The Common Birds of the Nilgiris 



of moderate length. The breast and chin are 

 pure white, and there is a white line running 

 along each side of the head from front to back. 

 The yellow beak is long and curved, hence 

 the adjectival " scimitar." It is impossible to 

 mistake the bird. The difficulty is to obtain 

 anything more than a fleeting glimpse of it. 

 It is so shy that it takes cover the instant it 

 knows that it is being watched. It hops about 

 in thick bushes with considerable address, much 

 as a crow-pheasant does. It feeds on insects, 

 which it picks off the ground or from leaves 

 and trunks of trees. It uses the long bill as 

 a probe, by means of which it secures insects 

 lurking in the crevices of bark. 



The Nilgiri laughing-thrush (Trochalopteritm 

 cachinnans) is a very common bird on the hills. 

 Like the two species of babbler already de- 

 scribed, it is a shy creature, living amid thick 

 shrubs, from which it seldom ventures far. 

 The head is slightly crested, the upper plumage, 

 including the wings and tail, is olive brown. 

 The head is set off by a white eyebrow. The 

 under parts are chestnut. The beak and legs 

 are black. Laughing-thrushes congregate in 

 small flocks. They subsist chiefly on fruit. 



Their cry is loud and characteristic ; it may be 

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