84 tHE ROCK THRUSH AND THE BABBLERS. 



and wiles. The nest itself is an artless and shabby 

 affair, made of twigs and stuck into almost any situa- 

 tion in a small dense tree. There are usually three 

 eggs, of an intense colour between green and blue. 

 You may find them in the hot season. But I find I have 

 not described the bird. It seems an insult to such a 

 well-known public character to describe him. For the 

 benefit of strangers, however, I may say that the 

 Bombay Babbler (Malacocercus somervillei) is an 

 earthy-coloured bird, tinged with reddish about the tail. 

 It is nearly the size of an English Thrush, with less 

 body and more tail. It carries its tail a little raised, 

 as ground birds generally do. Its wings droop, its 

 feathers are loose and puffy, and altogether it reminds 

 you of old Jones, who passes the day in his pyjamas. 

 But it is a shrewd old bird and has a wicked white eye. 

 The Poona Babbler is bigger and wants the reddish 

 tinge about the tail, the Malabar Babbler has a hoary 

 head, and so on ; for there are many clans of them. 

 But they are all of one blood : you cannot mistake a 

 Babbler. 



There is a little bird, about the size of a Robin, 

 which is said to be related to the Babblers and must 

 be described here, for you may often see it in Bombay, 

 though it would rather you did not. It seems to be 

 suspicious of man and tries to keep a bush between 

 you and it, eyeing you through the leaves. A bushy 

 I say, for the White-throated Wren-Babbler (Dumetia 

 albogularis), asjerdon calls it, is a bird of bushes and 

 hedges. It is not the custom of its caste to go into 

 trees. It is a plain bird, of a light brown colour, but 

 not difficult to recognise, if you catch a fair sight of 

 it, by the contrast of its pure white throat and its 



