CEINIGEK ICTERICUS. 



(THE FOREST BULBUL.) 



Criniger ictericus, Strickland, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1844, xiii. p. 411 ; Kelaart, Prodro- 

 mus, Cat. p. 123 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 124 ; Jerdon, 

 B. of Ind. ii. p. 82 (1863) ; Legge, J. A. S. (Ceylon Branch) 1870-71, p. 43 ; Holdsworth, 

 P.Z. S. 1872, p. 450; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 282 (1873); Legge, Ibis, 1874, 

 p. 20, et 1S75, p. 396 ; Bonrdillon, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 400. 



Pycnonotus ictericus, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1844, xiv. p. 570. 



Hemixos icteriea, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 207 (1849); Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. 

 Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 250 (1854). 



The Yellow-browed Bulbul (Jerdon). 



Mule. Length 8-0 inches ; wing 3 - 7 : tail 3-3 ; tarsus 072 ; mid toe and claw 075 : bill at front 0-7, to gape 

 (straight) 082. 



Iris light red, or red ; bill black ; legs and feet bluish leaden or dusky slatish. 



Lores and at the base of nostril, superciliuin, face, throat, and entire under surface, under tail- and under wing- 

 coverts, with the basal portion of the inner margins of the quill-feathers and tertials, sulphur-yellow ; the face. 

 side of throat, and flanks shaded with the hue of the back: entire upper surface olive-green; inner webs of 

 quills brown, the shafts dark brown ; inner margins of all but central rectrices yellowish, the shafts are brown 

 above and yellow beneath. 



Female. Length 7*75 inches ; wing 3 - 3 to 3-5 ; tail 3-1. 



The yellow in front of the eye is confined to the lores : the under surface slightly duller, the face duskier than in the 

 male. 



Young. Birds of the year ha\e tin; cheeks faintly barred brownish, and the flanks generally somewhat darker than 

 adults. 



Obs. Indian specimens of this bird that I have examined measure as follows : — S. India — wing 3 - 5 inches, tail 3 - 3 ; 

 S. India — wing 3 - 6, tail 3-4: Coorg — wing 3*6, tail 3'5. Size of bill and plumage identical with Ceylonese 

 examples. 



The nearest Indian ally to our bird is the northern form C.flaveolus, Gould. An example in the national collection 

 from Nepal lias the head dull rusty brown, the feathers elongated ; lores, forehead, chin, and throat greyish white; 

 back greenish yellow, with a rusty tinge ; wings and tail rusty brown ; chest and under surface dull yellowish : 

 wing 4*1. As showing, however, the singular affinity of the Malayan avifauna with that of Ceylon we have 

 a much more closely related species in the C. simplex, Kuhl, of the Malay islands. This species has the upper surface 

 almost of the same tint as in our bird ; the throat and under surface dull yellow, suffused with olive-greenish on 

 the sides of the chest and flanks ; it wants the yellow lores and face, which parts are duskier than the head. 

 Wing 35 to :',-. 



Distribution. — This fine Bulbul is widely diffused throughout the island, restricting itself to forests and 

 heavy secondary jungle, in which it is a common bird. It is essentially a denizen of timber -jungle, for though 

 it is not found in the cultivated portions of the Western Province, directly the forests in the Hewagam, 

 Raygam, Three and Four Korales are entei-ed it at once forces itself upon the acquaintance of the naturalist, 

 lu the Pasdun Korale, throughout Saffragam, in the south-west (beginning as near the sea as Kottowe and 

 Baddegama), and in the Morowak and Kukkul Korales it is a common bird. It is scattered throughout all 

 the northern forests, but does not apparently inhabit the Jaffna peninsula, for the simple reason that there is 

 no heavy jungle on it. In the wilds of the Eastern Province, and in the forest along the rivers flowing 

 through the Park country and the district lying to the south of Haputale, it is also found. As regards the 



