CHAPTER IV. 



PASSERINE BIRDS continued. 

 FLYCATCHERS, THRUSHES, &c. 



THE FLYCATCHERS. 



THESE are a numerous body of little birds, usually less 

 than a sparrow in size, and distinguished by short weak 

 feet and thin flattened bills with a bristly moustache at 

 the base. They are generally solitary and have a habit 

 of repeatedly darting out at insects and returning to 

 the same perch. Many species are found in India, either 

 constantly or as winter visitors, but they are not interest- 

 ing as a group, though no doubt useful in a humble way, 

 as they feed almost entirely on flying insects, with 

 which India is undoubtedly overstocked. Three of the 

 most common and striking species may be noticed here. 



THE PARADISE FLYCATCHER (Terpsiphone paradisi) , 

 figured on Plate I (Fig. 2), is well known to the natives 

 as the Doodhraj or Shah Bulbul. It is, although light 

 and slender in make, a large bird for one of this family, 

 the male being about nine inches long without the long 

 centre tail-feathers, which extend a foot or more beyond 

 the rest. The hens and the young males during their first 

 year, have not this remarkable elongation of the tail, 

 but they are easily distinguished from all our other 

 small birds notwithstanding. The colour is a rich 



