peepul or banyan stretching out its giant arms far over the tops of the other trees, and 
marking the probable site of some ancient village of bygone days in what is now a silent 
wilderness. The soil is stony and dry, and during the greater part of the year, though 
the thick covers abound with pea fowl, jungle fowl, grey partridges, and spotted deer, the 
oppressive stillness of the air in the heat of the day is only broken by the crackling of the 
dead leaves under the feet of the traveller. Far different is the case when the shade of one 
of these wild fig trees has been reached ; the dense foliage seems almost alive with the 
rustling caused by the ceaseless creeping of the Barbets among the small twigs in search of 
food and the patter of the berries that they occasionally drop. So like, however, is their 
plumage to the colour of the trees that we have frequently waited many minutes and 
strained our eyes among the rustling branches in the hopes of catching sight of them, with- 
out success ; and as the curiosity was sharpened by the suspense, and the possibility of its 
being a new species gained ground in our minds, we generally ended by taking a blind shot 
at the moving foliage rather than risk a flying shot in our anxiety to ascertain the fact: the 
result, alas! always ending in disappointment, though we frequently bagged the bird. 
When startled by an intruder the Barbets fly leisurely off to the next fig tree, keeping just 
over the tops of the trees and moving in strong undulations with repeated flaps of the 
wings. They are not very shy, but when they have been once disturbed they do not stay 
long in the next tree, but change their position quickly several times till they recover their 
equanimity, when they may again be approached. 
Their note is very loud and startling, but it has a clear metallic ring and would be 
pleasant if it were not associated in our minds with the intense heat of an Indian summer, 
when it comes with an oppressive iteration of sound across the burnt-up forests. It resembles 
the word Kolitoor repeated several times, the accent being on the last syllable. In the parts 
of the forests where the fig trees abound they may be heard calling to each other and 
making the woods resound -with their clear ringing note. Dr. Jerdon says that “ the call 
“ Kolitoor is preceded by a harsh sort of laugh,” and that “ they continue to call for some 
“ minutes at a time, and are heard at all hours, frequently indeed at night, especially when 
“ there is moonlight.” 
Mr. Elliot, in some remarks on this bird’s habits, notes that one was shot while peck- 
ing the flowers of a tree. This seems to be an occasional habit with others of this family 
also, for Mr. Brian Hodgson mentions finding the stomach of a specimen of M. virens full of 
the leaves of some odorous flowers. Its usual food, however, is fruit and berries. Dr. 
Jerdon mentions “ insects ” also ; but this is probably only an occasional habit, as none of 
the specimens we have examined contained any. Our specimens were almost all killed in 
