THE BULBUL. 23 



display an indiscriminateness in taste as regards the species 

 of butterflies they devour, that would shock many of the 

 exponents of ' ' warning colouration in insects ;' ' eating, 

 without the stimulus of hunger, species which other birds 

 will avoid unless they have no choice allowed. This may 

 be interpreted in two ways. Either the Bulbul is such a 

 common bird because he doesn't care what he eats ; or he 

 is a mere amateur in butter fly -eating, and doesn't know 

 what's good, like a young bird who has his experience to 

 gain. Certainly his insect-catching when at liberty is 

 mostly concerned with smaller game, for it is not always 

 easy to see what he takes when he rises in the air a short 

 distance and then drops back to his perch. For he is a bird 

 of varied abilities ; he can skip about gracefully among the 

 branches of a shrub, though he is more given to sitting on 

 the top ; and on the wing his movements, though not 

 particularly powerful or swift, are easy and graceful to a 

 degree. Only on the ground is he awkward, for his legs 

 are too short for him to hop with much agility or keep his 

 tail clear ; but he does not often descend to earth, and 

 wisely. No small bird looks well on the ground unless he 

 can run, like the wagtail, and even then he is rather insig- 

 nificant. But place the Bulbul as one generally sees him, 

 on a lofty spray, his jetty crest erect, and his tail drooping 

 in a neglige manner all his own, and it is difficult to find a 

 small bird so picturesque. True, his black fore-quarters 

 fade off to dusty brown on the wings and iron-grey on the 

 breast, and the only bright colour he boasts is the silky 

 crimson patch modestly concealed under the root of his 

 tail ; but even so he is more strikingly attired than most 



