f^ 



54 ZOOLOGY OF INDIA. 



we can explain the discrepancies observable in the accounts 

 of travellers. It appears however certain, that the present 

 species is taught to combat with its kind by the natives 

 of Bengal. It is also trained up by the young Indians to 

 execute commissions of gallantry ; and, at a signal given 

 by the lover, will seize and carry offin the most dexterous 

 manner, and convey to its expectant master, the small gold 

 ornament usually worn on the forehead by the Indian 

 females. So quick is its eye, and so rapid are its evolu- 

 tionary movements, that it will follow the descent of a 

 ring down a deep draw-well, and catch it in its fall before 

 it has reached the surface of the water. The Persian 

 poets have represented the bulbul as enamoured of the 

 rose, and as grieved by its destruction or decay. 



Among the more noted of the Indian species we must 

 not omit to mention the mina-bird or grakle {Gracula. 

 religiosa, Linn.). The great Swedish naturalist appears to 

 have confounded two species under a single name, and 

 considerable uncertainty still pervades their history. The 

 Indian species is somewhat larger than a blackbird. Its 

 plumage is of a rich silky black, with a white spot about 

 the central edge of the wing. The bill and feet are yellow, 

 and a peculiaf fleshy appendage or caruncle stretches from 

 the side of the face, and behind each eye to the back of the 

 head. This bird is easily tamed, and of very familiar 

 manners in the domestic state. It is perhaps the most 

 accomplished linguist of all the feathered tribes, and may 

 be taught to pronounce long sentences in the most clear 

 and arUculate manner. It is consequently held in the 

 highest esteem by the natives, and is not unfrequently 

 brought alive to European countries, although the moral 

 purity of the English tongue is not always exhibited by 

 the result of its maritime education. " It imitates," says 

 Willouffhby, " man's voice much more accurately than a 

 parrot, so that oftentimes it is troublesome with its prattle." 

 The food of the mina in a state of nature is said to consist 

 both of fruits and insects. In this country it is very fond 

 of grapes and cherries. 



The genus Gracula, as restricted by the Baron Cuvier, 

 contains some interesting species, the general aspect of 

 which will be more clearly comprehended by our readers 

 ■when we mention as a close ally that rare and beautiful 



