Birds of the Indian Hills 



THE TURDID^ OR THRUSH FAMILY 



This large family is well represented in the 

 hills, and embraces a number of beautiful and 

 interesting birds. 



The dark grey bush-chat {Oreicola f erred) is 

 as common in the hills as is the robin in the 

 plains. It is about the size of a robin. The 

 upper plumage of the cock is grey in winter 

 and black in summer. This change in colour 

 is the result of wear and tear suffered by the 

 feathers. Each bird is given by nature a new 

 suit of clothes every autumn, and in most cases 

 the bird, like a Government chafrassi, has to 

 make it last a whole year. Both eat, drink, 

 sleep, and do everything in their coats. There 

 is, however, this difference between the bird 

 and the cha-prassi : the plumage of the former 

 always looks clean and smart, while the garment 

 of the chafrassi is usually neither the one nor 

 the other. The coat of the dark grey bush- 

 chat is made up of black feathers edged with 

 grey. As the margins of the feathers alone 

 show, the bird looks grey so long as the grey 

 margins exist, and when these wear away it 

 appears black. The cock has a conspicuous 



white eyebrow, and displays some white in his 



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