1 84 THE MALAY PROVINCE 



parties in the crowns of palms, continually twittering and searching the leaves for 



insects. The common Indian white-eye (Z. palpebrosa) does not extend farther 



east than Bhamo, and is not found farther south to the east of the Bay of Bengal. 



Very similar in habits are the bright green leaf-birds, of which 

 Leaf Birds 



the golden - fronted Chloropsis aurifrons ranges from southern 



Bengal to Cambodia. In this species the crown of the head is brilliant golden 

 yellow, the face black, and the throat of the same colour, crossed by an orange 

 band, with a deep blue spot on the chin, and brilliant turquoise-blue lesser wing- 

 coverts. Its brilliant plumage makes this species difficult to discover among the 

 palm-leaves, especially as, like all its kindred, it mimics the calls of other birds. 



The bulbuls though largely African are more characteristically 

 Buibuis. .... 



represented in tropical Asia, especially the Malay Islands. They are 



all birds of the forest, living principally among the upper branches of trees, and 

 rarely in underwood, their food consisting of insects and berries. They resemble 

 thrushes in habits, and in all cases possess a melodious song. Among these, the 

 Bengal red- whiskered bulbul (Otocompsa emeria), one of the crested species, 

 ranging from Simla to China, Siam, and the Malay Peninsula, has a black head 

 with white ear-coverts, a crimson tuft extending from the lower eyelid over the ear- 

 coverts, the under tail-coverts crimson, and the tail-feathers tipped with white. 

 The long crest springs from the centre of the crown, and, like the peculiar ear-tuft, 

 is most highly developed in the Burmese and Malay form of the bird. 



Among the finch tribe, the European tree-sparrow inhabits not 

 Sparrows. . . 



only the Himalaya as far east as Assam (where it is found in summer 



at heights of 7000 feet and more), but also the Malay province as far as Java. In 

 the eastern portion of its vast distributional area this bird does not, as in Europe, 

 build in trees but, like the house-sparrow, nests in holes of houses and other build- 

 ings. The house-sparrow itself ranges as far east as Cochin China ; while the closely 

 allied Pegu house-sparrow (Passer flaveolus), which has a good deal of yellow in its 

 plumage, likewise lives in or near buildings, as well as in jungle, ranging into 

 Cochin China, but most abundant in the northern portions of the area under 

 consideration. 



The weaver-birds are near relatives of the finches, which they 

 Weaver-Birds. . , .... , 



resemble m general bodily form, especially in the shape of the beak, 



although distinguished by having ten in place of only nine pairs of primary quills. 

 The group is likewise characterised by the peculiarly constructed nests, which 

 differ from those of all the finch tribe by being closed above. In shape the nest is 

 like a bottle or ball, suspended from above, and attached to leaves or twigs at the 

 side, and entered by a tube from below. This is the construction of the nests of 

 the tree-weavers, but those of the fire and velvet weavers, as well as of the widow- 

 birds and certain others, are oval in shape, provided with a hole at the side or the 

 top, and a roof-like covering with stems protruding from the upper wall. This 

 roof is fastened by grass-stems to shrubs and bushes, the twigs and stems of which 

 are ingeniously worked in so as to serve the purpose of rafters. The gorgeous 

 weavers, or munias, are inhabitants of the forest, but the tree-weavers frequent 

 more open country, where meadows alternate with coppices or clumps of trees, or 

 resort to plantations surrounding villages, or hang their nests from trees over- 



