49Q 



PERCHING BIRDS 



Shamas. 



stump, or in the crevice of a wall. The nesting holes of the barbets and 

 woodpeckers are often utilised by the dhyal bird. The male has a pleasing song, 

 not unlike that of the redbreast, but of greater compass. This species is often 

 kept as a cage-bird, and has been trained to turn somersaults at a gesture from 

 its owner. The adult male has the head, neck, breast, and upper-parts glossy 



black ; the wings and 

 tail are black, varied 

 with white : and the ab- 

 domen and under tail- 

 coverts white. The 

 female has the upper- 

 parts of a uniform dark 

 brown glossed with 

 bluish ; the throat and 

 breast are dark grey ; 

 and the wings and tail 

 dark brown varied with 

 white. 



The 

 s h a m a s 

 (Gittocincla) are closely 

 related in structure to 

 the last, from which they 

 are distinguished by the 

 proportionately greater 

 size of the tail, which 

 considerably exceeds the 

 wing in length. The 

 shamas are shy and 

 retiring birds, avoiding 

 the neighbourhood of 

 houses, and obtaining their food in the woods and jungle. The black shama (C. 

 nigra) inhabiting the Malayan region, is a skulking species, haunting the dense 

 cover near to the coast. One has been recently discovered in the Philippines (C. 

 cebuensis) ; while the Andaman shama (C. albiventris) is peculiar to the islands 

 from which it takes its name. The best known is the Indian shama (C. macrura), 

 a permanent resident in the plains of India, and a timid but graceful bird, much 

 sought after by Indian bird-catchers, on account of its beautiful song. For 

 this reason the shama is often imported into Europe as a cage -bird, but it is 

 delicate, and requires care in the colder climate of Great Britain. The shama 

 nests from April to June, retiring into the depths of the jungle, and constructing 

 its nest of grass and dead leaves in the hollow end of the broken branch of a tree. 

 The eggs are greenish marked with reddish brown, and vary in number from 

 three to four. The adult male has the head, breast, back, and wing-coverts 

 black ; the rump and upper tail-coverts are white ; the tail-feathers are black 

 and black-and-white; and the abdomen and under tail -coverts bright chestnut. 



MALACCA DHYAL BIRD. 



