1839] 



of the Peninsula of India. 



261 



selves in some thick bush. They have a low chattering when together, 

 neither loud however, nor often heard. I have on several occasions heard 

 a single one perched conspicuously on a bush or hedge, pour forth a re- 

 markably sweet song. Feeds on ants and various other insects, &c. 

 Irides deep brown, surrounded by a narrow circle of buff; bill black ; 

 edges of the nostrils and naked skin' round eye, orange yellow; legs 

 deep yellow. Length 6£ to 6f ; wing 2 -j^ths ; tail 3£ j tarsus 1 T Vth. 



96.— T.Hyperythra, Frank! . Cat.— -Shah Doomree, H. ? — Smallest babbler, 



This small species, but for its high and strongly compressed bill, might 

 readily be mistaken for a Prinia or some other of the warblers. I have 

 seen it but very seldom, once at the top of the Tapoor pass in thick jun- 

 gle, and in the neighbourhood of Jaulnah, in jungly district, in thick 

 hedges, and thick wooded nullahs. From the dense nature of the bushes 

 &c. it frequents, it is with difficulty observed and obtained. I have 

 generally seen it in parties of five or six, occasionally giving out a low 

 and indistinct sort of chattering. Fragments of various insects were 

 found in the stomachs of those I procured. Irides yellowish brown; 

 bill horn colour ; legs flesh coloured with tinge of yellow. Length 5|-; 

 wing 2 -^ths 5 tail 2|; tarsus, nearly ^ths. 



Sub Family OHIOLIN^.— Orioles. 

 Genus ORIOLUS, L. — Oriole. — Mango Bird of Europeans in India. 



97.— O. aureus, Gmel. — 0. Galbula, Sykes' Cat. — O. Kwidoo, Sykes — 

 Young bird — Peebeck, II. — Indian Oriole or Mango bird. 



This species, generally considered to be identical with the European, 

 O. Galbula, differs in the black eye-streak extending to some distance 

 above the ear coverts, and in its shorter wing. 



Colonel Sykes says of this bird " very abundant in the Deccan just 

 before the rains." In the Carnatic it is most abundant, I think, during 

 the cold weather, disappearing or nearly so during the hot months. 

 This corresponds with the period of their greatest abundance in the 

 Deccan. It is most numerous in the West Coast, and well wooded situ- 

 ations; frequents topes, gardens, avenues and large single trees, feed- 

 ing on various fruit, especially the fig of the banian tree. It is not met 

 with in thick forest jungle. Its flight is undulating. It has a bud 



