i 



II 



THE MAGPIE-ROBIN 



magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis), or 

 dhayal, as the Indians call him, is a truly 

 delightful bird. He is of handsome appear- 

 ance, bold disposition, and confiding habits. 

 He is, further, a singer who can hold his own in any com- 

 pany when at his best. The dhayal is a typically Indian 

 bird, being found in all parts of the country from the 

 Himalayas to Cape Comorin. He is common in Ceylon 

 and ascends the hills of India to altitudes of over 6000 

 feet. He is, I believe, more abundant in the United 

 Provinces than anywhere else. It is no exaggeration 

 to assert that at least one pair of magpie-robins lives 

 in every garden in Oudh and Agra. I do not count 

 as gardens those treeless compounds in which some 

 bungalows are situate, for the magpie-robin is a bird 

 that loves shade. The species, although by no means 

 rare in South India, is not nearly so abundant there 

 as in the northern part of the peninsula. 



The dhayal is very easily identified. The cock is a 

 black and white bird rather larger than the familiar 

 English robin. His head, neck, breast, and upper parts 

 are black with a white bar in the wing. The lower 

 parts are white, as are the outer tail feathers. 



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