects as Dried Insects, 

 food for the cage-birds of Europe. No one would seem, however, to have acted 

 on that suggestion. [Cf. Agri. Ledg., 1893, No. 2.] 



Falcons, Falconry and Hawking. The bird that was formerly (and Falcons, 

 to some extent is still) most prized for hawking is Fnico pervffrimitor. 

 the shdhin Falcon, the male of which is called kohila and the female kohi. In 



133 



Turtle-dove. 



Introduction of 

 the Cockatoos. 



Collection of Lire 

 Insects. 



