THE BABBLERS. 21 



plains, but is not much seen, as it keeps on the trees. 

 Its very sweet, flute-like note, however, often reveals 

 its presence. It is a fluffy, short-tailed little thing, smaller 

 than a Sparrow. The bird figured in the Plate IV (Fig. 4) 

 is a cock in breeding plumage ; some are more and others 

 less black than this, according to locality, the Southern 

 Indian birds being the darkest. The hens are simply 

 olive-green above and yellow below, with two white bars 

 on the wing, and the cock in winter also becomes olive- 

 green, but keeps his black wings and tail. Young birds 

 resemble the female. They are occasionally reared by 

 natives in Bengal and kept caged : but they are delicate, 

 although very tame and nice little pets. I have never 

 seen an old bird which had been tamed. The species 

 seems to be altogether an insect-feeder, and hence is not 

 a good subject for captivity. It begins to breed about 

 May, and builds a particularly neat and beautiful little 

 nest, a cup formed of fine fibres and coated outside with 

 cobweb. The eggs are greyish-white marked with brown. 



Another small Babbler of the plains though not one 

 of our very commonest birds in the wild state, yet 

 deserves notice, as it makes a most charming cage-bird 

 when hand-reared. This is 



THE YELLOW-EYED BABBLER (PyctorUs sinensis), a 

 little creature rather smaller in the body than a Sparrow, 

 but with a long tail. Its colour is cinnamon-brown above, 

 and white, shading into buff, below ; and it has a stout, 

 curved black bill, and yellow eggs and eyelids. The 

 eyes are also yellow, whence the native name Gulab- 

 chasm. 



