462 MONTICOLA CYAN A. 



it was by no means uncommon in the rocky hills that divide that province from Khelat, being abundant on 

 the rivers flowing through these ranges ; he likewise met with it on the Mekran coast and in Muscat. 



It is, however, as I have stated, only a migrant to the East-Indian peninsula, and we must travel far to 

 the north-west before finding its more permanent quarters. It is, in point of fact, chiefly found in the country 

 bordering the Mediterranean both north and south, and is spread so entirely throughout Europe, that it 

 occasionally visits Heligoland, and is stated to have been killed in Ireland in 18fi6. Captain Shelley frequently 

 met with it in Egypt in April ; and Yon Heuglin considers it to be a visitor only in the spring and autumn 

 months to that country, as also to Abyssinia and Arabia. It is common in Morocco and also in Andalusia 

 on the Spanish side of the Straits, where Col. Irby says it is stationary. It is also found in Portugal. 

 Further east, Mr. Basil Brooke says it is very common in Sardinia; and in Malta Mr. C. A. Wright testifies to 

 the same fact. In South-eastern Europe it is a well-known bird, and spreads thence into Southern Germany, 

 thence extending to the wonderful little bird-island of Heligoland. 



Habits. — This species varies in its habits according to the locality it frequents. Its usual custom is, 

 doubtless, as its name implies, to affect rocky places, boulder-strewn hill-sides, wild gorges, the stony banks 

 of rivers, the vicinity of mountain-precipices, and other barren and inhospitable spots ; and when thus met with 

 is a shy and wary bird, manifesting a very restless disposition, flitting from rock to rock, and uttering a clear 

 whistle as it takes flight on the approach of danger. Mr. Farr informs me that it displayed all these restless 

 manners on both occasions when he met with it in the Ceylon hills. In parts of India, however (and the same 

 is the case with the eastern variety), it is quite a familiar bird, " perching on housetops, feeding about stables, 

 and frequently even entering verandahs, and sheltering itself during the heat of the day on beams and the 

 eaves of houses." It is, in fact, writes Jerdon, supposed to be the Sparrow of the English version of the 

 scriptures, " which sittcth alone on the house-top." Mr. Oates has a similar experience of it in Pegu ; he says 

 that "it is not unfrequcutly seen singly, more especially in the vicinity of wooden bungalows. At Thayetmyo 

 one occasionally came into my compound for a day or so, and then suddenly disappeared for a month or two. 

 It will flit into the verandah, sit on the post-plate, and remain for a few minutes in perfect silence." 

 Mr. Elliot likewise noticed that it was very tame, often coming into houses and hopping about the verandah. 

 It is usually a solitary bird, and feeds entirely on the ground on ants, Coleoptcra, and various insects. Its 

 song is said to be very sweet, and is commenced in India for some time before it leaves the country, not when 

 feeding, but when it happens to have taken shelter during the heat of the day. It is caught in the Deccan 

 and mi the Bombay coast by the natives, and is much prized as a songster, being called by them the Shdma, 

 which name, however, really applies to the Long-tailed Robin (Cittocincla macrura). Col. Irby, who publishes 

 Mime interesting notes on its habits in the 'Birds of Gibraltar,' writes that it frequents daily the same spots, 

 attracting considerable notice, both from its agreeable song and conspicuous habits. He further remarks, 

 " The Blue Thrush very often perches on trees, and at Gibraltar and Tangier is frequently seen on the house- 

 tops, though generally observed on bare rocky ground. It is sometimes found in wooded parts, if there are any 

 high rocks ; for instance, a pair nest at the first waterfall at Algeciraz, which is in the midst of a dense forest. 

 It has a habit, in the courting-season, of flying straight out from a rock, and then suddenly dropping with the 

 wings half shut, like a Wood-pigeon in the nesting-time. The Blue Thrush is very fond of ivy-berries and all 

 fruit." 



hind Lilford writes ; — " It is very omnivorous ; literally, fish, flesh, fowl, and fruit I have seen it devour 

 with apparently equal gusto, to say nothing of almost any insect." 



Nidification. — This handsome Thrush breeds, as far as India is concerned, in the Himalayas, nesting in 

 June. Capt. C. H. T. Marshall, who alone has taken the eggs in that country, records that the nest " was in 

 a low stone wall, at no great elevation, and that it contained 4 eggs." Mr. Hume describes one of these, in 

 ' Nests and Eggs,' as. having a pale, slightly greenish-blue ground-colour, closely speckled at the larger end 

 with very minute brownish-red spots; a few similar specks are sparsely scattered over the rest of the surface 

 of the egg." It is very small for the size of the bird, measuring TO by 073 inch. 



