Stray Notes on Indian Birds.



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Black-headed Sibia. Lioptila capistrata.


This bird holds its prey in or under its foot like Liothrix.


Blue-winged Siva. Siva cyanuroptera.


In captivity I found this bird fed on fruit as well as insects,

and held its food in its foot like Liothrix ; I have seen it put its

foot on food when wild—in Darjeeling. It is also sociable like

Liothrix.


Black-Chinned Yuhina. Yichina nigrimentnm.


I once had two of these little birds ; they were very

sociable together; and fond of caressing each other, but bullied

other species. They sipped up sweetened sop readily with their

long tongues, and were very much given to bathing.


Swinhoe’s White-Eye. Zosterops simplex.


I have seen one of these birds use its foot in feeding on

about two occasions, but the action is rare. They are very

sociable, even with different species, in captivity.


Red-billed Liothrix [Pekin Robin]. Liothrix Intea.


I found this species also refused the millepedes mentioned

as refused by the Striated Babblers.


Common Iora. Aegithina tiphia.


A tame bird I kept recalled in its actions both Chloropsis

and Liothrix; it had much greater swallowing power than the

former, and grasped food in one foot like the latter or a Shrike.

It was shy at first, but soon got tame, like Liothrix. I was told

adults could not be kept, and mine was a hand-reared one, the

only specimen I had then seen caged (in November, 1897) though

I afterwards saw a few others. It cast no pellets. I have

seen it dart out suddenly when the aviary door was opened, as

Liothrix will do. I did not see it show any sociability, and it

seemed able to take care of itself with other birds.


Silver-eared Mesia. Mesia argeiitauris.


I bought the first specimen of this I ever saw alive. It

feeds in confinement on fruit, insects and seed, and holds food in

one foot like Liothiix. It was sociable.


Bengal Red-vented Bulbul. Molpastes be?igalensis.


This bird casts no pellets, either when old birds are fed on

tipari berries, or young on flies, which they prefer to fruit. I

have seen a pair in the London Zoo., one of this species, and the



