Catalogue of the Birds 



front 1; at gape lyVi^i* ; feathers of head and neck witli the shafts ©f 

 the feathers black, glistening and bristly. 



Genus CENTROPUS, IW.—Lark-heehd Cuckoo. 



231.— C. Pyrrhopterus.—C, PInltppensiSy Cm.— Corydonix pytrJiop^ 

 ierus, Vieillot.— C«w. huhutus, Bovsf. —Mahooka, H — Crow Pheasani 

 of Europeans of India. 



The Crow Pheasant is a common and universally spread bird, fre- 

 quenting wooded and cultivated grounds, in all parts, and found also in* 

 the more open spaces of thick jungles. It is often seen in thick hedges^ 

 also in woody nullahs, and in low bushy traets* It feeds on the ground 

 chiefly, walking and running Vv'ith great facility, and picking up various 

 large insects, centipedes^ lizards, and even scorpions and small snakes. 

 It may often be seen walking along the bank of a dry tank, a bund of 

 a paddy-field, and being a remarkably slow and stupid bird, and of slow 

 flight, it is occasionally run dovv^n, or even caught by the hand, in suf- 

 ficiently open ground. A good shikra will also easily strike it down. 



The Mahooka has a deep sonorous call, something like ' whoot, 

 whootf whoot,^ which is often heard in a thick bush or hedge, while the 

 bird itself remains unseen, 



Irides crimson red ; bill and legs blackish. Length 19 to 20 inches f 

 of which the tail is 10 to II ; wing 1\ ; tarsus 2 inches j bill to front 

 ly'-5-ths; at gape ly^^-ths. 



Tribe TENUIROSTRES. 



Family CINNYRIDJE.— >S'e<w birds. — honey eaters. 



Genus CINNYRIS, Cnv. —Shukur-Jiora, H. i. e. Sugar-sucker.* 



232.— C. Mahrattensis.—Certh, Mahrattensis^ ShdiW. —Cinnyris orien- 

 tails, Frankl.— C. cyanceus, Vieill.~-Cer//im Asiatica, Lath.— C. curru- 

 carta, Auct., Young m-dle.— Purple honey sucker. 



This appears to be the most generally spread of all the Cinnyrides^ 

 and is the only one I have met with in the bare table land. In the 

 Carnatic it is less numerous, I think, than the two next species, 



* Called Humming birds by Europeans in India* 



