THE DHYAL. 



less obtrusive. The Dhyal can never be very abundant, 

 for, being a purely insect-eating bird of no great travelling 

 proclivities, he has to keep a hunting-ground to himself, 

 and hence cannot afford to be sociable. Thus, although he 

 is one of our commonest birds, his kind are merely found 

 scattered about singly or in pairs ; and as with so many 

 pugnacious birds, even the two sexes do not seem to be 

 very warmly attached, and are hardly ever close together 

 even though they may inhabit the same garden in peace' 

 They need never leave it, for they are not particular about 

 nesting accommodation, building in any hole in tree or 

 wall. The eggs vary much in size and colour, but generally 

 speaking resemble more or less those of the English 

 blackbird on a small scale. And in connection with this 

 it is interesting to note the resemblance in proportions,' 

 gait and gestures between these birds; the two species 

 show admirably that the names " Thrush " and " Robin'' 

 like " Duck " and "Teal," are largely only measure, 

 of size. If the Dhyal were as big as the blackbird, everyone 

 would call it a thrush, but, as it is a good deal smaller it 

 gets the other name. Young Dhyals show their relation- 

 ship to the thrushes by being marked with buff on the 

 breast and wings, though generally speaking their plumage 

 resembles that of their mother. They seem to be not 

 difficult to rear and make nice pets. The old Dhyal is 

 said to be very hard to tame, in spite of its confiding 

 habits in a wild state ; but my friend Mr, F. Groser 

 has not only tamed a wild-caught old bird, but bred from 

 him in confinement. Of course the great point is to supply 

 abundance of insect food, and this is not difficult in ; 



