492 IOEA T1P1IIA. 



the breeding-plumage the male has the white tippings to the lateral feathers more or less reduced, and the central 

 tail-feathers, like the rest, jet-black and white-tipped. In other respects the plumage is not dissimilar to that 

 of 1. tiphia. 



Distribution. — The Bush-Bulbul is a common bird in Ceylon and widely distributed, being scattered 

 throughout all the low country and the hills up to about 2500 feet. It is of course numerous in the open 

 cultivated lands of the south and west; but it is not less so in the scrubby low jungle-tracts round the north 

 coasts, including the Jaffna peninsula. It inhabits also the east side of the island in the same abundance that 

 it does the west. Iu the dry forests of the north-central part of the island it is not unfrequent, but it is not 

 found in the damp timber-jungles of the south. In Dumbara and other similarly elevated valleys of the 

 Kandyau Province it is not uncommon ; but I am not aware that it ascends to the upper hills, except perhaps 

 in Haputale and other districts iu Uva bordering on the low country. 



This Bulbul has a very wide distribution on the continent, and is, in many portions of the Indian 

 peninsula and the regions beyond the Bay of Bengal, as common as it is in Ceylon. In Southern India it is 

 an abundant inhabitant of the plains, and extends into the hills to the elevation of Ootacamund, whence 

 Mr. Hume records it. It is not, however, noted either from the Travancore ranges by Mr. Bourdillon, nor 

 from the Palanis by Dr. Fairbank, though the latter procured it at the base of the hills. It is found in the 

 Deccan and in the northern parts of the Western Ghats, whence it ranges to the north-west as far as Mount 

 Aboo, where it occupies a somewhat isolated position, the circumjacent plains being inhabited by the recently 

 discriminated and allied species, I.nigrolutea. Turning eastwards from the northern extremity of the Western 

 Ghats we find it inhabiting the central provinces, Chota Nagpur, and extending northwards to Oudli, Dehra 

 Doon, Kumaon, Nepal, and along the Himalayas to Assam. In Lower Bengal it is common, and about 

 Calcutta it is numerous. In Burmah it is also common, and inhabits therein the Irrawaddy Delta in tolerable 

 abundance. It is plentiful throughout the province of Tenasserim, not, however, ascending the hills. 

 Southward it extends through the Malay peninsula, specimens being recorded from Wellesley, Pinang, Malacca, 

 and Singapore, and thence onward through the archipelago it is an inhabitant of Sumatra, Borneo, and 

 Java. 



Habits. — Owing to its partiality for large trees, which arc usually found about the houses of Europeans in 

 Ceylon, this little Bulbul is one of our most familiar birds. It delights in the luxurious shade of the suriah, 

 the mango, the bread- Fruit, and in the north the stately tamarind, which spreads out its welcome shelter 

 in the midst of almost every sea-coast village. In one of these latter trees a pair (for they are generally found 

 together) will remain sometimes for fully an hour searching among the boughs and foliage for insects, the 

 male every now and then uttering its flute-like whistle, chet-tuob, which imparts to the attentive listener the 

 idea that the little bird must be in a very contented frame of mind ! It is fond of open groves of trees, the 

 edge of jungle, and vegetation at the sides of roads, and it is very partial to the low scattered jungle bordering 

 the sea-shore on the north coast. Occasionally several pairs may be seen frequenting the same tree; but it is 

 not usual to find more than one couple together. It is of a restless disposition, hopping actively about the 

 leaves in search of its food, and often clinging, like a Tit, to a slender twig while scrutinizing the surrounding 

 foliage. In its mode of flight it differs from all its family : owing, perhaps, to the fluffy nature of its long 

 flank-feathers, it appears to have no little difficulty in acquiring speed on the wing; and its flight is at best 

 laboured, being performed merely from one tree to the other with a quick beating of its wings and a dipping 

 motion of the body, which combine to produce a whirring sound. 



I have occasionally seen it dart out and seize a passing moth or butterfly on the wing, and alighting again 

 swallow it whole, a habit which is testified to by the large Mantidge and other winged insects which are often 

 found in its small stomach. While in the black plumage the male presents a very handsome appearance, his 

 black back contrasting with his brilliant yellow breast, and when he darts from one tree to another, puffing 

 out while on the wing his long white flank-plumes, looks inore like a ball of feathers than any thing else. Jerdon 

 remarks that the natives in the south of India state that this species repeats the words " Shoubhiya, Shoub- 

 hiya " before rain. 



