476 IXOS LUTEOLUS. 



coast and in the scrubs bordering the south-eastern shores it is as numerous as on the western sea-board. In 

 the interior it is almost everywhere to be met with, whether in the semicultivated country between Colombo 

 and the Kandyan hills, the forests of the northern half of the island, or the similarly interminable jungles of 

 the Eastern Province. In the south-western hill-region it chiefly frequents the open and partially cultivated 

 tracts of country ; but it is also found in wooded places, particularly in secondary jungle, where the forest has 

 been, at some time or another, cut down by the natives. In the Kandyan province it is common in Dumbara 

 and the surrounding neighbourhood up to an elevation of about 2500 feet ; but in the eastern district of 

 (Jva I have observed it much higher, for in that part it frequents the patna-scrubs which clothe the hills 

 between Fort Macdonald and Badulla. I noticed it everywhere in the Jaffna peninsula; and Mr. Holdsworth 

 writes that it is equally common at Aripu and Colombo. 



Jerdon writes of this Bulbul that it is plentiful in many parts of South India, that it is not found in the 

 forests of Malabar, but is common in low jungle and on the skirts of the forests occasionally. In the Carnatic 

 it is tolerably common in bushy jungle, and even in gardens in wooded districts, also throughout the Northern 

 ( 'i rears to Goomsoor ; and in Central India it was found by Tickell. It is not, however, remarks Jerdon, known 

 at Jubbulpore, Saugor, Nagpore, nor Mhow, nor on the bare tableland of the Deccan. Referring to ' Stray 

 Feathers,' we find Dr. Fairbank testifies to its local distribution in his remarks on the Khandala district, and 

 says that it is found in thickets by the Gatprabha river, but not on the Goa frontier; further north it inhabits 

 portions of the country near Bombay. Mr. Ball writes that it is very abundant in Orissa, throughout a broad 

 zone in which the vegetation is characterized by certain species of plants which are not met with further to 

 the west, and which district, he says, extends "westwards as far as Ungul," beyond which it is not found. 

 Colonel Tickell procured it at Midnapur, which, I imagine, is its most northern limit. In the Palani-hill list 

 it is included as common at the cast base of the hills. 



Habits. — This Bulbul has been named the " Cinnamon-Thrush," on account of its abundance in the 

 plantations of that tree in the Western Province. It is fond of frequenting open bushy land, scrub, woods in 

 cultivated country, thickets at the edge of jungle, and underwood in dry forests ; in heavily-timbered country 

 it is not nearly so frequent, although it is more so than the Common Madras Bulbul. Except when feeding 

 on some favourite fruit, it does not usually affect tall trees, but prefers to live in the thick cover afforded by 

 brambles and other dense undergrowth, to none of which is it more partial than to the Lantana-scrub so 

 abundant in the Western Province and in Dumbara. It associates usually in pairs, and, concealing itself from 

 view, frequently utters its loud, jerky warble while threading its way through the thickets, or darting actively 

 in and out with a quick irregular flight, and thus gives one the impression of being a most busy bird ! In the 

 evening it is particularly restless and noisy, and before going to roost flies to and fro among the bushes, darting 

 into the thickest cover at hand, where it gives out its voluble notes, and then starts out again with a rustle loud 

 enough to be caused by a much larger bird. It is both insectivorous and frugivorous in its diet, but chiefly 

 the latter; and there is nothing to which it is more partial than the seeds or berries of the Lantana-\ii\a.iit. 



Nidification. — The breeding-season of this bird in the west and south-west of the island lasts from 

 December until June, the months of April and May appearing to be the favourite time. On the eastern side 

 it breeds during the north-cast rains. It builds in a low bush, placing the nest in the fork of an upright 

 branch, sometimes 3 or 4. feet from, and at others close to, the ground. It is a rather loosely made cup-shaped 

 structure, built of small twigs, grass-stalks, and fine roots, with occasionally a few dead leaves at the bottom 

 to act as a foundation ; the lining is scanty and is of fine grass. The eggs are from two to four in number, 

 ovate in form, but sometimes stumpy at the large end; the ground-colour is reddish white or pale reddish, 

 covered openly throughout with brownish or claret-red over a few markings of lilac-grey ; in many specimens 

 the spots are confluent round the obtuse end. They measure from 0'9 to 095 inch in length by 0-63 to 

 0'65 inch in breadth. 



At Bombay it is recorded as laying in June and September, building a loose straggling nest in a bush a 

 few feet from the ground ; it is there made of fine twigs, lined with grass-stems, and portions of the exterior 

 tied with wool and cobwebs to the surrounding twigs. A correspondent of Mr. Hume's draws attention to a 

 nest which was tied at one place to a twig to prevent its being blown off its insecure site. 



