442 
THAMNOBIA FULICATA. 
much of its time on the ground, dai-ting about after flies and insects, and moving hither and thither with a 
short jerky flight. It consorts in pairs ; but the young brood remain a long time with their parents, thus 
forming after the breeding-season a little troop of three or four. 
Jerdon writes as follows concerning this sprightly little bird “ Its familiar habits well entitle it to the 
name of Indian Robin. It is usually found about villages, pagodas, old buildings, and mud walls, often 
perching on the roofs of houses and tops of walls, and feeding in verandahs, or occasionally even entering- 
houses. It is, however, not confined to the vicinity of houses or villages, but is very common on rocky and 
stony hills, and in groves of palmyra or date-palms. It is generally seen singly or in pairs, and feeds on the 
ground, on which it hops with great agility, frequently pursuing and capturing several insects before it reseats 
itself on its perch either on a house or on a neighbouring tree or bush.” 
Ntdification. The “ Black Robin ” breeds during the months of March, April, May, and June in the 
Central, Western, and Southern Provinces, the majority of nests being built at the end of April. In the 
coifee-districts it often chooses the bank of one of the “ zigzags,” and builds in a niche in these exposed 
situations, heedless of the numbers of passers by. A hollow in the ground under the shelter of a rock or 
stone IS another favourite spot ■ and not unfrequently the nest is constructed on the top of a low outhouse 
wall or in the side or against the beam of a roof. It is loosely constructed, and varies in size according 
to the locality ; those which are built in niches or holes are made so as to fill the cavity, and are constructed 
of dry roots and grass-stalks of various sizes, being lined with finer materials of the same sort. One 
which I found placed against the “wall plate” of the roof of an outhouse in the Southern Province had 
a foundation made of portions of a cooley’s blanket, which the bird had literally made wool of, completelv 
pulling It to pieces and placing it in layers beneath the other materials of the nest, which consisted of moss' 
hair, roots, and grass. Two is the normal number of eggs, but sometimes three are laid; the ground-colour 
IS greenish white, and at the obtuse end they are spotted thickly with bluish and grey, mixed with several 
shades of brown, which sparsely extend over the whole surface ; these markings are often confluent and form 
a zone or cap at the large end; but this feature is entirely wanting in other specimens. They vary in length 
from 0-82 to 0-87 inch, and in breadth from 0-6 to 0-62 inch. After preservation they fade to a white colour. 
In the north Layard has found the nest in December. In India the principal months are March, April, 
and May. The same misceUaneous materials are sometimes found in Indian nests as in Ceylonese. Mr. Aitken 
mentions having found one in a thatched roof; but sucli an elevated position is unusual, and he rio-lith' states 
that the bird does not build so high as the Magpie Robin. “ 
Cenus CTANECULA. 
Bill straight, much compressed towards the tip, which is slightly notched. Nostrils exposed ; 
nctal bristles few and small. Wings somewhat pointed ; 1st quill slightly exceeding the primary- 
coverts ; 3rd and 4th the longest ; 2nd equal to the 6th. Tail shorter than the tSngs and even 
at the tip. Tarsus long and smooth. Toes rather short and weak. 
