5 J 4 
PERCHING BIRDS. 
mimic of the notes of other birds. Mr. Oates gives the following description of 
the male:—“ The forehead and front of the crown orange-yellow, ear-coverts and 
lower-throat black, chin and upper-throat purplish blue; a yellow collar passes 
round the black of the throat; the remainder of the plumage is bright green.” 
The true bulbuls, of which there are several genera, among 
which Pycnonotus may be regarded as typical, form a subfamily 
(Brachypodince), differing from the preceding by the following characters:—The 
sexes are alike. The metatarsus is very short, and never exceeds the length of the 
True Bulbuls. 
PALESTINE AND WHITE-NECKED BULBULS (J nat. size). 
middle toe and its claw; while the wing is rounded and moderately long, and the 
nape generally furnished with some hairs. As regards their general habits, and the 
coloration of their eggs, the true bulbuls resemble the green bulbuls. While many 
of the bulbuls have a more or less largely developed crest, those of the genus under 
consideration are practically crestless. They are further characterised by having 
a bill of moderate size with the culmen curved and the sides compressed to the tip; 
the gape being furnished with a few short, weak bristles, while the nostrils are 
basal and placed in a groove, the wings are moderate and rounded, the tail is fairly 
long and rounded, and the feet are furnished with strong claws. Well represented 
in Africa, this genus is also found in India. Among the species, the Palestine 
bulbul (Pycnonotus nigricans) is very common in Syria, Arabia, Cyprus, and 
