50 NATURAL HISTORY. 



north-central portions it inhabits chiefly those localities which have been cleared and are now open or 

 covered with low jungle ; but in the depths of the woods it is less frequent than the White-eyebrowed 

 Bulbul. In Dumbara and other wide valleys of the Central Province it is almost as common as in 

 the low country, but it does not range so high on the Rambodde side as in Uva. Neither Kelaart 

 nor Mr. Holds worth records it from Nuwara Eliya, nor have I myself observed it there. That it 

 should not occur even as a straggler or occasional visitant in the gardens of the residents, while it is 

 not unfrequent just lower down the valley at Hakgala, is perhaps a proof that it is not able to with- 

 stand the frost and cold at nights on the plain. 



' Of this Bulbul Jerdon says that it is one of the most common and generally-spread birds in the 

 south of India, extending throughout the southern part of the peninsula to the Nerbudda river, and 

 beyond it apparently to the north-west. It ascends the Neilgherries to about 6,000 feet, and it is, says 

 Dr. Fairbank, found at the top of the Palanis, though it is more abundant at the bottom and on the 

 adjacent plains ; in the Khandala district it is an inhabitant of the slopes of the hills, as well as the 

 neighbouring portion of the Deccan. To the north-west it extends r,:'j far as Sindh, to the avifauna of 

 which province Mr. Blanford has recently added it, stating that it is found in the deserts of Umarkot. 

 Captain Butler remarks that it is found all over the hills and plains of Northern Guzerat, to which 

 Mi\ Hume adds, ' Common at Sambhur and in the eastern portions of Jodhpoor, also in Cutch and 

 Kattiawar. In Western Jodhpoor it occurs for the most part only in the rains.' In Bengal it is 

 replaced by the large and allied species P. pygceus, which extends eastwards into Burmah. 



" The Madras Bulbul affects gardens, compounds, cinnamon plantations, the vicinity of roads, low 

 jungle, open scrubby land, and the edges of forest. It is a fearless and very sprightly bird, most 

 active and animated in its manners, erecting its conspicuous crest to full height as it sits on the top of 

 a bush chirping to its companions. It locates itself in close proximity to houses, and not unfrequently 

 builds its nest in verandahs, and is consequently a universal favourite with Europeans, who rate its 

 attempts at singing so highly that it is styled by many the 'Ceylon Nightingale !' As a matter of 

 fact, however, its notes have but little music in them ; but it is constantly uttering its quick 

 chirruping warble, which, in the breeding-season, is to a certain extent more melodious than at other 

 times. Its food consists of insects, as well as fruit and seeds of all kinds, the berry of the Lantana 

 plant being a favourite diet, a fact which conduces to the propagation and spreading of this 

 horticultural pest. In the evening little parties of this Bulbul assemble, and after a great deal 

 of excitement and chattering they choose a roosting-place in some thick bush or umbrageous 

 .shrub. 



" Jerdon remarks, in his ' Birds of India,' that in the Carnatic it is kept for fighting, and that it 

 seizes its antagonist by the red feathers, attempting to pull them out. It is said to imitate the notes 

 of other birds when caged. I am not aware that this habit has been much noticed in Ceylon ; but it 

 is a great favourite as a caged bird with the natives, becoming excessively tame, and allowing itself to 

 be carried about by hand 



" In the western and southern portions of the island this bird breeds, as a rule, between January 

 and May, and on the eastern side during the north-east rains at the end of the year. It appears, 

 however, to have more than one brood in the year, the second being reared as late as August or 

 September. Its nest is a loosely-made cup-shaped structure of fine twigs, grass, and bents, with a 

 scanty lining of grass or vegetable fibre, fixed in the fork of a branch in low bushes a few feet from 

 the ground. It frequently chooses a small lime-tree close to a dwelling, and will sometimes, as above- 

 mentioned, build in the verandahs of houses. In a rest-house on the Trincomalee and Batticola road, 

 I once found a nest placed between the tiles and a rafter over the entrance to the apartment, the pretty 

 little owner taking no notice whatever of the passers-by, and, as we stood admiring her, scanned us from 

 her little habitation with an amount of fearless curiosity that was charming to behold. The eggs arc 

 three or four in number, and vary somewhat in shape, the usual form being a pointed oval. The 

 ground is reddish-white, blotched and speckled all over, but most thickly at the large end, where there 

 is often a cap or zone of colour, with reddish-brown of two shades over a few bluish-grey spots, some 

 eggs having much more of the latter tint than others. They measure from 0'84 to 0'87 inch in length 

 by 0-64 to 0-66 in breadth. 



" In India the breeding-season lasts in the plains from April until August, but in the Neilgherries 



