MOLPASTES. 269 



The Common Madras Bulbul, Jerd. ; Bulbul, Iliud. ; Tuttki bulbul, 

 Beng. ; Piyli-pitta, Tel. ; Konda-lati, Tarn. 



Coloration. The whole head, chin, and throat deep black, sharply 

 denned at the back of the head ; the whole neck, back, wing- 

 coverts, scapulars, and breast brown, each feather margined with 

 whitish ; rump plain brown ; upper tail-coverts white ; tail brown 

 at base, darkening and becoming black towards the end, and all 

 the feathers tipped wbite; wing-quills brown, narrowly margined 

 with whitish ; abdomen whitish ; sides of body and flanks light 

 brown ; under tail-coverts crimson ; shafts of tail-feathers whitish 

 beneath. 



Iris deep brown ; bill black ; legs and feet blackish (Butler). 



Length about 8 ; tail 3-8 ; wing 3*8 ; tarsus '85 ; bill from 

 gape '85. 



Distribution. Nearly the whole of India proper, the northern 

 limit being indicated roughly by a line drawn through the following 

 places : Umarkot, Jodhpur, Sambhar, Umballa ; thence a line along 

 the base of the Himalayas to Behar in the line of longitude of 

 Asansol near Raneegunje, and through that place to Burdwan. 

 This species also occurs in Ceylon. Although essentially a bird of 

 the plains it is occasionally found at considerable elevations on the 

 Nilgiris, as high up, in fact, as Ootacamund. 



Habits, $c. Breeds from February to August, constructing a 

 flimsy, but pretty nest of dry leaves and grass in bushes, creepers, 

 or the lower branches of trees, or sometimes on the top of a stump. 

 The eggs, usually three in number, are pale pink marked with 

 reddish brown and purplish grey, and measure about -9 by '65. 



279. Molpastes burmanicus. The Burmese Red-vented Bulbul. 



Pycnonotus hseinorrhous (Gm.), apud Blyth 8r Wald. Birds Burm. 



p. 135. 

 Molpastes pygmseus (Hodge.), Hume, S. F. iii, p. 126 : Hume $ 



Dav. S. F. vi, p. 321. 



Molpastes intermedius (Hay), Hume 8f Inglis, S. F. v, p. 35. 

 Pycnonotus pygaeus (Hodgs.), Oates, S. F. v, p. 157. 

 Pycnonotus intermedius (Hay), Oates, S. F. v, p. 157. 

 Pycnonotus nigripileus (Blyth), Anderson, Yunnan Exped., Aves, 



p. 658. 



Pycnonotus burmanicus, Shat-pe, Cat. B. M. vi, p. 125 (1881) ; Oates, 

 " S. F. x, p. 211 ; id. B. B. i. p. 189: Salvadori, Ann. Mus. Civ. 



Gen. (2) iv, p. 596. 

 Molpastes burmanicus (Sharpe), Hume. S. F. xi, p. 183 ; Oates in 



Hume's N. $ E. 2nd ed. i, p. 173. 



Coloration. Eesembles M. hcemorrhous, and has the black of the 

 head as sharply defined posteriorly. Differs in having the ear- 

 coverts glossy hair-brown ; the black of the throat extending down 

 to and overspreading the breast ; the feathers on the lower part of 

 the breast margined with greyish white, and the hind neck and back 



