436 BIRDS OF INDIA. 



passala poH-gadu, i. e. ' Long-tailed Drongo,' Tel. — Hati of the 

 Gonds, Parvak or parvok-pho, Lepch. 



The Large Racket-tailed Drongo. 



Descr. — Plumage uniformly black, with a steel-blue gloss ; 

 feathers of crown slightly hackled, those of the nape strongly so, 

 on breast slightly ; plumage generally loose and pufFy ; frontal 

 erest falling backwards over the nape, varying from 1^ to 2^ inches 

 in length. 



Length, to end of ordinary tail, 14 inches ; wing 6| ; tail to 

 middle 6^ ; outer tail-feather 12 to 13 inches more ; the shaft having 

 the terminal end, for about 3^ inches, barbed externally, but towards 

 the tip only on the inner side, and turning inwards, so that the 

 under side becomes uppermost. Bill at front If to 1^; tarsus 1 

 inch. 



In conformity with the views of Horsfield and Blyth,'! have 

 considered the varieties we possess in Northern and Eastern India, 

 as one and the same species. At the same time there are some well 

 marked differences according to locality. Those from the Eastern 

 Ghats have the bill stronger, more compressed, the ridge sharper 

 and the tip more deeply notched, and the crest is barely so lonf^ 

 as in those from Nepal and Assam, whilst those from Goomsoor have 

 the bill smaller and less strongly toothed, and the crest lar^-er. 



This very showy and curious bird is found in the dense forests 

 of India, from the Himalayas to the Eastern Gliats as far south as 

 N. L. 15°. I have seen them from Nellore Ghats, Goomsoor, the 

 forests of Central India, and they are found in Lower Beno-al, the 

 Sunderbuns, and the Himalayas. Out of our province it is found 

 in Assam, Sylhet, Burmah and Tenasserira. Near Darjeeling they 

 do not range higher than 1,500 ft. or 2,000 ft. of elevation. 



This large Racket-tailed Drongo is found singly or in pairs, now 

 and then in small parties, and appears to wander a good deal in 

 search of food, flying from tree to tree, generally at no great ele- 

 vation, making an occasional swoop at an insect on the wing, or 

 sometimes whipping one off a branch. 



Frequently, however, it hunts for some time from a fixed station, 

 returning to the same tree. Its food is bees, wasps, beetles, dragon- 



