THE BULBULS. 49 



in winter, were it not that the Kinglets and Tits, equally small, are not known to lodge in their 

 nests. Our little friend is a Troglodyte, a frequenter of holes and caverns, and as it always reposes at 

 night in some sheltered retreat, it may occasionally or often betake itself to its old nest as well as to 

 any other place, as that nest is well iitted for its purpose ; but there seems no reason for supposing 

 that this is habitual with all Wrens, many of which, in the wilder parts of the country and in the 

 Hebrides, desert their summer habitations, and in winter reside about the farmyards." 



The length of the Common Wren is only three inches and a half, the wing two inches. The colour 

 of the upper parts is rufous-brown, more decidedly rufous on the tail and wings, the upper surface 

 barred across with blackish-brown, the outside wing feathers being barred with dark brown and dull' 

 white ; over the eye a white line ; below the body is dull whitish, slightly washed with rufous on tke 

 breast; the abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts washed with rufous-brown, barred with blackish; bill 

 brown, as well as the eye ; legs light brown. 



THE SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE TIMELIID.E. THE BULBULS (Br achy patina). 



These are a small group of birds which are intei-mediate between true Babblers and the Thrushes, 

 They are remarkable for their very short legs, which are accompanied by short and very rounded wings. 

 They are entii-ely inhabitants of the Old World, some genera, such as the Bristle-necked Bulbuls 

 (Criniyer), being widely distributed in Western Africa, and recurring again, in India and the Indo- 

 Malayan countries and islands. The Red-whiskered Bulbul (Otoco mpsa jocosa), an inhabitant of India 

 and the Burmese countries, is said by Dr. Jerdon to be a most lively and active bird, always on the 

 move, warbling its pleasant chirruping notes, which are more agreeable than those of the Common 

 Bengal Bulbul. Its night is steady but not very rapid, and its crest is always raised the moment it 

 alights. The nest is neatly made, deep, cup-shaped, of moss, lichens, and small roots, lined with hair 

 and down ; the eggs are reddish-white with spots of lake, or purplish all over, larger at the thick end. 

 It lives chiefly on fruits and seeds, robbing the gardens of peas, strawberries, &c. Now and then it 

 takes insects, and Dr. Jerdon has seen it come to the ground after them. Writing of the Common 

 -Madras Bulbul (Pycnonolus /t(eniorrhou#), Dr. Jerdon observes that it "frequents gardens and cul- 

 tivated ground, and low bushy jungle, but is never found in forests, and it ascends the Neilgherries to 

 about 6,000 feet only. It is usually seen in pairs, or in small families, flying briskly about, restless 

 and inquisitive, feeding chiefly on fruits, but occasionally descending to the ground, and even hopping 

 a step or two and picking up insects. It destroys various buds and blossoms also, and is very destruc- 

 tive to peas, strawberries, brazil cherries (Pkysalis peruviania), and other soft fruit. Its note, which 

 it is frequently uttering, is an unmusical, rather harsh chirrup. It has at times, however, a sweeter 

 note, and it is said to be able to imitate the notes of other birds when caged. Its flight is direct, 

 performed by a continued quick flapping of the wings. It breeds from June to September, according 

 to the locality. The nest is rather neat, cup-shaped, made of roots and grass, lined with hair, fibres, 

 and spiders' webs, placed at no great height in a shrub or hedge. The eggs are pale-pinkish, with 

 spots of darker lake-red, most crowded at the thick end. Burger describes them as rich madder colour, 

 spotted and blotched with grey and madder-brown ; Layard, as pale cream, with darker markings. The 

 Bulbul is very commonly caged in various parts of the country, and in the Carnatic it is kept for 

 fighting, being held on the finger with a cord attached. They fight sometimes with great spirit, often, 

 I am assured, seizing their antagonist by the red feathers, and endeavouring to pull them out. When 

 excited they often spread out these feathers laterally, so as to be seen even from above." 



The account of the habits of the Bulbuls is so meagre that scarcely anything can be said about 

 them. Perhaps the best notice that has ever appeared is that given by Captain Legge in his work on 

 the " Birds of Ceylon " : 



" The Madras Bulbul is a very common bird, and is found in Ceylon abundantly throughout the 

 whole of the island to a general altitude of about 3,500 feet, and in Uva ranges to about 5,900 feet, 

 its highest point being the neighbourhood of Hakgala, to which it extends from the Fort MacDonald 

 patnas, a portion of the Kandyan Province where many low-country birds are located. It is most 

 numerous in open and cultivated districts, particularly in the west and south of the island, and in the 

 maritime portions of the eastern and northern divisions. In the extensive forests of the east and 



