250 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXI. 



It is a shy creature, though at times I have noticed it feeding on trees, 

 growing by the side of public roads, and apparently quite indifferent to the 

 passers below. 



Insects appear to constitute its chief diet, but the gizzards of several 

 that I have examined, from time to time, contained berries, seeds, and 

 other vegetable matter. The Rhododendron trees, when in flower, have a 

 great attraction for these birds, and sometimes as many as half a dozen or 

 more may be counted on a single tree, eagerly searching for insects, which 

 are likewise attracted by the flowers. In order to secure these insects, the 

 birds plunge the whole of their heads into the flowers, and getting the 

 pollen smeared on to their heads and cheeks, present, at close quarters, a 

 most comical appearance. Any little stray Tit or Ixuliis, which happens to 

 visit a tree on which these Sibias are feeding, is immediately driven 

 away in a most pugnacious manner. 



References to the habits of this bird are meagre, but I have been able to 

 collect the following : — 



Hutton states: — "At Mussoorie this bird remains at an elevation 

 of 7,000 feet throughout the year, but I never saw it under 6,500 

 feet." 



Jerdon writes : " It is one of the most abundant birds about Darjeeling. 

 It frequents the highest trees, climbing up the larger branches, and cling- 

 ing round and below the smaller branches, almos- like a Woodpecker or 

 Nuthatch. It is often seen alone or in pairs, but occasionally in small 

 parties, and is constantly uttering its twittering call, often answered by 

 one at some little distance. It is very fond of concealing itself in the 

 thick masses of Epiphytic plants found on all lofty trees in Sikkim, and its 

 favourite food is the fruit of the Epiphytic andromeda-, so abundant- about 

 Darjeeling ; it occasionally, however, picks insects from moss or crevices of 

 the bark. I on one occasion saw it at Kurseong, 4,500 feet high, in winter, 

 climbing up and down the thatched roof of a bungalow." 



Stoliczka in his Ornithological Observations in the Sutlej Valley says : — 

 "Rare about Kotegurh between 5,000 and 7,000 feet ; chiefly frequents 

 brushwood and low forests; generally feeding on insects." 



Scully in his contribution to the Ornithology of Nepal remarks : — 

 "Common on the hills round the Nepal Valley, at elvations of from 6,000 to 

 8,000 feet, but never seen in the central vt^oods ; in winter it is also common 

 in the upper part of the Chitlang Valley. It principally aflects large tree 

 forest, but is often found in dense bushes on steeply sloping hill-sides; it 

 is fond of the moss-covered branches of the large trees, to which it occasion- 

 ally clings head downwards. In winter it is social, very bold and noisy, its 

 cry then resembling the scolding alarm note of Pycnonotus pygceiis, but 

 louder and more harsh. In the breeding season, May and June, only single 

 birds or pairs are seen." 



