110 
POPULAR HISTORY OF BIRDS. 
running very quick^ and keeping to the somberest places. 
The adult males^ when they meet, fight like quails, and 
other pugnacious birds, living on the ground. The nest of 
this Pitta is formed among bushes, near the ground, and is 
frequently concealed from view by orchids and other parasitic 
plants. "When seeking its food on the ground, it may be 
seen, like a fowl, scratching up the dried leaves with its feet. 
Its food consists of earthworms, white ants, and other in- 
sects, with their larvse. 
The Malacocirci, of which the Turdus griseus of Latham 
is the type, have large tails, broad, soft, and sombre plumage, 
and are found in the East exclusively. Mr. Jerdon says : 
— I have often amused myself in imagining that they are 
not inapt representatives of the Hindoos ; certainly, as far 
as their frequent congregating together and their incessant 
noisy chattering and gabbling, they agree ; and were I dis- 
posed to carry on the similitude further, it w.ould not, I 
think, be a difficult task. The typical species, the Keyr, 
or White-headed Babbler [Malacocircus griseus), is abundant 
in the Carnatic, where they are often seen seeking insects 
or grain from heaps of dung, whence their English name^ 
" Dirt-bird," and Erench appellation, Fouille-merd." 
They capture insects, but are not powerful on the wing. 
