36 



Catalogue of the Birds 



This curious little bird is extremely common in all parts of India, 

 frequenting the open plains and cultivated grounds, and common on 

 roads or any other bare spots of ground. lis habits are quite those of 

 a lark. Tt is still more remarkable than the Mirafra phcenictira, for 

 the sudden ascents and descents of its flight, mounting up some height 

 by a few flappings of its wings, and then descending almost perpendicu- 

 larly till close to the ground, when it again rises as before, and repeats 

 this several times. In general, it takes but a short flight, and on a- 

 lighting, squats so close that, as Colonel Sykes remarks ** it almost al- 

 lows itself to be ridden over ere it rises." It occasionally may be seen 

 seated on a house top, but I never saw it perch except on one occasion, 

 •when I observed some 12 or 15 of them perched on a low tree close to 

 a house in cantonment. This was daring the height of the hot wea- 

 ther. I was fortunate enough to obtain the nest and eggs of this bird 

 very lately (in February). The nest is composed of woven thread, 

 mingled with some fibres of grass, and one or two small fragments of 

 cloth. The sides are hardly raised at all, it was placed in a slight hoU 

 low on the open plain near a river, and contained two eggs of a slight 

 greenish grey tint, spotted with brown, chiefly at the larger end. 

 Length 4| inches; wing 3; tail ly6_.tlis ; tarsus _|.fhs ; hind toe and 

 claw yV^s; bill to front -j-V^^^ 5 at gape y4_ths. Irides reddish brown ; 

 bill flesh coloured, with a tinge of horny ; legs flesh coloured. 



Genus HiEMORHOUS, Swains. 



195.— H. ? roseus — Coccothraustes rosea, Vieill. Encly. Meth. p. lOIO, 

 Ois. Chant, 65. — Fringilla rodr pep/a, Y'lgors? Gould's Cent. Him. 

 Birds. — Loxia Madagascariensis , and Lox. Totta of English authors. 

 Tootee, H.'-Bose Finch. 



I am not quite certain if the Rose Finch of India belongs to Swain- 

 son's genus Hmmorhous or not, but as far as I can make out, it appears 

 to do so. It appears to be the species named as above by Vieillot, and 

 if so, the name of F. rodopepla must sink to a synonym. The Tootee 

 of India arrives in this country from the north, about November, and 

 remains till March. I first saw it in thick jungle at the bottom of the 

 Conoor pass, busily engaged in eating the seeds of the lofty bamboos 

 there. I have seen it also several times in large groves of trees in the nor- 

 thern part of the table land. It associates in flocks of various numbers. 



