THE THRUSHES. 67 



there ; and being purely insectivorous, would be a useful 

 bird to acclimatize in parts of the tropics where such birds 

 are needed. The bird has a wide range naturally, ex- 

 tending even into China, whence a good many specimens 

 are sent to Calcutta, being considered better than Indian 

 birds as songsters. 



THE SHAMA (Cittocincla macrura), being figured on 

 Plate III (Fig. 2), needs no long description ; the figure, 

 however, only represents the old male ; the female is 

 drab where the male is black, and the chestnut of the 

 belly is not so rich, nor is her tail quite so long. Young 

 birds are brown with buff spots, but have the characteristic 

 black-and-white tail. The Shama is a jungle-bird, and 

 does not come about houses like the Dhayal ; but it is a 

 common and widespread species in our Empire, especially 

 frequenting hilly grounds, though it does not ascend the 

 hills to any great height. In Tenasserim the hens are 

 often very dark, and thus tend to resemble the cocks. 

 This is a shy bird in the wild state, and feeds entirely on 

 insects ; it builds from April to June, making a nest of 

 grass, leaves, etc., in a hole in a tree. The eggs much 

 resemble those of the Dhayal, but are not so numerous, 

 four being the usual clutch. The bird will very readily 

 take advantage of a big bamboo with a hole in it set up 

 in any place near its haunts, and may thus be encouraged, 

 as it well deserves, on account of its beauty, usefulness, 

 and great power of song. I cannot agree with those 

 people who even prefer it to the Nightingale ; but it 

 certainly is a very much better songster than any other 

 European bird, much surpassing the Thrush and Blackbird. 



