64 BIRDS OF INDIA 



ff 



I found this to be the common species of Babbler in Bombay, 

 entering compounds and gardens ; and I also saw it above the ghats, 

 though less common there. A specimen obtained at Bombay by 

 myself is now in the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta. 



It is possible that some of the races alluded to by me in the 

 " Illustrations" may turn out to be distinct ; but I have not had an 

 opportunity of verifying them since those remarks were penned. 



The next bird is of a slightly different type, and has been separat- 

 ed by Mr. Blyth as distinct, under the name of Malcolmia, but the 

 distinctive marks are not prominent, and I shall not adopt it here. 

 It differs from restricted Malacocircus by its larger size, more 

 uniform color, the tail longer and more narrow ; the frontal feathers 

 are stiff and pointed, the bill is a trifle shorter, and the wings are 

 somewhat longer and more pointed. It associates usually in still 

 larger flocks. 



436. Malacocircus Malcolmi, Sykes. 



Timalia, apud Sykes, Cat. 67 — Blyth, Cat. 794 — Horsf., 

 Cat. 316 — Jerdon, Cat. 90 — Garrulus albifrons, Gray, Hard- 

 wicke, 111. Ind. Zool. 2, pi. 36, f. 1 — Ghogoi, H. — Gangai, H # 

 in the N. W. Provinces — Gongya, Can. — Kokatti, Mahr. — Verri- 

 chijida, i. e. Mad-babbler, Tel. — also Gowa sida, Tel. 



The Large Grey Babbler. 



Descr. — Above of a pale brownish grey, lighter and more cinere- 

 ous on the rump ; quills and middle rectrices darker, the latter with 

 some faint cross bands, and the lateral feathers whitish; forehead 

 pale bluish, the feathers with white shafts ; the first three quills 

 with the outer webs pale yellowish ; beneath uniform whitish grey, 

 with a tinge of fulvescent or rufescent, most distinct on the breast 

 and upper part of the abdomen. 



Bill horny ; legs dirty yellow ; irides light yellow. Length 1 1 

 inches ; wing 4 T fi ^ ; tail 5| ; bill at front T 9 ^ ; tarsus 1 T ^. 



This large Babbler has a peculiar distribution. In the south of 

 India it is found, though not very common, only in jungly and 

 hilly ground, apart from cultivation. I have seen it near Nellore, 

 on the slopes of the Shervaroy and Neilgherry Hills, in Mysore, 



