608 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XIV. 



No. XVI— "INDIAN HOBBY" (?) AND " BULBUL." 

 While on a visit to Pundaluoya (elevation 4,000 feet) in April last, I wit- 

 nessed the attack of a small black hawk, which I believe to have been the 

 " Indian Hobby " {Falco severus), upon a common " Bulbul" (Pycnonotus 

 hsemorrhous). From a back view, the hawk appeared to be quite black. It 

 pounced upon the Bulbul and bore it to the ground, seeming to have some 

 difficulty in killing it, for the cries of the victim continued for some 3 or 4 

 minutes. On my nearer approach, the hawk picked up its prey in its claws 

 and carried it out of sight. As they were flying off I had a good view of the 

 hawk and its prey. The former looked scarcely larger than the dead bird in 

 its claws. 



The " Indian Hobby " is considered a very r^re bird in Ceylon, I be- 

 lieve tiiat less than half a dozen sppcimens have been actually recorded 

 from this Island. But it seems possible that the small size and dark 

 colouration of the bird may have led to its having been mistaken for the 

 Ceylonese black-bird (Turdus Jcinnisi). Stories have been told me by plan- 

 ters on more than one occasion, of one "black-bird" having been 

 seen to attack, kill and carry off another "black-bird". It is prob- 

 able that the aggressor in each of these cases may have been Falco 



severus. 



In Blanf ord's account of this hawk (^Fauna of British India, Birds, Vol, 

 III) it is suggested that the species is crepuscular and that it feeds principal- 

 ly upon insects. The incident noted above occurred at about 3 p.m., and 

 (if my identification of the bird was correct) indicates that the " Indian 

 Hobby " will attack larger game than insects. 



Pekadeniya, Ceylon, E. ERNEST GREEN. 



\bth May 1902. 



rjSlote. It is somewhat difficult to understand how any one having a 



good view of the bird could describe Falco sevei-us as appearing scarcely 

 larger than a Bulbul ; nor would the slaty grey of its back be likely to 

 appear quite black. May not the bird have been one of the species of 

 those beautiful little miniatures of the family— the Falconets, Micro- 

 hierax ? They certainly, it is true, have never been recorded from Ceylon, 

 though it is quite possible they may have been overlooked, but they so 

 exactly fit Mr. Green's description that I venture the suggestion. The 

 black of their back and wings is unmistakeable, while their small size of 

 but 6 or 7 inches in length is no more than that of a Bulbul, though 

 they would certainly appear larger, as there is of them more bird and 

 less tail. 



E. Comber, 



Hony. Secretary, Bird Section, 

 Bombay Natural History Society. 



