Birds of the Indian Hills 



and is known as the GrifFs pheasant because 

 new arrivals in India sometimes shoot it as a 

 game bird. If naturalists could show that this 

 cuckoo derived any benefit from its resemblance 

 to a pheasant, I doubt not that they would 

 hold it up as an example of protective mimicry. 

 It is a black bird with rich chestnut wings. 

 The black tail is nearly a foot long. The 

 coucal is fairly abundant on the Nilgiris. 



THE PSITTACID^ OR PARROT FAMILY 



The green parrots of the plains do not 

 venture far up the slopes of the hills. The 

 only species likely to be seen on the Nilgiris 

 at elevations of 4000 feet and upwards is 

 the blue-winged paroquet {Palaornis colum- 

 boides). This is distinguishable from the green 

 parrots of the plains by having the head, neck, 

 breast, and upper back dove-coloured. It has 

 none of the aggressive habits of its brethren of 

 the plains. It keeps mainly to dense forests. 

 Jerdon describes its cry as " mellow, subdued, 

 and agreeable." It is the prima donna of the 

 Psittaci. 



Another member of the parrot family found 

 on the Nilgiris is the Indian loriquet, or love- 



