THE BULBULS. 23 



THE WHITE-EYE OR SPECTACLE BIRD (Zosterops pal- 

 pebrosa) is shown at the top of Plate V (Fig. 2), and is 

 the smallest and most \vide-spread of all our Babblers. 

 This little creature is rather of a different build than 

 Babblers generally, having longer wings and shorter 

 tail ; but its sociable, cuddlesome habits, and the 

 fact that several small birds which are undoubted 

 Babblers closely approach it, settle its relationship 

 easily enough. The white ring round the eye and the 

 olive-yellow plumage with white belly will easily dis- 

 tinguish it from all other Indian birds. It is found 

 all over India, both on hills and plains ; in Burma 

 and China a species or variety with a greener back (Zos- 

 terops simplex) is also found. This is frequently brought 

 to the Calcutta bazar, where the dealers often try to sell 

 it as a ' c Humming-bird " ! It makes an excellent cage- 

 companion for the little Waxbills, and has a sweet little 

 note of its own. Soft fruit, bread and milk, and small 

 insects are all it requires, and it is so easy to keep that a 

 good many specimens are sent to Europe. 



The nest of the Indian variety is most commonly 

 found in April ; it may be at any height, and is a very 

 delicate little structure, made of cobwebs and vegetable 

 fibres and suspended like a miniature hammock in a forked 

 twig. Only two eggs are laid, of a pale blue. 



THE BULBULS. 



The Bulbuls are usually classed as a distinct family 

 from the Babblers, and this arrangement I shall follow 

 here, although, as in the Fauna of British India, they come 



