HANDBOOK
TO THE
BIRDS
OF THE
BOMBAY PRESIDENCY,
BY
LIEUT. H. EDWIN BARNES, D.A.C.,
BOMBAY COMMISSARIAT DEPARTMENT,
MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGICAL UNION AND BOMBAY NATURAL
HISTORY SOCIETY.
PUBLISHED BY THE CALCUTTA CENTRAL PRESS CO., LD.,
5, COUNCIL HOUSE STREET.
1886.
f,* JtT THB CALCUTTA CKNTBAL PBES8 CO.,
5, COUNCIL HOUSB 8TBBBT.
Z5"
LIBRARY
>
BIOLOGY
7-
K*
COLONEL CHARLES SWINHOE, F.L.S., F.Z.S.,
THIS WORK
BY HIS GRATEFUL
tarn
OBEDIENT SERVANT
THH
AUTHOR.
u
9832567
*
S L/Tft CL 6 )
PREFACE.
T IS with extreme reluctance that I have been
induced to publish the following unpreten-
tious volume, and I could have wished that
the task had fallen into more able hands ; but,
believing that a work of this kind is much
needed, and no one else apparently being willing to
undertake it, I venture with some diffidence to place it
before the public, hoping that it will meet with a favorable
reception.
Its object is to place, at a cost within the reach of all,
a book that will enable them to identify any bird they
may meet with.
When I first commenced taking an interest in ornitho-
logy, I was much hindered by the difficulty -expe-
rienced in obtaining works dealing with the subject, those
extant being so costly as to be quite beyond my
means ; and it was only by practising rigid economy,
and the exercise of much self-denial, that I obtained them.
Even then my difficulties were not ended ; the infor-
mation was scattered throughout so many volumes, and
I met with so many perplexing contradictions that the
books were often a hindrance rather than a help to me.
I conceived the idea of compiling a hand-book for private
use, dealing exclusively with that portion of India proper
garrisoned by Bombay troops. Many friends, to whom
I showed the compilation, expressed a wish to have a
similar one, and strongly urged me to publish it; it is
in deference to these wishes that the book appears.
U(
VI PREFACE.
I have followed Jerdon as closely as possible, and have
deviated from his descriptions only when such appeared
really necessary ; and for these alterations I am mainly
indebted to Mr. A. 0. Hume, whose numerous works on
Indian Ornithology are so well known.
The Bombay Presidency falls naturally into three
divisions, Sind, Rajputana, (including Guzerat, Kutch,
and portions of Central India), and the Deccan.
For information relating to the Birds of Sind, I am
indebted to many papers scattered throughout "Stray
Feathers," and also to Mr. Murray's valuable work on
the Vertebrate Zoology of Sind.
For similar information regarding Rajputana, I am
.mainly indebted to Major Butler, whose able papers on
the " Avifauna of Northern Guzerat and Mount Aboo"
appeared in " Stray Feathers," Volumes III, IV, and V,
I am again indebted to this gentleman for his exhaus-
tive resume of the " Birds of the Deccan," compiled from
papers by various authors published in " Stray Feathers,"
and supplemented to a great extent by his own researches.
I have quoted largely from the above authors, and trust
that this general acknowledgment will be deemed suffi-
cient.
I would add, in conclusion, that my long residence
in India, embracing a period of 20 years (during which
time I have been located at most of the military stations
in the Bombay Presidency) has afforded me ample
opportunities for the careful study of bird-life in all its
various phases.
L
CONTENTS.
*^ Jerdon'a
Number.
POPULAR NAME. SCIENTIFIC NAME. Page.
1
The Cinereous Vulture ... Vultur monachus, Lin.
2
2
The Indian King Vulture. Otogyps calvus, Scop.
3
Sbis.
The Bay Vulture ... Gyps fulvescens, Hume
4.
4 Ms.
The Long-billed Pale
H
Brown Vulture ... pallescens, Hume
*
5
The White-backed Vul-
ture ... ... Pseudogyps bengalensis, Gm.
6
6
The White Scavenger
Vulture ... ... Neophron ginginianus, Lath.
7
7
The Lammergeyer ... Gypaatus barbatus, Lin. . .
8
8
The Peregrine Falcon ... Falco peregrinus, Gm.
9
9
The Shaheen Falcon ... peregrinator, Sund. . .
11
10
The Saker Falcon ... sacer, Gm.
12
11
The Laggar Falcon ... jugger, J. E. Or. . .
12
12
The Red-can Falcon babvlonimis /3
13
ERBATA.
16
Page 204, line 13, for " tringi" read :< Kingi."
<4 6
307 J5
29 " Setraonidae" read " Tetraonidffi."
m
17
17
The Kestril ... Uerchneis tinnunculus, Lin....
as
18
The Lesser Kestril ... naumanni, Fleisch.
W
1 Rbis
20
19
The Red-legged Falcon ... vespertina, Lin. ...
20
22
&
The Crested Goshawk ... Astur trivirgatus, Tern. ~^
23
The Shikra ... badius, Gm. ../"<*
24
The Sparrow Hawk ... Accipiter nisus, Lin.
24
25
The Jungle Sparrow
Hawk ... ... ,, virgatus, jfoz'fl 10. ...
24
26
The Golden Eagle ... Aquila chrysaetus, Lin.
25
27
The Imperial Eagle ... mogilnik, 8. G. Gm.
26
28
The Spotted Eagle ... clanga, Pall. ...
28
29
The Tawny Eagle ... vindhiana, FranJcl. ...
29
31
The Dwarf Eagle ... Hieraetus pennatus, Gm. ...
30
32
The Black Eagle ... Neopus malayensis, JReinw.
31
33
The Crestless Hawk Eagle. Nisaetus fasciatus, Vieill. ...
32
35
The Crested Hawk Eagle. Limnaetus cirrhatus, Gm. ...
33
37
The Rufous-bellied Hawk
Eagle ... ... kieneri, Gerv. ...
35
38
The Common Serpent
Eagle ... ... Circaetus gallicus, Gm.
36
39
The Crested Serpent
Eagle ... ... Spilornis cheela, Lath.
37
J* OM
^ ^
To/tT
IOA.UU d
n */
VI PREFACE.
I have followed Jerdon as closely as possible, and have
deviated from his descriptions only when such appeared
really necessary ; and for these alterations I am mainly
indebted to Mr. A. 0. Hume, whose numerous works on
Indian Ornithology are so well known.
The Bo.mbay Presidency falls naturally into three
divisions, Sind, Rajputana, (including Guzerat, Kutch,
and portions of Central India), and the Deccan.
For information relating to the Birds of Sind, I am
indebted to many papers scattered throughout "Stray
Feathers," and also to Mr. Murray's valuable work on
the Vertebrate Zoology of Sind.
For similar information regarding Rajputana, I am
* mainly indebted to Major Butler, whose able papers on
the " Avifauna of Northern Guzerat and Mount Aboo"
appeared in " Stray Feathers," Volumes III, IV, and V,
I am
tive rest
papers b <7 _
and supplemented to a great extent by his own researches.
I have quoted largely from the above authors, and trust
that this general acknowledgment will be deemed suffi-
cient.
I would add, in conclusion, that my long residence
in India, embracing a period of 20 years (during which
time I have been located at most of the military stations
in the Bombay Presidency) has afforded me ample
opportunities for the careful study of bird-life in all its
various phases.
L
Jerdon'a
Number.
1
2
Mis.
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
15
16
17
18
ISbis.
19
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
31
32
33
35
37
38
39
CONTENTS
Pale
Vul-
POPULAR NAME.
The Cinereous Vulture ...
The Indian King Vulture.
The Bay Vulture
The Long-billed
Brown Vulture
The White-backed
ture
The White Scavenger
Vulture ...
The Lammergeyer
The Peregrine Falcon .
The Shaheen Falcon
The Saker Falcon
The Laggar Falcon
The Red-cap Falcon
The Barbary Falcon
The Hobby
The Merlin
The Red-headed Merlin
The Kestril
The Lesser Kestril
The Red-legged Falcon
The Crested Goshawk
The Shikra
The Sparrow Hawk
The Jungle Sparrow
Hawk ...
The Golden Eagle
The Imperial Eagle
The Spotted Eagle
The Tawny Eagle
The Dwarf Eagle
The Black Eagle
The Crestless Hawk Eagle.
The Crested Hawk Eagle.
The Rufous-bellied Hawk
Eagle
The Common Serpent
Eagle ...
The Crested Serpent
Eagle ...
SCIENTIFIC NAME.
Vultur monachus, Lin.
Otogyps calvus, Scop.
Gyps fulvescens, Hume
pallescens, Hume ...
Pseudogyps bengalensis, Gm.
Neophron ginginianus, Lath.
Gypsetus barbatus, Lin.
Falco peregrinus, Gm.
peregrinator, Sund.
sacer, Gm.
jugger, J. E. Or.
babylonicus, Qurn.
barbarus, Lin.
subbuteo, Lin.
assalon, Tunst.
chiquera, Daud.
Cerchneis tinnunculus, Lin.
naumanni, Fleiscfi.
pekinensis, Swinh.
vespertina, Lin. ...
amurensis, Eadde
Astur trivirgatus, Tern.
badius, Gm.
Accipiter nisus, Lin.
,, virgatus, Eeinio. ...
Aquila chrysaetus, Lin.
mogilnik, S. G. Gm.
clanga, Pall.
vindhiana, FranJcl. ...
Hieraetus pennatus, Gm. ...
Neopus malayensis, Eeinw.
Nisaetus fasciatus, Vieill. ...
Limnaetus cirrhatus, Gm. ...
kieneri, Gerv. ...
Circaetus gallicus, Gm.
Spilornis cheela, Lath.
24
25
26
28
29
30
31
32
33
35
36
37
Vlll
CONTENTS.
Jerdon's
Number.
POPULAR NAME.
The Southern Harrier
40
41
Eagle ...
The Osprey
The White-tailed
Sea
SCIENTIFIC NAME. Page,
Spilornis melanotis, Jerd. ... 37
Pandion haliaetus, Lin. ... 38
Eagle ... ... Polioaetus ichthyaetus,
Horsf.
39
42
The Ring-tailed Sea Eagle. Haliaetus leucoryphus, Pall.
39
425/5.
The European White-
tailed Sea Eagle ... albicilla, Lin.
40
43
The Gray-backed Sea
Eagle ... ... leucogaster, Qm.
42
45
The Long-legged Buzzard. Buteo ferox, S. O. Gtn.
42
48
The White-eyed Blizzard. Butastur teesa, Frankl.
44
51
The Pale Harrier ... Circus macrurus, 8. O. Qm.
45
52
Montagu's Harrier ... cineraceus, Mont. ...
49
53
The Pied Harrier ... melanoleucos, Forst.
52
54
The Marsh Harrier .. ,, asruginosus, Lin
52
55
The Brahminy Kite ... Haliastur Indus, Bodd.
54
56
The Pariah Kite ... Milvus govinda, Sykes.
54
56bis.
The Large Pariah Kite ... melanotis, Tern, and
ScTil.
57
57
The Honey Buzzard ... Pernis ptilorhynchus, Tern....
57
59
The Black-winged Kite ... Elanus ceeruleus, Desf.
59
60
The Indian Screech Owl ... Strix javanica, Qm.
60
61
The Grass Owl ... Candida, Tick.
61
63
The Brown Wood Owl ... Syrnium indranee, Sykes. ...
62
65
The Mottled Wood Owl ... ocellatum, Less. ...
62
67
The Long-eared Owl ... Asio otus, Lin.
63
68
The Short-eared Owl ... accipitrinus, Forst. ...
64
69
The Rock-horned Owl ... Bubo bengalensis, Frankl. ...
65
70
The Dusky-horned Owl ... corornandus, Lath. ...
66
72
The Brown Fish Owl ... Ketupa ceylonensis, Gm. ...
68
74
The Indian Scops Owl ... Scops pennatus, Hodgs. ...
70
74:sepl
. The Striated Scops Owl ... ,, brucii, Hume.
71
75ter.
bakkamuna, Forst. ...
72
75quai
f. The Malabar Scops Owl ... malabaricus, Jerd. ...
74
76
The Spotted Owlet ... Carine brama, Tern.
75
77
The Jungle Owlet ... Glaucidium radiatum, Tick.
76
78
The Malabar Owlet ... ,, malabaricum,
Ely.
76
81
The Brown Hawk Owl ... Ninox lugubris, Tick.
77
82
The Common Swallow ... Hirundo rustica, Lin.
79
84
The Wire-tailed Swallow filifera, StepTi
79
85
The Red-rumped Swallow erythropygia, Sykes
80
86
The Indian Cliff Swallow fluvicola, Jerd.
81
87
The European Sand Mar-
tin .... .., Cotyle riparia, Lin.
82
89
The Indian Sand Martin sinensis, J. E. Cr. ...
82
90
The Dusky Crag Martin Ptyonoprogne concolor,
Sykes. ...
83
91
The Mountain Crag Martin rupestris,
Scop. ...
83
CONTENTS. ix
Numb!?. POPULAR NAME. SCIENTIFIC NAME. Page.
Qlbis. The Pallid Crag Martin Ptyonoprogne obsoleta, Cab. 83
92 The English House Mar-
tin ... ... Chelidon urbica, Lin. ... 84
95 The White-rumped Spine-
tail ... ... Chsetura sylvatica, Tick. ... 85
98 The Alpine Swift ... Cypsellus melba, Lin. ,.. 85
99 The European Swift ... apus, Lin. ' ... 85
100 The Common Indian Swift affinis, J. E. Gr. 86
101 The White-clawed Swift leuconyx, Tick. ... 86
102 The Palm Swift ... batassiensis, J. E.
Gr. ... 87
103 The Indian Edible-nest
Swiftlet ... ... Collocalia unicolor, Jerd. ... 87
104 The Indian Crested Swift Dendrochelidon coronata,
Tick. ... ... 88
107 The Jungle Night Jar ... Caprimulgus indicus, Lath. 89
108 The Neilgherry Night Jar kelaarti, Ely. 89
109 The Large Bengal Night
Jar ... ... ,, albonotatus,
Tick. ... 90
111 The Ghat Night Jar ... atripennis,
Jerd. ... 90
lllbis. Unwin's Night Jar ... unwini, Hume. 90
112 The Common Indian
Night Jar ... asiaticus, Lath. 91
113 Sykes' Night Jar ... mahrattensis,
Sykes ... 92
114 Franklin's Night Jar ... monticolus,
Frankl. ... 92
115 The Malabar Trogon ... Harpactes fasciatus, Forst. 93
117 The Common Indian Bee-
eater ... ... Merops viridis, Lin. ... 93
118 The Blue-tailed Bee-eater philippinus, Lin ... 94
119 The Chesnut-headed Bee-
eater ... swinhoii, Hume. ... 95
120 The Egyptian Bee-eater persicus, Pall. ... 95
121 The European Bee-eater apiaster, Lin. ... 95
122 The Blue-necked Bee-
eater ... ... Nycticornis athertoni, Jard.
and Sell. ... ... 96
123 The Indian Roller ... Coracias indica, Lin. ... 97
125 The European Holler ... garrula, Lin. ... 98
127 The Brown-headed King-
fisher ... ... Pelargopsis gurial, Pears. ... 98
129 The White-breasted King-
fisher ... ... Halcyon srnyrnensis, Lin. ... 99
130 The Black-capped Purple
Kingfisher ... pileata, Bodd. *<* 100
132 The White-collared King-
fisher ... ... chloris, Bodd. ... 100
I.
CONTENTS.
POPULAR NAME. SCIENTIFIC NAME, Page.
133 The Three-toed Purple
Kingfisher ... Ceyx tridactylus, Pall. ... 101
134: The Common Indian
Kingfisher ... Alcedo bengalensis, Om. ... 101
134fo'. The European Kingfisher ispida, Lin. ... 102
ISS^watf.Beavan's Kingfisher ... beayani, Wald. ... 102
136 The Pied Kingfisher ... Ceryle rndis, Lin. ... 103
140 The Great Hornbill ... Dichoceros caratus, Shaw. ... 104
141 The Malabar Pied Horn-
bill ... . . . Hydrocissa coronata, Bodd. 105
144 The Common Grey Horn-
bill ... ... Ocyceros birostris, Scop. ... 106
145 The Jungle Grey Hornbill Tockus griseus, Lath. ... 106
147 The Alexandrine Paroquet Paheornis eupatria, Lin. ... 108
148 The Rose-ringed Paroquet torquatus, Bodd. 108
149 The Rose-headed Paro-
quet ... ... purpureus, P.L.S.
Mull. ... 109
151 The Blue-winged Paroquet columboides, Vig. 110
153 The Indian Loriquet ... Loriculus vernalis, Sparr. ... Ill
158 The Sind Woodpecker ... Picus sindianus, Gould. ... 112
160 The Yellow-fronted Wood-
pecker ... ... mahrattensis, Lath. ... 112
164 The Southern Pigmy
Woodpecker ... Yungipicus nanus, Vig. ... 113
165 The Heart-spotted Wood-
pecker ... ... Hemicercus cordatus, Jerd. 114
IQQbis. The Southern Large
Golden-backed Wood-
pecker ... ... Chrysocolaptes delesserti,
Malh. ... 114
167 The Black-backed Wood-
pecker ... ... festivus, Bodd. 115
169 The Great Black Wood-
pecker ... ... Thriponax hodgsoni, Jerd.... 116
171 The Small Green Wood-
pecker ... ... Gecinus striolatus, Ely. ... 116
175 The Southern Yellow-
necked Woodpecker ... Chrysophlegma chlorigaster,
Jerd. ... 117
178 The Bengal Rufous Wood-
pecker ... ... Micropternus pha3oceps, Bly. 118
179 The Madras Rufous Wood-
pecker ... ... gularis, Jerd.... 118
180 The Golden-backed Wood-
. pecker ... ... Brachypternus aurantius,
Lin. ... 118
181 The Lesser Golden-backed
Woodpecker ' ... puncticollis,
Malk. ... 119
188 The Common Wryneck ,., Yunx torquilla, Lin. ... 120
CONTENTS. xi
jTumbe'r POPULAR NAME. SCIENTIFIC NAME. Page.
193 The Common Green Barbet Megalaima caniceps, Franlcl. 121
193fo>. The Western Green Barbet Megalaima inornata, Wald. 121
194 The Small Green Barbet viridis, Bodd. ... 122
197 The Crimson-breasted Bar-
bet ... ... Xantholaema hasmacephala,
Mull. ... 122
198 The Crimson-throated Bar-
*bet ... ... malabarica, Ely. 123
199 The Cuckoo ... Cuculus canorus, Lin. ... 124
201 The Small Cuckoo ... poliocephalus, Lath. 124
202 The Banded Bay Cuckoo sonnerati, Lath. ... 125
203 The Indian Cuckoo ... micropterus, Qould. 125
205 The Common Hawk
Cuckoo ... ... Hierococcyx varius, Vahl. ... 126
208 The Indian Plaintive
Cuckoo ... ... Cacomantis passerinus, Vahl. 127
210 The Drongo Cuckoo ... Surniculus lugubris, Horsf. 128
211 The Emerald Cuckoo ... Chrysococcyx maculatus, Qm. 128
212 The Pied Crested Cuckoo Coccystes jacobinus, JBodd. 129
213 The Red-winged Crested
Cuckoo ... ... coromandus, Lin. 130
214 The Indian Koel or Black
Cuckoo ... ... Eudynamis honorata, Lin..~. 130
216 The Small Green-billed
Malkoha ... ... Rhopodytes viridirostris,
Jerd. ... 131
217 The Common Concal ... Centropus rufipennis, III. ... 132
2 \lqiiint.ThQ Large Crow Pheasant maximus, Hume. 133
218 The Lesser Indian Concal ,, bengalensis, Gm. 133
219 The Southern Sirkeer ... Taccocua leschenaulti, Less. 134
220 The Bengal Sirkeer ... sirkee, Gray. ... 134
224 The Little Spider Hunter Arachnothera longirostra,
Lath. ' ... 135
226 The Violet-eared Bed
Honey-Sucker ... JEthopygia vigorsi, dykes. 135
232 The Amethyst-rumped
Honey-Sucker ... Cinnyris zeylonica, Lin. ... 136
233 The Tiny Honey-Sucker minima, Sykes. ... 136
234 The Purple Honey-Sucker asiatica, Lath. ... 137
235 The Large Purple Honey-
Sucker ... .. lotenia, Lin. ... 137
238 TickelTs Flower-Pecker ... Dicaeurn erythrorhynchus,
Lath. ... 138
239 The Neilgherry Flower-
Pecker ..." ... concolor, Jerd. ... 138
240 The Thick-billed Flower-
Pecker ... ... Piprimosa agile, Tick. ... 139
246 The Spotted Grey Creeper Salpornis spilonota, Frankl. 139
250 The Chesnut-bellied Nut-
hatch ... ... Sitta castaneiventris, Frankl. 140
xii CONTENTS.
Jfufnber POPULAR NAME. SCIENTIFIC NAME. Page.
253 .' The Velvet-fronted Blue
Nuthatch .. ... Dendrophila frontalis, Horsf. 140
25-4 The European Hoopoe ... Upupa epops, Lin. ... 141
255 The Indian Hoopoe .. ,, ceylonensis, Reich. .. 142
256 The Indian Grey Shrike Lanius lahtora, Sykes. ... 143
257 The Rufous-backed Shrike erythronotus, Viq. ... 143
259 The Black-headed Shrike nigriceps, Frankl. ... 144
260 The Bay-backed Shrike... vittatus, Vol. ... 144
ZGObis. The European Red-backed
Shrike ... ... collurio, Lin. ... 145
261 The Brown Shrike ... cristatus, Lin, ... 145
262 . The Pale Brown Shrike... isabellinus, Hemp, fy
Elir. ... 146
264 The Malabar Wood-ShrikeTephrodornis sylvicola, Jerd, 147
265 The Common Wood-
Shrike ... ... pondicerianus,
Qm. ... 147
267 . The Little Pied Shrike ... Hemipus picatus, Sykes. ... 148
268 The Black-headed Cuckoo
Shrike ... ... Volvocivora sykesi, Strickl. 148
269 .The Dark Grey Cuckoo-
Shrike ... ... melaschista, Hodgs. 149
269quat.. Hypocolius ampelinus, Bp. 149
270 The Large Cuckoo Shrike Graucalus macii, Less. ... 150
271 The Large Minivet ... Pericrocotus speciosus, Lath. 151
272 The Orange Minivet ... flammeus, Forst. 151
273 The Short-billed Minivet brevirostris, Vig. 152
276 .The Small Minivet ... peregrinus, Lin. 152
277 The White-bellied Minivet erythropygius,
Jerd. ... 153
278 The Kingcrow ... Buchanga atra, Rerm. ... 154
280 The Long-tailed Drongo
Shrike ... ... longicauda, Hay. 154
281 The White-bellied Drongo casrulescens, Lin. 155
282 The Bronzed Drongo ... Chaptia senea, Vieill. ... 155
284 The Large Racket-tailed
Drongo ... ... Dissemurus grandis, Qould. 156
285 The Malabar Racket-tailed
Drongo ... ... paradiseus, Lin. 156
286 The Hair Crested Drongo Chibia hottentota, Lin. ... 157
287 The Ashy Swallow Shrike Artamus fuscus, Vieill. ... 157
288 The Paradise Flycatcher Muscipeta paradisi, Lin. ... 158
290 The ' Black-necked Blue
Flycatcher ... Hypothymis azurea, Bodd. 159
291 The. White-throated Fan-
tail ... ... Leucocerca albicollis, Vieill. 160
292 The .White-browed Fan-
tail ... aureola, Vieill.... 160
293 The White-spotted Fan-
tail ... ... leucogastcr, Cuv. 1C1
CONTENTS. Xlii
Number. POPULAR NAME. SCIENTIFIC NAME. Page.
295 'The Grey-headed Fly-
. catcher ... . Culicicapa ceylonensis, Sws. 162
297 The Southern Brown Fly-
catcher ... ... Alseonax latirostris, Raffi.... 163
2996/s. , The Cherry Chopper ... Butalis grisola, Lin. ... 163
301 The Verditer Flycatcher Stoporala melanops, Vig. ... 164
304 The Blue-throated Red-
breast ... ... Cyornis rubeculoides, Tiff.... 164
306 Tickell's Blue Redbreast . tickelli, Ely. ... 164
307 . The Rufous-tailed Fly-
catcher ... ... ruficaudus, Sws. ... 165
309 The White-bellied Blue
Flycatcher ... pallipes, Jerd. ... 165
310 The White-browed Blue
Flycatcher ... Muscicapula superciliaris, Jer d. 166
323 The White-tailed Robin
Flycatcher ... Erythrosterna albicilla, Pal. 167
323fo's. The European White-
tailed Flycatcher ... parva, Bechst. 167
326 .The Little Pied Fly-
catcher ... ... maculata, Tick. 167
342 The Malabar Whistling
Thrush ... ... Myiophoneushorsfieldi, Vig. 168
345 The Yellow-breasted Ground
Thrush ... Pitta brachyura, Lin. ... 169
351 The Blue Rock Thrush.. Monticola cyaneus, Lin. ... 169
353 The Blue-headed Chat
Thrush ... ... cinclorhynchus, Vig. 170
354 The White-winged Ground
Thrush ... .. Geocichla cyanotis, Jard. Sf
355 The Orange-headed Ground Sel. ... 171
Thrush ... ... citrina, Lath. ... 171
356 The Dusky Ground Thrush unicolor, Tick.... 171
857 Ward's Pied Blackbird... Turdulus wardi, Jerd. ... 172
359 The Black-capped Black-
bird ... ... Merula nigropilea, Lafr. ... 173
365 The Black-throated Thrush atrogularis, Tern. ... 173
385 The Yellow-eyed Babbler Pyctoris sinensis, Gm. ... 174
386/er. The Grey-throated Bab-
bler ... ... griseogularis, Hume 174
389 The Neilgherry Quaker
Thrush ... ... Alcippe poiocephala, 7er d..*. 175
390 The Black-headed Wren
Babbler ... ... atriceps, Jerd. ... 175
395 TheYellow-breastedWren
Babbler ... ... Mixornis rubricapillus, Tick. 176
397 The Rufous-bellied Bab-
bler ... ... Dumetia hyperythra, FranJcl. 176
398 The White-throated Wren
Babbler ... ... albogularis, Bly..... 177
XIV CONTENTS.
POPULAR NAME. SCIENTIFIC NAME. Page.
399 The [Spotted Wren Bab-
bler ... ... Pellorneum ruficeps, Sws.... 177
404 The Southern Scimitar
Babbler ... ... Pomatorhinus horsfieldi,
Sykes ... 178
404ter. Hume's Scimitar Babbler obscurus, Hume. 178
432 The Bengal Babbler ... Malacocercus terricolor,
Hodgs ... 179
433 The White-headed Bab-
bler ... ... griseus, Lath. 179
434 The Jungle Babbler ... malabaricus,
Jerd. ... 180
435 The Rufous-tailed Bab-
bler ... ... somervillii, Sykes. 180
436 The Large Grey Babbler malcolmi, Sykes 180
437 The Kufous Babbler ... Layardia subrufa, Jerd. ... 181
438 The Striated Bush Bab-
bler ... ... Chatarrhaea caudata, Dum. 181
439 The Striated Keed Bab-
bler ... ... earlii, Ely. ... 182
441 The Grass Babbler ... Chgetornis striatus, Jerd. .., 183
442 The Broad-tailed Eeed
Bird ... ... Schcenicola platyurus, Jerd. 183
443 The Long-tailed Reed
Bird ... ... Laticilla burnesi, Ely. ... 184
446 The Ghat Black Bulbul Hypsipetes ganesa, Sykes .. 185
450 The Yellow-browed Bul-
bul ... ... Criniger ictericus, Strickl. 185
452 The White-browed Bush
Bulbul ... ... Ixus luteolus, Less. ... 185
455 The Ruby-throated Bul-
bul ... ... Rubigula gularis, Qould. ... 186
457 The Grey-headed Bulbul Brachypodius poiocephalus,
Jerd. ... ... 186
459 The White-eared Crested
Bulbul ... ... Otocompsa leucotis, Gould. 187
460fo's. The Southern Red-whis-
kered Bulbul ... fuscicaudata, Gould. 187
461 The Common Bengal
Bulbul ... ... Pycnonotus pygaBUS, Rodgs. 188
462 The Common Madras
Bulbul ... ... hasmorrhous, Gm. 188
463 The Common Green Bul-
bul ... ... Phyllornis jerdoni, Ely. ... 189
464 The Malabar Green Bul-
bul ... ... malabaricus, Gm. 190
468 The White- winged lora lora tiphia, Lin. ... 190
468fo*. The Western lora ... nigrolutea, Marsh. ... 191
469 The Fairy Blue Bird ... Irena puella, Lath. ... 192
470 The Indian Oriole ... Oriolus kundoo, Sykes. ... 193
470$w. The Golden Oriole ... galbula, Lin. ... 194
CONTENTS. XV
Nufnbe'r. POPULAR NAME. SCIENTIFIC NAME. Page.
471 The Black-naped Indian
Oriole ... ... Oriolus indicus, Jerd. ... 195
472 The Bengal Black-headed
Oriole ... ... melanocephalus, Lin. 195
473 The Southern Black-
headed Oriole ... ceylonensis, Ep. ... 196
475 The Magpie Eobin ... Copsychus saularis, Lin. ... 197
476 The Shama ... Kittacincla macroura, Om. 197
479 The Indian Black Robin Thamnobia fulicata, Lin. ... 198
480 The Brown-backed Indian
Robin .. ... cambaiensis, Lath 198
481 The White-winged Black
Robin ... ... Pratincola caprata, Lin. ... 199
483 The Indian Bushchat ... indica, Ely. ... 200
484 The White-tailed Bush-
chat ... ... leucurus, Ely. ... 200
4855/5. Stoliczka's Bushchat ... macrorhyncha,
Stol. ... 201
488 The Indian White-tailed
Stonechat ... Saxicola opistholeuca, StrickL 201
489 The Pied Stonechat ... picatus, Ely. ... 202
489fo's. Hume's Pied Stonechat ... alboniger, Hume .. 202
490 The White-headed Stone-
chat ... ... morio, Hemp. $ Ehr. 203
490fo's. The Hooded Stonechat ... monachus, Eupp 203
491 The Wheatear ... isabellinus, Eupp. ... 203
4915/s. The Red-tailed Wheatear kingi, Hume ... 204
492 The Black-throated Wheat-
ear ... deserti, Eupp. ... 205
492ter. The Grey-backed Warbler JEdon familiaris, MM. ... 205
493 The Black-tailed Rock-
chat ... ... Cerconiela melanura, Hupp. 206
494 The Brown Rockchat ... fusca, Ely. ... 206
497 The Indian Redstart ... Ruticilla runVentris, Vieill... 207
507 ... Larvivora superciliaris, Jerd. 208
512 The Common Ruby-throat Calliope camtschatkensis,
Gm. ... 209
514 The Indian Blue-throat... Cyanecula suecica, Lin. ... 209
515 The Large Reed Warbler Acrocephalus stentorius,
Hemp. Sf Ehr. 210
516 The Lesser Reed Warbler dumetorum, Ely. 210
517 The Paddy Field Warbler agricolus, Jerd. 211
51Sbis. The Moustached Grass
Warbler ... .,. Lusciniolamelanopogon,Tew. 211
Hume's Grass Warbler ... neglecta, Hume ... 212
5lSter. Cetti's Bush Warbler ... Cettia cetti, Marm. ... 212
520 The Streaked Reed Warb-
ler ... ... Locus tella hendersoni, Cass. 213
530 The Indian Tailor Bird ,,, Orthotomus sutorius, Font. 214
xvi CONTENTS.
Jerdon's POPULAR NAME, SCIENTIFIC NAME. Page.
Number.
532 The Yellow-bellied Wren
Warbler ... ... Prinia flaviventris, Deless.... 215
533 The White-bellied Wren
Warbler ... ... adamsi, Jerd. ... 215
534 The Dark Ashy Wren
Warbler ... ... socialis, Sykes ... 215
535 Stewart's Wren Warbler stewarti, Ely. ... 216
536 Franklin's Wren Warbler gracilis, FrankL ... 216
538 The Malaber Wren Warb-
ler ... ... hodgsoni, Ely. ... 217
539 The Kufous Grass Warb-
ler ... ..* Cisticola cursitans, Jfrankl. 217
543 The Common Wren
Warbler ... ... Drymoipus inornata, Sykes 218
5445/s. The Great Kufous Wren
Warbler... ... rufescens, Hume 219
545 The Jungle Wren Warb-
ler ... ... ,, sylvaticus, Jerd. 220
546 The Allied Wren Warbler neglectus, Jerd. 220
54:9quint ... Blanfordius striatulus, Hume 221
550 The Streaked Wren
Warbler ... ... Burnesia gracilis, Lickt. ... 221
5505w. The Streaked Scrub
Warbler... ... Scotocerca inquieta, Rupp.... 222
651 The Rufous-fronted Wren
Warbler... ... Franklinia buchanani, Sly. 223
553 Sykes' Tree Warbler ... Hypolais rama, Sykes ... 224
The Booted Tree Warbler caligata, Licht. ... 224
The Pale Tree Warbler... pallida, Hemp, fy
Ehr. ... 225
... languida, Hemp, fy
Ehr. ... 225
The Desert Tree Warbler obsoleta, Sev. ... 226
554 The Brown Tree Warbler Phylloscopus tristis, Ely ... 227
554fo>. Hume's Tree Warbler ... neglectus, Hume 227
556 The Large-billed Tree
Warbler ... ... rnagmrostris, Ely. 228
558 The Dull Green Tree
Warbler... ... lugubris, Ely. ... 228
559 The Bright Green Tree
Warbler ... ... nitidus, Lath. ... 228
560 The Greenish Tree Warb-
ler ... ... viridanus, Ely. 229
561 TickelPs Tree Warbler ... affinis, Tick. ... 229
562 The Olivaceous Tree
Warbler... ... indicus, Jerd. ... 229
The Sind Tree Warbler... sindianus, .Z?r00&s. 229
563 The Large Crowned
Warbler ... ... Reguloides occipitalis, Jerd. 230
565 The Crowned Tree War-
bler ... ... superciliosus, Pall. 230
CONTENTS.
XV11
Jerdon'a
Number.
570
581
582
582bis.
qua
5SBbis.
589
590
591
591/er.
592
593
593/er.
594
594W*.
595
596
597
POPULAR NAME
The Brown-headed Wil-
low Warbler
The Lesser Black-browed
Warbler ...
The Large Black-capped
Warbler.,
The Allied Grey Warbler
Hume's Lesser White-
throat
The Himalayan Lesser
White-throat
f.The Grey Warbler
The Desert Warbler ...
The Pied Wagtail
The White-faced Wag-
tail
The Black-faced Wagtail
Sykes' Grey and Black
Wagtail
The European White.
faced Wagtail
The Grey and Yellow
Wagtail
The Slaty-headed Field
Wagtail
The Black-cap Field
Wagtail ...
The Grey-headed Field
Wagtail ...
The Yellow-headed Wag-
tail
SCIENTIFIC NAME. Page.
Eeguloides humii, Brooks ... 231
Abrornis cantator, Tick. ... 231
Sylvia jerdoni, Ely. ... 232
affinis, Ely. ... 232
minuscula, Hume ... 232
althea, Hume ... 233
rufa, Bodd. ... 233
nana, Hemp, fy Ehr. 234
Motacilla maderaspatensis,
Gm. 234
leucopsis, Gould.... 235
personata, Gould. ... 236
The Grey-backed Yellow
Wagtail ...
The Black-breasted Wag-
tail
The Indian Tree Pipit ...
The European Tree
Pipit
The Water Pipit
605Ma.Blakiston's Pipit
600 The Indian Titlark
601 The Large Titlark
602 Tho Stone Pipit
603 The Rufous Rock Pipit...
604 The Brown Rock Pipit ...
631 The White-eyed Tit ...
645 The Indian Grey Tit ...
646 The White-winged Black
Tit
dukhunensis, Sylces 236
alba, Lin. ... 237
Calobates melanope, Pall. ... 237
Budytes cinereocapilla, Savi. 238
melanocephala, Licht. 239
flava, Lin. ... 239
calcarata, Hodgs. ... 240
citeola, Pall. ... 241
Limonidromus indicus, Gm. 241
Anthus maculatus, Hodgs..*, 242
trivialis, Lin. ... 242
spinoletta, Lin. ... 243
blakistoni, Swinh. . . 244
Oorydalla rufula, Vieill. . . 244
striolata, Ely. . . 245
Agrodroma campestris, Lin 245
similis, Jerd. . . 246
sordida, Hiipp.. . 246
Zosterops palpebrosa, Tern.. . 247
Parus nipalensis, Hodgs. . . 248
,, nuchalis, Jerd. ... 248
xv
CONTENTS.
Jerdon'8
ft umber.
POPULAR NAME.
SCIENTIFIC NAME-
647 The Yellow-cheeked Tit... Machlolophus xanthogenys,
Viff. ...
aplonotus, Ely.
Corvus lawrencii, Hume ...
macrorhynchus,JFayZ.
umbrinus, Hedenb ...
splendens, Vitill. ...
648
6576/5,
660
QQObis.
663
674
The Southern Yellow Tit
The Indian Raven ...
The Indian Corby ...
The Brown-necked Eaven
The Common Indian Grow
681
GSlbis.
684
685
687
688
689
690
692
694
695
6-96
697
698
699
700
701
703
704
705
706
707
709
711
716
718
719
720
721
722
The Common Indian Mag-
pie ... ...
The Common Starling ...
The Lesser Starling ...
The Common Myna ...
The Bank Myna ...
The Southern Dnsky
Myna ... ...
The Black-headed Myna
The Grey-headed Myna...
The White-headed Myna
The Rose-colored Pastor
The Southern Hill Myna
The Common Weaver-
Bird ... ...
The Striated Weaver-
Bird ... ...
The Black-throated
Weaver-Bird ...
The Black-headed Munia
The Chesnut-bellied Munia
The Spotted Munia ...
The Rufous-bellied Munia
The White-backed Munia
The Plain Brown Munia
The Red Waxbill ...
The Green Waxbill ...
The House Sparrow ...
The Willow Sparrow ...
The Rufous-backed
Sparrow ... ...
The Yellow-throated
Sparrow
Dendrocitta rufa, Scop. ...
Sturnus vulgaris, Lin. ...
minor, Hume ...
Acridotheres tristis, Lin. ...
ginginianus,flrM.
mahrattensift,
SyJces ...
Sturnia pagodarum, Gm. ...
malabarica, Gm. ...
blythi, Jerd. ...
Pastor roseus, Lin. ...
Eulabes religiosa, Lin. ...
Page.
240
249
250
250
251
251
252
253
254
254
255
255
256
256
257
257
258
Ploceus philippinus, Lin. ... 259
manyar, Horsf. ... 260
bengalensis, Lin. ... 261
Amadina malacca, Lin. ... 262
rubronigra, Hodgs. 262
punctulata, Lin. ... 262
pectoralis, Jerd ... 263
striata, Lin. ... 263
malabarica, Lin. ... 263
Estrelda amandava, Lin. ... 264
formosa, Latli. ... 265
Passer domesticus, Lin. ... 265
hispaniolensis, Tern. 266
pyrrhonotus, "Ely. ... 266
... flavicollis, Franlcl. ...
The Grey-necked Bunting Emberiza buchanani, Biy. ...
The White-capped
Bunting ... ... stewarti, Ely. ..
The Grey-headed Bunting fucata, Pall. ...
The Striolated Bunting ... striolata, Licit. ..
The Black-headed Bunt.
ing ... ...
The Red-headed Bunting
Euspiza melanocephala, Gm.
luteola, Sparr. ..
267
268
269
269
269
271
271
CONTENTS,
XIX
JercVon's
Number,
724
7325/5.-
738
756
757
758
759
760
7605*5.
761
ing
The Desert Bull-finch
762
762*
765
7655/5.
767
769
770
773
775
780
784
786
787
788
7885/5.
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
POPULAR NAME. SCIENTIFIC NAME.
The Crested Black Bunt-
Melophus melanicfcerus, Gm.
Bucanetes githagineus, Licht,
The Common Rose Finch Carpodacus erythrinus, Pall.
The Red-winged Bush-
Lark > ... Mirafra erythroptera, Jerd....
The Singing Bush-Lark cantillans, Jerd. ...
The Rufous-tailed Finch-
Lark ... ... Ammomanes phcenicura,
Frankl.
The Pale Rufous Finch-
Lark ... ... deserti, Licht. ...
The Black-bellied Finch-
Lark ... ... Pyrrhulauda grisea, Scop. ...
The Black-necked Finch-
Lark ... ... melanauchen, Gab.
,.. Calandrella brachydaetyla,
Leisl.
... Melanocorypha bimaculata,
Mene.
.. Alaudula raytal, Bly.
, adamsi, Hume ...
The Social Lark
The Indian Sand-Lark
The Little Sand-Lark
The Small Crown-crest
Lark ... ... Spizalauda deva,
The Large Crown-crest
Lark ... ... malabarica, Scop.
The Indian Sky-Lark ... Alauda gulgula, Frantt. ...
The Large Crested Lark Galerida cristata, Lin.
The Desert Lark ... Certhilauda desertorum, Stan.
The Bengal Green Pigeon Crocopus phosnicopterus,
Lath.
The Southern Green
Pigeon ... .., chlorigaster, Bly. ..
The Grey-fronted Green
"Pigeon ... ... Osmotreron malabarica, Jerd.
The Green Imperial Pi-
geon ... ... Carpophaga cenea, Lin. ...
The Himalayan Cushat ... Palumbus casiotis, Bp. ...
The Neilgherry Wood-
pigeon ... ... elphinstonii, SyJces
The Indian Stock Pigeon Palumboena eversmanni, Bon.
Pago.
272
273
274
274
275
276
276
277
277
279
279
280
280
281
282
282
283
284
285
285
286
287
287
The Blue Rock Pigeon
The Rock Dove
The Ashy Turtle Dove ...
The Rufous Turtle Dove
The Little Brown Dove...
The Spotted Dove
The Common Ring Dove
The Ruddy Ring Dove
Columba intermedia, Strickl.
livia, Bp. ...
Turtur pulchratus, Hodgs.
meena, Sykes ' ...
senegalensis, Lin. .,
suratensis, Gm. ...
risorius, Lin.
tranquebaricus, Herm.
The Bronze-winged Dove Chalcophaps indica, Lin
The Large Sand Grouse Pterocles arenarius, Pall.
288
288
289
289
290
290
291
291
291
292
293
XX
CONTENTS.
Jerdou'g
Number.
800
SOOfos.
801
801M*.
SOlfcr.
802
803
812
813
814
815
818
819
820
821
822
826
827
828
829
830
832
834
835
836
POPULAR NAME. SCIENTIFIC NAME. Page.
The Painted Sand Grouse Pterocles fasciatus, Scop. ... 295
The Close-barred Sand
Grouse ...
The Large Pin-tailed
Sand Grouse
The Spotted Sand Grouse
The Coronetted Sand
Grouse ... ...
The Common Sand Grouse
The Common Peacock
The Red Jungle Fowl
The Grey Jungle Fowl
The Red Spur Fowl
The Painted Spur Fowl
The Black Partridge
lichtensteini, Tern. 296
alchata, Lin.
senegallus, Licht.
The Painted Partridge
The Chukar Partridge
The Seesee Partridge
The Grey Partridge
The Jungle Bush Quail,.
The Rock Bush Quail ...
The Painted Bush Quail
The Large Grey Quail ...
The Black-breasted Quail
The Black-breasted Bus-
tard Quail
The Large Button Quail
The Small Button Quail
The Indian Bustard
, coronatus, Licht.
, exustus, Tern.
Pavo cristatus, Lin.
Gallus ferrugineus, Qmel. ...
,, sonnerati, Tern.
Galloperdix spadiceus, Om.
lunulatus, Val.
Francolinus vulgaris, StepJi.
pictus, Jard. Sf
Selb.
Caccabis chukar, J. E. Or,
Ammoperdix bonhami, Qray.
Ortygornis pondiceriana, Cm.
Perdicula asiatica, Lath.
argoondah, Sykes.
Microperdix erythrorhynchus,
Sykes
Coturnix communis, Bon. ...
coromandelica, Gm.
837 The Houbara Bustard
Turnix taigoor, Si/Jces
joudera, Hodgs.
,, dussumieri, Tern.
Eupodotis edwardsi, J.
Or.
E.
297
297
299
300
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
Houbara macqueeni, J. E.
Or. ... ... 321
839 The Lesser Florican ... Sypheotides aurita, Lath. ... 322
840 The Indian Courier Plover Cursorius coromandelicus,
Gm. ... ... 324
840fo'f. The Cream-colored Cour-
ser ... ... gallicus, Om. ... 324
842 The Large Swallow Plover Glareola orientalis, Leach. ... 325
8425*5. The Collared Pratincole... pratincola, Lin. ... 326
843 The Small Swallow Plover lactea, Tern. ... 326
844 The Grey Plover ... Squatarola helvetica, Lin. ... 327
845 The Indian Golden Plover Charadrius fulvus, Gm. ... 328
8456/s. The European Golden
Plover ... ... pluvialis, Lin. ... 328
845^Ma^.The Caspian Sand Plover ^Egialitis asiatica, Pall. ... 329
846 The Large Sand Plover... geoffroyi, Wag. ... 329
847 The Lesser Sand Plover mongola, Pal. ... 330
848 The Kentish Ringed Plo-
ver ... ... cantiana, Lath. .^ 330
CONTENTS. xxi
Number 8 POPULAR NAME. SCIENTIFIC NAME. Page.
849 The Indian Ringed Plover ^Egialitis dubia, Scop. ... 330
850 The Lesser Ringed Plover minuta, Pall. ... 331
851 The Crested Lapwing ... Yanellus vulgaris, Bechst. ... 332
852 The Black-sided Lapwing Chettusia gregaria, Pall. ... 332
853 The White-tailed Lapwing villotrci, And. ... 333
854 The Grey-headed Lapwing cinerea, Ely. ... 333
855 The Red-wattled Lapwing Lobivanellus indicus, Bodd. 334
856 The Yellow-wattled Lap-
wing ... ... Lobipluvia malabarica, Bodd. 335
857 The Spur-winged Lapwing Hoplopterus ventralis, Cuv. 335
858 The Large Stone Plover..* ^sacus recurvirostris, Cuv. 336
859 The Stone Plover ... (Edicnemus scolopax, 8. S.
Qm. ... ... 337
860 The Turnstone ... Strepsilas interpres, Lin. ... 338
861 The Crab Plover ... Dromas ardeola, PayTc. ... 339
862 The Oyster Catcher ... H^matopus ostralegus, Lin. 339
863 The Sarus ... ... Grus antigone, Lin. ... 340
864 The Snow-wreath ... leucogeranus, Pall. ... 341
865 The Common Crane ... communis, Bechst. ... 341
866 The Demoiselle Crane ... Anthropoides virgo, Lin. ... 342
867 The Woodcock ... Scolopax rusticola, Lin. ... 343
868 The Woodsnipe ... Gallinago nemoricola, Hodgs. 344
870 The Pin-tailed Snipe ... sthenura, Kuhl. ... 344
871 The Common Snipe ... galHnaria, Gm. ... 345
872 The Jack Snipe ' ... gallinula, Lin. ... 346
873 The Painted Snipe ... Rhynchasa bengalensis, Lin.... 347
875 The Black-tailed Godwit Limosa aegocephala, Lin. ... 348
S75bis. The Bar-tailed Godwit ... lapponica, !%. ... 349
876 The Avocet Sandpiper ... Terekia cinerea, Gm. ... 351
877 The Curlew... ... Numenius lineatus, Cuv. ... 351
878 The Whimbrel ... phjeopus, Lin. ... 352
880 The Ruff ... ... Philomachus pugnax, Lin.... 352
SSlbis. Temminck's Knot ... Tringa crassirostris, Tern $
Schl. ... 353
882 The Curlew Stint ... subarquata Cm. ... 354
883 The Dunlin ... alpina, Lin. ... 354
884 The Little Stint ... minuta, Leisl. ... 355
885 The White.tailed Stint ... temmincki, Leisl... 355
886 The Broad-billed Stint ... Limicola platyrhyncha, Tsm. 356
888 The Sanderling ... Calidris arenaria, Tern. ... 356
890 The Red-necked Phalarope Lobipes hyperboreus, Lin.... 357
891 The Spotted Sandpiper... Rhyacophila glareola, Qm. ... 357
892 The Green Sandpiper ... Totanus ochropus, Lin. ... 358
893 The Common Sandpiper Tringoides hypoleucos, Lin.... 359
894 The Green-Shanks ... Totanus glottis, Lin. ... 359
895 The Little Green- Shanks stagnates, Bech. ... 359
896 The Spotted Red-Shanks fuscus, Lin. ... 360
897 The Red-Shanks ... calidris, Lin. ... 360
898 The Stilt ... ... Himantopus candidus, Bp... 361
899 The Avocet ... Recurvirostra avocetta, Lin. 362
900 The Bronze-winged Jacana Parra indica, Lath. ... 363
xxii CONTENTS.
Jerdon'a
Number.
POPULAR NAME. SCIENTIFIC NAME.
Page.
901
The Pheasant-tailed
Jacana ... Hydrophasianus chirurgus,
Scop.
364
902
The Purple Coot ... Porphyrio poliocephalus,
Lath.
365
903
The Coot ... ... Fulica atra, Lin.
366
904
The Water Cock ... Gallicrex cinereus, Gm.
367
905
The Water Hen ... Gallinula chloropus, Lin. ...
368
907
The White-breasted Water
Hen ... Erythra phcenicura, Penn. ...
368
908
The Brown Rail ... Porzana akool, SyJces.
369
909
The Spotted Crake ... maruetta, Leach. ...
370
910
Baillon's Crake ... bailloni, VieilL
370
910fo's.
The Little Rail ... parva, Scop.
371
911
The Ruddy Rail ... fusca, Lin.
372
913
The Blue-breasted Banded
Rail ... Hypotamidia striata, Lin.
372
914
The Indian Water Rail ... Rallus indica, Bly.
373
915
916
Tho Adjutant ... Leptoptilus, argalus, Lin. ...
The Hair-crested Stork... javanicus, Horsf.
374
374
917
The Black-necked Stork Xenorhynchus asiaticus,Za^.
375
918
The Black Stork ... Ciconia nigra, Lin.
376
919
The White Stork ... alba, Bechst.
376
920
The White-necked Stork Dissura episcopa, Bodd. ...
376
923
The Blue Heron ... Ardea cinerea, Lin.
377
924
The Purple Heron ... purpurea, Lin,
378
924fo's.
The Large White Heron Herodias alba, Lin.
379
925
The Large Egret ... torra, B.-Ham. ...
379
926
The Smaller Egret ... intermedia, Hass.
379
927
The Little Egret ... garzetta, Lin.
380
928
The Ashy Egret ... Demi-egretta gularis, Bosc.
380
929
The Cattle Egret ... Bubulcus coromandus, Bodd.
381
930
The Pond Heron ... Ardeola grayii, Sykes
381
931
The Little Green Heron Butorides javanica, Horsf....
382
932
The Black Bittern ... Ardetta flavicollis, Lath. ...
883
933
The Chesnut Bittern ... cinnamomea, Om.
384
934
The Yellow Bittern ... sinensis, Om.
384
935
The Little Bittern ... minuta, Lin.
385
936
The Bittern ... Botaurus stellaris, Lin.
385
986&M.
The Malayan Tiger Bittern Goisakius melanolophus,
Eaffl.
386
937
The Night Heron ... Nycticorax griseus, Lin. ...
387
938
The Pelican Ibis ... Tantalus leucocephalus, .Fbrstf.
387
939
The Spoonbill ... Platalea leucorodia, Lin. ...
388
940
The Shell Ibis ... Anastomus oscitans, Bodd*
389
941
The White Ibis ... Ibis melanocephala, Lath. ...
390
942
The Black or Warty-"
headed Ibis ... Inocotis papillosus, Tern. ...
390
943
The Glossy Ibis ... Falcinellus igneus, Gm. ...
391
944
The Flamingo ... Phcenicopterus antiquorum,
Tern.
392
CONTENTS.
xxill
Jerdon's
Number.
POPULAR NAME. SCIENTIFIC NAME. Page.
9445/5.
The Lesser Flamingo ... Phcenicopterus minor, Geof. 393
944/er.
The Mute Swan ... Cygnus olor, Gm. ... 394
945
The Grey Goose ... Anser cinereus, Meg. ... 394
947
The White-fronted Goose albifrons, Scop. ... 395
949
The Barred-headed Goose ,, indicus, Lath. ... 395
950
The Black-backed Goose Sarcidiornis melanonotus,
Penn. ... 396
951
The Cotton Teal ... Nettopus coromandelianus,
Gm. ... 397
952
The Whistling Teal ... Dendrocygna javanica,
Horsf. ... 398
953
The Large Whistling
Teal .., .,, fulva, Gm. ... 399
954
The Ruddy Shieldrake ... Tadorna casarca, Pall. ... 400
956
The Shieldrake ... cornuta, 8. G. Gm. 400
957
The Shoveller ... Spatula clypeata, Lin. ... 401
958
The Mallard ... Anas boschas, Lin. ... 402
959
The Grey Duck ... poecilorhyncha, For at. 403
960
The Pink-headed Duck ... Bhodonessa caryophyllacea,
Lath. ... 404
961
The Gadwall ... Chaulelasmus streperus, Lin. 405
9615/5.
The Marbled Teal ... angustirostris,
Mene. ... 406
962
The Pintail Duck ... Dafila acuta, Lin. ... 407
963
The Widgeon ... Mareca penelope, Lin. ... 408
964
The Common Teal ... Querquedula crecca, Lin. ... 409
965
The Blue-winged Teal ... circia, Lin. ... 410
966
The Clucking Teal ... formosa, Gear. 411
967
The Bed-crested Pochard Fuligula rufina, Pall. ... 412
968
The Red-headed Pochard ferina, Lin. ... 412
969
The White-eyed Pochard nyroca, Guld. ... 413
970
The Scaup Pochard ... marila, Lin. ... 413
971
The Crested Pochard ... cristata, Kay. ... 414
$7 1 bis.
The Golden Eye ... Clangula glaucium, Lin. ... 415
972
The Merganser ... Mergus merganser, Lin. ... 416
9725/s.
The Bed-breasted Mergan-
ser ... ,, serrator, Lin. ... 416
973
The Smew ... Mergellus albellus, Lin. ... 417
974
The Crested Grebe ... Podiceps cristatus, Lin. ... 418
9745/5.
The Black-necked Grebe nigricollis, Sund.... 419
975
The Little Grebe ... minor, Gm. ... 420
976
Wilson's Petrel ... Oceanites oceanica, Kuhl. ... 421
9765/5.
The Persian Shearwater Puffinus persicus, Hume ... 421
filter.
The Skua ... Stercorarius asiaticus, Hume 422
9785/5.
The Yellow-legged Her-
ring Gull ... Larus cachinnans, Pall. ... 423
978/er.
The Lesser Herring Gull affinis, Eeinw. ... 424
979
The Great Black-headed
Gull ... ichthyaetus, Pall. ... 424
980
The Brown-headed Gull brunneicephalus, Jerd. 425
981
The Laughing Gull ... ridibundus, Lin. ... 425
XXIV
CONTENTS.
Jerdon'a
Number.
SSlquat
982
983
984
985
987
987M*.
989
990
POPULAR NAME.
The Sooty Gull
The Caspian Tern
The Gull-billed Tern ..
The Small Marsh Tern ..
The Large River Tern ..
The Black-bellied Tern ..
The White-cheeked Tern
Saunder's Little Tern ..
The Large Sea Tern ..
The Smaller Sea Tern .,
992
The Brown-winged Tern
The Sooty Tern
993 The Noddy
995 The Indian Skimmer ...
999fo>. The Indian Tropic Bird...
9965w. The White Booby
1003 The Lesser White Peli-
can
1004 The Grey Pelican
10045t>. The White Pelican
1005 The Large Cormorant ...
1006 The Lesser Cormorant ...
1007 The Little Cormorant ...
1008 The Indian Snake Bird ..
SCIENTIFIC NAME.
Larus hemprichi, Bp.
gelastes, Licht.
Sterna caspia, Pall.
anglica, Mont.
Hydrochelidon hybrida, Pall.
Sterna seena, Sykes
melanogastra, Tern.
albigena, Licht.
saundersi, Hume ...
bergii, Licht.
media, Horsf.
cantiana, Gm. ...
anaetheta, Scop.
fuliginosa, Gm.
Anous stolidus, Lin.
Rhynchops albicollis, Sivs....
Phaeton indicus, Hume
Sula cyanops, Sund.
Pelecanus javanicus, Horsf.
philippensis, Gm.
crispus, Bruch....
Phalacrocorax carbo, Lin. ...
fuscicollis,
Steph. ...
fi pygma3us,
Pall. ...
Plotus melanogaster, Pen. ...
APPENDIX. List of birds collected or observed
Kbaodesh by J. Davidson...
m
Page.
426
426
428
428
427
429
429
430
430
431
432
432
433
433
433
434
434
436
437
438
436
438
439
439
440
442
INDEX
TO THE
ABBREVIATIONS OF THE NAMES OF AUTHORITIES CITED.
And. J. V. Andouin.
Sanies. Sir Joseph Banks.
Bechst. J. M. Bechstein.
B. Ham. Fr. Ham. Buchanan-Hamilton
Sly. Edward Blyth.
Bodd. M. Boddaert.
Boie. H. Boie.
Bonn. L'Abbe Bonnaterre,
Bosc. L. A, Q. Bosc.
Bp. Prince Charles Lucian Bona-
parte.
Briss. Brisson.
Brooks. "William Edwin Brooks.
Bruch, Bruch.
Cab. Dr. Jean Cabanis.
Cas. John Cassin.
Cuv. George L. C. F. D. Cuvier.
Baud. W. M. Daudin.
Deless. Adolphe Delessert.
Deaf. R. L. Desfontainea.
Dum. A. M. C. Dumeril.
Ehr. C. G. Ehrenburg.
Eversm. Dr. Edouard Eversman.
Fleisch. E. G. Fleischer.
For st. John Reinhold Forster.
FranU, James Franklin,
Geor. J. G. Georgi.
Gerv. Paul Gervais.
Gm. Jo. Fred. Gmelin,
Gm. S, G. S. G. Gmelin,
Gould. John Gould,
Gr. G. R. George Kobert Gray.
Gr. J. E. John Edward Gray.
G. St. Hill, Isodore Geoffrey St. Hillaire.
Giild. Ant. J. Giildenstadt.
Gurn. J. H. Gurney.
Hardw, General Hardwicke.
Hass. Van Hasselfc.
Hay, Lord Arthur Hay. After-
wards Lord W~alden and
later Marquess of Tweed-
dale.
Heden. Hedeoborg.
Hem. F. G. Hemprichi.
Herm. J. Hermann.
Hodgs. Brian H. Hodgson.
Hors. Dr. Thomas Horsfield.
Hume. Allan Oscar Hume.
III. C. Illiger.
Jard. Sir William Jardine.
Jerd. Dr. T. C. Jerdon.
Eaup, J. J. Kaup.
Kuhl. Heinrich Kuhl,
Lace. B. G. Lacepede.
Lafr. Raron Frederic de Lafresnnye
Lath. John Latham.
Leach. William Elford Leach.
Leisl. J. P. A. Leisler.
Less. Rene Primevere Lesson.
Licht. Heinrich Lichtenstein.
Lin. Carl v. Linne.
Main. Alfred Mulherbe.
Harm. Alb. de la Marmoree.
Marsh. Capt G. F. L. Marshall, R. E.
Menetr. Ed. Men^tries.
Mey. Bern. Meyer.
Mont. George Montagu.
Mull., P. L. S.Ph. L. Sfc. Muller.
MM.. 8. S. Muller.
Pall. P. S. Pallas.
Payk. Gust. Paykull.
Pears, Dr. J. T. Pearson.
Penn. Thomas Pennant,
Eadde. Professor Gustav Radde.
Raffi. Sir Thomas Stamford Rafflea.
Reich- H. G. L. Reichenbach.
Retnh. Professor J. Reinhardt.
Reinw. Reinwardt.
Rupp. Dr. Edward Riippell.
Sav. J. Ces. Savigny.
Savi. P. Savi.
Schl. Dr, Herman Schlegel.
Scop. J. Ant. Scopoli.
Selb. Prideaux John Selby.
Sharpe. Robert Bowdler Sharpe.
Shaw. G. Shaw.
Sparr. Anders Sparrmau.
Stanl. Edward Stanley.
titeph. James Francis Stephens.
Stol. Dr. Ferdinand Stoliczka.
Storr. C. T. Storr.
Strickl. H. E. Strickland.
Sund. Carl. J. Sundevall.
Stvinh. Robert Swinhoe,
Sws. William Swainson.
Sykes. Col. W. H. Sykes.
Tern. C. J. Temminck.
Tick. Col. S. R. Tickell.
Tunst. Tunstalt.
Vahl. Mart. Vahl.
Valenc. A. Valenciennes.
Vieill. L- P. Vieillot.
Viff. N. A. Vigors.
Waql, Dr Joannes Wagler.
Wa'ld. Viscount Walden, Earlier Lord
Arthur Hay ; later Marquess
of Tweeddale.
LIST OF REFERENCES.
THE BIRDS OP INDIA, by T. C. Jerdon.
STRAY FEATHERS, \ 7 ols. I to X, edited by A. 0. Hume.
GAME BIRDS OF INDIA, BURMAH AND CEYLON, by Messrs. Hume and
Marshall.
MY SCRAP BOOK, by Allan 0. Hume.
THE VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY OF SIND, by J. A. Murray, Curator, Frere
Hall Museum, Karachi.
NESTS AND EGGS OF INDIAN BIRDS, by A. 0. Hume.
BIRDS NESTING IN INDIA, by Capt. G. F. L. Marshall, R. E.
IBIS, 1885, edited by Messrs. Sclater and Saunders.
F.E.K. WEDDERBUHN.
29 MAY. 8 J
HANDBOOK
TO THE
BIRDS OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
INTRODUCTION.
THE Animal Kingdom consists of five divis>ous>,the first cf
which, the Vertebrates, falls naturally into four classes : '
I. MAMMALIA. ;>*,,,.,
II. AVES.
III. REPTILIA.
IV. PISCES.
The second of these only comes within the scope of this work ;
it has been divided into the following orders :
I. RAPTORES.
II. INSESSORES.
III. GEMITORES.
IV. RASORES.
V. GRALLATORES.
VI. NATATORES.
This arrangement is considered by many to be far from perfect,
but it is the system adopted by Jerdon in his Birds of India, in
accordance with which nearly every collection in India is
arranged, and it has at least the merit of being simple and easily
understood.
ORDER, Raptores.
Bill strong, covered at the base with a cere or naked membrane,
strongly hooked at the tip; nostrils open ; legs strong and muscu-
lar ; toes four, three in front and one behind, on the same plane,
more or less rough beneath, and with strong, generally well-
curved, and sharp claws.
FAMILY, Vulturidse.
Bill rather long, compressed, straight at the culmen, curved
towards the tip, upper mandible never toothed, sometimes
sinuate ; cere very large ; tarsus reticulated with small scales,
somewhat short, stout, usually feathered at the knee, sometimes
slightly elevated ; middle-toe long ; outer-toe joined to the
2 VULTURIN.E.
middle one by a membrane ; hind-toe short ; claws rather blunt,
strong, not much curved.
SUB-FAMILY, Vulturinae.
Bill large, thick, strong, higher than broad, hooked only at the
tip ; cere large ; nostrils naked, transverse ; head and upper
part of neck naked, or covered only with down; wings long,
first quill short, third and fourth quills sub-equal, fourth longest ;
tail moderate or rather short, with twelve or fourteen tail feathers ;
tarsus reticulated, with some large scutse near the claws.
GENUS, Vultur, Lin.
Tail with twelve feathers ; bill rather short, strong, deep,
curving from the end of cere ; nostrils round or oval ; tarsus
feathered from more than half its length ; claws strong, rather
-'acute.', / r :-/r \ ;
The neck ; raff advances upwards towards the hinder part of
;l*sad; and-, there is a transverse occipital crest of down ;
otherwise -as ra the characters of the sub-family.
Vultur monachus, Lin t
1. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 6 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray
Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 441 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of
Sind, p. 62 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis,
1885, p. 53 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 1.
THE CINEREOUS VULTURE.
* Length, 42 to 45 ; expanse, 96 to 118 ; wing, 29'5 to 32 ;
tail, 13 to 16 ; tarsus, 4'8 to 5'5 ; bill from gape, 3'6 to 4.
Bill horny, dusky black at tip, paler at base of upper mandible ;
cere pale-mauve ; naked part of neck delicate bluish-white,
occasionally shaded pink ; irides brown ; legs creamy-white.
The whole body, including the wings, is a rich, very dark,
chocolate-brown, beneath darker ; quills and tail nearly black ;
ruff conspicuous, dense, feathers lengthened and lanceolate, rather
lighter in color than the back ; lores, cheeks, chin, throat, and
crown covered with dark-brown fur-like feathers, sparse below
but dense and soft on the upper parts of the head.
This fine Vulture is comparatively rare ; it has not as yet been
recorded from the Deccan or South Mahratta country. Butler
only observed a single specimen in Guzerat, Murray states it to
be a winter visitant to Sind, and Jerdon notes its occurrence
in Central India, where I have myself occasionally met with it.
Of its nidification in this country nothing appears to be
known,
GENUS, Otogyps, Gray.
Head and neck bare, sides of neck with a wattle of skin ; bill
* All dimensions are in English inches,
VULTURIN^E. 3
very thick and strong ; crown of the head flat ; cranium very
large, otherwise as in Vultur.
Otogyps calvus, Scop.
2, Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 7 ; Butler, Guzerat; Stray
Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 441 ; Deccan and South Mahratta
country ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 369 ; Murray's Verte-
brate Zoology of Sind, p. 62 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central
India; Ibis, 1885, p. 53; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 8.
THE INDIAN KING VULTURE,
Lai Siri Gidh, Hin.
Length, 30 to 33 ; expanse, SO to 88 ; wing, 22'5 to 24 ; tail,
9-8 to 11 ; tarsus, 43 to 4*6 ; bill from gape, 2'6 to 3.
Bill black; cere naked; head and neck deep yellowish-red,
more or less spotted with black ; irides red-brown ; legs dull-red.
Dark brown-black, lighter on lower back and rump, brownish
on scapulars and some of the secondaries ; quills black ; tail
black, shaded with brown ; crop-patch black, a zone of white
downy feathers across the breast ; beneath deep-black ; inner
side of thigh bare, with a patch of white above the joint.
The Indian King Vulture, or, as Jerdon prefers to call it,
the Black Vulture, has been recorded from all parts of the
region. It is not uncommon as a rule, but only occurs singly
or in pairs, rarely more than two being seen together. It is of
a very pugnacious disposition, and admits of no companionship,
more especially when feeding. I have often seen a score or
more of Gyps fulvescens, or other Vulture, patiently waiting
until his kingship had gorged himself on a dead cow or other
carcass before they dared approach. It is, I believe, a permanent
resident, breeding wherever found. Jerdon states that " it is
said to breed usually on inaccessible cliffs." Murray also states
that " it is said to do so in Sind." This is contrary to my
experience, and it may perhaps be noticed that neither of them
speak from their own personal knowledge. I found a nest near
Deesa in February ; it was a large, compact, cup-shaped structure,
composed of twigs, placed in a thick thorny ber-bush, about ten
feet from the ground. Later I found two others in similar
situations. The locality where I found these nests was a rather
extensive plain, studded with ber-bushes, with occasional high
trees dotted here and there, and on one side was a range of hills,
offering splendid sites to a cliff building bird, which however
they did not avail themselves of. In Central India I have
found the nests on lofty trees. The egg there is only one is
pale greenish-white when first laid, but after a time, as
incubation proceeds, it becomes more or less stained by the
droppings of the parent birds. The texture is moderately fine ;
the egg lining is green. They vary from a long oval shape
to one nearly spherical, but generally speaking they are broad
ovals. They average 3'4 inches in length by 2 '6 in breadth.
4 VULTURIN^:.
GENUS, Gyps, Sav.
Tail with twelve or fourteen feathers ; bill more lengthened
than in Vultur ; culmec more gradually curving, much rounded
and compressed beyond the cere ; nostrils oblong, oblique, or
transverse ; head and neck clothed with soft down ; the bottom
of the neck with a ruff of lengthened feathers.
Gyps fulvescens, Hume.
3 bis. Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 442 ;
Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 63 ; Swinhoe and
Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 53 ; Hume's Scrap Book,
p. 19.
THE BAY VULTURE.
Length, 41 to 47 ; expanse, 94 to 106 ; wing, 27 to 29'5 ; tail
(of 14 feathers), 12 to 13'5 ; tarsus, 3*88 to 4'2 ; bill from gape,
3 to 3'2 ; weight, 12 to 18 Ibs.
The top of the head, cheeks, chin and throat are covered with
dingy yellowish-white hair-like feathers, so closely set upon
the top of the head, chin and throat, and with such an admixture
of brown that the dark skin, which in the hill bird(6r. himalayensis)
shows so plainly through the scant covering, is, in this species,
completely hidden. The nape and the whole of the neck (except
the back and side of the basal one-fifth or less, which are bare or
nearly bare), are closely covered with dense, short, fur-like white
or dingy yellowish-white down. The crop-patch is about the
same color as in the hill bird, but somewhat more rufous, and
the whole of the rest of the plumage is a far more rufous, and
deeper fawn or buffy-brown than in 0. himalayensis. The lower
plumage is in the adult of a rich rufous-brown, bay, or even dull-
chesnut, conspicuously white shafted, whilst the mantle is a
warm sandy-brown, unlike the coloring of any of our other Indian
Vultures. The feathers of the ruff are almost linear, (the web
not so much separated as in the hill bird; usually of a warm
wood-brown or rufous-fawn, the feathers conspicuously paler
centred. The upper back, the whole of the upper wing-coverts and
all but the longest scapulars are a warm wood-brown, or
brownish rufous-fawn, yellower and sandier, in some deeper and
more of a bay color in others. The secondaries, tertials and
longer scapulars, umber (but not dark-umber) brown ; the latter
(viz. the longer scapulars) more or less tipped with the rufous
or sandy color of the upper back, which color, in some specimens,
more or less extends to the tips and outer webs of the tertiaries.
Lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts the same color as the
upper back, but of a considerably lighter tint, in some mingled
with brown, and in some altogether of a pale pure bay. The
primaries and tail-feathers are very dark brown ; in some not so
dark as the corresponding feathers in G. himalayensis, but in
others of an intense chocolate-brown. Lower parts a rich sandy
VULTUKIN.E. 5
or rufous, or even a deep bay, (the tint varies in different stages
of plumage) each feather conspicuously paler shafted, and most of
them ( in the younger birds ) conspicuously, though narrowly,
paler centred. Hume, " Rough Notes."
The Bay Vulture does not occur in the Deccan or South
Mahratta country, but is not uncommon in Central India, Guzerat,
and Sind. Of its nidification, little appears to be known : it is
said to breed during January and February, building a large plat-
form nest on lofty trees, and laying a single white egg, larger
than either calvus or bengalensis,
Gyps pallescens, Hume.
4 bis. Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 442 ; Deccan
and South Mahratta country ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX,
p. 369 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 54.
THE LONG-BILLED PALE-BROWN VULTURE.
Length, 36 to 39 ; expanse, 85 to 90 ; wing, 23 to 25'5 ; tail
from vent, 10 to 11 ; tarsus, 3'5 to 4 ; bill from gape, 2'65 to 2'95 ;
weight, 11 to 14 Ibs.
Bill and cere pale greenish, yellowish horny on culmen and
blackish towards tips of mandibles ; bare skin of head and face
dusky ashy-leaden ; irides brown ; legs and feet dingy ashy-leaden ;
margins of scales whitish ; claws creamy-horny.
In the perfect adult brownish-white hair-like feathers are
thinly sprinkled over the head, nape, cheeks, and throat ; the
upper half of the back and sides of the neck are perfectly bare ;
the crop-patch is closely covered with silky tight-fitting, dark
hair-brown feathers ; the whole of the rest of the lower surface
is a pale whity-brown, becoming almost a pure white towards the
vent and lower tail-coverts ; the ruff is full, soft, and pure white,
of very downy feathers, the webs much disintegrated ; the whole
mantle is pale earthy -brown, the centres of the lesser, and all
but the tips and margins of the larger scapulars being dark
hair-brown!
The lower back, rump and upper tail-coverts white, tinged with
pale earthy brown, many of the feathers, however, especially of the
longer tail-coverts, being brown at the base, but so broadly tip-
ped and margined with the paler color that little of the brown
shows ; the primaries and tail-feathers are deep chocolate-brown ;
the secondaries and tertiaries hair-brown, more or less suffused
on their outer webs with pale dingy earthy or fulvous-brown.
A quite young bird has the top and back of the head, and
upper part of the back of the neck, thickly covered with white
down ; the rest of the head and neck, as in the adult ; the
crop-patch much lighter than in the adult, is covered with pale,
dove-colored brown feathers ; the rest of the lower surface is
pale brown, becoming albescent towards the vent, each feather
broadly centred ( most conspicuously so on the sides and breast),
with dingy white ; the ruff, of long, linear lanceolate feathers, is a
6 VULTURIN.E,
very pale fulvous-white, faintly margined with brown ; the mantfe
a somewhat pale hair-brown, every feather narrowly, but con-
spicuously, centred with fulvous- white ; the quill-feathers and
tail-feathers chocolate-brown, darkest on the primaries and rec-
trices ; the lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts are nearly
pure white, only a few of the longest being tinged with brown.
In an intermediate stage the crop-patch is intermediate in
color between that of th'e adult and of the young, as is also the
color and character of the ruff, and indeed of the whole plumage.
This bird differs at all ages' from bengalensis in having
fourteen instead of twelve rectrices. Hume, " Hough Notes."
With the exception of Sind, this Vulture is common through-
out the Presidency. It breeds on cliffs during December and
January ; the egg is usually very pale greenish-white, but is
occasionally spotted and blotched with pale-reddish or faint
purplish-brown. They average 3'61 in length by 272 in breadth.
GENUS, Pseudogyps, Sharpe.
Tarsus shorter than middle toe ; tail of twelve feathers.
Pseudogyps bengalensis, Gm.
5. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 10; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 442 ; Deccan and South Mahratta
country ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 369 ; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoology of Sind, p. 63 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ;
Ibis, 1885, p. 54 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p, 26.
THE WHITE-BACKED VULTURE,
Gidh, Hin.
Length, 33 to 37 ; expanse, 83 to 88 ; wing, 22 to 24 ; tail,
9 to 11 ; tarsus, 3'5 to 3*9; bill from gape, 2'65 to 2'9 : weight,
9 to 13 Ibs.
Bill horny, dusky on cere; irides red-brown; legs dusky-
black.
Adult : above cinereous-black ; back and rump white, beneath
dark -brown ; the feathers centred lighter ; the short feathers of
the crop deep-brown ; ruff whitish, the feathers short and downy ;
head and neck nearly bare, with a few scattered hair-like feathers.
The young is paler, with the head and neck more or less clothed
with whitish down; bill and cere horny-black; legs black;
irides brown.
The White-backed is the commonest Vulture we have ; it
occurs in great numbers all over the country ; they breed during
December, January, and February, choosing lofty trees in the
neighbourhood of villages, in the tops of which they make huge
platform nests, sometimes as many as twelve or fourteen in a
single tree. Jerdon says : " It breeds by preference on rocky
cliffs." I doubt this, as I have found the nests on trees, adjacent
to cliffs, in every way suitable. I have never found more than a
NEOPHRONIN^f 7
single egg, or a single nestling, in a nest ; this would seem con-
clusive, but others state that they lay one or two eggs.
The color of the egg is white, with a greenish tinge, and is
generally much discolored ; they are often spotted and blotched,
with various shades of reddish-brown. The texture is moderately
fine, the shell thick and strong, and the lining a deep green.
They vary much in size and shape, some being moderately long
ovals, while others are nearly spherical. They average 3'26
inches in length by 2'42 in breadth.
SUB-FAMILY, Neophroninae.
Bill lengthened, slender, straight, hooked suddenly at the tip ;
cere very long, occupying nearly two-thirds of the whole bill ;
nostrils longitudinal, nearly in the middle of the bill ; part of
the head and face naked ; neck with acuminated feathers ; wings
ample, pointed, the third quill longest ; tail moderate, wedge-
shaped, of twelve or fourteen feathers ; legs moderate, toes much
united at base by membrane.
GENUS, Neophron, Sav.
The characters are the same as those of the sub-family.
Neophron ginginianus, Lath.
6. Jerdon's Birds of India, Yol. I, p. 12 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 442 ; Deccan and South Mahratta
country ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 369 ; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoology of Sind, p. 64 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ;
Ibis, 1885, p. 54 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 31.
THE WHITE SCAVENGER VULTURE.
Length, 26 to 29 ; wing, 19 ; tail, 9 to 10 ; tarsus, 3 ; bill from
gape, 2-5.
Bill horny -brown ; cere and face turmeric-yellow ; irides
reddish- brown ; legs and feet yellowish- white.
Adult : yellowish or creamy-white ; quills black ; neck feathers
long, lanceolate, and tinged rusty ; secondaries dark brown, ashy-
white at base.
The young bird has the plumage dirty-brown, with the quills
blackish-brown ; the back and rump albescent or tawny ; the
inner edge of the secondaries and of some of the primaries
cinereous ; the nude parts of head and cere greyish ; feet cine-
reous.
In an intermediate stage the birds are mottled-brown and
white.
The White Scavenger Vulture is another very common species,
and is found throughout the whole district ; it breeds during
March and April, generally on trees but occasionally on rocky
8 GYPAETIN.E.
cliffs, old buildings and such like places. It makes a large nest
of twigs, lined with old rags and rubbish ; straggling, if built
on a cliff or a building rather more compact if on a tree. In
the latter situation, the nest is generally placed at the junction
of a large limb with the trunk, but sometimes on a horizontal
branch, very rarely in a fork. The eggs, two in number, are
very handsome ; they are somewhat chalky in texture, greyish-
white in color, richly blotched and clouded with deep brownish-
red. They vary much in shape, size and color.
They average 2*6 inches in length by T98 in breadth.
SUB-FAMILY, Gypaetinae, Bonn $ Gray.
Bill strong, lengthened, compressed, straight ; upper man-
dible ascending in front of cere, then curved, with the tip
much hooked ; nostrils oval, vertical, covered with dense rigid
recumbent bristles ; lower mandible with a beard, or tuft of
rigid setaceous bristles directed forward ; head closely feathered ;
wings very long, the first quill rather shorter than the second,
the third longest ; feet short, stout ; the tarsus hirsute to the
toes ; the thigh-coverts lengthened ; the three front toes slightly
united by membrane, middle-toe very long, hind-toe short ;
claws strong, moderately curved ; tail cuneate, long,
GENUS, Qypaetus, Storr.
The characters are the same as those of the sub-family.
Gypaetus barbatus, Lin.
7. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 12 ; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoology of Sind, p. 64 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 35.
THE LAMMERGEYEE.
Length, 44 to 49 ; expanse, 99 to 110 ; wing, 30 to 34 ; tail,
21 to 25 ; tarsus, 3'9 to 47 ; bill from gape, 4 to 47.
Bill bluish-horny, dusky at tip ; irides pale-orange or straw
color; sclerotic membrane blood-red; feet plumbeous; claws
black.
Head whitish with dark stripes, tinged rufous ; cheek-stripe
and supercilium black ; feathers of the nape lengthened, creamy-
white, tinged wiih bright tawny; upper parts black;
the back and rump paler, with white shafts, and the coverts
with white streaks; greater-coverts, wing and tail ashy-black,
with darker edges and white shafts to the feathers ; beneath dull
orange or ferruginous, with a more or less marked black pectoral
collar (not always present ), paling below the breast, and becom-
ing albescent or nearly white on the lower belly and under
tail-coverts.
The Lammergeyer or Bearded Vulture only occurs in the
northern parts of Sind.
FALCONING. 9
FAMILY, Falconidse.
Bill usually short and compressed, tip elongated, curved, and
sharp ; margin of upper mandible toothed or festooned ; wings
more or less pointed ; tail various, generally rather long ; leers
and feet strong ; tarsus bare, or feathered ; toes generally un-
equal, with the claws lon<j, sharp, and well curved ; head and
neck are always feathered ; eyes sunk, shaded above by a bony
projection or brow.
SUB-FAMILY, Falconinse.
Bill short, strongly curved and hooked, the upper mandible
with a sharp tooth (or sometimes two) over-lapping the lower
one, which is short, truncated and slightly notched to receive
the tooth of the upper mandible.
The wings are long, with the second quill usually longest,
sometimes the third nearly equal to it, and one or two of the
first quills are usually notched on their inner webs; the tail
is moderately long, even, or very slightly rounded, and broad ;
the legs are short, muscular, and reticulated ; the toes lengthened,
with the outer and inner one generally very unequal in length ;
the claws sharp, well-curved, and somewhat retractile.
GENUS, Falco, Lin.
Bill with the upper mandible furnished with one strong
tooth ; nostrils round, with a central tubercle ; wings long and
pointed, reaching nearly to the end of the tail, the first one or
two quills notched internally, the second quill longest ; the tail
rather short ; tarsus short, strong, reticulated, feathered at the
knee ; toes long, scutellated, the middle-toe very long, outer-toe
longer than the inner ; claws long and sharp ; inner fore and
hind-claw very large.
Falco peregrinus, Gm.
8. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 21 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray
Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 442 ; Deccan and South Mahratta
country ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 370 ; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoology of Sind, p. 65 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 49.
THE PEREGRINE FALCON.
Bhyri, HiN.
? . Length, 18 to 20'25 ; expanse, 35 to 39 ; wing, 13 to 14'5 ;
tail, 6 to 675 ; tarsus, 2 to 2'2 ; bill from gape, 1-3.
c?. Length, 16 ; wing, 12'25 ; tail, 575.
Bill, pale blue at base of upper mandible, greenish at base
of lower mandible, bluish-black at tips of both; cere dingy-
yellowish; irides deep bro\vn; legs and feet pale yellowish-
brown ; claws black.
Adult : above deep bluish-grey, most of the feathers with some
dark markings ; head, nape, and moustache darker ; rump and
10 FALCONIN.E.
upper tail-coverts much lighter ; wings blackish-brown, more or
less spotted or barred with white on the inner web ; tail grey,
with some dark bands, and a pale tip ; beneath chin and throat
pure white ; breast, white, with a few narrow longitudinal streaks,
almost disappearing in old individuals ; abdomen with some small
heart-shaped spots ; flanks and thigh-coverts with dark transverse
bars ; inner wing-coverts white, with numerous well-marked
dark cross bars.
Young bird: above dark brown, most of the feathers edged
with paler and somewhat rufous brown ; head more edged with
whitish, especially the hind head ; cheek-stripe brown ; wings
darker brown than the back, with pale rufous spots or bars on the
inner webs ; the tail dusky-cinereous, with numerous interrupted
pale rufous or rufous- white bars ; beneath white or creamy, with
brown oval spots, longitudinal and narrow on the throat and breast,
wider and ovate on the abdomen.
The following extract from Mr. Hume's " Rough Notes" will
assist in discriminating the various species of Falcons :
" First, the Sacer so far exceeds all the others in size that
this alone would be sufficient to identify it. The wings average
from 15 to 16 inches, against 14 in F. juggur and F. peregrinus,
and 13 in perigrinator and babylonicus.. Then, while the cen-
tral tail-feathers of peregrinus, perigrinator, and babylonicus
are all barred, (in different stages according to age) and those of
juggur are unbarred, those of Sacer, in most of the specimens I
have seen, are marked with roundish spots (more or less broad
ovals on the laterals). Then, again, the Sacer never has much, and
commonly shows scarcely any sign of a cheek-stripe, while in all
the others it is well marked Further, the Peregrine is distin-
guished at all times from the Juggur, by its huge, broad cheek-
patch, which in the Laggar is at most about a quarter of an inch
broad, and by the entire absence of barring on the centre tail-
feathers in F. juggur, which absence equally distinguishes this
later from both perigrinator and babylonicus.
From babylonicus, both perigrinator and peregrinus differ in
the cheek-stripe, which is narrow in the former, as in the juggur,
but very broad and strongly marked in the two latter ; but baby-
lonicus, as far as my experience goes, is not of the juggur type
of brown plumage, the old birds becoming slaty or greenish-blue
as do both peregrinus and perigrinator, whilst the oldest jug-
gur is never more than slaty-brown.
Then, as to perigrinator and peregrinus, the comparatively
rich rufous coloring at all ages of the -under parts, and the very
dark head and nape of the former, at once separate the two
species.
The Peregrine, though it occurs throughout the district, is no-
where common. It is also called the Duck-hawk, from its habit
of preying on the duck tribe; so long as they (the ducks)
remain on the water, they are safe, and the ducks seem instinct-
FALCONIN.E. 11
ively to know this, for immediately a Peregrine appears in sight,
they betake themselves to the water with the utmost speed they
are capable of, the hindmost generally falling a victim to the
Peregrine's superior powers of flight.
Nothing certain appears to be known concerning its nidification
in this country, but it is strongly suspected to breed on the banks
of the Cabool and Swat rivers. I have myself seen young birds
offered for sale at Kotri, Sind : these birds were said to have
been obtained from nests on the banks of the Indus.
Falco perigrinator, Sund.
9. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 25 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray
Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 443; Deccan and South Mahratta
country; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 370; Swinhoe and
Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 55 ; Hume's Scrap Book,
p. 55.
THE SHAHEEN FALCON.
Shahin, Hin.
<?. Length, 14'87 ; wing, 11*49 ; tail, 6 ; tarsus, 1'85 ; bill from
gape, 1-1.
? . Length, 18 ; wing, 13'5 ; tail, 6'25.
Bill bluish, black at tip ; irides brown ; cere, orbits, legs and
feet yellow ; claws, black.
Young bird with the upper parts and cheek-stripe very dark
cinereous, or dusky-blackish, darkest on the head, hind-neck and
cheek-stripe, most of the feathers narrowly edged with rufous,
those of the back and rump more broadly so ; occasionally the
forehead is somewhat rufous, and there is always a patch on the
nape, where it forms a sort of crucial mark ; tail paler than the
rest of the body, faintly barred with rufous, and tipped with the
same ; chin and throat pale rufous-yellow, almost white in some
birds and unspotted ; cheeks the same, with narrow dark stripes ;
the rest of the body beneath bright rufous or chesnut, with
longitudinal dark -brown stripes on the lower breast and the mid-
dle of the abdomen ; oblong spots on the sides, and arrow-shaped
markings on the lower abdomen, vent and under tail-coverts ;
under wing-coverts rufous, with dark brown bars ; the quills bar-
red with rufous on their inner webs.
The old bird has the head, nape, and cheek-stripe almost black ;
back and upper parts slaty, light on the rump, and almost with-
out any markings ; chin, throat, and upper breast white ; the rest
of the plumage beneath rufous or chesnut, almost unspotted.
The changes of plumage from the young bird consists in the
head, gradually becoming darker ; the back (and the rump more
especially) becoming lighter and more slaty-blue, and in the
markings of the lower surface gradually disappearing from the
crop downwards with each successive moult. Individuals vary
a good deal in the amount of white on the* chin and throat, and
12 FALCONING.
in its intensity ; in some it is well marked, in others always a
creamy or rufous-white.
The Shaheen Falcon occurs sparingly throughout the country,
with the exception of Sind, from whence it has not yet been re-
corded. Dr. Jerdon says that it breeds on inaccessible cliffs, arid
that he has seen three eyries. One, at the large waterfall in
Mhow, is within our district, and I have myself seen, during the
cold season of 1881, a pair of Shaheens frequenting this spot.
Major Butler had reason to believe that a pair bred annually at
Khandalla.
Falco sacer, Gm.
10. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 29 ; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoology of Sind, p. 66 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 62.
THE SAKER.
Chargh, Hin.
c?. Length, 19'81 ; wing, 15; tail, 9'2 ; tarsus, 2'13; bill from
gape, 1-42.
? . Length, 22 ; wing, 15'5 ; tail, 1075 ; tarsus, 213 ; bill from
gape, 1-45.
Young bird with the top of the head yellowish- white, brown
streaked ; upper parts brown, with slight pale edgings to some of
the feathers ; beneath white, with large oval brown spots ; legs
and feet pale bluish; bill and cere bluish-black at tip. The
adult has the upper parts rather pale slaty-brown, almost slaty
in old birds ; cheek-stripe indistinct ; top of the head reddish-ash
color with fine black streaks ; chin white ; breast and lower parts
white, with oblong, slaty spots ; cere greenish-white ; feet lemon-
yellow.
The Saker Falcon or Cherrug has only been obtained from Sind,
where it is stated to be not common and only occurring in the
cold weather. Those obtained were all in the immature phase.
Falco juggur, J. E. Gray.
11. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 30; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray
Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 443 ; Deccan and South Mahratta
country ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 370 ; Murray's Verte-
brate Zoology of Sind, p. 67 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central
India; Ibis, 1885, p. 55j Hume's Scrap Book, p. 70.
THE LAGGAB.
Laggar, Female, Hin.
Juggur, Male, Hin.
<J. Length, 15 to 16'5 ; expanse, 37 to 41 ; wing, 12 to 13 ;
tail, 7 to 8 ; tarsus, 17 to T9 ; bill from gape, 1 to 112.
?. Length, 17'5 to 19; expanse, 42 to 45; wing, 13 to 15;
tail, 8 to 9 ; tarsus, 175 to 2 ; bill from gape, 115 to 1-37.
In the young, the color of the legs and feet vary from pale
plumbeous to dull greenish-grey ; in the adult from full wax-
FALCONING. 13
yellow to a bright almost orange-yellow. The claws are blackish-
horny ; the cere is dingy greenish-grey or plumbeous in the
young, bright yellow in the adult ; the orbit greenish-yellow in the
former, blight yellow in the latter ; the bill varies at base from
greenish-horny to greyish-blue and even blue, and at tip from
dark horny-blue to bluish-black ; the irides are brown.
Adult Male. Above dusky-ashy or slate color ; crown of head
dull rufous with central ashy-black striations ; lores, forehead,
chin, throat and eyebrow white ; moustachial stripe black ;
wing-coverts concolorous with the back, the carpal margin
white ; the breast white with a few brown spots ; lower abdo-
men, flanks and thighs ashy brown ; tail clear ashy-grey with
pale rufous bars on the inner webs and a white tip.
Young of a chocolate-brown above and below ; wing-coverts
with rufous margins ; head yellowish-fawn ; or pale rufous ;
forehead and eyebrow whitish ; chin and throat white ; under
tail-coverts dirty-white with faint brown markings.
The Laggar is the commonest of the larger Falcons, and occurs
throughout the region. It is a permanent resident, and breeds
during the first three months of the year, the majority of them
laying in Fabruary. It is by no means particular in the choice
of a site for its nest ; a hole in the face of an old building, a
ledge on a rocky or clayey cliff, a fork in a tree, or even a
deserted crow or other nest, are all made use of. The eggs,
three or four in number, are oval in shape, of a fine but chalky
texture, reddish or yellowish- white in color, so closely freckled
and stippled with reddish-brown, as to leave little or none of the
ground color discernible. At such times the egg, unless looked
at closely, appears to be a uniform brick-red. Sometimes the
color is whiter and the egg blotched, clouded or capped with
reddish-brown, not however very distinct. They are at times
very beautiful.
They average 2 inches in length by T55 in breadth.
Falco babylonicus, Gurney.
12. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 32 ; Hume's Scrap Book,
p. 79 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 67.
THE RED-CAP FALCON.
Length, 16; expanse, 38; weight, 12ozs ; wing, 11 '87 ; tail,
(of 12 feathers), 6 ; tarsus, (feathered for 0'5 in front) 1*87;
bill from gape, -1'19.
Legs and feet bright yellow, whitish at the joints of the
reticulated scales of the tarsus ; soles with large pads, very
conspicuous under second joint of middle and exterior toe ; claws
horn black; middle-toe very slender and elongated; irides
dark brown ; edges of the lids greenish-yellow, with tiny dark
lashes ; membrane of the orbits pale greenish.
Forehead baffy- white, feathers dark shafted ; line over the
14 FALCONING.
.eye continued round the back of the head, whitish or fulvous-
white ; feathers dark shafted ; whole crown of the head brown, a
few feathers in centre towards the front very broadly margined,
the rest very narrowly margined, with fulvous or buffy- white ;
the nape below the white stripe darkish-brown in the centre,
the feathers margined with buffy-white, and with a patch of
white on either side the feathers of which have dark spots
towards the tip ; the whole of the rest of the back of the neck,
upper back, scapulars, and wing-coverts a nearly uniform brown
with a faint tinge of slaty, and all the feathers tipped and
margined with fulvous-white, very narrowly towards the head,
and more broadly towards the points of the scapulars ; the hue
of the back of the neck is slightly darker ; the quills are much
the same color, but somewhat more bluish ; all the quills have
a number of incomplete bars, or oval spots of rufous-white on
the inner web ; the last five primaries, the secondaries and the
tertiaries have each two or three tiny rufous-white spots on the
outer webs also ; and the greater-coverts of the secondaries
and tertiaries have similar small inconspicuous spots on both
webs ; and all the secondaries and tertiaries, and the last few
primaries, are narrowly tipped with buffy-white ; the rump
and lower back are a somewhat paler and more sandy-brown,
margined with pale rufous ; the upper tail-coverts are a still
more sandy-brown, tipped and margined with dingy-white, and
with one or more incomplete bars of fulvous-white ; the tail-
feathers are brown, paler and sandier on the centre feathers,
and darker, and more slaty on the outer feathers, all
narrowly tipped with dirty- white, and all with six or seven one-
quarter-inch broad transverse bars on both webs, fulvous white
on the centre feathers, and rufous-white on the exterior feathers ;
the bars are scarcely visible on the outer web of the exterior
feather ; chin, and upper part of throat, pure white ; a dark-
brown cheek-stripe from under the eye, margined with pale
rufous ; ear-coverts mingled pale brown and rufous-white.
Hinder portion of the cheeks white, some of the feathers
tinged pale-rufous ; an ill-defined brown stripe (the feathers
slightly tipped fulvous-white) running backwards from the
posterior angle of the eye, and dividing the white of the hind-
cheeks from the white of the sides of the nape ; the lower
throat and upper portion of breast fulvous-white, each feather
dark shafted, and with a narrow somewhat pear-shaped streak
of dark brown towards the tip ; the rest of the breast, sides
and upper abdomen fulvous-white, each feather with a well
marked central stripe of brown, narrowest in front, broadest to-
wards the sides.
Lower abdomen and vent white, slightly tinged with fulvous,
a few of the feathers dark shafted; lower tail-coverts (which
do not reach within two inches of the end of the tail) white,
with two or three transverse, somewhat wavy bars, of pale
FALCONING. 15
brown ; interior thigh-coverts white ; exterior thigh-coverts
white, tinged with fulvous, each feather dark shafted, and with
a central lanceolate stripe of brown, the bars above mentioned
showing through; the lower wing-coverts, all reddish-brown,
conspicuously margined at the tip, and the longer ones barred
with somewhat fulvous-white.
Mr. Hume in his " Rough Notes " gives the measurements and
description of a fine female, shot by him in the Punjaub :
Dimensions. Length, 17'95 ; expanse, 4*1, tail from vent,
7*25 ; foot, greatest length, 4'5, greatest width 4 ; wing, 13 ;
wings, when closed, reach to within 1*87 of end of tail ; tarsus,
175 ; mid- toe to root of claw, 1*9 ; weight, 1*87 Ibs.
Description. The irides were deep brown ; the cere, gape,
and orbital skin, as well as the legs and feet, were bright yellow ;
the claws were black, and the corneous portion of the bill was
blue, changing to horny-black at the tip.
The forehead and the centre of the top of the head were
sandy-rufous, each feather with a dark-brown shaft ; the sides
of the top and the back of the head were a somewhat ashy or
slaty-brown, the feathers more or less margined with sandy-
rufous ; a broad, rufous, half collar ran round the back of the
neck, a little mottled behind the ear-coverts, and again in the
centre of the back of the neck, with dusky-slaty ; the whole
mantle was slaty-grey, dark and dusky towards the base of the
neck, and paling towards the rump and upper tail-coverts ; most,
if not all, of the feathers were narrowly margined paler, those
towards the nape with rufous, and those lower down with greyish-
white ; most of the feathers also were somewhat conspicuously
darker shafted, and all exhibited broad, transverse somewhat
ill-defined, dusky-slaty, bands ; the rump and upper tail-
coverts were pale slaty, or French-grey, with brown shafts, and
transverse arrow head, dusky bars ; the tail-feathers were
pale slaty-grey, tipped with rufous, and with numerous broad
transverse, well defined, slaty-brown bars, broadest towards the
tips ; there was a blackish line under the eye, continued down-
wards for about an inch and a quarter, as a narrow cheek-stripe ;
the two cheek-stripes nearly meet on the throat, about an inch
and a half below the base of the lower mandible ; the whole
of the lower parts were a rich rufous-salmon color, somewhat
paler on the chin and centre of the throat, and deeper on the
ear-coverts, sides of neck, and centre of the abdomen ; the
breast, chin and throat are perfectly spotless ; the abdomen,
flanks, lower tail-coverts and tibial plumes were regularly, but
rather widely barred with slaty-brown ; the bars, everywhere
narrow, being nearly obsolete in the centre of the abdomen, an d
best marked on the flanks ; the under wing-coverts were of
a pale salmon color, conspicuously barred with brown.
The Red-headed Falcon or Lanner has only been recorded from
Sind. With regard to its modification nothing certain seems to be
16 FALCONING.
known, but Mr. Hume had reason to believe that it bred in the
Peshawar Valley and in Cashmere.
Falco barbarus, Lin.
12 b is. Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 68.
THE BAKBARY FALCON.
cT. Length, 14 ; wing, 10'8 ; tail, 5 ; tarsus, 1'6.
?. Length, 15 '5 ; expanse, 36'4 ; wirg, 1T4; tail, 6 '4 ; tarsus,
1*8 ; bill from gape, I'l.
The base of the beak is yellow, but the point is blue ; the cere
and feet beautiful yellow, and the orbital skin orange.
The forehead presents a mixture of rufous and dull white. This
part of the head is encircled by a black (or dark slaty) horse-shoe-
shaped band, of which the lateral branches pass over the eyes,
their extreme points joining in front of the eyes, the moustachial
stripes which extend along the sides of the neck ; the occiput
and nape are covered by a rufous half-collar marked with three
black spots, of which the centre one forms a band on the nape ;
the back and wings are a light bluish-grey, with large spots and
irregular bars of bluish-black ; the tail, which is a lighter grey
than the back, is barred transversely with black bands, very nar-
row towards the bases of the feathers, but widening gradually
towards their ends, the tips of which are white ; the chest is
pure isabeline ; the flanks, vent, and abdomen of the same color,
but the feathers bear very narrow longitudinal striae and little
triangular black spots.
This Falcon only occurs as a rare visitant, Sind being the only
part of the region with which I am dealing, in which it has occur-
red.
Falco subbuteo, Lin.
13. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 33 ; Butler, Aboo ; Stray
Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 443 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX,
p. 370 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 69 ; Hume's
Scrap Book, p. 85.
THE HOBBY.
<. Length, 1075 ; wing, 9 : 4 ; tail, 5'25.
?. Length, 12'5 ; wing, 10*4 ; tail, 5'5.
Cere and legs greenish-yellow.
Adult : blackish-slaty above, rusty-white beneath ; throat and
neck unspotted ; breast and abdomen with dark brown streaks,
narrow on the centre of the abdomen, wider on the flanks ; thigh-
coverts and under tail -co verts pure ferruginous ; tail dark slaty,
with dark bands ; frontal line and narrow stripe over the eye pale
rusty- whitish ; cheek-stripe black, distinctly separated from the
dark cheeks and ear-coverts ; quills barred internally with light
rufous.
Young bird : dark brown above, the feathers edged with ferrugi-
FALCONING. 17
nous; cheek-stripe darker, beneath whitish, with a rusty tinge,
and all the feathers with broad blackish-brown spots or streaks ;
the lower abdomen, thigh-coverts, and under tail-coverts ferrugi-
nous, with a few brown streaks.
The European Hobby is a somewhat rare winter visitant to the
greater part of the region ; at Aboo it is not uncommon, but has
not as yet been recorded from Central India,
Falco sesalon, Tunst.
15. Hypotriorchis cesalon, Gm. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 35 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 7 ; Hume's
Scrap Book, p. 89.
THE MERLIN.
J. Length, 11-25 ; wing, 8 ; tail, 5.
? . Length, 13'5 ; wing, 9 ; tail, 5*5.
Above, fine blackish-grey, darkest on the crown, and reddish,
mixed with white, on the nape ; ear-coverts yellowish-grey ; quills
blackish-brown ; tail grey, with a broad black band, white-tipped
at the end; chin and throat white, the same tinged with ochrey on
the breast and with reddish-orange on the abdomen, with dark
brown spots. The female is browner than the male, with the
markings more rufous, and the lower parts ochrey-white, tinged
with rufous on the breast, and the spots larger and more numer-
ous.
The young bird has the head rufous, with dark streaks ; and
the rest of the plumage above brown, tinged grey, with dark
shafts, and pale rufous edges ; quills dark brown ; tail ashy-brown,
barred with rufous ; the chin is white, the rest of the plumage
beneath pale ochrey-white, with broad brown marks reduced to
lines on the thighs and under tail-coverts.
The Merlin is another very rare visitant to Sind,
Falco chiquera, Daud.
16. Hypotriorchis chiquera,DdMid. Jerdon's Birds of India,
I, p. 36; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 444; I/
Deccan and South Mahratta country, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX,
p. 370 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 70 ; Swinhoe
and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 55 ; Hume's Scrap
Book, p. 91.
THE KED-HEADED MERLIN.
Turumti, Hin.
<?. Length, 11 to 12 ; expanse, 26 ; wing, 8 to 8'25 ; tail, 475
to 6 ; tarsus, 1*5.
?. Length, 13 to 14 ; wing, 8'5 to 9 ; tail, 5'5 to 6 ; tarsus,
1-5.
Cere, orbitar skin, and legs, bright yellow.
Adult : head, nape, and cheek-stripe bright rufous ; the rest of
the plumage above fine pale grey ; quills dark slaty ; tail light grey,
2
FALCONING.
with a broad black terminal band, white tipped at the end ; beneath
white, unspotted to the breast ; all the rest of the lower parts with
narrow cross bands of dusky grey ; quills with the inner webs
banded dusky and whitish ; tail with narrow cross bars, conspicu-
ous beneath, not seen above.
Young bird : head, nape, and moustache dark dusky-rufous,
with dark mesial lines ; the upper parts grey, with dark markings
to all the feathers ; quills darker ; tail with numerous bars, and a
broad black terminal band ; beneath white, more or less tinged
rusty, with some streaks on the neck and breast, and broadish
bars on the abdomen and thigh-coverts.
The Turumti is more or less common throughout the region.
It frequents open country in the vicinity of cultivation, and I
have often obtained its nest within village enclosures. It com-
mences to breed in January, and nests may be found quite up
to the end of March. They prefer rather high trees, such as
tamarind and peepul, and in a fork near the top, they construct
rather a neat cup-shaped nest of twigs, lined with grass, roots,
&c. It would be rather a difficult nest to find were it not for
the fussy habit the bird has of darting out, attacking, and
driving away any bird that may happen to come near the tree.
Jerdon says that they do not hesitate to attack the Tawny Eagle.
The usual number of eggs is four, but I have occasionally found
only three, well incubated. They are rather longish ovals, some-
what chalky in texture, of a yellowish or reddish-brown color,
closely stippled, blotched, mottled and clouded with darker shades
of the same color.
They average 1'65 inches in length by about T25 in breadth.
GENUS, Cerchneis.
Tarsi long, strong, with transverse hexagonal scales ; rest as in
Falco.
Cerchneis tinnunculus, Lin.
17. Tinnunculus alaudarius, Brisson. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 38 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill,
p. 444 ; Deccan and South Mahratta country ; Stray Feathers,
Vol. IX, p. 370 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 71 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 56 ; Hume's
Scrap Book, p. 96.
THE KESTRIL.
Narzi, Hin.
c? Length, 13 to 14 ; expanse, 30 ; wing, 10 ; tail, 6'25 ; bill from
gape, 0'85; tarsus, 1'53.
o Length, 15 ; wing, 1075 ; tail, 7.
Bill yellowish at the base, bluish-black at tips and on culmen ;
irides brown ; cere and orbits bright yellow ; legs and feet bright
orange-yellow ; claws blackish-horny.
Male : forehead yellowish ; head, nape and tail fine ashy-
FALCONING. 19
grey, the latter with a broad black band, and the former some-
times tinged black ; mantle and wing-coverts vinaceous, with
some heart-shaped black spots ; beneath creamy or rusty with
spots of brown, linear on the breast, oval on the abdomen, and
heart-shaped on the sides ; the under tail-coverts are unspotted ;
quills brown, with white bands or spots 011 the inner webs.
Female (and young male) : above of a ruddy vinaceous color,
with long dark stripes on the head and neck, broadish bars on
the back and wing-coverts ; tail with numerous dark bands, and
a broader one at the end, white-tipped ; cheek-stripe dark, of
small extent ; ears hoary ; plumage beneath reddish-ochraceus,
with numerous and close brown spots.
To the above description, which is Dr. Jerdon's, must be added,
that the tail is tipped with white, and that the centre tail-
feathers have at times linear black spots on their inner webs ;
the quills are also often narrowly edged and tipped with white.
The young male is not exactly like the female ; it is always
more rufous.
The Kestril is common throughout the country, but only as a
winter visitant. It arrives in September and does not take its
departure until April. It does not breed anywhere within our
limits ; but is known to do so on the Himalayan, Suleiman, and
Neilgherry ranges. I obtained a good series of eggs on the Khoja
Amran Hills, between Quetta and Kandahar.
Cerchneis naumanni, Fleish.
18. Erythropus cenchris, Maum. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol.
I, p. 40 ; Butler, Deccan and South Mahratta country ; Stray
Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 371 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 103.
THE LESSER KESTRIL.
Total length, 12*5 inches ; culmen, 075 ; wing, 9'5 ; tail, 6 ;
tarsus, 1'2.
Bill lightish-blue, yellow at base, and blackish at tip ; cere,
orbits, and feet beautiful yellow ; the claws generally white, very
rarely inclining to blackish ; iris dark brown.
Adult male : upper surface of body rich cinnamon-rufous ;
entire head and hind-neck, lower back, rump, upper tail-coverts,
and tail blue-grey, the latter tipped with white, and crossed by a
broad subterminal band of black ; lores and a few streaks on the
cheeks whitish ; lesser and medium wing-coverts cinnamon-rufous,
like the back, a few of the outer ones of the latter series washed
with blue-grey ; the greater-coverts and inner secondaries blue-grey
washed with rufous externally ; primaries dark brown ; throat
deep fulvous-white ; breast pale cinnamon or vinous, with a few
blackish ^spots on the breast, becoming larger on the sides of
the body ; thighs paler rufous, unspotted ; abdomen and under
tail-coverts yellowish-white ; under wing-coverts white, with a
few tiny black oval spots, larger on the axillaries.
20 FALCONING.
Adult female : dissimilar to the male. Above tawny-rufous,
transversely crossed by bars of blackish-brown, narrower and more
obscure on the lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts, the latter
of which are strongly inclined to grey; tail rufous, barred with
black, tipped with whitish, before which a broad subterminal band
of black ; head and neck rather paler rufous, the former broadly,
the latter more narrowly, streaked with blackish shaft stripes;
forehead and a distinct eye-brow whitish; cheeks and ear-coverts
silvery-white, with narrow shaft lines of black ; primaries dark-
brown, barred on the inner web with rufous; secondaries colored
like the back, the outer ones narrowly margined with white at the
tip ; throat, vent and under tail-coverts fulvous- white, unspotted ;
breast inclining to rufous- fawn color; all the feathers mesially
streaked with blackish, these stripes being broader on the flanks,
and very tiny on the sides, which are also paler rufous. Total
length, 12'5 inches; culmen, 07 ; wing, 9'3; tail, 5'9; tarsus, 1'2.
Young male : like the old female, but somewhat paler rufous.
The blue tail is assumed by a moult, the blue head being, on the
other hand, gained by a change of feather. Birds in intermediate
stages are often thus seen. Sharpens Catalogue.
The Lesser Kestril has been recorded from the Deccan by
several observers, but Mr. Hume remarks that it is doubtful whe-
ther the form that occurs there may not be the closely allied
Cerdmeis pekinensis. I therefore add a description of the latter.
18 fo's. Cerchneis pekinensis, Swinh.
Adult male : very similar to G. naumanni, but darker and
more vinous-red above ; underneath also darker colored and un-
spotted when adult. The principal distinction is in the wing-
coverts, which are almost entirely blue-grey, only the very inner-
most being slightly washed with rufous. Total length, 12 inches ;
culmen, 0'8 ; wing, 9'6 ; tail, 5*8; tarsus 1-45. Sharpes Cata-
logue.
Cerchneis vespertina, Lin.
19. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 41.
1 9 bis. Butler, Deccan; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 371 ; Hume's
Scrap Book, p. 106.
THE RED-LEGGED FALCON.
<?. Length, 11; wing, 875.
$. Length, 11 '5; wing, 9'25 ; expanse, 27; tail, 5.
Bill fleshy-red, with a dusky tip ; cere and legs deep orange-
red ; claws fleshy ; orbitar skin orange-yellow.
Young bird : above dark slaty-grey, some of the feathers centred
and tipped darker; tail light grey, obsoletely barred; ocular region
and cheek-stripe nearly black ; narrow frontal band, supercilium,
lores, ear-feathers, and sides of neck and throat white; breast and
abdomen rusty-white, with blackish-brown marks, longitudinal on
the breast, heart-shaped on the sides, and arrow-like on the centre
ACCIPITRIN^ 21
of the abdomen ; vent, under tail-coverts, and thigh-coverts pale
unspotted rusty.
The adult male has the whole upper plumage unspotted ashy,
pale ashy beneath ; chin and throat whitish ; wings dusky-black ;
thigh-coverts, and under tail-coverts, bright rusty-red.
Dr. Jerdon remarks that the Red-legged Falcon is not common
in India, but that he has killed it in Central India ; it is nearly
certain that he mistook it for 19 bis, Cerchmis amurensis, Radde.
This latter Major Butler procured at Belgaum. The points of
difference are as follows;
VESPERTINA, AMURENSIS,
ADULT <$.
Under wing-coverts and axillaries.
Bluish-grey. Pure white,
Breast,
Bluish-grey. Grey,
ADULT 9 .
Under surface.
Rufous, either uniform or with Creamy- white ; the breast
slight remains of blackish shaft broadly streaked and the flanks
lines. barred with black ; abdomen,
thighs, and under tail-coverts
uniform pale rufous.
Juv.
Head.
Rufous with narrow shaft lines Dark bluish, with black shaft
of black ; forehead whitish ; under streaks ; forehead fulvous ; un-
surface of body buff, streaked der surface of body buff,
down the centres of the feathers broadly streaked with black on
with brown ; no bars on the the chest and barred on the
flanks ; tail bluish. flanks with the same color; tail
bluish.
SUB-FAMILY, Accipitrinse.
Bill short and stout, curving from the base, with a blunt tooth
or festoon in the upper mandible ; wings short, rounded ; tail
longish, ample, and rounded ; tarsus long, scutellate in front, or
nearly smooth in some; toes long; claws long, curved and acute,
unequal ; inner-claw large.
GENUS, Astur, Lac.
Bill short, stout, curved from the base, compressed, with a
prominent festoon or rounded tooth in the upper mandible, near
the middle ; nostril large, oval, oblique, near the culmen ; lores
thickly clad with minute feathers ; wings short, rounded ; first
quill short, fourth and fifth quills usually equal and longest t ;
tail long, far exceeding the points of the wings, nearly even or
22 ACCIPITRIN^.
slightly rounded ; tarsus moderate, or shortish, plumed below
the knees for nearly half the length of the tarsus, stout, with
large scutse in front and behind ; near the knee, posteriorly, the
scales are small and reticulated; toes strong, outer-toe longer
than the inner one, joined to the middle-one; middle -toe moder-
ately long ; claws well curved, unequal ; inner claw very large,
about equal to that of the hind-toe.
Astur trivirgatus, Tern.
22. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 47 ; Hume's Scrap Book,
p. 116.
THE CRESTED GOSHAWK.
GOT besra, Hin.
<y. Length, 16; wing, 8*5 ; tail, 7 ; tarsus, 2*2.
$ . Length, 17'5 ; wing, 9'5 ; tail, 8 ; tarsus, 2*5 ; hides bright
yellow ; legs pale yellow ; cere lemon-yellow.
The young bird is brown above, with pale edgings to the
feathers ; eyebrows white, and some white or rufous about the
nape ; below white, more or less spotted on the breast, abdomen
and flanks with dark brown spots, least numerous in the male ;
tail pale ashy-brown, with four or five dark broad bands ; thigh-
coverts with transverse brown bands ; a narrow dark line down
the centre of the chin and throat ; and two more, one on each
side of the neck, not very distinct in the male, but becoming
more so with age ; an occipital crest of several elongated feathers ;{,]
under wing-coverts white, with brown spots ; quills and tail
beneath light cinereous, with dark bands.
The adult bird has the upper plumage glossy dark brown, in
some with an olivaceous tinge, in older birds with a dark
slaty hue, especially when freshly moulted ; wings and tail
banded, the latter with four distinct dark bands ; beneath
white, the throat and upper part of the breast, with pale yellow-
"Brown oval spots ; the rest of the plumage beneath barred with
rich yellow-brown, the bars broad on the breast, belly and flanks ;
narrow on the thigh-coverts, but all becoming more narrow by
age.
The Gor-besra is one of the rarest winter visitants we have.
As yet it has only been doubtfully recorded from the hilly wooded
regions near Mhow ; outside our limits, on the Neilgherries, it
is not uncommon.
With regard to its nidification nothing definite seems to be
known, but it is strongly suspected to breed in the more -sou them
parts of India.
Astur badius, 6m.
23. Micronism badius, Gm. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 49 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 445 ; Dec-
can and South Mahratta country; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX,
ACCIPITRIN.E. 23
p. 371 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 72 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 56 ;
Hume's Scrap Book, p. 117.
THE SHIKRA, Hin.
<J . Length, 12 to 12'5 ; expanse, 23 ; wing, 6'8 to 7'5 ; tail, 5'5
to 5'9 ; bill from gape, 078 ; weight, 5 to 6 ozs.
9 . Length, 14 to 15 ; wing, 8'25 ; tail, 7; tarsus, 1-9; weight,
8J to 9J ozs.
Bill bluish, dusky at tip ; hides; pale yellow ; cere yellow ;
legs and feet yellow.
The young bird is dark reddish, or dusky-brown above ; the
feathers edged with rufous, most broadly so in the male ; back of
the head and nape a good deal variegated with white ; tail light
ashy -brown, with six dark bands, beneath white, with a central
dark chin line ; the breast and abdomen with large oval brown
spots, longer on the breast, rounded on the abdomen ; the thigh-
coverts rufescent-white, with smaller spots ; under tail-coverts
with a few faint stripes. The male has usually fewer spots than
the female.
The adult bird is pale ashy^grey above, darkest on the head,
and with a dusky-reddish nape, only conspicuous when the head
is bent forwards; tail with the two centre feathers and the two
outer ones not barred, the others only barred on their inner webs ;
quills blackish-grey, with some dark narrow bands on the inner
webs ; beneath white, with a faint chin-stripe, not always present ;
breast and upper abdomen closely barred with pale rufescent,
fawn-colored, transverse marks ; the lower abdomen, thigh-
coverts, and under tail-coverts pure white ; irides deep orange
color ; cere bright yellow ; feet dark buff-yellow.
As this plumage is not assumed before the fourth or fifth year,
intermediate stages are common, and consist in the upper
plumage bee oming more uniform ; in the bars of the tail becom-
ing gradually indistinct ; and in the longitudinal drops beneath
changing to bars, gradually disappearing in some parts.
The Shikra is common throughout the region, frequenting
gardens, cultivated ground, and open jungle. It is a permanent
resident, breeding during April and May. It takes a very long
time to make its nest, which is generally placed in a fork near
the top of a tree ; it is composed of twigs and is not very com-
pact, scarcely so large as that of the Turumti. The eggs, three
or four in number, are oval in shape and of a pale delicate bluish-
white color, indistinctly spotted with very faint grey ; the shell
is smooth and glossless. They average from 1*56 inches in length
to 1-21 in breadth.
GENUS, Accipiter, Briss.
Bill very short, curving from the base, compressed, with a very
prominent festoon in the middle of the edge of the upper man-
dible ; nostrils oval, oblique ; wings rounded, the fourth and fifth
24 ACCIPITRIN^E.
quills nearly equal ; tail long, slightly rounded or even slender ;
tarsi long, slender ; the scutae very smooth, and scarcely percep-
tible ; toes long, slender ; the inner toe considerably shorter than
the outer one, but longer than the hind-toe ; claws well curved.
. T-
Accipiter msus, Linn.
24. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 51 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 445; Deccan, Stray Feathers,
Vol. IX, p. 371 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 73 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 56 ; Hume's
Scrap Book, p. 124.
THE SPARROW HAWK.
Basha, Hin.
c. Length, 12 to 13 ; wing, 8'5 ; tail, 6 ; tarsus, 2'25.
? . Length, 15 to 16 ; wing, 9*5 ; expanse, 25 ; tail, 7'5 ; tarsus,
2-5-
Young bird yellowish-brown above, the feathers edged
with ochrey, not much so in female ; the quills banded on
their inner webs ; and the tail with four bands ; beneath
ochrey-white, with broad longitudinal streaks on the chin
and throat, changing to bars on the breast, lower abdomen, and
thigh-coverts.
The adult is blackish or brownish-grey above, white on the
eyebrow and nape ; the quills brown banded, and tail more ashy
and lighter, with four bands, the last widest and with a white tip,
the others somewhat indistinct in very old birds ; the chin and
throat pale ochrey-white, with brown stripes ; the rest of the
plumage beneath white, the feathers with brown shafts, and
densely banded with reddish ochrey, in some specimens quite
rusty ; under tail-coverts pure white.
The adult female differs somewhat from the male in being paler
and browner above, and in the lower parts being whiter, with the
bars and markings more narrow.
The Sparrow Hawk occurs sparingly throughout the region, but
only as a cold weather visitant.
Accipiter virgatus, Reinw.
25. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 52 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 445 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central
India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 56 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 132.
THE JUNGLE SPARROW HAWK.
Besra, Hin.
<?. Length, 11 ; wing, 675 ; tail, 5 ; tarsus, 2 ; weight, 5J ozs.
? . Length, 14'5 ; wing, 8'5 ; tail, 6'5 ; tarsus, 2'25 ; weight,
7 ozs.
Irides pale yellow ; cere pale lemon-yellow ; legs and feet
pale greenish-yellow.
The young bird is dark brown, above the feathers edged paler
AQUILINE, 25
and rufous, tinged with dusky on the cheeks and ears ; tail light
brown, with dark bars ; beneath white, with a mesial throat stripe,
and brown oval drops on"fhenbYeaWand~abdomen, most numerous
in the felnale.
The adult bird has the plumage above deep glossy olive-brown,
with a blackish or slaty tint ; the head and neck dusky-black ;
ears and face light dusky ; the tail light greyish, with four dark
bands on the centre tail-feaOiers, and six on the outer ones ;
throat white, with a mesial blackish stripe, and a few streaks of
the same ; the rest of the lower parts white, very closely banded
with bright ferruginous-brown, mixed with dusky-brown ; under
tail-coverts pure white. With increasing age the brown of the
upper parts become dark slaty-blackish on the head, and light
on the tail, and the transverse bands of the breast tend to
coalesce, and the lower belly to become whiter. In the female,
after the first moult, the breast is marked with oval light yellow-
brown drops, and the abdomen with broadish bars. The adult
male differs from the female in being more grey on the upper
parts ; in the breast and flanks being almost ferruginous, and in
the bands on the lower belly and thigh-coverts being fewer and
lighter in tint.
The Besra has only been recorded from the Deccan and Central
India. In both it only occurs as a rather rare winter visitant.
SUB-FAMILY, Aquilinae.
Bill strong, more or less lengthened, straight at first, curved
towards tlie point ; wings moderate or Jong, 4th quill usually the
longest ; tail moderate or rather long, tarsus rather long, stout,
bare or feathered ; toes moderate, strong ; claws well curved ; of
large size and robust make.
GENUS, Aquila.
Bill strong, more or less lengthened, straight at base, arching
downwards towards the tip, which is moderately hooked ; upper
mandible with the margin somewhat sinuate ; nostrils oblique,
oblong ; wings long, with the fourth and fifth quills sub-equal and
longest ; tail moderate or long, rounded or graduated ; tarsus
moderately long, feathered to the toes ; toes with reticulated scales,
with some large scutae near the claws, which are of moderate
size and curvature ; the hind-toe and claw powerful ; the outer- toe
joined by a small web to the middle-toe.
Aquila chrysaetus, Lin.
26. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 55 ; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoology of Sind, p. 74 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 139.
THE GOLDEN EAGLE.
Length, 36 to 40 ; expanse, 95 to 100 ; wing, 28 ; tail, 17 ; tar-
sus, 4*25 ; bill at gape, 2 '5.
26 AQUILINE.
Irides clear orange-brown ; cere and feet yellow.
Adult rich dark umber-brown, glossed with purple on the back
and wings ; the feathers of the hind-head and nape lanceolate, pale
orange-brown, having a golden appearance in the sunshine ;
shoulders, thigh-coverts in front, and leg-coverts, with a tinge of
the same ; quills blackish-brown, white towards the base on the
inner webs, and clouded with greyish-black ; tail nearly square,
the centre feathers somewhat elongated and narrowed, greyish-
brown, with numerous dark markings and cloudings, or dusky-
brown with numerous grey mottlings on the inner web, especially
towards the base, almost white on the base in young birds.
The Golden Eagle is very rare, and only occurs within our
limits, on the hills that separate Sind from Khelat.
Aquila mogilnik, S. S. Gm.
27. A. imperialis, Bechst. ; Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p.
57 (in part) ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 372 ;
Aquila heliaca, Sav. ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p.
74 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 142.
THE IMPERIAL EAGLE.
<?. Length, 28*5 to 30'5 ; expanse, 69 to 76 ; wing, 2075 to 23 ;
tail, 10*5 to 12-5 ; tarsus, 3'38 to 4 ; bill from gape, 213 to 2'63.
?. Length, 30 to 32'63 ; expanse, 70 to 85 ; wing, 23 to 24'5 ;
tail, 12 to 14 ; tarsus, 375 to 4'06 ; bill from gape, 275 to 313.
Bill pale bluish-grey, bluish- horny at tip ; cere, gape and base
of lower mandible deep yellow, tinged green near nostril ; legs
and feet dingy-yellow ; claws black.
This bird has two well marked stages of plumage :
1st. The general character of this stage is lineated. The
under parts with broader or narrower pale centres to the feathers,
and the upper parts with pale central stripes. What I take to
be the earliest form of this stage has the head and nape brown,
the feathers tipped and margined with pale yellowish-brown ;
the upper back, scapulars, and lesser wing-coveits darker brown,
most of them showing faint traces of paler centres and tips, and
some faintly margined slightly paler.
The lower back is buffy, a patch on the rump being mottled
with brown, the upper tail-coverts being fulvous-white ; the
tail-feathers pale wood-brown, much abraded with dirty fulvous
tips, and showing towards the bases traces of a mottled, paler,
and darker barring.
The primary quills are dark-brown, almost black ; the
secondaries and tertiaries paler and dingier brown, with a mere
trace of a fulvous- white tipping, but the tertiaries are a good
deal mottled with fulvous-white ; the median and greater wing-
coverts are, here and there, tipped with fulvous- white, but many
are not so ; the chin, throat, sides of the neck, breast, and
abdomen are pale buffy-brown ; the feathers margined with
darker-brown, which latter, however, is very narrow, and almost
AQUILINE. 27
wanting on most of the throat feathers, while it occupies the greater
portion of the feathers on the lower breast and abdomen ; the
tibial plumes, vent, and lower tail-coverts are dingy reddish-buff ;
the lesser and median lower wing-coverts are reddish-buff, more
or less centred with brown, and the greater lower wing-coverts are
mingled white and blackish-brown ; the lineation of the lower
surface is more obscure and ill-defined than in what I take to be
later forms of this same stage. In the next form of this stage
every feather of the head, nape, and upper back is brown (a
soft hair brown), darker than the form above described, with a
conspicuous narrow, fulvous, central stripe. All the wing-coverts
and scapulars are tipped with fulvous or fulvous- white, the lesser
ones narrowly, in fact with a mere spot at the tip the larger
ones more broadly ; the rump, back and upper tail-coverts are
as above described ; but the tail is a dingy wood-brown, without
any trace of bars, and broadly tipped with fulvous-white.
The secondaries are conspicuously tipped with white or fulvous
white ; the chin, throat, and ear-coverts are unstreaked fulvous ;
the breast and upper two-thirds of the abdomen are a warm,
somewhat purplish-brown, with conspicuous, well defined, narrow,
central fulvous stripes ; the lesser and median lower wing-
coverts are more mingled with brown than in the specimen above
described, and the larger lower-coverts are greyish-white, mottled
with blackish-brown, and the axillaries, which, in the form first
described, were reddish-buff, mottled with brown, are in this one
similar to the feathers of the breast. In another form of this
stage the head and back resemble the form first described ; the
tail and wings the second ; while the chin, throat and ear-coverts
are very pale buff, and the breast and abdomen are of the same
color, each feather narrowly margined with the warm purplish-
brown.
Specimens in this stage vary greatly, independently of the
points noted above ; in the color of the thighs, vent and lower
tail-coverts (which in some are nearly white, in others rufous
buff), and in the extent and purity of the white, or fulvous-
white tipping, to the tail and secondaries. The difficulty is,
tfiat these various differences do not go together. If the birds
be arranged in a series, with reference to the comparative width
of the central stripes of the breast feathers, which width varies,
as above noticed, from less than one-fifth to nearly four-fifths of the
total width of the feathers, and then turned back upwards, no
corresponding progression in the lineation of the upper surface
is observable, and, in order to obtain a regular series, according
to the extent and amount of the lineations of the upper
feathers, a totally different arrangement will be necessary.
Adopting either of these arrangements, we shall still have no
regular progression in the extent or purity of the white tipping
of the tail, or secondaries, or in the color of the lower abdo-
men, vent, and leg-feathers,
28 AQUILINE
Two birds, whose heads, necks, and upper backs correspond,
differ entirely where the lower plumage, or perhaps tail-feathers,
are concerned, and vice versa. It is clear, therefore, that some
birds change first below, others above ; some earlier on the heads
and others on the tails ; thus rendering the determination of
the comparative priority of the various forms doubly difficult.
The adult stage is well-known. The whole head, nape, cheeks,
ear-coverts, and sides of the neck, buff or orange-buff ; the back,
scapulars (except a few which are pure white), upper tail-
coverts, wing-coverts, primaries, and secondaries, chin, throat,
breast, abdomen, leg-feathers, sides, axillaries, and wing-lining,
deep blackish-brown ; the lesser wing-coverts margined, and the
upper tail-coverts tipped with fulvous-white ; the lower tail-
coverts white, and a good deal of white mottling about the
tertiaries, which are a pale-brown ; the tail grey, with a very
broad terminal black band, occupying fully two-fifths of its
visible surface, and above this, a number of more or less broad,
irregular mottled, and imperfect transverse dark brown bands,
which sometimes do, and sometimes do not, coincide exactly at
the shaft
This is what I take to be the perfect adult. In less advanced
examples of this stage, the forehead, and more or less of the
crown, are blackish-brown ; the feathers of the chin and throat,
as well as the upper breast, are margined, more or less broadly,
with the same orange-buff as the head and nape.
The axillaries and lower wing-coverts are more or less
mottled with rufous ; the lower tail-coverts with rufous-brown ;
and the ground color of the tail, above the black tip, is pale
yellowish-stone color rather than grey ; the upper tail-coverts
likewise are paler brown, and more broadly tipped with fulvous-
white. In this stage, too, the changes are not synchronous ;
birds most advanced about the head being often least so about
the tail ; those most advanced on the upper, least so on the
under surface, and vice versa.
The amount of white on the scapulars, too, varies greatly ; some
have only a single feather, others nearly the whole scapulars
white, and I have some specimens, perfect adults, as regards
the plumage on every other point, but exihibiting no trace
whatsoever of white on the scapulars. Huww, " Rough Notes."
The Imperial Eagle is by no means common. It occurs
throughout the region, excepting perhaps Guzerat.
Aquila clanga, Pall.
28. Aquila ncevia, Gm. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 59 ;
Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 445 ; Deccan, Stray
Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 372; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of
Sind, p. 75; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885,
p. 56 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 162.
AQUILINE. 29
THE SPOTTED EAGLE.
$. Length, 25 to 26'5 ; expanse, 60 to 64; wing, 19 to 20 ;
tail, 10'6 to 11 ; tarsus, 4 ; bill from gape, 2'3 to 27.
? . Length, 27 to 28'5 ; expanse, 68 to 73 ; wing, 20 to 21 ;
tail, 11'5 to 12 ; tarsus, 4 to 4'25 ; bill from gape, 2'3 to 2'5.
Cere, orbits, and feet dark yellow ; irides deep brown.
Adult : richly empurpled brown on the scapulars, inter-scapu-
lars, and lesser wing-coverts ; the lanceolate feathers of the
head and neck somewhat lighter brown, streaked paler, and the
under parts generally lighter brown than the upper plumage ;
some larger and pure white spots on the greater wing-coverts,
and two white bars tipping the secondaries and greater-coverts,
as in A. mogilnik ; the tibial plumes similarly spotted ; the
under tail-coverts, and generally the short tarsal plumes, are
white ; and the abdomen is more or less streaked with fulvous.
Young birds are pale brown throughout, lighter beneath ; and
in the intermediate plumage the feathers are dark, centred with
pale brown ; some have the plumage dark dull brown, with
dingy-white markings.
The Spotted Eagle occurs throughout the district, frequenting
tanks and marshes, more especially the well-wooded parts.
It is often seen in the early morning sitting in a slouching
kite -like attitude, half way up a tree. Its favorite food appears
to be frogs, but it does not disdain carrion.
It breeds about May ; the nest is a large platform-like structure,
built generally in a fork, near the top of a high tree, in the vicinity
of water, and is composed of sticks and twigs. The eggs, one
or two in number, are blunt oval in shape, of a slightly yellowish
glossless white color, profusely spotted and blotched with faint
yellowish and purplish-brown. They measure 275 by 2.
Aquila vindhiana, FmnU.
29. A. fulvescens, Gray. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p.
60 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 446 ; Deccan,
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 372 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology
of Sirid, p. 76 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, p. 57 ;
Hume's Scrap Book, p. 173
THE TAWNY EAGLE.
Wokhab, Hin. Dholwa, Wagree.
c?. Length, 24 to 26; expanse, 60 to 66'5 ; wing, 18 to 21 ;
tail, 10 to 11 ; bill at gape, 2 to 2'25.
? . Length, 27 to 28'5 ; expanse, 69 to 73'5 ; wing, 20 to
22-5 ; tail, 11 to 12 ; bill from gape, 2*25 to 2*5.
Cere deep yellow ; irides hazel -brown ; feet yellow.
Young bird, light fulvous, brightest on the head and throat,
changing to pale dingy-brown on the back and scapulars, and
to whitish-yellow beneath, with dark shafts; shoulders and
lesser-coverts pale whity-brown ; quills black ; tail dusky, with
faint dark bars.
30 AQUILINE.
At a later stage the bird is uniform fulvous-brown throughout.
In an intermediate state, the abdomen is marked with fulvous
streaks, and there are many specks and streaks of the same
on the head and back of the neck. The adult bird is tawny-
brown, with the head and throat dusky, or almost black ; the
feathers of the crown, and the neck-hackles, tipped with pale
brown ; the wings, breast, and lower parts deep fuscous brown ;
the breast slightly speckled, and the belly and wings spotted
more or less with light tawny-brown ; two wing bars, and the
tip of the tail also light.
The Tawny Eagle is very common everywhere, and is fre-
quently to be seen soaring with Kites, or perched on the top
of a tree, even within cantonments. They breed from Decem-
ber to March, or even later ; the nest, composed of sticks, is
placed rather high up in a lofty tree, as a rule, near a village ;
the eggs, two in number (very rarely three \ are broad greyish-
white ovals, thinly spotted with yellowish-brown ; unspotted
varieties frequently occur.
They average 2 '63 inches in length, by 21 in breadth.
GENUS, Hieraetus, Kaup.
Bill small, slightly curving from the base ; commissure per-
fectly straight ; wings not reaching to the end of the tail ; tarsus
short, stout ; toes short, inner claw very large. Birds of small
size, with a tendency to an occipital crest. The inner edge of
the centre claw is somewhat dilated as in Pernis.
Hieraetus pennatus, 6m.
31. Aquila pennata, Gm. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 63 ; Butler, Deccan and Southern Mahratta country ; Stray
Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 372 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind,
p. 78 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 182.
THE DWARF EAGLE.
g. Length, 1875 to 22; expanse, 49 to 53 ; wing, 15 to 16'5
tail, 8-25 to 9 ; tarsus, 2'3 to 2'5 ; bill from gape, 1*4.
?. Length, 19 to 24 ; wing, 15'5 to 16'5; tail, 9 to 9'25 ;
tarsus, 2 '8.
Bill bluish-black, pale blue at base ; cere bright yellow ; irides
pale brown ; legs and feet pale wax -yellow.
Head and neck pale orange-brown ; the feathers lanceolate,
and streaked in the centre with dark brown ; some of the fea-
thers lengthened, entirely brown, forming a rudimentary crest ;
a narrow superciliary stripe, and a band from the angle of the
mouth below the ears, and a central stripe on the chin, dark
brown ; the rest of the upper plumage sepia-brown ; the mid-
dle wing-coverts, and some of the scapulars, broadly edged with
whitish-brown, forming a conspicuous light band on the wings ;
tail dark brown, with a pale tip, the inner webs of the feathers
AQUILINE. 31
barred indistinctly ; plumage beneath reddish -brown, palest on
the feathers of the tarsi, and the feathers streaked with dark-
brown.
The young bird is white beneath, head and neck also with
white edges to the feathers and the brown of the upper parts
lighter, and the white markings on the wing more distinct ; the
upper tail-coverts also are whitish, and the tail distinctly barred on
both webs. There is very generally a white shoulder spot at all
ages, and the forehead is white in some.
The Dwarf Eagle occurs sparingly throughout the district.
It is, perhaps, less uncommon in the Deccan than elsewhere.
The nest, composed of twigs, is generally built on a high tree ;
the eggs, two in number, are similar to those of Milvws govinda,
but are perhaps more highly colored. They may be looked for
in February.
GENUS, Neopus, Hodgson.
Bill rather small, slight, bending from the base, much hooked
at tip, with a slight festoon in the upper mandible ; cere rather
large ; nostrils ovoid, oblique ; wing very long, equal to or exceed-
ing the long tail ; fourth and fifth quills equal and longest ; first
quill short ; second nearly equal to the third ; the larger quills
strongly emarginate ; tail long, slightly rounded ; tarsus feathered,
somewhat feeble, of moderate 1 ength ; toes short, unequal, the outer-
toe very short, and the claw small ; inner-toe very large, nearty
as long as the central one, and stouter, and the claw much larger,
longer than the hind-claw ; all the claws moderately curved.
Neopus malayensis, Rein.
32. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 65 ; Butler, Deccan and
South Mahratta country ; Stray Feathers, Yol. IX, p. 372 ;
Hume's Scrap Book, p. 187.
THE BLACK EAGLE.
3. Length, 27'5 ; wing, 22 ; tail, 14.
?, Length, 30'5 ; wing, 23; tail, 14 ; tarsus, 4.
Cere, gape, and feet deep yellow ; bill greenish-horny, black at
tip ; irides dark brown.
Of an uniform brown -black, paler and duller beneath ; upper
tail-coverts barred with white ; tail with some light bars ; quills
faintly barred with grey on their inner webs.
The Black Eagle occurs sparingly along the Western Ghats,
but has not as yet been recorded from any other part of the
district.
The very peculiar feet of this bird make it a very easy one
to identify. The genus consists of this one s pecies only.
GENUS, Nisaetus, Hodgs.
Bill moderately long, strong, deep, much hooked at the tip,
moderately compressed ; cere large ; nostrils large, elliptic ; upper
32 AQUILINE.
mandible strongly festooned ; wings moderate, fifth quill longest,
tail long, nearly even ; tarsi long, strong, but not thick, feathered
to the toes ; toes large, unequal ; claws very large, sharp and
well curved ; the inner-toe and claw, and hind-toe and claw,
especially very large.
Nisaetus fasciatus, Vieill.
33. Nisaetus bonelll, Tern. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 67 ; Butler, Deccan, &c. ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 373 ;
Guzerat, Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 446 ; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoology of Sind, p. 77 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 189.
THE CRESTLESS HAWK EAGLE.
Length, 27 to 29 ; expanse, 64 to 68 ; wing, 18'5 to 20 ; tail,
11 to 13 ; tarsus, 375 to 4 ; bill from gape, 21 2'2.
Bill greenish-horny, black at tip ; irides bright yellow, pale
brown in the young bird ; feet pale greenish-yellow.
Adult : above dark hair-brown, with usually some white about
the head and back of neck ; quills dusky-black ; tail slaty-grey-
ish, with about seven narrow dark bars, and a broad subter-
minal one ; beneath white, with dark brown mesial streaks on
the feathers of the lower part of the abdomen ; thigh-coverts,
tarsal feathers and vent nearly brown, the feathers centred
darker, and the thigh-coverts, tarsal feathers, and under tail-
coverts more or less banded with white, or with rufous in some
In some old birds the entire ground color of the lower parts
is rufous-brown.
The young bird is pale brown above, pale rufous or ferruginous
beneath, in some .nearly white ; tail pale greyish-brown, with
dark bars.
With each successive moult the white or ferruginous becomes
purer white and the dark central stripe to each feather increases
in size, more especially on the lower part of the abdomen.
The Crestless Hawk, or as some prefer to call it, Bonelli's
Eagle, occurs throughout the region, but is nowhere com-
mon. It nests on ledges of rocky cliffs, which are often
very difficult of access, owing to their choosing a site under a
projecting crag. Th e nest is a huge affair composed of sticks,
sometimes measuring four or five feet in diameter ; the egg
cavity is lined with green leaves ; the eggs, two in number, are
moderately broad ovals, measuring 275 by 2 ; they are of a
pale greyish- white color, sometimes unspotted, but are generally
thinly marked with yellowish or reddish-brown spots. They are
seldom, if ever, richly marked.
GENUS, Limnaetus, Vigors.
Bifl short, high at the base, curved, hooked at the tip, with
a prominent festoon in the upper mandible ; wing short ; tail long,
square ; tarsi long, moderately strong, feathered to the base ;
AQUILINE. 33
toes unequal, large ; claws large, strong and much curved ;
usually crested.
Limnaetus cirrhatus, Gm.
35. Limnaetus criMaletlus^TQm. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol.
I, p. 71 ; Butler, Deccan, &c. ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 373 ;
Guzerat, Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 446 ; Hume's Scrap Book
p. 206.
cf. Length, 24 ; wing, 16 ; tail, 11 ; tarsus, 4.
$ . Length, 29 ; wing, 17'5 ; tail, 12'5.
Irides yellow, dun-brown in the young birds ; cere and feet
pale yellow.
Young : pale brown above ; head and neck fulvous ; long occipital
crest black, with white tip ; feathers of the head and neck
white-edged ; beneath, white, with some small light fulvous or
brown spots on the breast and lower parts.
There is less white on the wing-coverts than in the young of
the last, and the bars on the tail are wider.
The adult bird has the occipital crest sometimes five inches
long, and of as many as twelve feathers of different lengths,
deep black, tipped with white ; the head and neck fulvescent-
brown, with dark mesial streaks ; upper plumage glossy hair-
brown ; the scapulars, interscapulars, and tertiaries, more or
less black ; the wing-feathers banded more or less distinctly ;
tail light greyish-brown, with three or four dark bands, the
last one broader ; beneath, the foreneck and breast pure white,
with a broad dark mesial streak to each feather, and three dark
lines on the white throat, not so distinct, however, as in the last,
from all the feathers being more or less streaked ; belly, flanks,
vent, and under tail-coverts dark brown ; thighs the same, only
a little freckled with whitish ; tarsal feathers mottled white
and fulvous-brown.
The above is Jerdon's description, to which I will add an
extract from Stray Feathers, Vol. IV, p. 356, by Mr. Hume :
" The youngest birds of cirrhatus, when they first issue from
the nest, have the entire head, neck all round, chin, throat and
entire under parts white ; only on the crown and sides of the
neck is there a slight fulvous tinge, and a few of these feathers have
linear brown shaft stripes, and the flanks and the upper portion
of the tibia have a pinkish fawn-colored tinge ; the entire chin,
throat, breast, and abdomen, absolutely pure spotless white ; the
crest black, with usually very little white tipping ; the tertiaries
and secondary greater-coverts, conspicuously margined with
white ; the tail with six or seven transverse darker brown bars>
besides the subterminal one which is not wider than the others. A
little later a buffy fawn-colored tinge spreads over the whole head
and sides of the neck, a few of the feathers of the breast get a
faint tinge of the same color, and these exhibit a linear shaft
3
34 AQUILINE.
stripe ; on the abdomen many of the feathers get a fawn-colored
spot towards their tip, and a tint of the same color pervades
portions of the vent-feathers and lower tail-coverts.
" Later, again, the whole head, nape, and sides of neck become
a warm fawn brown, all the feathers now showing narrow,
blackish shaft stripes. The lower parts are still chiefly white,
but almost all the feathers of the breast and abdomen have a
more or less triangular brownish, fawn-colored spot at the tip,
and show a tendency to a dark shaft stripe ; and in some birds
at this time several of the feathers of the lower throat have
conspicuous narrow black shaft-stripes.
" The sides become fawn-brown, though the feathers still are
mottled white at the bases and the shafts are darker ; the thighs,
vent-feathers, and lower tail-coverts are now a warm, but brown-
ish fawn color, somewhat irregularly barred with white ; the
tail has now only four bands besides the subterminal one, which
has become conspicuously broader. (Sometimes the young bird,
before exhibiting any black streaks on the side of the neck or on
the throat, become nearly uniform warm fawn color on the entire
lower surface, and even retains this plumage until it has acquired
the adult tail.)
" Then (to return to the normal stage of progression) the
black striping of the head, back, and sides of the neck, becomes
more conspicuous ; a black central throat stripe begins to be
indicated, the warm fawny tint of thighs and vent becomes re-
placed by a wood- brown, the black shaft stripes of the breast
become more oval, and the tail begins to approach the normal
type with only three transverse bars besides the subterminal
one.
" Gradually the brown of the vent and flanks creeps up to the
lower breast ; the breast spots grow larger and larger, and ulti-
mately the white margins of the feathers almost wholly assume
the brown tint of the abdomen. The entire white chin and
throat have the feathers so broadly striped, centrally, with black,
that only just enough white peeps through to give indications of
separation between a black throat stripe, and two broad black
moustachial stripes.
" The brown of the head and sides of the neck, though still
warm, has lost the fawny tinge of the younger stages, and the
black centres of the feathers have greatly increased in size.
" The tail has a very broad terminal band, of say T8 and inter
space of 2, and three other bands each about an inch broad.
The crest, quite black and untipped, grows to a great length.
While these changes have been going on the whole upper
plumage has been growing darker.
" As to the white tipping to the crest this is very irregular, the
youngest birds and the oldest generally want it ; birds of inter-
mediate stages generally have it."
The Crested Hawk Eagle is confined to the hilly tracts of the
AQUILINE. 35
Deccan, where it is not uncommon ; it is more plentiful at Ratna-
giri. It is a permanent resident, but nothing certain is known in
regard to its nidification. It has been observed at and near
Aboo, but has not yet been recorded from Sind.
Limnaetus kienerii, Oerv.
37. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 74 ; Hume's Scrap
Book, p, 216.
THE RUFOUS-BELLIED HAWK EAGLE.
Length, 22 to 29; expanse, 50; wing, 15 to 17'5 ; tail, 10 to
12'5 ; bill from gape, 1'5 ; tarsus, 3.
Bill leaden-blue ; cere yellow ; irides brown ; feet yellow ;
claws black.
" The whole of the top and sides of the head, including the
lores, cheeks, and ear-coverts, the back and sides of the neck,
the back, scapulars, rump, and upper tail-coverts, and lesser and
median wing-coverts, a nearly uniform blackish brown ; the
feathers all with more or less of metallic reflections, some green-
ish, some purplish ; in some lights the whole of these parts
appear to be almost, if not quite, black. The tail-feathers are
a dark chocolate brown ; the central ones, with two or three
faint irregular paler patches, traces of where bars may have been ;
the lateral ones, with broad, but faint and irregular, paler and
mottled transverse bars. The under surface of the tail-feathers,
a sort of silver-grey ; the shafts white, a broad ill-defined dusky
terminal patch, and in all, but the exterior feathers, four or five
somewhat narrow transverse dusky bars above this ; the quills
are of two colors, the one set which appear to be older, dingy
hair-brown ; the others, almost blackish-brown, with faint green
or purple reflections. The inner webs in all are paler, except
quite at the tips ; and above these, there are dim transverse
darker bars. The first five quills are conspicuously notched on
the inner web, and the second to the fifth are emarginate on the
outer web. The chin, throat, and breast are white ; the feathers
tinged towards the tips with pale rufous, and most of them with
narrow, blackish-brown lanceolate shaft stripes. The whole of
the wing-lining, (except the lower greater primary-coverts),
axillaries, sides, flanks, abdomen, tarsal and tibial plumes, vent
and lower tail-coverts, bright ferruginous ; most of the feathers
dark shafted, and many of those of the wing-lining, abdomen
and sides with a conspicuous narrow, black, shaft stripe, and a
few of the feathers just above the base of the tibia, very broadly
tipped with blackish-brown, forming a very conspicuous patch."
Humes Stray Feathers, Vol. I, p. 311.
Jerdon remarks in his Birds of India, that " this beautiful
Hawk Eagle has been found in Central India, and in the Hima-
layas, but appears very rare. No other observer appears to have
met with it within the district.
36 AQUILINE.
GENUS, Circaetus, Vieillot.
Bill rather short, gently curving from the base, much hooked
at the tip ; culmen rounded, compressed at the sides ; commissure
nearly straight ; nostrils oval, oblique ; wings long, the third
quill longest, or second and third sub-equal, fourth nearly as
long, the first three quills emarginate ; tail long, nearly even ; tarsi
long, plumed below the heel, clad with small, hexagonal scales;
feet small ; toes short, scutellate at the base of the claws ; the
lateral toes about equal ; claws tolerably curved, rather short, of
nearly equal length.
Circaetus gallicus, Gm.
38, Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 76 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray
Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 446 ; Deccan, &c., Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 373; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 79;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis> 1885, p. 57 ; Hume's
Scrap Book, p. 217.
THE COMMON SERPENT EAGLK
Jean le Blanc.
Sampmar, Hin.
<$. Length, 2575; expanse, 70; tail, 1175; wing, 20'8 ;
tarsus, 37.
$ . Length, 29 ; expanse, 76 ; tail, 13'25 ; wing, 22.
Bill pale greyish-blue at the base, blackish horny at the tips ;
cere small, whitish, with a tinge of bluish-grey in places ; irides
deep yellow ; legs dirty pale yellow ; claws black.
Young : head and nape whitish ; the feathers brown streaked ;
back and wings pale earthy-brown, lightest on the wing-coverts-;
quills dusky-black ; tail pale ashy-brown, with darker bands, and
the inner webs almost white ; beneath chin to breast fulvous, with
narrow longitudinal brown streaks ; from the breast to the vent
white, with a pale brown streak on the centre of each feather.
The adult is darker brown above and on the head ; and the
lower parts white ; the feathers all marked with brown stripes, or
spots, tending to form a denser zone on the throat and breast.
The head is large, full and puffy ; the feathers of the head
and neck rounded, not lanceolate ; the wings reach to the end of
the tail ; the inner edge of the centre claw is conspicuously
dilated into a cutting edge.
This Eagle is known by several trivial names, one of the best
known being Jean-le-Blanc ; it was called the Common Serpent
Eagle, by J~erdon, on account of its penchant for snakes, to which
habit also it owes its Hindustani appellation ; it is also called
the Short-toed Eagb.
It is found throughout the region, frequenting open plains,
but eschewing the more densely-wooded districts. It breeds
during the first three months of the year ; the nest is generally
built on trees, and is a large, loose, straggling structure, composed
AQUILINE. 37
of sticks and twigs. The egg, there is only one, is a broadish
oval, of a pale bluish-white color ; the egg lining is a peculiar
bright sap-green. The size of an average egg is 3 inches by 2*35,
GENUS, Spilornis, Gray.
Bill straightish at the base ; wings short ; head crested ; other-
wise as in circaetw&
Spilornis cheela, Lath.
39. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 78 ; Butler, Deccan, &c. ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 373 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology
of Sind, p. 80 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 222.
THE CRESTED SERPENT EAGLE,
<?. Length, 26 to 28 ; expanse, 58 to 63 ; wing, 18'5 to 20 ; tail,
12 to 13 ; tarsus, 3'9 to 4'3 ; bill from gape, 1'9.
5 . Length, 29 to 32 ; expanse, 67*5 to 73 ; wing, 19'5 to 21 ;
tail, 14 to 15 ; tarsus, 415 to 4'5 ; bill from gape, 212.
Cere and orbits deep yellow ; irides bright yellow ; legs dirty
yellow.
Adult : head black, the feathers white on their basal portion,
and for nearly two-thirds their length, showing a conspicuous full
black and white crest ; above hair-brown ; shoulders and lesser
wing-coverts with small white spots, the quills with broad dusky
bands ; tail brown, mottled and clouded with white, and with
two broad blackish bands ; beneath chin to breast unspotted
brown ; thence to under tail-coverts pale brown, with whitish
faint bars, and white ocelli.
The young bird has the upper plumage brown, edged with pale
rufous, the crest feathers having more white than the adult ; the
tail hoary-brown, with three broad bars ; quills brown, with
darker bands, and the quills and medial wing-coverts tipped
white ; beneath pale whity-buif ; the feathers of the breast
darkest, and centred with brown ; ear-coverts, and stripe beneath
the eyes, deep black.
The Crested Serpent or Indian Harrier Eagle is very rare ; one
was obtained at Savantvadi by Mr. Crawford, and another in Sind
by Mr. Blanford. These are, I believe, the only recorded in-
stances of its occurrence within our limits.
Spilornis melanotis, Jerd.
39bis. Butler, Deccan, &c. ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 373 ;
Hume's Scrap Book, p. 230,
The Southern Harrier Eagle differs perceptibly from S. cheela
of Upper India ; the wings of the latter vary in the males from
.18*5 to nearly 20 inches, and in the females from 19'5 to nearly 21 ;
while in this present species they vary in the males from 17 to
barely 18 inches, and in the females from 18 to 18*5 inches; the
lower parts also are somewhat less conspicuously ocellated, and
38 AQUILINE.
'the barring on the breast, so conspicuous in adult clieela, is almost
entirely wanting.
The Southern Harrier Eagle is a permanent resident and is
not uncommon in the hilly tracts and jungles along the Western
Ghats, but has not been recorded from elsewhere within our
limits.
GENUS, Pandion, Savigny.
Bill short, curved from the cere, rounded above -tip produced and
much hooked; margin of upper mandible sinuated ; nostrils small,
narrow, obliquely transverse ; wings long, reaching beyond the
end of the tail, jiecond quill longest, or second and third nearly
equal ; tail moderate, nearly even ; the tarsus moderate, entirely
covered with reticulated scales ; toes quite free, outer-toe versatile,
longer than the inner-toe ; claws large, much curved, rounded
below, nearly of equal size ; soles of the feet covered with sharp
pointed scales.
Pandion halisetus, Lin.
40, Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol? I, p. 80; Butler, Gttzerat;
Stray Feathers, Vol. V, p. 40 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p, 373 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 81 ;
Hume's Scrap Book, p. 234.
THE OSPREY.
? . Length, 26 ; wing, 20 ; tail 9 ; tarsus, 2 '2 5 ; bill at gape
1-6 ; mid toe, 3*5.
. Length, 23'5 ; wing 19 ; tail, 8'5.
The bill black ; gape and base of lower mandible pale lavender
plumbeous ; cere dark lead-color ; irides bright yellow ; legs and
feet delicate sea-green ; claws black.
Above, head and nape white, the feathers of the forehead and
crown with dark brown stripes ; upper plumage rich hair-brown ;
quills blackish ; tail pale brown, with dark bars, whitish on the
inner web ; a dark brown band from the eyes over the ears ;
beneath pure white, with some brown spots on the breast, longi-
tudinal in youth, broader in advancing age, and tending to coalesce
in the fully adult.
The Osprey or Fish Hawk occurs throughout the region, but
is nowhere abundant ; it frequents the backwaters and lagoons
on the coast, also the larger tanks and lakes inland, and is found
occasionally along the courses of the larger rivers ; it is perhaps
more common along the sea coast. It probably breeds within the
district, but there is no record of its eggs having been taken.
GENUS, Polioeetus, Kaup.
^Bill somewhat lengthened, straight at the base, compressed,
with a prominent sharp festoon ; wings short ; tail rather short,
slightly rounded ; tarsus feathered in front for one-third of its
length, stout, covered in front with large transverse scales,
AQUILINE. 39
posteriorly with .some large, somewhat irregular scales, exter-
nally and internally with very small scales ; feet large, toes nearly
covered above with large scutse ; lateral toes nearly equal ;
middle and outer-claws about equal, less than the hind-claw ;
claws rounded.
Poliosetus ichthysetus, Horsf.
41. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 81 ; Hume's Scrap Book,
p. 239.
THE WHITE-TAILED SEA EAGLE.
Length, 27 to 29 ; wing 19 ; tail, 8'5 ; tarsus, 3'5 ; weight, 4 Ibs.
Bill and cere blackish ; irides brown.
Adult with the head, lores, ears, chin, and throat light grey,
the rest of the plumage light wood-brown, darkest above, lighter
beneath, and deepening on the scapulars and wings ; lower ab-
domen, vent, thigh-coverts, and tail white, the latter with a broad
terminal dark brown band.
The young bird is lighter brown above, all the feathers edged
and tipped with whitish ; beneath pale reddish-brown with pale
mesial streaks, and albescent on the under tail-coverts ; tail
mottled and clouded with light cinereous and brown.
Dr. Jerdon says : " This Fish-Eagle is found over a considerable
part of India, but is rare towards the south. Mr. Elliot met
with in it Dharwar. I never observed it myself south of the
Nerbudda." And again : " I found its nest on several occasions ;
once near the Nerbudda, in a large tree."
GENUS, Haliaetus, Savigny.
Bill straight at base, longish, compressed, curved towards the
tip, which is much hooked ; upper mandible with the margin strong-
ly sinuate ; nostrils somewhat oblong, transverse ; wings long,
fourth and fifth quills sub-equal and longest ; tail moderate or
rather short ; tarsus moderate, strong, plumed for nearly half
its length, the lower half with large transverse scutse in front
and a short and more irregular series behind ; or with a few and
irregular ones in front above, and the whole of the rest reticu-
lated with small scales, hexagonal, or irregular ; toes large, covered
with scutse ; outer-toe scarcely mobile ; claws large, unequal,
squared beneath, well curved.
Haliaetus leucoryphus, Pall.
42. Haliaetus fulviventer, Vieill. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 82 ; H. Macei, Cuv. ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers,
Vol. Ill, p. 447 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 82 ;
Hume's Scrap Book, p. 242.
THE RING-TAILED SEA EAGLE.
. Length, 29 to 31 ; expanse, 75 to 79 ; wing, 21 to 22 ; tail,
11 to 12 ; tarsus, 375 to 4 ; bill from gape, 2'25 to 2'43.
40 AQUILIN^.
?. Length, 32 to 34*25 ; expanse, 82 to 85 ; wing, 23 to 24 ;
tail, 13 to 14; tarsus, 4 to 4 '5 ; bill from gape, 2 '6 5 to 2'88.
Cere pale bluish-green; nostrils, gape, and base of lower
mandible bluish ; upper mandible greenish-horn color ; irides
pale brownish-yellow ; feet greyish- white.
Adult : whole head and neck pale fulvous, brownish on the
head and nape ; feathers of the neck long and lanceolate ; iii-
terscapulars, back and rump rich brown ; scapulars and wings dark
brown, blackening on the quills ; tail ashy-black, or dark cinereous,
with a broad white central band; beneath, from the throat,
reddish-brown, darkest on the lower abdomen, thigh-coverts, and
under tail-coverts.
The young bird has the head and hind neck light brown ;
ear-coverts dusky-brown ; the upper plumage brown, with the
quills dark ; tail black throughout ; lower plumage pale brown ;
the wings reach to the end of the tail, which is very slightly
rounded.
The Ring-tailed Sea Eagle occurs sparingly in Guzerat, but
is far more common in Sind, where it breeds during November,
December, and January. The nests are huge platforms, com-
posed of stout sticks and are placed near the top of a high tree
in the vicinity of water ; the eggs, generally three (occasionally
only two, more seldom four), in number, are greyish-white in
color and measure about 275 inches, in length by 2*2 in breadth.
Haliaetus albicilla, Lin.
4>2bis. Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 83; Hume's
Scrap Book, p. 253.
THE EUROPEAN WHITE-TAILED SEA EAGLE.
c?. Length, 36 ; expanse, 72 ; wing 24 ; tail, 1T5 ; tarsus, 4.
?. Length, 40; expanse, 80 ; wing, 27'5 ; tail, 12 ; tarsus, 4'5.
Male. The cere and bill are pale yellow ; the irides bright
yellow ; the tarsi and toes gamboge ; the claws black with a tinge
of greyish-blue ; the plumage of the head, neck, forepart of the
back and breast, with the upper wing-coverts greyish-yellow ;
the feathers all greyish-brown at the base, of the other parts
greyish-brown, edged with yellowish-grey ; the scapulars and
feathers of the rump glossed with purple, those of the abdo-
men, tibiae, and subcaudal region inclining to chocolate-brown ;
the quills and alular feathers brownish-black, with a tinge of
grey ; the inner secondaries inclining to greyish-brown ; the shafts
of all white towards the base ; the lower surface of the quills and
the larger coverts tinged with greyish-blue ; upper tail-coverts
and the tail are white, (generally freckled with dusky grey at
the base) ; the down on the breast is pale grey, that on the sides
darker.
Female. The female does not differ from the male in color,
and her superiority in size is often not remarkable.
AQUILINE. 41
Young. The bill is brownish-black ; the cere greenish-yellow ;
the feet yellow ; the claws black ; the bases of all the feathers are
brownish- white ; their middle parts light reddish-brown ; their
tips only blackish-brown ; the head and nape are dark brown ; each
feather with a minute brownish-white spot on the tip ; on the
middle of the back and on the wings light reddish-brown is the
prevalent color ; the black tips of comparatively small extent ; on
the third part of the back there is much white, that color ex-
tending further from the base ; the quills and larger wing-coverts
are blackish-brown, with a tinge of grey ; the tail feathers brown-
ish-white in the centre, black towards the margins, with irregular
white dots ; the lower parts are of the same color as the back,
or are pale reddish-brown, marked with longitudinal streaks and
spots of dark brown ; the lower wing-coverts brown ; the tail-
coverts white, with light-brown tips.
Progress towards Maturity. In the second year the young
exhibits little difference, being, however, of a darker tint on the
back and wings. An individual at this age has the bill brownish-
black, tinged with blue ; its base and the cere greenish -yellow ; the
iris hazel-brown ; the feet gamboge ; the claws brownish-black ; the
head and nape are dark brown ; the base of all the feathers, on the
upper parts, is white ; on the hind-neck and foreparts of the back
that color, tinged with yellowish-brown, prevails, a lanceolate or
obovate deep brown spot, being on each feather towards the end ;
on the middle of the back the brown prevails, on the hind part
white, and the rump and upper tail-coverts are light brown, tipped
darker ; the scapulars are dark brown with a purplish tinge ;
the wing-coverts dark brown at the end, but most of the larger
pale brown in the greater part of their extent ; the quills black,
with a purplish-grey tinge, the secondaries gradually becoming
more brown, and all faintly variegated with light grey and
brown on the inner webs ; the tail is brownish-black, with a
tinge of grey, and more or less finely mottled with whitish ; the
lower parts may be described as brownish-white, longitudinally
streaked with dark brown, there being a lanceolate patch of the
latter on each feather ; the lower wing-coverts and feathers of
the legs dark brown ; the lower surface of the quills bluish-grey ;
the lower tail-coverts white, tipped with brown ; the down on the
breast pure white.
Remarks. In this species the bill and iris change from
dusky-brown to pale yellow, and the plumage, at first white at
the base, and dark brown at the end, gradually loses its white,
while the dark parts become paler and more extended, the final
coloring being more uniform.
The tail forms no exception, for its basal white also diminishes
but the white, which is gradually substituted for the brownish-
black, spreads from near the end to the base. Macgillivray.
The European White-tailed Sea Eagle occurs along the banks
of the Indus ; they are mostly immature specimens,
42 BUTEONINJE.
Haliaetus leucogaster, Gm.
43. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 84 ; Butler, Deccan and
South Mahratta Country ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 373 ;
Hume's Scrap Book, p. 259.
THE GREY-BACKED SEA EAGLE.
Female. Length, 30 ; expanse, 84 ; tail, 11 '5 ; wing, 23 ; tarsus,
4 ; bill from gape, 2'65.
Male. Length, 2675 ; expanse. 74 ; tail, 9 "8 ; wing, 21 ; tarsus,
4 ; bill from gape, 2 '4.
Bill, upper mandible pale leaden-brown, bluish at junction with
cere ; lower mandible pale blue, brownish at tip ; irides brown ;
cere and gape pale leaden color ; legs and feet white, tinged more
or less greenish-brown.
Adult : head, neck and entire under parts pure white ; mantle
ancT wing pale blue-grey ; quills and tail cinereous black, the
latter Broadly tipped with white.
The young bird has the mantle and wing-coverts brown, the
white parts fulvous-white, tinged with rusty-brown, and dusky,
especially on the head, breast and middle of the abdomen ; and
the tail is dark with spots and speckles.
Wings reach beyond the end of the tail, which is much rounded
or somewhat wedge-shaped. Its talons have trenchant inner
edges, and the feet are rough beneath.
The Grey-backed Sea Eagle is not uncommon on the Sea-coast.
A large colony frequents and breeds upon Pigeon Island.
They appear to subsist chiefly upon sea snakes, as the
ground beneath their nests ( which are generally built upon
high trees) is strewed with their bones. It is also called the
White-bellied Sea-Eagle.
SUB-FAMILY, Buteoninae.
Bill small or moderate, rather weak ; wings long or moderate ;
tail short, or moderately long in a few; tarsi rather long, with
scuta3 both in front and behind; feet short ; hind-toe short.
GENUS, Buteo, Cuvier.
Bill short, sloping from the base, tip hooked, margin of the
upper mandible very slightly festooned ; nostrils large, oval, trans-
verse ; gape, wide ; lores clothed with hair-like feathers ; wings
long, with the third and fourth quills sub-equal and longest, fifth
quill nearly as long ; the inner web of the first four quills strongly
notched ; tail moderate, or short, even or rounded ; tarsi rather
long, feathered on the upper third or further ; tarsal scales broad,
transverse ; toes with four or five large scales at their extremity
only ; lateral toes very unequal ; all toes short.
Buteo ferox, S. G. Gmelin.
4*5.~-Buteo canescens, Hodgs. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
BUTEONIN^E. 43
p, 88 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 447 ;
Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 374 ; Murray's Verte-
brate Zoology of Sind, p. 85 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central
India; Ibis, 1885, p. 57 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 274.
THE LONG-LEGGED BUZZARD.
Chuhamar, Hin.
<?. Length, 2075 to 23'5 ; expanse, 50*25 to 59 ; wing, 16 to
17'6 ; tail, 9'25 to 10'5 ; tarsus, 3'2 to 375 ; bill from gape, T8
to 2.
?. Length, 2275 to 25 ; expanse, 56*25 to 62; wing, 1S'2 to
1975 ; tail, 1018 to 1975 ; tarsus, 3'2 to 3'8 ; bill from gape, 1*9
to 2-08.
Cere greenish-yellow ; irides pale dun; legs pale yellow.
Young : head, neck, throat, breast, and belly white, some of
the feathers streaked with brown, and dashed with buff; back
and wing-coverts pale yellowish-brown, some of the feathers edged
with rufous ; quills dusky-brown, whitish on their inner webs, and
the secondaries barred ; tail with the outer webs reddish-white,
inner webs dirty- whitish, barred with brown.
In a more advanced state of plumage the head and neck are
rufescent-brown, with a whitish eye-streak ; back and wing-coverts
darker brown, with a tinge of purple in the freshly-moulted bird,
and many of the feathers edged with rufous ; quills greyish on
their outer web, with a dusky tip, and whitish internally, except
at the tip, which is black ; tail pale rufous, or rufous-grey, with a
darker subterminal band, and some indistinct bars, and ashy-white
below ; beneath, the throat is white, with dusky streaks, and the
rest of the under parts fulvous- white, with dusky and rufous
blotches, forming a sort of gorget on the breast and a more or less
dark abdominal band ; tibial feathers dusky -rufous.
The adult bird is yellowish-brown above, and on the throat and
breast, purest on the head and breast, and many of the feathers,
especially of the back, with dark centres, where the lighter tint
indeed is nearly lost ; quills, with the outer webs, greyish, the
inner webs blackish from the tip to the deep sinuosity, white be-
yond ; wings with a large white patch beneath, formed chiefly by
the inner webs of the quills ; tail reddish or cinnamon-grey, indis-
tinctly barred ; belly, vent, thigh-coverts, and under tail-coverts
deep auburn- brown ; the line of demarcation between this and the
lighter tint of the breast abrupt and strongly marked.
The plumage of this handsome Buzzard varies considerably in
all its different stages, and this has led to its being described
under numerous synonyms. It still remains a vexata quczstio as to
which is its adult plumage. The difficulty, as Mr. Hume observes
in his Scrap Book, is the changes of the upper and lower surfaces
vary in different specimens, some change first on the upper sur-
face others on the lower, so that it is difficult to assign any chrono-
logical value to these changes.
The Long-legged Buzzard occurs, as a cold weather visitant,
44 BUTEONIN^J.
throughout the region with which I am dealing, but is nowhere
very common. It feeds on rats, mice and lizards, and occasionally
small birds which, however, it always seizes on the ground.
GENUS, Butastur.
Bill, short edge of mandible scarcely festooned ; nostrils small,
oval, with a superior membrane ; wings reaching nearly to the
end of the tail ; third and fourth quills sub-equal and longest ; the
first four emarginate.
x
Butastur teesa, Franld.
48. Poliornis teesa, Frank. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 92 ;
Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Yol. Ill, p. 447 ; Deccan,
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX., p. 374 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology
of Sind, p. 86 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis,
1885, p. 57 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 286.
THE WHITE-EYED BUZZARD.
Teesa, Hin.
Length, 16 to 18'2 ; expanse, 36 to 39 ; wing, 11 to 12'5 ; tail,
6-5 to 7'5 ; tarsus, 2 to 2*5 ; bill at gape, T2 to 1*4.
Bill yellowish- white, dusky at tip ; jrides stone-white, pale
brown or dun in the young bird ; legs and feet yellowish-white.
Upper plumage rufescent-brown, feathers dark shafted ; fore-
head white ; a conspicuous white nuchal mark ; wing-coverts
mottled light brown and whitish, feathers dark shafted ; quills
pale brown with narrow dark bars, and dark tip ; winglet dark
brown ; tail pale rufous with indistinct bars, plainer towards the
tip ; beneath chin and throat fulvescent, with a central dark chin-
stripe, and a lateral one on each side, bounding the light chin ;
the rest of the lower parts hair-brown, banded on the abdomen,
less so on the breast, with white bars ; thigh-coverts faintly bar-
red with rufous, and the under tail-coverts unspotted fulvescent-
white.
The young bird is brown above, paler and rufescent on the head,
with a white eyebrow, and a nuchal spot ; wing-coverts much
mottled with white, forming a light wing-spot ; quills pale brown,
banded darker and white beneath ; tail pale rufescent, with dark
bars on the inner webs, and on both near tip ; beneath, white or
fulvescent, some of the feathers streaked with brown, especially
on the breast and flanks.
The Teesa is very common, and is a permanent resident, breed-
ing principally in April. The nest is usually placed high up in
a fork in an umbrageous tree, often a mango forming one of a
small clump, generally an outer one ; it is a loose structure of
sticks and twigs, unlined ; the eggs, from two to four (but most
often three) in number are pale bluish- white, unspotted ; they are
oval in shape and measure about 1*8 in length by 1*5 in breadth.
BUTEONIN.E.
45
GENUS, Circus, Lacepede.
Bill short, weak, high at the base, compressed, sloping, mode-
rately hooked at tip, a slight festoon in the middle of the margin
of upper mandible ; cere large, covered with setaceous curved
plumes ; lores covered with small feathers and bristles ; ears large ;
the coverts and the lower parts of the face partly surrounded by a
*uff of small thick-set feathers forming an imperfect disc ; wings
long, third and fourth quills longest ; tail long, slightly rounded ;
tarsi long, slender, well plumed at the knee, smooth, with large
transverse scutse in front ; toes rather short, not very unequal ;
talons sharp, well curved ; hind -toe short.
Circus macrurus, S. G. Gm.
51. Circus swainsoni, A. Smith. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol.
I, p. 96 ; Butler, Deccan, &c. ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 374 ;
Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 88 ; Swinhoe and
Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 57 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray
Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 447 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 298.
THE PALE HARRIER.
<?. Length, 17'6 to 18'5 ; expanse, 41 to 42 25 ; wing, 13'5 to
14 " tail, 9 to 10 ; bill from gape, 1 to T2 ; tarsus, 2'6 to 2'8.
?. Length, 18'65 to 20'65 ; expanse, 40 to 47*5; wing, 1375
to 15-1 5; tail, 9-5 to 11-25; bill from gape, 1'2 to 1-38; tarsus,
2-65 to 2-92.
Male, above pale grey ; wings and back darker ; beneath greyish-
white ; rump white, banded with greyish ; tail-feathers, except the
two centre ones, banded grey and white ; 3rd, 4th and 5th quills
dusky.
The female is brown above, the feathers of the head and neck
edged with rufous ; beneath dark ochraceous with brown streaks
continued on to the lower tail-coverts ; upper tail-coverts banded
whitish-brown ; tail with the centre feathers greyish, the outer
ones pale rufous, all with dark bands.
The above is Dr. Jerdon's description which is very meagre. I
therefore add Mr. Hume's description, extracted from Rough
Notes which is more voluminous :
Description. Legs and feet bright orange to lemon-yellow,
according to age ; claws black ; irides bright yellow in adults,
dark brown in the young ; orbits yellow, dingier in the young ;
bill, cere greenish or dusky-greenish in the adult, somewhat yel-
lower in the young, specially on the culmen, and hidden at sides
by the bristles of the lore ; gape and base of lower mandible
blue, or sometimes greenish-blue ; upper mandible and tip of
lower mandible bluish or horn-black.
Plumage, male. Lores closely clothed with tiny white
feathers, with elongated, naked, black-brown, hair-like shafts ;
forehead, and streak above eyes, and feathers of orbits greyish-
white, slightly paler than surrounding parts ; the whole of the
46 BXJTEONIN^.
rest of the top of the head and nape to where the ruff joins in,
grey, tinged with brown, most strongly so on nape feathers and
with dark shafts ; cheeks and ear-coverts grey, the feathers
broadly edged with greyish-white, so as to produce a striated
appearance. Feathers of ruff, which, as regards color, is very
conspicuous, greyish-white with narrow, central, grey streaks;
back of the neck, below, brownish-grey ; patch of nape greyish-
white, the feathers slightly darker shafted and some of them
with the greyish traces of faint, brownish-grey, transverse,
subterminal spots ; the whole of the base of the neck behind,
upper back and scapulars, a sort of ash-grey, more or less
tinged towards the tips with brownish-grey, and the longer
scapulars frosted with a purer grey ; the middle and lower back
a shade lighter grey, the white bases of the feathers showing
through, more or less ; upper tail-coverts pure white, with re-
gular, broad, transverse, grey or slightly brownish-grey bars ;
the whole of the wing-coverts, winglet, tertials, and outer webs
of secondaries and last four primaries grey, more silvery on quills,
and browner on lesser-coverts ; the median-coverts narrowly pale
margined, and most of the other feathers of the corners narrowly,
paler tipped ; the second and last four primaries have the cen-
tral halves of the inner webs pure grey, and the marginal halves
white ; the first primary is silver-grey on the outer web, dusky-
grey on the inner, as far as the notch, and above this chiefly
white ; the next four are nearly black, with a good deal of silver-
grey, however, on the outer webs of the first two, and of white,
more or less mottled with dusky, on the inner webs of all towards
the base ; the sixth is dusky-grey on the outer web and tip, and
paler and browner-grey on inner web, which has a broad marginal
stripe, broadest towards base, where it occupies nearly the whole
web of white irregularly mottled with grey ; the central tail-
feathers are a uniform silver-grey, slightly shaded with dusky on
the terminal half; the next feather, on each side, is similar, but
there are five or six white patches on the shafts, and traces of
corresponding paler bars on the inner webs, which are very
narrowly, paler margined ; in each succeeding feather, the white
patches on the shaft are better marked, and extend further and
further across the outer webs, while the corresponding broad pale
bars on the inner webs, at first only mottled with white, become
pure white and larger, and at the same time the white margin
of the inner webs spreads inwards, so that the two exterior
feathers have the inner webs pure white, with only four or five,
somewhat narrow bars of grey, or brownish-grey, (which do not
extend to the margin), and here and there a little freckling,
chiefly towards the base of the same color ; chin, throat and
front of the neck pearl-grey, whitish on chin ; breast, abdomen,
vent, sides, wing-lining and thigh-coverts pure white with just
the faintest possible grey mottling or freckling in places on
sides, and base of thighs ; lower tail-coverts white, with rather
BUTEONIN.E. 47
brownish -grey, broad, incomplete, rather wavy, transverse bars,,
about one or two on each feather ; inner surface of the wings
mingled white and very pale grey, only the. terminal one-third to
one-half of the second to the fifth primaries blackish-brown;
the first to the third quills are conspicuously notched on their
inner webs, the second to the fourth emarginate on outer,
webs.
Female. The lores dusky, covered with black bristle-like hairs,
as is also the point of the chin ; a patch (scarcely noticeable
in some specimens) over the eye, and in front of it, white, tipped
with brownish ; below the eye, and front of the ear-coverts,
somewhat purer, while a band, inside the ruff, from the base
of the lower mandible over the ear-coverts to the sides of the
nape, dark umber-brown, usually darkest towards the nape, the
feathers narrowly edged with rufous, and centred darker ; a dark
streak from the posterior corner of the eye, meeting the top of
this band ; forehead, and a line from the forehead over the eye,
and the last mentioned dark streak, nearly unstriated rufous-
brown ; the rest of the forehead, and top and back of the
head, and nape, where the ruff joins in, and back and
sides of the neck, rufous, the feathers all more or less broadly
centred with umber-brown ; the centres being larger, propor-
tionably, at the base of the neck ; upper back and smaller
scapulars umber-brown, most of the feathers usually tipped
with rufous ; the longest scapulars somewhat lighter colored,
with scarcely a trace of the rufous tipping ; middle back
often of a somewhat lighter brown than the upper back, and
the feathers with conspicuous rufous tips or margins ; rump
feathers slightly darker, and with somewhat less conspicuous
rufous tips ; upper tail-coverts pure white, with only a spot or
incomplete bar of dark or pale brown, or rufous, towards the tips ;
centre tail-feathers dark umber-brown, inconspicuously tipped
with grey, scarcely perceptible in some and with four or five
transverse grey bars, the broadest bars towards the tip ; the
next feather darker brown, conspicuously tipped with white or
rufous-white, and with one broad, and two or three narrow, pale
rufous, and greyish transverse bars, the rufous being chiefly next
the shaft ; the next feather much the same, but the white or
rufous (some are whiter, some more rufous) of the bar, and
tipping, purer, and a considerable patch at the base, on the outer
web, mingled white and rufous, with only a tinge of brown ;
the second, exterior feather, nearly pure white, or a pale rufous,
as the case may be, with subterminal, central, and basal bands
of brown, which are more or less rufous in the two latter on the
outer web ; the exterior feather has almost the whole outer web
rufous-white, and the interior more or less rufous-white, with
traces of a subterminal and two other bands of mingled darkish
rufous and brown ; the whole of the lesser wing-coverts
umber-brown, broadly margined with rufous or rufous-white ;
48 BUTEONIN.E.
the median-coverts the same color, in some conspicuously, in
some faintly tipped with the same rufous-white tint; the
greater-coverts of the secondaries, and the tertials themselves,
still the same umber-brown, but only very narrowly (in some
not at all) tipped with rufous-white ; the winglet, primaries
and their greater-coverts and secondaries, slightly darker brown,
all but the first four primaries, and most of the secondaries, with
a very narrow, whitish tipping, and the outer webs of the first
primary, and the next three, which are conspicuously marginate,
below the margination more or less silvered with grey; the
inner webs of all the primaries above the tips, more or less white
or rufous-white, with conspicuous, broad, dark brown bars. In
some specimens the brown bars are so broad that the ground of
the web appears brown, and the rufous interspaces appear like
pale bars ; there are traces of similar markings on the se-
condaries, most conspicuous in those nearest the primaries, and
less so in those adjoining the tertials ; chin white or rufous-
white ; the ruff in front, and on either side towards the
nape, white or rufous-white ; the feathers centred darkish brown ;
the whole of the front of the throat, breast and abdomen white
or fulvous or pale rufous-white, the feathers all broadly or
conspicuously centred with brown and rufous ; the feathers of
the vent, lower tail-coverts, and external thigh-coverts, pure
white or pale rufous-brown, shafted, and with two or more irregu-
lar spots of pale rufous along the shafts ; the axillaries mostly
rufous-brown, with indistinct incomplete fulvous-white bars ; the
lesser under wing-coverts fulvous, or pale rufous-white, the
feathers mostly darker centred ; the greater lower wing-coverts
mostly a brown or rufous-brown, and for the most part edged
and tipped with fulvous-white or pale rufous ; the longest of
the lower tail-coverts are rather conspicuously tipped with pale
rufous.
Females differ considerably in the amount of rufous on the
top and back of the head, back and sides of neck, etc. in some,
the prevailing line is rufous, there being only very narrow brown
centres to the feathers, but in others, the brown much predomi-
nates, the feathers having only somewhat narrow rufous margins ;
the extent and amount of the rufous tippings to the feathers of
the back and rump varies much, as also the extent and depth
of rufous in the tail, and on the lower parts.
Young. Lores, forehead, a patch under the eyes, a streak over
the eyes, to upper corner of the ruff, and a broad patch on the
nape, (which latter has several of the central feathers brown
tipped) white ; bristles of the lores black ; a patch in the interior
corner of the eye, under the white line, and beyond the posterior
angle of the eye, backwards, till it joins the top of the ear-coverts,
dark umber-brown ; the whole top of the head warm umber-
brown, faintly margined with rufous, where it infringes on the
white supercilium and white nape-patch ; the whole of the
BUTEONINyE. 40
nape, upper back, scapulars, and wings (except in some specimens
some of the median-coverts) nearly uniform umber-brown, but
the quills with a trace of darker banding, most of the median
wing-coverts in some specimens so broadly edged with pale ferru-
ginous or buff as to show but little of the brown, these edgings
entirely wanting in others ; the winglet, greater-coverts, secon-
daries, and most of the primaries very narrowly paler tipped ;
feathers of the lower back and rump the same brown as the rest
of the upper parts, but each feather distinctly tipped with buff;
the upper tail-coverts often pure white, one or two of them only
with an ill-defined brown patch ; in other cases marked as in
adult female ; two centre tail-feathers dark umber-brown, with
four bars of lighter greyish-brown ; the next four feathers the
same dark-brown, but tipped and barred with ferruginous or buff,
which is brighter and more extensive, as the feathers recede from
the centre ; exterior tail-feather almost entirely rufous-buff with
two irregular, dark-brown bars, and a trace of a third ; patch
from the lower mandible, over the cheeks, and embracing the
ear-coverts rich dark umber-brown ; round this posteriorly, the
ruff uniform pale rufous-buff, except just where it separates the
white eye-streak from the white nape-patch, where the feathers
are mingled with dark brown ; sides of the neck, below the ruff,
which is thus clearly defined, dark umber-brown ; chin whitish, with
black bristles at the tip ; whole lower parts of the body, including
lower tail-coverts, uniform rufous fawn or pale ferruginous ;
the lining of the wing the same, but paler, and the largest
of the lower wing-coverts mottled with brown ; the lower surface
of the quills greyish-brown ; the primaries very distinctly-barred
and with more or less white replacing the brown ; the first three
primaries conspicuously emarginate on the inner webs, and the
third and fourth on their outer > webs ; lower surface of the tail
exterior feathers nearly uniform pale fawn, with only an indistinct
trace of three ill-defined bars ; the four next feathers umber-
brown, with fulvous-white tips, and two well marked, fulvous-
white, broad bars ; the two centre feathers with scarcely a trace
of paler tipping, and with three narrower greyish bars.
The Pale Harrier is a very common cold weather visitant to
all parts of the district ; it arrives in October, and leaves about
the end of March, and does not therefore breed anywhere within
our limits.
Circus cineraceus, Mont.
52. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 97 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray
Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 374 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of
Sind, p 88 ; Circus pygargus, Lin. ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central
India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 57 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 303.
MONTAGUE'S HARRIER.
c?. Length, 16'5 to 17 7 ; expanse, 40 to 43'5 ; wing, 14'5 to 15'3 ;
tail, 9'3 to 10-2; tarsus, 217 to 2'35 ; bill from gape, 1 to 112.
50 BUTEONINJ2.
?. Length, 18-6 to 19'5 ; expanse, 41'8 to 439; wing, 15 to
16 ; tail, 9'87 to 10'5 ; tarsus, 2'28 to 2'46 ; bill from gape, 1 07
to 1-2.
Male : above throat and breast darkish blue-grey, darkest on
the back ; the first six quills black, the next one lighter, changing
to grey ; secondaries grey, with a black bar ; tail grey, the outer
two feathers barred on their inner webs with bright rufous, the
other three with dusky ; belly, vent, under tail-coverts, and under
wing-coverts white, with bold dashes of rich chestnut or reddish-
brown.
The female chiefly differs from the female of the last in color, by
the lower parts being whiter, and the streaks much larger, and
more rufous-brown.
Such is Jerdon's description. To this I add Mr. Hume's
description, which is much more detailed and is taken from his
" Scrap Book"
Description. Legs and feet yellow ; claws black ; irides bright
yellow in the adult, sometimes brownish-yellow in the female,
almost white in one young one examined ; bill black, dusky
in the young ; cere greenish-yellow, yellower in the young.
Plumage, Adult Male. The whole head, chin, threat, neck all
round, breast, back, scapulars, wings, (except the first seven
primaries which are blackish) , and central tail-feathers grey, of
different shades ; the neck, cheeks, and ear-coverts bluish ;
crown of the head and occiput (below which there is a white
mottled nape-patch, owing to the white bases of the feathers
showing through), here and there tinged with rufous brown ; the
scapulars infuscated and brownish; the back darker and more
ashy, and the wings and centre tail-feathers more silvery ; the
secondaries have a broad, blackish, transverse band across both
webs, forming a conspicuous wing-band (not unlike that of the
common pigeon 0. intermedia), and with traces of another, or
in some specimens, two other bands on the inner webs ; the
central tail-feathers unbarred, the laterals with four very broad,
transverse, dark bars on the inner webs, and traces of the same
on the outer webs of some of the feathers, the grey fading as
the feathers recede from the central ones, and to pure white on
the exterior ones, and the dark brown bands changing gradually
to dull chesnut on the latter ; a broad circle round the eye
whitish ; the lower parts from the breast downwards, and the
whole wing-lining (except a few of the longer lower-coverts, which
are ashy-grey with large white spots), pure white ; the feathers
of the abdomen with narrow, rather pale chesnut central streaks ;
there are lanceolate chesnut dashes in the wing-lining ; the axil-
laries are broadly and irregularly barred with blotches, and lower
tail and thigh-coverts have the shafts of the same color, a few
faint streaks of which are also generally to be seen mingling
with the blue-grey of the breast.
Adult Female. Forehead, and a band round the eye, slightly
BUTEONIN.E. 51
rufous-white ; crown and occiput rufous-brown, streaked with
dark hair-brown ; a streak from the base of the lower mandible,
widening so as to involve the whole ear-coverts, darkish brown,
in some very dark ; some of the feathers, commonly, very
narrowly margined rufous ; back, wings, scapulars, and central
tail-feathers dark umber-brown ; the quills and central
tail-feathers darkest ; the lateral tail-feathers paling as they
recede from the central ones, which are unbarred, with four
or five broad transverse, lighter and generally more rufous-brown
bars, often more or less obsolete on the outer webs ; the whole of
the lower parts are light rufous-buff, with narrow, deeper
rufous, shaft stripes ; rump and upper tail-coverts mingled
white, rufous-buff, and reddish-brown.
" Young 'male of the second year killed while undergoing his
second moult."
The top of the head, and the feathers round the cheeks, a
mixture of brown and rufous ; ear-coverts grey ; occiput varied
with white ; the nape, back, scapulars, tertials, and upper tail-
coverts lead-grey ; upper surface of all the tail-feathers, except
the two in the middle, barred with shades of brown and rufous ;
middle tail-feathers, with the outer webs, uniform pearl-grey ; the
inner webs with fine dark brown bands on a greyish ground ;
wing primaries and secondaries blackish-brown ; greater wing-
coverts dark browu ; lesser wing-coverts lighter brown, varied
with rufous and two or three grey feathers; chin, and front of
neck, pearl-grey ; breast, belly, thighs, and under tail-coverts
white, with a longitudinal rufous stripe on the centre of each
feather ; under surface of tail-feathers barred with greyish-white
and brown ; legs, toes, and claws, as in the adult male.
A young male of the year : a narrow frontal band, a line above,
and a patch below and behind the eye, arid two broad patches on
either side of the nape white, the feathers of the latter with
brown shafts ; chin and throat whitish, bristles, at point of chin,
black ; the top of the head rusty-rufous ; the feathers with more
or less narrow, lanceolate or linear, dark brown shaft stripes ;
ear-coverts and a line extending to them from the base of the
lower mandible dark brown, the feathers mostly narrowly mar-
gined with ferruginous ; wings, back, and scapulars rich brown
of different shades, palest on the upper back ; rump, and lesser
wing-coverts, more umber on the secondaries and longer scapu-
lars, and greyer, except at the extreme tips, on the primaries ;
all the quills, the primary greater-coverts, back, rump, and scapu-
lars, narrowly but conspicuously margined at the tips with rufous
buff, or faintly rufous-white ; the lesser and most of the median-
coverts more broadly margined with brighter rufous.
The first few primaries silvered on their outer webs towards
their bases, and with three or more irregular, dark, transverse
bars on the inner webs, (which are mostly brownish-white above
the notches), and faint traces of these on the grey-brown, outer.
52 BUTEONINyE.
webs, above the emarginations ; all the tail-feathers tipped with
pale rufous, most broadly on the external feathers ; the central
tail-feathers deep brown, with four broad, transverse, greyish-
brown bars, greyer at the bases and broader towards the tips ;
the lateral tail-feathers similar in character, but the grey-brown
bars change, as the feathers recede from the central ones, to
rufous-grey, rufous, and rufous-white ; and the deep brown inter-
spaces change similarly to nearly pure cinnamon-rufous ; the
upper tail-coverts are absolutely pure white in some, in others with
very narrow, rufous-brown, shaft stripes. From the throat, the
whole lower parts, including the wing-lining, are pure, pale cinna-
mon-rufous ; some of the feathers of the sides of the breast, with
linear, dark -brown shaft stripes, and all the feathers with the
shafts slightly deeper colored than the webs.
Montague's Harrier occurs throughout the Deccan, Rajpootana
and Sind. I did not meet with it in Guzerat ; it is of course a
seasonal visitant only.
Circus melanoleucus, Forst.
53. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 98 ; Hume's Scrap Book,
p. 307.
THE PIED HARKIER.
Length, 17 to 18; wing, 14; tail, 8 ; tarsus, 2'9 ; mid-toe and
claw, 1*6.
Bill and cere black ; irides yellow ; legs yellow.
Whole head, neck, breast, back, upper scapulars, middle wing-
coverts and primary quills black ; the greater-coverts and second-
aries, and some of the scapulars, beneath the others, pale grey ;
the lesser-coverts and shoulders partially white mixed with some
grey ; upper tail-coverts mixed white and grey ; beneath from the
breast pure white ; tail pure grey, unbarred, paling on the outer
feathers.
The wings reach nearly to the end of the tail. Sexes alike.
Dr. Jerdon remarks that the Pied Harrier is rare in the
Deccan and Central India, but common in Bengal.
Circus seruginosus, Lin.
54. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 99 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 447 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 374 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 89 ; Swin-
hoe and Barnes, Central India; Ibis, 1885, p. 58 ; Hume's Scrap
Book, p. 314.
THE MARSH HARRIER.
<?. Length, 19 to 21*7; expanse, 47 to 50; wing, 15'6 to
1675 ; tail, 94 to 10 2 ; tarsus, 3'4 to 3'86 ; bill from gape, 1-4 to
1-5.
?. Length, 21 to 24 ; expanse, 50 to 54 ; wing, 16'2 to 171 ;
tail, 975 to 10'22 ; tarsus, 3'55 to 3'9 ; bill from gape, T5 to T63.
MILVIN.E. 53
Legs and foot rich yellow, dingy or pale greenish-yellow in the
young ; the claws brownish-black ; the irides are orange -yellow,
sometimes with a pink tinge, deep brown, or brownish-yellow in
the young ; the bill is blackish or brownish-black, yellowish at the
base, 'and bluish there in the young ; the cere is greenish-yellow,
or sometimes pale-greenish, in the young.
The young bird is uniform dark reddish umber-brown ; in a
further stage the head and throat are yellowish, or rufous- white,
with dark stipes on the crown ; in some the head is pure white,
and the upper tail-coverts and base of the outer tail-feathers
are pale reddish.
In the fully adult the head, neck, and breast are pale rufous, with
dark brown stripes, deepening to dark red-brown on the belly
and thigh-coverts ; upper tail-coverts marked with red, white, and
brown ; the shoulders, secondaries, and tail pure silvery-grey ;
back, scapulars and tertiaries deep brown ; primaries black.
To this Mr. Hume adds that, as the young bird advances to-
wards maturity, there first appears a large rufous-fawn, or rufous-
white patch upon the breast ; then the rufous, or yellowish-white
of the head and nape begins to run down the back of the neck,
and margins of a similar color begin to make their appearance
on the feathers of the upper back and the smaller wing-coverts ;
the color of the upper parts slightly fades, and a greyish tinge
begins to overspread the outer webs of the primaries.
It is probable that the adult plumage, in which the shoulders,
secondaries, and tail are silver grey, is only assumed by the
male.
The Marsh Harrier is generally spread throughout the district,
and (although a few may possibly remain to breed) is a cold
weather visitant only. It frequents marshes, rivers, and lakes,
and feeds chiefly on frogs, rats, and water insects.
It often carries off wounded duck and teal.
It seems instinctively to know sportsmen, and not infrequently
follows them round a tank or jheel, with a view to dinner. I
have often, by their help, retrieved wounded birds that would
otherwise have been lost to me.
SUB-FAMILY, Milvinse.
Bill typically small and weak, occasionally stout, rather straight
at the base, and suddenly hooked, or curved from the base,
and much hooked at the tip, rounded at the sides and compress-
ed only at the tip ; the margin sinuated or toothed ; wings long ;
tail short and even, or long and forked ; tarsi short, rather thick ;
toes short, broad ; claws moderate, not very unequal.
GENUS, Haliastur, Selby.
Bill rather stout, straight over the cere, curved and hooked
beyond margin of the upper mandible, festooned (as is very
prominently seen in young birds) ; nostrils oval, oblique ; wings
54 MILVIN^E.
very long, the 4th quill longest ; tail moderate, broad, and
slightly rounded ; tarsi short, moderately stout, with a large
plume of feathers at the knee, covered anteriorly and posteriorly
with large scutse ; lateral scales small, reticulate ; feet small,
lateral toes unequal ; claws not very unequal, grooved beneath,
inner and hind-claws about equal; toes rough beneath, with
sharp points.
Haliastur indus, Bodd.
55. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 101 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 448 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 374 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 90 ; Swinhoe
and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 58 ; Hume's Scrap
Book, p. 316.
THE BRAHMINY KITE.
Brah/mami Chil, Hin.
Length, 18 to 21 ; expanse, 54 to 57 ; wing, 15 to 1675 ; tail,
6'5 to 7'5 ; tarsus, 2 to 2'25 ; bill at gape, T4 to 1'5.
Adult : head, neck, and body below, as far as the middle of
the abdomen, white, with longitudinal narrow streaks of dark
brown ; the rest of the plumage rich chesnut-rufous, darkest on
the interscapulars and back ; quills black, chesnut internally
towards the base ; tail paling towards the tip.
The young bird is pale brown ; the feathers of the head, neck,
and lower parts lighter streaked, and the upper feathers spotted
with fulvous or whitish ; the tail is dusky, with a tinge of
maroon.
The Maroon-backed Kite is found throughout the region,
abundantly in Sind, but more rarely in Guzerat and Rajputana.
It is a permanent resident, breeding on trees in February and
March. The eggs, two in number, are oval in shape, greyish
white in color, sparingly spotted with dull brownish-red ; they
average 2 inches in length by about 1 "64 inches in breadth.
GENUS, Milvus, Cuvier.
Bill short, somewhat straight at the base, tip well curved and
hooked, upper mandible with a rounded obsolete tooth, or
festoon ; nostrils oval, oblique ; wings long, 4th quill, or 3rd and
4th, longest ; tail lengthened, forked or emarginate ; tarsus short,
plumed above in front, with scutse in front below ; posteriorly
naked to the knee, reticulate ; toes rather short ; claws moderate,
unequal, and moderately curved ; outer-toe slightly mobile.
Milvus govinda, Sykes.
56. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 104 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 448 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 374 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 90 ; Swin-
hoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 58 ; Hume's
Scrap Book, p. 320,
MTLVIN/E. 55
THE PARIAH KITE.
Chil, Hin.
Length, 22 to 25 ; expanse, 51 to 60 ; wing, 17 to 19 ; tail, 11
to 1375 ; tarsus, 2 to 2'25 ; bill from gape, T5 to 1'8,
The males are generally the smallest, but large males exceed
small females in size, so I have not given the measurements of
the sexes separately.
Legs and feet from pale lemon-yellow in young birds to wax-
yellow in older ones, pale greenish-grey in very young birds ;
claws black ; irides varying from deep brown to pale or yellow-
ish-brown ; bill blackish-horny ; cere and gape vary from green-
ish-grey in the young to yellow in the old bird.
Adult : top of the head, back and sides of the neck dingy or
pale umber-brown ; the feathers with a narrow dark shaft stripe,
and a narrow stripe, towards the tips, on each side of this ; the rest
of the upper parts brown, darker on the first few primaries, pahr
on the tertials and lesser wing-coverts ; tail tinged grey, and with
obscure traces of transverse darker bars ; some of the lesser-coverts,
tertials, upper tail-coverts, and tail-feathers are narrowly but ob-
scurely tipped paler ; chin and throat whity-brown ; the shafts darker ;
the breast, abdomen, lower tail-coverts, and tibial plumes, dull
hair-brown, dark shafted ; those of the breast with narrow, pale
stripes on each side of the shaft stripes ; the rest, in most birds,
with a pale spot towards the tips.
Young bird : head, neck, breast, abdomen, and sides umber-
brown, each feather broadly streaked fulvous-yellow or buff ;
chin and throat dingy-fulvous, some of the feathers inconspi-
cuously darker shafted ; back, scapulars, upper tail-coverts, and
wing, (except the first few primaries which are almost black) a
more or less rich umber-brown, glossed in many cases with purple,
and every feather more or less narrowly tipped with fulvous or
fulvous-white ; the tail and lower tail-coverts much as in the
preceding ; in some specimens the light streaks are almost pure
white, in others rufous-buff.
All intermediate stages are met with ; the changes are not
regular, and have no chronological value, and, even amongst
adult birds considerable variations occur.
The Pariah Kite is common everywhere, and is a most impor-
tant feature in an Indian landscape. To visitors from England,
on their first arrival in Bombay Harbour, (which is literally
swarming with these birds) they must appear strange and their
numbers incredible, unaccustomed as they (the visitors) are to
the presence of birds of prey. They hang round the ships on
the eager look-out for scraps of food, which sailors and others
amuse themselves by throwing to them ; long before the scrap
reaches the water, it is pounced upon by one of the kites, who
rarely misses a fair chance. If the scrap be small, it is devoured
upon the wing ; if large, the kite perches upon the rigging, but
is not allowed to consume the morsel in peace as the other kites
MILVIN.E.
try to get it from him, and it, in general, changes hands, or
rather feet, several times before it is finally disposed of. Garbage
washed through the scupper holes, if at all eatable, is eagerly
pounced upon ; in fact, they are excellent scavengers, inland as
well as in the harbour. The kite is fearless and venturesome
in the pursuit of food ; it has been known to swoop down on,
and snatch food from the hand of a child, or even a grown up
person ; meat or other food in a plate, carried in hand, is not
safe from their attacks, and it would be the height of folly to carry
anything eatable on the head (the usual custom with natives
in this country), unless it was well covered over. They are easily
caught, by placing a light blanket on the ground and throwing
a piece of meat upon it. The kite swoops down on the meat,
its claws become entangled in the blanket, and the bird can be
secured before it can release itself. Soldiers often amuse them-
selves in this way, and after cutting the webs of the quills and
tail-feathers into fantastic shapes, let them go.
Kites, although far more numerous near the haunts of man,
are by no means uncommon elsewhere. A camp is sure to be
infested by some scores of them ; they seem to know instinctively
when a meal is under preparation, and show increased activity
at these times. They have a peculiar habit of assembling
together in some favorite spot at the close of the day before
retiring to roost.
All writers on the subject seem to agree that they breed
during the first three months in the year, and a nest
taken on Christmas day has been spoken of as exceptionally
early. I have taken nests from October to April, not in one year,
or in one district only, but habitually, as the following extracts
from my nesting memoranda will show :
From.
To.
Aboo
7th October, 1876
8th April, 1877.
Deesa ...
20th October, 1876
7th April, 1877.
)> ,
25th October, 1877
25th March, 1878.
Hyderabad, Sind
5th November, 1878
10th March, 1879.
8th November, 1880
5th April, 1881.
Mhow ...
15th October, 1881
Poona
25th October, 1881
20th March, 1882.
Neemuch ...
4th December, 1 883
9th April, 1884.
,, ...
5th October, 1884
31st March, 1885.
Most of these nests were observed inside cantonment limits ;
indeed, in the breeding season, there is scarcely a compound,
containing a suitable tree, that is not tenanted by a pair of these
birds ; in fact, they have a decided penchant for breeding in the
vicinity of man. This, considering the persecution they receive
at times, on account of the havoc they make in a brood of chickens,
MILVINJ:. 57
is not a little to be wondered at. A pair of kites with their hungry
brood are not desirable neighbours near a poultry yard. I am
inclined to think that they have two broods in a year ; more
especially as I notice in Poona that a nest in a neem tree in my
garden was occupied twice in the same season, whether by the
same birds or not I cannot say. The nests are more numerous
in the months of November and February than at other times ;
this also points to two broods in th^ year.
The nests are clumsy structures, often of large size, built
generally in a stout fork, or junction of the limbs, but occasion-
ally on a horizontal bough of a tree. The eggs are usually two
(rarely three) in number, broad oval in shape, greyish-white in
color, boldly and handsomely blotched, streaked, and spotted
bright red-bro?yn. They vary much in coloring. In size they
average 2'2 inches in length by about 1'8 in breadth.
Milvus melanotis, Tern fy ScU.
56fo's. Milvus major, Hume. Sind, Stray Feathers, Vol. I,
p. 160 ; Butler, Bombay ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 375 ;
Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 91 ; Hmne's Scrap
Book, p. 326.
THE LARGE PARIAH KITE.
Length, 2675, 2775 ; wing, 21, 21 '5 ; tail, 13'3, 1375 ; tarsus,
2'5, 2-4; bill at gape, 175, 178.
Adult Female. Bill and claws horny-black ; legs dull yellow ;
toes mingled dingy-greenish and yellow.
Plumage. General plumage much as in the common kite.
There appears to be a set controversy regarding the distinct-
ness of this from M. govinda. I have never met with the bird
myself, although I have constantly been on the look-out for it.
Mr. Hume saw several specimens in the dhunds of Upper Sind,
and obtained one in Bombay Harbour.
GENUS, Pernis, Cuvier.
Bill rather small, gently curving from the base, the tip very
slightly hooked ; margin of the upper mandible almost straight,
or very feebly simiated ; nostrils narrow, oblique ; the lores
covered with small scale-like feathers ; wings moderate, fourth
quill longest, the second to the sixth sinuate internally ; tail rather
long, slightly rounded ; tarsi short, half plumed in front, covered
with small reticulated scales ; toes with transverse scales, entire
at the roots of the nails, elsewhere divided ; lateral toes about
equal, free, or barely united to the mid-toe ; nails unequal, only
moderately curved ; middle-claw dilated internally.
Pernis ptilortiynchus, Tern.
57. Pernis cristata, Cuv. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 108; Butler, Guzerat; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 448
58 MILVINJE.
Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 375 ; Svvinhoe and Barnes,
Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 58 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 330.
THE HONEY BUZZARD.
3. Length, 24 to 25 - 5 ; expanse, 49 to 54 ; wing, 15 '5 to 16 ;
tail, 10'3 to 11 ; hill from gape, T4 to T45.
9. Length, 26 to 28; expanse, 55 to 57; wing, 1575 to
17*25 ; tail, 11'5 to 1275 ; bill from gape, 1'63 to 176.
Young bird : brown above, the feathers more or less edged
lighter ; head and neck usually paler, sometimes rufous-brown,
at other times whitish, with central dark streaks, more or less
developed ; beneath white, sometimes only faintly streaked, at
times with large streaks, more rarely with large oval brown
drops, and with or without a dark central chin-stripe, and two
lateral ones.
In some birds, especially those from Southern India, there is a
.well marked occipital cresf; "of several graduated feathers, general-
ly deep brown or almost black.
In a further stage the brown above becomes darker and more
uniform ; and the lower parts assume a pale rufous brown tinge,
with the central streak more or less developed, according as it
was in the young bird, and the incomplete tail bands are more
clouded.
The adult has the plumage above rich brown ; the head and
lores generally, but not always, suffused with ashy-grey, arid the
lower parts uniform darkish-brown, with the dark streak almost
obliterated ; the tail is brownish-ashy, faintly clouded with
dusky, and with two wide dark black bars, and a third, almost
concealed by the upper tail-coverts ; the terminal bar is tipped
white or greyish.
The wings reach to about three inches from the end of the
tail ; the gape is short, only reaching to the anterior part
of the eye.
In most birds in a transition state the feathers of the lower
parts are banded brown and white, especially on the lower
abdomen, thigh-coverts, &c., and some of these feathers are
generally to be found at all ages.
Mr. Hume, after giving very detailed descriptions in his
" Scrap Book," adds : " Almost every possible combination of the
varying plumage, and shades of color, of different parts, above
described, may be met with."
Jerdon omits giving the colors of the soft parts ; the omission
has been well supplied by Mr. Hume, whom I now quote :
" The legs and feet, which are very full and puffy, vary from
dingy yellowish-white in the young to bees wax-yellow in old
adults ; scutellation well marked and reticulate (the plates
somewhat concave, especially at back of tarsus), except about
three or four transverse scutae at the tip of all the toes ; a mere
trace of a connecting membrane between the central and out-
ward toes at the base ; claws black, and except the mid-toe claw,
MILVIN^E. 59
compressed ; hind-claw much curved, and mid-claw with the interior
margin usually much dilated, especially towards the tip ; irides
brilliant yellow, duller or slightly brownish in younger birds ; cere
black, greenish at nostrils and towards commissure ; gape and two-
thirds of the commissure from gape, and greater portion of lower
mandible, pale blue ; greater portion of upper mandible and tip of
lower black ; a small dingy-greenish patch on each side of the
lower mandible towards the base ; tongue moderate, obtuse,
entire, rather stiff and membraneous towards the tip (where it is
slightly emarginate) and margins."
With the exception of Sind, the Honey Buzzard is more or
less common throughout the region ; it occurs more plentifully
in well-wooded districts ; it is a permanent resident, and breeds
during May and June. The nest is generally placed at some
height in a fork of a tree, and is composed of twigs, lined with
dead leaves ; the eggs, two in number, are very broad oval or
nearly spherical in shape ; they are white, or buffy- white, in color,
thickly clouded, blotched, or capped with deep reddish-brown
or blood-red; they measure 2 inches in length, by about 17
inches in breadth.
GENUS, Elanus, Savigny.
Bill very small, wide at the base, compressed at the tip, which
is much hooked and lengthened ; edge of upper mandible slightly
sinuated ; cere short ; nostrils large, oval, longitudinal ; wings
very long, pointed, second quill longest, the first emarginate near
the tip ; tail short, almost even, or emarginate ; tarsi short,
thick, weak, plumed above, covered with reticulated very small
roundish scales beneath ; toes thick, soft, free, unequal ; outer
toe shorter-than the inner one ; claws rather large, middle on<
keeled, others rounded.
Elanus cceruleus, Desf.
59. Elanus melanopterus, Daud. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 112; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, L ,)W
p. 449 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 375 ; Murray's
Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 92 ; Swinhoe and Barnes,
Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 58 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 338.
THE BLACK-WINGED KITE.
Length, 12 to 13 ; expanse, 34 to 35 ; wing, 10 to 1175 ; tail,
5'25 to 575 ; tarsus, 11 to T3 ; bill from gape, 0*95 to 115.
Legs and feet bright yellow ; claws black ; bill black, cere and
base of lower mandible yellow; irides bright crimson in the
adult, yellowish-pink or bright yellow in the young.
Plumage. Adult : forehead a narrow streak above the dark
supercilium ; the anterior portion of the lores, the chin, cheeks,
ear-coverts, throat and whole lower parts, wing-lining, edge of the
wing, and all but the central tail-feathers white ; the external webs
of all, but the two exterior on each side of these, more or less
60 STRIGINJ:.
faintly tinged grey ; posterior portion of lores, a narrow super-
cilium, a small patch of coverts just at the origin of the primaries,
nearly hidden by the winglet, (which is grey and not black, as
Dr. Jerdon gives it), and the whole of the lesser-coverts, and the
median, secondary, and tertiary coverts black ; the wing patch
more or less glossy, with the browner bases of the feathers
showing through, and usually with more or less of a greyish bloom
most conspicuous over the forearm ; the rest of the upper
plumage grey, (of very different shades in different individuals, but
always darkest on the primaries, scapulars and interscapulary region)
which varies from a full slate-grey to a pale almost pearl -grey.
The Black-winged Kite is more or less common throughout the
whole district ; it is a permanent resident, but I have been
unable to ascertain anything in regard to its breeding, and the
published accounts are at present misleading.
FAMILY, Strigidse.
Head large, densely feathered; eyes surrounded with a radiating
circle of feathers, forming the facial disc, which is bounded in some
by a ruff of close set feathers ; eyes large, directed forwards ; bill
short, usually covered by recumbent setae ; ears large ; feet usually
feathered to the toes ; outer-toe reversible, generally shorter than
the inner one.
SUB-FAMILY, Striginae.
Head very large, disc complete, occupying the whole face ; ear-
conch very large ; ears operculated ; wings long ; tail short ; tarsus
long, more or less plumed ; toes reticulated, with one or two scutse
at the root of the claws.
GENUS, Strix, Linnceus.
Bill rather long, straightish at base, curved at the tip, somewhat
shallow and feeble, with large nasal fossae, and long lunated
nostrils ; operculum somewhat tetragonal ; wings reaching beyond
the tail, which is short, and nearly even, or slightly rounded ;
second quill longest, first nearly equal to it, third only a little
shorter ; tarsi long and slender, rather scantily feathered ; toes
moderate, scutellate above, slender ; nails sub-equal, large, well
curved, middle one pectinated ; outer-toe shorter than the inner,
united to the middle one by a membrane, and reversible.
Strix javanica, Gm.
60. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 117; Butler, Guzerat;
Stray Feathers, Vol III, p. 449 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 375 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 101 ;
Strix indica, Blyth ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 342.
THE INDIAN SCREECH OWL.
Length, 13 to 15 ; expanse, 37 to 43 ; wing, 11 to 12 ; tail, 575
to 6'2 ; tarsus, 2'5 to 2'8 ; bill from gape, T5 to 175.
SYRNIINyE. 61
Above, pale yellow-buff, beautifully mottled with light grey,
each feather tipped with a white spot, edged darker ; quills and
tail darker and somewhat fulvous, with distinct mottled bands
and specks between them ; disc white, with a patch of rufous at
the inner corner of the eye ; ruff yellow and brown ; all beneath,
including the under wing-coverts, white in some, pale yellowish-
buff in others ; the feathers of the breast and abdomen with small
black specks and spots.
The tarsus is feathered to the feet, but the feathers become very
sparse and bristly towards the latter, and are little more than
bristles at the foot ; the toes are fleshy or dirty white, or light-
brown with a pinkish tinge, thinly covered on the whole upper
surface with whitish bristles ; the claws horny -brown, tinged only
with brown on the ridges ; bill slightly yellowish-white, faintly
tinged with pinkish towards the cere, which is fleshy ; irides brown,
sometimes almost black.
The Indian Screech Owl occurs throughout the region, but is
nowhere common, except perhaps in the Deccan.
It is a permanent resident, and breeds from February to June, in
holes of trees, rocks, and similar situations ; the eggs, three or four
in number are less spherical than those of Owls usually are,
measuring 175 inches in length by 1'3 in breadth ; they are white
with a creamy tinge.
SUB -FAMILY, Syrniinae.
Head not so large as in the last family and the disc incomplete
above ; no ear-tufts ; wings moderate, somewhat rounded ; the
first four or five quills emarginate ; tarsus short, stout, well
feathered ; mid- toe longer than the inner one ; claw dilated
internally, as are the toes also partially ; tail slightly lengthened,
and rounded or graduated.
Strix Candida, Tick.
61. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 118; Hume's Scrap
Book, p. 345.
THE GRASS OWL.
Length, 14 ; wing, 14 ; tail, 4'5 ; tarsus, 3'5.
Bill horny ; irides very dark brown ; legs livid, above tawny yellow ;
the feathers brown, yellowish at base and with a terminal white
spot ; the quills fulvous-yellow, with distinct brown bars ; tail
pale yellow, with four dark brown bars, the terminal one mottled
at the ending ; disc fulvous-white, with a dark brown spot at the
inner angle of the eye ; ruff dark fulvous ; beneath yellowish-
white, with small brown specks ; tarsus and toes with a few
scattered bristles, scarcely plumed at the knee ; the wings reach
three inches beyond the tail ; the claws are blunter and less
curved than in the last.
Dr. Jerdon procured the Grass Owl in Central India, as did
62 SYRNIIN.E.
also Colonel Tickell. Neither Colonel Svvinhoe or myself met
with it there.
GENUS, Syrnium, Savigny.
The characters are the same as those of the sub-family.
Syrnium indranee, SyJces.
63. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 121 ; Butler, Decc an ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 375 ; Bulaca indranee, Sykes ;
Hume's Scrap Book, p. 347.
THE BROWN WOOD OWL.
Length, 19 to 21 ; wing, 13 to 14 ; tail, 8 to 9 ; tarsus, 2'4.
Toes feathered for three-quarters of their length, and with strong
scutse beyond; the inner claw is the largest, the outer one
about equal to the hind-claw ; the wings reach nearly to the
end of the tail.
Above, hair-brown, darkest on the head and neck, the greater-
coverts, scapulars, and tertiaries banded with white, the outer
scapulars being almost white with brown bars ; rump and
upper tail-coverts also faintly barred with fulvous ; quills brown,
barred with pale fulvous on both webs and with narrow whitish
bars and a white tip ; disc, black round the eye, with a pale
whitish upper edge or supercilium, rufous externally ; ruff
brown with some white markings ; throat below the ruff white ;
body beneath pale rufous-white, narrowly and closely barred with
brown ; quills and tail beneath dusky -brown, with white iJars ;
bill pale greenish ; irides deep brown ; claws horny-reddish.
The Brown Wood Owl appears to be very uncommon, and is
confined to the Western Ghats and forests in the vicinity. It
has been procured at Ratnagiri and at Mahableshwar. Nothing
appears to be known in regard to its nidification ; in fact,
Mr. Hume and others seem somewhat to doubt the distinctness
of this and S. newarense, but as Jerdon points out the present is
a considerably smaller bird.
Syrnium occellatum, Less.
65. S. sinense, Lath. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 123 ;
Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. V, p. 208 ; Deccan, Stray
Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 376 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 353.
THE MOTTLED WOOD OWL.
Length, 17'9 to 19'2; expanse, 45 to 50'5 ; wing, 13 to 15;
tail, 7 to 8'5 ; tarsus, 2 to 2*4 ; bill from gape, 1'6 to 17.
Bill black, paler, and greyish on lower mandible ; eyelids
orange ; irides brown, deep in some, lighter in others ; claws
sharp, slightly curved, middle claw dilated on inner edge.
General plumage : above, rich tawny-yellow, the feathers of the
head and nape spotted with black and white, each plume having a
blackish tip, and crossed by an interrupted white band ; feathers of
' V\
ASIONIN.E. 63
the back, scapulars, wing-coverts, and upper tail-coverts beautifully
mottled and speckled with dusky and white ; quills tawny at their
base, dusky at the tip, with pale mottled bands ; inner webs tawny,
with brown bands ; tail much the same, the mottled bars on both
webs of the centre tail-feathers, but on the outer web and tip only
of the others ; disc mottled white, brown, and fulvous ; the ruff
dark-brown, beneath the chin whitish ; the rest of the body
beautifully banded white and brown, each feather being white,
with numerous narrow bars of brown ; tarsal feathers the same ;
the toes clad nearly to the end. Some specimens are much
tinted with fulvous beneath.
The Mottled Wood Owl is not uncommon in the Deccan, and
it has been obtained in Guzerat. I procured it at Neemuch in
Central India, but it has not, as yet, been recorded from Sind.
It is a permanent resident where found, and breeds during
the month of March ; the eggs, two in number, are deposited in
a cavity in a tree, or in tne depression at the fork of two large
branches. There is no nest to speak of, except, perhaps, a few
dead leaves that appear to have fallen there by accident ; the
eggs are rather roundish ovals, white in color, occasionally with a
faint tinge of cream ; they measure 2 inches in length by
about 17 in breadth.
SUB-FAMILY, Asioninse.
Head large, with two aigrettes, or plumes of lengthened feathers
on each side of the forehead ; orifice of the ears large, lunate,
operculate ; wings long, second quill longest, and third quill sub-
equal to it ; tail moderate, or longish, nearly even ; facial disc
nearly perfect ; bill short, strong, curved from the base ; upper
mandible sometimes festooned, well protected by bristles ; tarsus
stout, moderate, or short, feathered, as are the toes as far as the
scales in front of the nails, which are sub-equal.
GENUS, Asio, Stride.
The characters are the same as those of the sub-family.
Asio otus, Lin.
67. Otus vulgaris, Flem. Jerdon's Birds of India, Yol. I, p. 125 ;
Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 99 ; Hume's Scrap
Book, p. 361.
THE LONG-EARED OWL.
Length, 14 to 16 ; expanse, 36 to 40 ; wing, 11 to 12'5 ; tail,
5-5 to 6 ; tarsus, T4 to T6 ; bill, 11.
Bill blackish-brown or dark -horny ; cere fleshy ; claws blackish-
horny ; irides from bright yellow to orange.
Above : the forehead finely mottled, dusky and tawny ; the ear-
tufts, about 175 inches long, deep brown, edged with tawny ; the
disc pale tawny, with a narrow black stripe along the inner
side of the eye ; the ruff blackish ; the head, neck, and breast
64 BUBONINJE.
dark -brown ; the feathers edged tawny-yellow, broadly so on the
neck and upper part of the breast ; rest of the plumage above
brown, mottled whitish, the feathers tawny at the base ; the
quills tawny, with a few dark brown bars, changing to mottled
fulvous- white, and dusky towards the tip ; tail pale tawny with
brown bands, mottled at the tip ; beneath, from the breast, tawny
\vith dark brown dashes, and a few cross stripes ; vent and under
tail-coverts and tarsal feathers unmarked.
At present, within our district, this Owl has only been recorded
from Hyderabad, Sind, where it was obtained by Captain Butler,
Mr. Doig, and myself. It is by no means common.
Asio accipitrinus, Pall
68. Otus brachyotus, Gmel. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 126 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 449 ; Dec-
can, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 377 ; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoology of Sind, p. 100 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 354.
THE SHOKT-EARED OWL.
#. Length, 14*5 to 15; expanse, 36'5 to 40; wing, 1175 to
12-5 ; tail, 6 to 6'8 ; tarsus, T4 to 18 ; bill from gape, 1 to T25.
?. Length, 15 to 16; expanse, 40 to 42 ; wing, 12 to 13'3 ;
tail, 6'25 to 7 ; tarsus, 1'4 to 1*8 ; bill from gape, 1 to 1*25.
Bill blackish ; irides yellowish.
Above : head and neck brown, the feathers broadly margined
with pale tawny ; wings and back the same, but more tawny on
the scapulars and back, and the brown more irregular, tending
to become narrow in parts, and to extend into bars in other
parts ; quills deep tawny, with broad brown bars ; tail light ful-
vous, also brown banded, and light tipped ; the disc pale fulvous,
much streaked blackish ; the ruff mottled tawny and brown,
beneath pale fulvous, with narrow long stripes, wider on the throat
and breast ; the ' under tail-coverts and the tarsal plumes
unspotted.
The Short-eared Owl occurs during the winter months, through-
out the region, but is nowhere very common.
SUB-FAMILY, Buboninae.
Head moderate, furnished with two long ear-tufts on the forehead ;
orifice of the ears rather small or moderate, without an operculum ;
wing moderate or longish ; tarsus short, usually feathered ; toes
and nails strong.
GENUS, Bubo, Auct.
Bill slightly lengthened, scarcely arched from the base, com-
.pressed, strong, black ; nostrils ovoid, transverse ; wings long, 3rd
quill longest aud 4th quill sub-equal to it ; tail rather long,
nearly even ; tarsi and toes feathered ; tarsi moderate, fairly
strong, and claws sub-equal.
BUBONIC. 65
t
Bubo bengalensis, Frankl.
. Urrua bengalensis, Franklin. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 128 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 450 ;
Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 376 ; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoology of Sind, p. 93 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India;
Ibis, 1885, p. 58 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 366.
THE ROCK-HORNED OWL.
Ghugu, Hin.
Length, 20 to 23 ; expanse, 44 to 58-; wing, 14 to 16 ; tail 8 25
to 9 ; tarsus, 2'4 to 3'25 ; bill from gape, T5 to 175.
Bill horny black ; irides intense orange-yellow ; legs and feet
feathered.
Above : the feathers of the head and neck are tawny, fading into
white, each with a broad stripe of rich dark-brown; forehead
brown-black, with a few tawny and white spots ; aigrettes rich
black-brown, edged on the inner sides with fulvous ; back, shoul-
ders, and greater coverts are varying shades of dark-brown, with
pairs of mottled or freckled spots or incomplete bars of white, buff,
or whity-buff ; the tertiaries are similar, but have a lighter or more
rufous ground-color ; the primaries are a rich rufous-buff, tipped
dusky-brown, gradually diminishing in extent inwards ; the outer
webs of the first two are banded brown and rufous-buff, freckled
with brown, but in the succeeding ones the rufous-buff above
the tips is nearly pure, except for two or three narrow, irregular
spots, or incomplete bars ; the dusky tips are themselves a
good deal freckled and banded, more especially towards the
secondaries, which latter want the dusky tips, and have four
or five brown bars on the outer, and three or four much narrower
ones on the inner webs, the buff between the bars being freckled
with brown and dashed with white; the inner webs are
clear salmon color, inclining to white on the outer edges; the
wing-lining is pale buff, mottled with white, the lesser lower-
coverts being banded with faint, wavy, zigzag, brown lines or
bars ; the two centre tail-feathers resemble the outer webs of
the secondaries, aud the lateral ones their inner webs ; the lores
and sides of the upper mandibles are occupied with dense tufts of
white bristly feathers, having the webs much disunited, with the
extreme tips black and prolonged, and a broad band of similar
feathers, tinged with pale buffy-brown, bounded posteriorly by a
narrow dark brown band, from the base of the aigrettes, behind
and below the eye ; the under parts are rufous-buff (whitish on
the throat and neck), the breast with conspicuous dark-brown
stripes, and the abdomen, sides and lower tail-coverts with nu-
merous narrow, transverse, wavy, rufous-brown bars, darkest and
closest on the sides, and almost wanting on the vent'; the thigh-
coverts, tarsi, and toe-feathers are buffy or sullied white, unspotted.
The Rock-horned Owl is fairly common in all parts of the
presidency,
5
66 BUBONINJE.
It frequents, by preference, rocky hills, ravines, and river
banks, particularly if the latter are partially covered with
brushwood. As noticed by Jerdon, it may frequently be seen
in the early morning, seated on the ledge of a rock, looming
large against the sky. It breeds during February, March and
April, but eggs are occasionally found both earlier and later.
The eggs, three or four in number, are deposited on the bare
ground, either in a small cave or on a projecting edge of a cliff
generally near water. A favorite breeding place is the preci-
pitate bank of a river facirig westward, where the sun seldom or
never penetrates ; the eggs, though rarely, have been found on
the level ground. They are broad oval in shape, and white in
color, with a faint creamy tinge, fairly glossy, and average 2'1
inches in length by 1*73 in breadth.
Bubo coromandus, Lath.
70. Urrua coromanda Jerdon's Bird's of India, Vol. I, p.
130 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 450 ;
Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 94 ; Swinhoe and
Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 58 ; Hume's Scrap Book,
p. 37L
THE DUSKY-HORNED OWL.
Jangli Ghugu, Hin.
<? Length, 22 to 23*5 ; expanse, 54 to 57 ; wing, 1575 to
16'5 ; tail, 8 to 9 ; tarsus, 2*2 to 2-4 ; bill from gape, 1'9 to 1 7.
? . Length, 23 to 25 ; expanse, 56 to 60 ; wing, 17 to 17'5 ;
tail, 875 to 9-25 ; tarsus, 2*3 to 2-6 ; bill from gape, 1-6 to 17. _
Bill greyish at base, horny-yellow on culmen and tip ; irides
deep yellow ; feet sparsely feathered ; claws horny-brown.
Upper parts, except primaries and tail-feathers, earthy-brown .;
in some specimens greyer, in others more umber, often consir
derably darker on the head ; lesser scapulars, and interscapulary
region, and often many of the scapulars and lesser-coverts with
narrow, ill-defined, dark-brown shaft stripes ; all the feathers
more or less vermicellated very finely with excessively narrow,
irregular, imperfect wavy bars of a paler color, producing a
freckled appearance. This pale color is, in some, a dull fulvous-
white, in others grey, in others pale greyish-brown ; in some, this
marking is very conspicuous ; in others it is almost obsolete,
especially about the shoulders ; the long ear-tufts, which in
some specimens are fully 275 inches long, are of the same
dark-brown as the narrow, central shaft stripes, which brown
varies much in shade, in different specimens, being in some very
dark, almost black, in others a moderately dark hair-brown.
There are large white or pale yellowish white patches on the
outer webs of the exterior scapulars, and towards the tips
of most of the larger and median-coverts ; the tail is a dull
rufous-fawn, nearly pure white towards the tip, with four, and on-
BUBONINJS. 67
the central feathers, generally five, broad, transverse, umber-
brown bands, darker in some, lighter in others, and the pale inter-;
spaces on the central . tail-feathers are much freckled, and in
some cases entirely suffused with the same color ; this freckling,
occurs, though in a less degree, on the succeeding feathers, the
interspaces growing clearer and brighter as they recede from
the centre ; the primaries are similar to the tail-feathers, the
tips infuscated or freckled like the central ones, and the
interspaces clearer and brighter towards the bases.
The lower parts are greyish-white, with a faint yellow tinge
everywhere, expect on the middle of the throat, each feather
with a narrow dark shaft stripe, and with numerous very fine
wavy and freckled transverse greyish-brown bars, or vermicil-
lations ; the extent and depth of color of these delicate markings
vary much in different specimens, in some almost entirely
obscuring the ground color on the breast and abdomen.
Tibial and tarsal plumes yellowish or pate fulvous-white,
in some specimens with faint longitudinal, dark-brown streaks
and in others with narrow, clouded, imperfect, transverse bars
of the same color.
The Dusky-horned Owl is abundant in Central India, and
in parts of Rajpootana ; it is not uncommon in Sind, but occurs
more rarely in Guzerat, and has not yet been recorded from
the Deccan or South Mahratta country.
It greatly affects the clumps of trees and mango topes that occur
so abundantly in the vicinity of villages and along the banks
of rivers and canals. It breeds during the months of December
and January, and occasionally later. The nest composed of sticks
is often of enormous size, owing to its being used for several
successive seasons ; it is generally placed in a fork of a large
tree, but occasionally on a horizontal branch, or in the depres-
sion at the junction of three or four large branches. The eggs,
generally two in number, are coarse in texture, creamy-white
in color, and average about 2'33 inches in length by about 1*9
in breadth.
A fresh and an incubated egg will often be found in the same
nest, so that they must begin to sit as soon as the first egg is laid.
I think this habit is somewhat general amongst the Owls, as I
have noticed the same fact with Bubo betigalensis and Garine
brama.
GENUS, Ketupa, Lesson.
Bill large, strong, deep, moderately long, straight at base,
gradually curving beyond the cere, moderately compressed and
hooked ; nares elliptic, partially exposed ; large ear-tufts ; disc indis-
tinct ; ears moderate ; wings rather short, reaching not quite to end
of tail ; 4th quill longest ; tail moderate ; tarsus rather long, or
moderate, stout, naked, reticulate ; toes naked, finely reticulate,
-with three or four scales at the base of the nails, moderately long,
68 BUBONIN^E.
nervous, compressed ; the hind-toe rather large ; soles of the feet
aculeate ; talons subequal, compressed, cultrated below, (except the
middle one; sharp ; inner claw the largest.
Ketupa ceylonensis, Gmel.
72. Jerdon's Birds of India. Vol. I, p. 133 ; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoology of Sind, p. 92 ; Butler, Deccan and South Mahratta
Country ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 376 ; Hume's Scrap Book,
p. 379.
THE BROWN FISH OWL.
Amrai ka Ghugu. Hin.
<. Length, 21 to 22 ; expanse, 54 to 56 ; wing, 15 to 15 '75 ;
tail, 7'6 to 8 ; tarsus, 2'8 to 31 ; bill from gape, 2.
? . Length, 22 to 23'5 ; expanse, 56 to 59 ; wing, 16'5 to 18 ;
tail, 7'8 to 8-5 ; tarsus, 2'8 to 3'25 ; bill from gape, 21.
Bill greenish-dingy ; point of upper mandible blackish -horny ;
of the lower mandible yellowish ; irides bright yellow ; cere
greenish -grey ; legs and feet partly feathered, bare parts dingy
greenish-grey, sometimes plumbeous ; claws bluish-grey at the
base, horny black at tip, mid-claw with two sharp edges developed
one on the inner side, and one beneath.
Lores with a huge patch of bristle-like feathers, with greatly
elongated bare black shafts, overhanging the commissure, and
meeting over the base of the cere, some of them almost, if not
quite, as long as the bill itself ; the whole of the forehead, top
and back of the head, are a somewhat pale pinkish-brown, each
feather centred darker ; the feathers above the ear-coverts on
each side, behind the eye, lengthened so as to form aigrettes or
ear-tufts, from an inch and a half to two inches in length ; the
feathers of the back of the neck are often of a somewhat darker
shade, more broadly shafted with a still darker brown, and most
of the feathers with a trace of wavy mottling, or obscure bars,
especially towards the tips on the lighter-brown portion ; upper
back and scapulars much the same hue, and dark, centred in
the same manner as the feathers of the back of the neck, but
most of the exterior feathers of the scapulars, where they over-
hang the lesser wing-coverts, with nearly the whole outer webs
white, and the lighter brown of the scapulars, and in a less degree
of the feathers of the upper back, very much mottled and
variegated with tiny wavy lines, and small irregular blotches of
fulvous-white ; lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts much
the same hue as the upper back, but with only a central line of
dark-brown, and very feebly mottled with fulvous-white ; all the
lesser wing-coverts, the same brown as the upper back, with
similar broad dark brown centres with a few spots of fulvous-
white on some of the longest ; the median-coverts mostly dark-
brown towards the shafts, and on the inner webs, with one or two
well-marked spots of white or fulvous- white on the latter and
BUBONIC. 69
the outer webs mostly white or fulvous- white, freckled or mottled
with paler brown ; the winglet and primary-coverts chiefly
dark-brown, with two or more imperfect transverse bars " of
fulvous-white or paler brown ; the greater-coverts of the
secondaries much the same as the preceding, but the
outer webs much tinged with pale fulvous-brown, and there is
more white and more mottling about them than the preced-
ing ; the primaries are dark- brown, tipped with fulvous-white,
and with four or five J to f-inch transverse bars of white, ful-
vous, or rufescent white, on the outer, and pale brown across
the inner webs ; the secondaries have much the same charac-
ter as the primaries, but the bars are closer and larger in pro-
portion, and are more conspicuously mottled, and as a whole
generally appear to have more white upon them than the pri-
maries ; the tertiaries and their coverts, like the greater-coverts
of the secondaries, are a paler and more fulvous-brown, and much
marked with imperfect bars or blotches of fulvous -white, mot-
tled with brown ; the tail-feathers are dark, somewhat umber-
brown, tipped with rufous or fulvous- white, and with three or
four comparatively narrow transverse bars of the same hue,
most of the bars showing marks of faint mottling with a darker
color; under the eyes and ear-coverts is a conspicuous patch
of elongated, bristle-like feathers, with elongated, bare, black,
pointed shafts, which curl up round, and are nearly as long as
the lower mandible ; the feathers of the rest of the chin, and
a patch on the throat immediately below it, pure white, with,
towards the tips, a dark-brown central streak, and three or four
narrow, wavy bars of reddish-brown ; the feathers on each side
of this patch on the sides and front of the neck, breast, abdomen
and flanks, a somewhat rufous or pinkish-brown, each feather
with a narrow well-defined central streak of very dark-brown,
and closely barred throughout its whole length on both webs,
with narrow, transverse, wavy bars of a somewhat darker-brown
than the ground color, though much lighter than the central
streaks ; -thigh-coverts and vent- feathers uniform fulvous,
streaked and barred like the body feathers ; the bars are closer
and more numerous on the breast, and the general tint is more
vivacious, and the reverse of this on the flanks and lower tail-
coverts ; the wing-lining somewhat similar to the body feathers,
but much less narrowly banded, and altogether lighter ; the
greater lower-coverts, however, of the primaries are pure white,
broadly tipped with blackish-brown ; lower surface of the quills
glossy-brown, darkest on the primaries, tipped with greyish
white and with three or four transverse bars of greyish-white,
growing yellower as they approach the bases, where the inner
webs are mostly yellowish-white.
The Brown Fish Owl is found throughout Sind, but has not
vet been recorded from Guzerat, neither did I meet with it in
Raj pu tana or Central India. It reappears in the Deccan and
70 BUBONIN.E.
South Mahratta Country, but is nowhere numerically common.
It is a permanent resident where found, breeding from December
'to March. It is by no means choice in the selection of a site
for a nest. A cavity in an old tree, a cleft in a rock overhang-
ing a stream, a broad shelf on the clayey cliff of some river, or
even an old nest of the Fishing Eagle, are all at times made
use of by this very accommodating bird. The nest is seldom
well made; a few sticks mingled with feathers, if on a cliff; or
merely a few dead leaves and feathers if in a hole of a tree ;
but, when they appropriate an old nest of a Fishing Eagle, they
generally line it carefully with grass, fine twigs, and feathers ;
the eggs, two in number, are broad perfect ovals in shape, and
are white in color ; the shell close grained and pitted all
over but still more or less glossy. They average 2 '3 inches in
length by about 1*88 in breadth.
GENUS, Scops, Savigny.
Of small size ; head rather large ; large ear-tufts ; orifice
of ears moderate ; bill moderate, lateral margin somewhat curv-
ed ; nostrils round on margin of the cere ; disc imperfect ;
wings long and pointed, third and fourth quills longest ; tail rather
short, even, or slightly rounded ; tarsus moderate, feathered ;
toes naked and scaled, inner toe nearly equal to the middle
one ; claws moderate.
Scops pennatus, Ilodgs.
74. Epliialtes pennatus, Hodgs. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 136 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 376 ;
Murray's Verebrate * Zoology of Sind, p. 95 ; Swinhoe and
Barnes, Central India; Ibis, 1885, p. 59 ; Hume's Scrap Book,
p. 386.
THE INDIAN SCOPS OWL.
Length, 7*5 to 8'25 ; expanse, 15'5 to 19 ; wing, 5 to 6 ; tail,
2 '5 to 3 ; tarsus, 1 ; bill from gape, 0*8.
Bill dusky-greenish, yellowish beneath ; irides pale yellow ;
legs and feet fleshy-grey or dingy fleshy.
Above ashy-grey, more or less tinged with rufous or rufous-
grey ; the feathers dark shafted, finely mottled with brown, and
with a white subterrcinal spot ; wings more rufescent, and
without the white spots, except on the outer scapulars, as usual
and on some of the greater-coverts ; quills rufescent, with
darkish double bars, the interval between the bars dusky or
mottled, and the light spaces, or ground color, on some of the
outer primaries rusty- white in some specimens ; or, it may be
said, that the quills are dusky-rufescent, mottled with pale
bands ; the tail rufescent, with double bars, in some mottled
almost throughout ; beneath the feathers streaked dark-brown
and banded with white, and mottled rufous-grey and brown,
mostly grey on the upper part, and white on the lower part of
BUBONINJS. 71
the abdomen ; tarsal feathers barred and mottled ; disc ashy-
white, with a few darker specks, and the shafts of the frontal
bristles white ; ruff marked with dull brown and rufous.
In the rufous phase, the upper parts are uniform bright
golden chesnut-red, with black shafts, inconspicuous on the
back, more distinct on the forehead, ear plumes, and shoulders
of the wings ; outer edges of scapulars whitish ; disc rufous with
some of the feathers white shafted ; ruff deep brown, with the
outer feathers black tipped or black ; beneath deeply tinged
with the hue of the back, but with more or less white on the
belly and under tail-coverts ; the breast and sides of the belly
with brownish central black streaks, the latter with transverse
pencillings ; four faint bars on the inner webs of the tail-fea-
thers, and the primaries also indistinctly barred with dusky, or
mottled brown. The young bird has all the feathers duller
red, more black shafted, and there is much white on
the lower surface, and the disc has a good deal of white ; the
scapulars are white externally, with black tips ; and the bars
on the quills and tail-feathers are more distinct, brown, and
mottled.
The Indian Scops Owl occurs sparingly throughout the dis-
trict, excepting, perhaps, Guzerat ; it is of retiring habits,
frequenting forests and well- wooded districts ; it is, I believe,
a permanent resident, but I am not aware of its eggs ever
having been taken anywhere within our limits.
Scops brucei, Hume.
74. Sept. Butler, Deccan and South Mahratta Country ; Stray
Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 376 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of
Sind,p. 95.
THE STRIATED SCOPS OWL.
Length, 9; expanse, 22; wing tj 4 ; tail, 3*25 ; tarsus, 1*45;
bill from gape, 73.
Bill dusky ; irides bright yellow ; legs and feet densely fea-
thered ; claws black, well curved, slender and very sharp.
Cheeks and feathers under the eye greyish-white, excessively
finely and indistinctly barred with brown ; the lores and a
stripe running up from them to the top of the eye creamy-
white ; the longer ones that meet over the base of the upper
mandible tinged brownish ; a few tiny dark-brown feathers on
the eyelids ; chin and throat creamy- white, with very narrow
central shaft stripes towards the tips, and excessively finely ver-
micellated with brown ; feathers of the ruff, (which is incon-
spicuous), very pale buff, narrowly edged with dark-brown ; the
whole of the forehead, crown, back of head, back and sides of
neck, back, scapulars, wing-coverts, rump and upper tail-coverts,
very pale buff or creamy- white, so minutely and closely pow-
dered with pale-brown that looked at from a very little distance
the feathers appear to be a uniform pale earthy-brown.
72 BUBONIN.E.
Every feather has a narrow central dark-brown stripe ; some of
the outer scapulars have inconspicuous patches of buff on their
outer webs, and the ground color of the feather on each side of
the crown, immediately above the eye, is slightly paler ; but,
beyond this, the whole of the upper plumage above described is
singularly uniform in tint and appearance, and is absolutely de-
void of those white spots and blackish-brown or buff dashes and
streaks so characteristic of the other Indian species ; the pri-
maries are pale dingy-buff, with broad transverse brown bars, which,
towards the tips, are with the ground color, mottled and freckled
over, the ground color with brown and the bars with dingy-ful-
vous ; nearer the base of the feather, the light bars are on the ex-
terior webs pure pale buff, while the dark bars continue freckled
as already described ; on the inner webs, the dark bars are nearly
uniform and unmottled, while the light bars are pure and unmot-
tled towards the edge of the webs, and suffused with brown towards
the shafts ; the tertiaries and the tips of the secondaries approxi-
mate closely to the plumage of the back and coverts ; of the breast
and abdomen, the ground color is similar to that of the
upper parts, but the brown powdering is coarser, so that more
of the ground coloring is seen, and the dark-brown central shaft
stripes are somewhat broader towards the vent ; on the flanks
and lower tail-coverts, the ground color becomes almost pure
white, and the brown powdering very sparse, while the shafts
stripes are reduced, as on the back and wing-coverts, to well
marked dark lines ; the short, dense tibial and tarsal plumes are
brownish-white, each little feather with its dark central shaft stripe ;
the axillaries and wing-lining are cream colored, or yellowish-
white, entirely unstreaked and unmottled.
Not much is known concerning the Striated Scops Owl. It was
named by Mr. Hume, after the Revd. H. Bruce, that gentleman
having procured the first specimen near Ahmednagar ; others
have since been procured in different parts of the Deccan. Messrs.
Blandford, Doig and myself procured it in Sind, the former at
Oomercote, Mr. Doig and myself at Hyderabad, where it frequents
dense plantations of young babool trees. I found it nesting on the
Khoja Amran mountains in South Afghanistan. It will doubtless
turn up both in Rajpootana and Guzerat.
Scops bakkamuna, Forst.
75ter. Butler, Sind ; Stray Feathers, Vol, VII, p. 175 ; Aboo,
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 450.
Length, 7'88 to 9 ; expanse, 20*5 to 21 '5 ; wing, 5'6 to 675 ; tail
from vent, 2'5 to 3'37 ; tarsus, 1'06 to 119 ; bill from gape, 0'88 to
0-94.
Toes and claws very pale greyish -brown, the latter darker at the
points, and not much curved ; soles creamy- white ; pads and
papillae much developed and soft, scutellation obscure ; three or
four transverse quasi-scales at the end of each toe ; interior ridge
73
of mid-claw slightly dilated ; irides, in some brownish-yellow, in
others, dark-brown ; in one nearly pure yellow ; bill, upper man-
dible, dark-brown, lower mandible paler, especially towards the
chin ; cere dusky-greyisk
A prominent tuft of disunited, webbed, bristly, white feathers
(with dark naked tips to the shafts, and traces on those nearest
the eye of dark cross bars), on each side of the upper mandible at
its base ; a faint tinge of buffy at the anterior angle of the eye ;
rest of lores, feathers below and behind eye, including ear-coverts,
loose, webbed, silky, greyish-white, with traces of faint minute
transverse brown bars ; chin white, the feathers of the extreme
tip somewhat bristly and curving upwards round lower mandible ;
across the throat and upwards immediately behind the ear orifice,
as far as the base of the aigrettes, a band of creamy or pale buff
feathers, with numerous minute, transverse, wavy brown pen-
cillings and bars ; those from the aigrettes to the sides of the
throat with conspicuous dark-brown tippings, which form the
defining line of the disc, and a few of those in the centre of the throat
with similarly colored spots at the tips ; forehead and a broad
superoilium running up the inside webs of the aigrette feathers,
and a curved band at the back of the head, extending from the
point of one aigrette, to the point of the other (when laid flat on
the head) a silvery-grey or greyish-white, the feathers with dark
brown shafts, and numerous minute, transverse pencillings of that
color, and some of them with terminal spots ; centre of forehead
and top of head, and a triangular space surrounded by this grey
band, a rich dark brown ; purest on the centre of the forehead,
with small twin spots or imperfect transverse bars and mottlings,
to a greater or lesser extent, of pale buff ; the outside webs of
the aigrettes are similar, as are the feathers of the band outside,
and contiguous to the curved grey band, which latter seems con-
tinuous with the dark line of the outer webs of the aigrette, while
the former seems to start immediately above the centre of the
eye ; below the dark band, at the base of the neck, is another
band of very similarly marked feathers, but whereas the dark
brown predominates in the former, the buff much predominates in
the latter ; the back, rump, upper tail-coverts, scapulars, wing-
coverts, (except the greater ones of the primaries) a mixture of
pale brownish-grey and pale buffy, with dark brown central
streaks, and numerous transverse, wavy brown pencillings and
mottlings.
In the outside line of the scapulars, the buff is very pure, and
in some positions conspicuous, and while the rump, upper tail and
lesser wing-coverts, are dingier and greyer, the centre of the upper
back and the median and secondary wing-coverts show more of a
pale buff ; the primary greater-coverts are very dark-brown, with
broad transverse buffy mottled bars ; the quills are darkish-brown,
with numerous broad transverse greyish, more or less dingy
white bars, much more conspicuous on the outer webs ; with the
74 BUBONIX.E.
exception of a few bars on the upper portion of the
webs of the earlier primaries, (which are unmottled and slightly
tinged with cream) ; all the rest of these bars are closely mottled
and pencilled with brown ; the second, third, and fourth primaries
are just perceptibly emarginate on the outer webs, and the first
to the fourth are conspicuously notched on the inner webs ; the
sides of the neck behind the dark line, the breast, sides, abdomen,
thigh-coverts, a sort of creamy-grey, very soft and silky ; the
feathers with narrow rich brown central streaks and numerous
minute, irregular, wavy, transverse pencillings ; greater portion of
wing-lining, vent-feathers, and lower tail-coverts, silky greyish-
white, the latter, some of them, with dark central streaks towards
the tips ; tarsus-feathers silky greyish-white, with a faint buffy
tinge towards the joint, and with several narrow, somewhat irregu-
lar, transverse, brown bars; tail-feathers greyish-brown, with
imperfect, transverse, mottled bars of very pale dingy-buff, and
with the interspaces, too, more or less mottled with the same
color.
Other specimens answer well to the above description, except
that in some specimens the whole of the colors are dingier, while
the white of the lower abdomen, vent, lower tail and thigh-coverts
is purer ; the tarsal plumes in some are entirely unbarred, and
generally the markings are less pronounced and clear than in the
first described specimen. In most birds the tarsal plumes are
entirely unbarred.
Only some specimens shew the silvery half collar on the neck
described above ; in most the deep brown of the top of the head is
continuous down to the broad buffy collar, at most a few feathers
on the nape being greyish towards the tips.
On the whole, however, the coloration of specimens from the
most distant localities differs but little. Hume's " Scrap Book,"
This Scops Owl is very rare, a single specimen was obtained at
Aboo, by Dr. King, and a pair nesting at Hyderabad by Captain
Butler ; these, I believe, are the only recorded instances of its
occurrence within our limits.
Scops malabaricus, Jerdon.
loquat. Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 377 ;
Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind. p. 97 ; Hume's Scrap
Book, p. 402.
THE MALABAR SCOPS OWL.
Length, 8 to 8'24 ; expanse, 10'5 ; wing, 5*95 ; tail, 275 ; exterior
tail-feathers, 025, shorter than the centrals; tarsus, I 1 05 to 1*08;
bill from gape, 0*8.
Bill yellowish horny, darker above ; irides dark yellow j feet
yellow.
The full description of 8. bakkamwna already given renders
any minute description unnecessary.
Generally it may be said that only the point of the forehead,
SURNIIN.E. 75
and a narrow streak over the eye, is white ; and these parts
instead of being silvery- white, as in bakkamwna, are fulvous ;
again, the chin, throat, ruff-feathers, abdomen, and breast,
instead of being white or creamy- white, as in bakkamuna,
are a rich buffy-fawn. Altogether the bird is a good deal
smaller, and the lower parts conspicuously more buffy than
in any specimen of S. bakkamuna.
The Malabar Scops Owl is said to be a permanent resident in
Ratnagiri, and it also occurs in Sind, but is uncommon in both
districts ; it has not been recorded from any other part of the
Presidency. It is often confounded with the preceding
S. bakkamuna.
SUB-FAMILY Surniinae, Kaup.
Ear orifice small, oval, no operculum ; disc incomplete, or nearly
obsolete ; no ear- tufts.
GENUS, Carine, Kaup.
Cere swollen ; first primary much lengthened ; fifth scolloped
on the outer web like the fourth ; hind tarsus plumed ; nostrils
pierced near the anterior margin of the cere ; bill short, curved
from the base, hooked ; lower mandible notched.
Carine brama, Tern.
76. Athene brama. Tern. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 142 ;
Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 450 ; Deccan,
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 377 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology
of Sind, p. 99 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885,
p. 59; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 404.
THE SPOTTED OWLET.
Length, 8 to 9*5 ; expanse, 20*05 to 22*5 ; wing, 615 to 6'65 ;
tail, 275 to 3'5 ; tarsus, 1 to 11 ; bill from gape, 078 to 0'84.
Bill horny-green ; cere dusky ; irides bright or golden pale-
yellow ; feet dingy-greenish.
Above earthy grey-brown, each feather with two white spots ;
beneath white, broadly barred, or with cordate brown bars ; tarsal
feathers not spotted ; wing with five or six white interrupted
bars, and tail with five ; disc white, edged externally with' brown ;
a dusky-brown patch outside the eye, and a small dark spot
at the inner can thus ; ear-coverts barred.
The Spotted Owlet is spread universally throughout India,
and is exceedingly common in all parts of the Bombay Presi-
dency, with the exception of the hills, which it does not ascend
to any great height, its place there being taken by one of the
next two species ; it is a permanent resident, and breeds
during March and April. Eggs are occasionally found in February,
but the majority of them are laid in March. It is not parti-
cular in its choice of a site for a nest ; an old decayed tree will
afford a lodging to several pairs ; in fact, holes in trees are their
76 SURNIIN.E.
most favorite to nesting places, and they may often be seen peep-
ing out of holes in trees during the daytime, but holes in walls
are not neglected.
If they can effect an entrance beneath the tiles of a bunga-
low, they do so, and there they will rear their families ; in such
cases ( by no means uncommon ) they become an almost
intolerable nuisance, as they are such noisy disagreeable birds ;
they are familiar and not easily driven away when once they
have made a lodgment, the only sure method is extermination ;
nothing less seems to have any effect ; if one of a pair be shot
the survivor obtains another mate in a very short time. I have
found the eggs in holes in hay stacks, and very frequently in
holes in the sides of wells. They do not make an elaborate
nest, a few dead leaves and feathers quite sufficing for their
requirements. The eggs, four or five in number, are frequently
found in different stages of incubation, owing to the bird com-
mencing to sit as soon as the first egg is laid. Another curious
fact in connection with this bird is, that three or four adults
are occasionally found sitting on one clutch of eggs.
The eggs are white in color, broad ovals in shape, and average
1*25 inches in length, by about one inch in breadth.
GENUS, Glaucidium, Bole.
he middle of a swollen cere
uiDiuar; wing short, first quill shorter than tne next tour,
emarginate, fourth and fifth quills about equal ; tarsus and
toes well developed ; plumage distinctly banded.
Glaucidium radiatum, Tick.
77. Athene radiata, Tickell. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol.
I, p. 143; Butler, Mount Aboo ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p.
450 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 409.
THE JUNGLE OWLET.
Length, 8 to 8'5 ; expanse, 17'5 to 21 ; wing, 5; tail, 2'6 to
2'9 ; tarsus, 0'92 ; bill from gape, 07.
Bill yellowish-horny ; irides bright yellow ; feet yellow.
Above brown, uniformly barred with close rays of rufescent
whitish and dusky ; wings more rufous, especially the primaries,
and barred with dusky brown ; some of the greater-coverts
and scapulars with white spots ; beneath, throat white, the rest
of the body barred transversely with dusky and whitish ;
under tail-coverts white.
Within our limits, the Jungle Owlet, has only been recorded
from Mount Aboo, where it breeds during April and May.
Glaucidium malabaricum, Ely.
78. Athene malabarica, Blyth. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol.
AIT I, p. 144 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 377;
Hume's Scrap Book, p. 413.
v~f J-f-H W**J ^rf| *W V* V/A V4..L VtJUk* ^ * WV
Nostrils in the middle of a swollen cere, prolonged and
tubular; wing short, first quill shorter than the next four,
77
THE MALABAR OWLET:
Length, 7'6 to 8'25 ; expanse, 17'5 to 18 ; wing, 5 to 5'25 ; tail,
2'58 to 2'62 ; tarsus, 0'9 to 1 ; bill from gape, 07*
Irides bright yellow.
Head, neck, and interscapulars uniform lightish rufous, with
narrow close dusky rays ; wing the same, but the color deeper,
and the bands broader ; primaries deep rufous, the first three
barred throughout with dusky, the rest mostly unspotted, or
obscurely banded at the base, distinctly barred at the tip ; second-
aries with broad bands throughout of rufous and dusky ; the
tertiaries and scapulars barred rufescent-whitish and dusky ;
the outermost scapulars with large white spots ; the lower parts
are barred throughout with dusky, and white on the belly and
flanks, and with rufous and dusky on the breast ; the -vent and
lower tail-coverts pure white ; tail dusky, with eight or nine
whitish bars, somewhat broader than those of the last species.
The Malabar Owlet is common all along the Western Ghats, in
the adjacent forests and also at Ratnagiri, but does not occur on
the plains ; it is a permanent resident where found ; its call,
considering the size of the bird, is extraordinarily loud and
disagreeable.
GENUS, Ninox, Hodgson.
Head small ; disc obsolete ;"bill short ; cere large ; nostrils tumid
wings long, firm ; third quill longest, first and second moderately
graduated ; tail long, firm, nearly even ; tarsi rather short,
feathered ; toes long, thinly clad with bristles, and bordered
laterally by stiff bristles ; lateral toes equal.
Ninox lugubris, Tick.
81. (in part) Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 147 ; Butler,
Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 377 ; Hume's Scrap Book,
p. 420.
THE BKOWN HAWK OWL.
Length, 11 to 121 ; expanse, 27 to 29 ; wing, 8'6 to 9'25 ; tail,
51 to 5'4 ; bill from gape, 0'9 to 1.
Bill blackish, pale horny-yellow on culmen ; cere greenish;
irides bright yellow.
Legs and feet vary from yellow to reddish-yellow, and in young
birds greenish-grey.
Lores, forehead, and chin white ; the elongated bristle-like shafts
of some of the feathers blackish ; ear-coverts brown, ashy at the
base ; top of the head, back and sides of the neck ashy-brown- ;
throat and front of the neck slightly more rufous-brown, streaked
with fulvous ; in some specimens the fulvous greatly predominates,
and these parts may then be said to be light fulvous, streaked
with greyish-brown ; back, scapulars, lesser, median, and greater
secondary wing-coverts, tertiaries, and most of the secondaries,
rump, and upper tail-coverts brown, varying much in shade in
78
H1RUNDININ.E.
different individuals, some being a greyer and more dove-brown,
others more rufous, but always more rufous on the coverts, and
generally palest or clearest on the tertiaries ; the exterior
scapulars with larger or smaller pure white bars, sometimes on
both and sometimes upon one web only, in some specimens
conspicuous even when the bird is at rest, in others only visible
by lifting the feathers ; the tertiaries are barred on both webs
with white ; the tail is pale grey, greyish-brown, or pale brown,
white at the extreme tip, with five regular, transverse, brown
bars, darker or lighter in different individuals, the basal one of
which is more or less completely hidden by the upper tail-coverts,
and which average about 0*4 inches in breadth ; the primaries,
their greater-coverts, and the winglet are generally somewhat
darker-brown than the rest of the wing, but the former are paler
on the outer webs ; all the quills are banded paler, somewhat
obsoletely towards the tips and on the outer webs, but very
conspicuously on the inner webs above the tip; the breast,
abdomen, sides, flanks, vent and lower tail-coverts are pure white
the breast with broad, rufous-brown stripes, and the flanks and
abdomen with large, more or less heart-shaped, spots of the same
color towards the tips of the feathers ; the lower tail-coverts
sometimes spotless, and sometimes with traces of a few pale-brown
arrow-head, transverse bars ; tarsal and tibial plumes mottled
white, pale fulvous and brown, one or other of these colors, in
some specimens the white, in others the fulvous or the brown,
greatly predominating ; axillaries white, or pale fulvous, more or
less imperfectly but broadly barred with brown, or pale fulvous-
brown ; edge of the wing just above the base of the primaries
white ; wing-lining mingled white, brown, and pale fulvous.
The Brown Hawk Owl only occurs as an occasional straggler
in some parts of the Deccan. It may perhaps be rather more
common than is generally supposed, but owing to its very shy
nature it must often escape notice.
ORDER, Insessores, rigors.
Bill very varied in form ; feet either with three toes in front
and one behind, on the same plane, or with two before and two
behind ; in some few the hind-toe reversible, so that all four can be
brought to the front, and in a few cases one toe is wanting.
FAMILY, Hirundinidae.
Bill short, broad at the base, depressed, compressed at the tip,
more or less curved, not notched ; gape very wide ; wings long,
pointed; tarsi short ; feet feeble ; hind-toe short.
SUB-FAMILY, Hirundininse.
The bill is short, flat, nearly triangular, compressed at the tips,
with a slight emargination ; the culmen gently bent at the tip,
but not hooked ; the gape is large, without any jictal bristles-;
79
the wings are long and pointed ; the two first quills generally
equal, sometimes the first longest ; the primary quills are nine in
number, the secondaries moderate, covered at the base only by
short coverts ; the tail is various, even in some, or only slightly
emarginate, deeply forked in others ; the tarsi are short ; the
feet small ; the middle-toe lengthened, the lateral toes nearly
equal, and the claws short, slightly curved, acute and slender.
The tarsus is occasionally feathered, and in some the toes also ;
these last, like the Swifts, have a tendency to revert the posterior
toe ; their plumage is soft, dense, and glossy.
GENUS, Hirundo, Lin.
Bill rather large, very broad at the base, triangular, compressed
at the tip ; tail long and forked, or short and square, or sub-fur-
cate ; tarsus naked ; feet moderate.
Hirundo rustica, Lin.
82. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 157 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 451 ; Deccan and South Mahratta
Country ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 377 ; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoology of Sind, p. 102 ; Svvinhoe and Barnes, Central India ;
Ibis, 1885, p. 59.
THE COMMON SWALLOW.
Length, 5'25 to 8'9 ; expanse, 13 to 14 ; wing, 4'3 to 5 ; tail,
275 to 4*5 ; the middle tail-feathers are only two inches in
length.
Bill dusky -black ; irides deep brown; legs dusky-black.
Male. Above glossy blue-black ; the chin, throat, and a narrow
band on the forehead deep ferruginous ; a slightly glossed black
pectoral band ; beneath, from the breast, rufescent- white ; tail
with all, except the mesial feathers, having a large white spot
on their inner web.
The female has the outer tail feathers shorter, and the under
.parts whiter. The young may be known by the pale ferruginous
hue of the throat, and by the dull color of the upper plumage,
as also by the shorter outer tail-feathers.
The European Swallow is a common cold weather visitant,
arriving early in August, and leaving towards the end of March,
but stragglers are occasionally seen, both earlier and later ; they
do not appear to breed anywhere within our limits, but in the Bolan
Pass, Quetta, Chaman, and Kandahar I found them breeding
freely.
Hirundo filifera, Steph.
84. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 159; Butler, Guzerat;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 451 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 377 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p.
59 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind) p. 102.
80 HIRUNDININ.E.
THE WIRE- TAILED SWALLOW.
Leishra, Hin.
Length, to end of middle tail-feathers, 475 ; outer tail-feathers,
5 inches longer; expanse, 12 ; wing, 4'12 to 47; tail, except the
outer two feathers, 1*5; tarsus, 0'5 ; bill at gape, 0'5; bill at
front, 0'25.
Bill black ; irides very dark brown ; legs and feet black.
Above, very glossy steel-blue ; top of head deep ferruginous ;
lores deep black ; beneath pure white, with white spots on all,
except the four central tail-feathers, the outermost prolonged
in the form of a thin wire ; the female differs in having the
outer tail-feathers much less developed.
The Wire-tailed Swallow occurs throughout the district, but
is nowhere numerically common ; it is a permanent resident,
and breeds from February to August, rearing at least two broods
in the year ; the nest is deep half saucer-shaped, and is com-
posed of pellets of mud, well lined with soft feathers, and is
usually placed in the immediate vicinity of water ; under the
cornices of bridges, arches of culverts, sides of wells, where there
are projections under which they can build, niches in buildings
overhanging water, or under projecting ledges of rock, it is
always placed against the side and a little below the roof or pro-
jection, just enough space being left for the ingress and egress of
the bird.
The eggs, generally three in number, are long, narrow ovals, in
shape a good deal pointed towards one end, are fine and delicate
in texture, and fairly glossy when fresh, but as incubation pro-
ceeds this disappears.
Their color is white, beautifully speckled, spotted, and blotched
with various shades of reddish-brown. When fresh and unblown, the
ground color is a delicate pink, owing to the yolk showing through.
They will not desert the nest, even if the eggs are taken. 1 have
obtained as many as nine eggs from a single nest, but never
more than three at any one time.
They vary a good deal in size, but average 072 in length by
0*52 in breadth.
Hirundo erythropygia, Sykes.
85. Hirundo aaurica, Lin. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 160 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 451 ;
Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 377 ; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoologv of Sind, p. 103 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ;
Ibis, 1885, p. 59.
THE RED-HUMPED SWALLOW.
Length, 6'5 to 7 ; expanse, 12'25 to 13 ; wing, 4'1 to 4'5 ; tail,
3 to 3'35 ; (the tail is forked to the extent of about 1'5 inches) ;
.tarsus, 0-46 ; bill from gape, 0'58 ; bill at front, 03.
Bill black ; irides brown ; legs black.
HIRUNDININiK. 81
Above, blue-black ; narrow supercilium ; sides of the head,
behind the ear-coverts, and rump ferruginous ; beneath rufescent-
white, with dusky streaks ; terminal half or third of under tail-
coverts abruptly black. Young more dull in its tints merely.
The Red-rumped Swallow occurs generally throughout onr
limits, but is more common in hilly districts (such as Mount
Aboo) than in open country ; most of them retire to the hills
to breed about April, but a few remain ; and nests are occasionally
found in the plains. The nest, constructed of pellets of mud
lined with feathers, is affixed to the under-surface of a ledge of
rock, the roof of a cave, the arch of a bridge, or some such simi-
lar place ; it is v retort-shaped, having a bulb-like chamber at one
end, with a tubular passage, sometimes seven or eight inches long
at the other ; they continue to lengthen this passage, eveii after
the eggs are laid. I have never myself found nests, of any other
type than this, but Mr. Blewitt remarks that " they are eccentric
to a degree in the selection of a suitable place for a nest, the
form and material of which mainly depends on the locality ; in
a hole, a simple collection of feathers answers, &c.," and is* dis-
posed to believe that these retort-shaped nests are merely intend-
ed for winter residences. I have many times watched the build-
ing of the nest and the rearing of the young in these same
retort-shaped nests.
The eggs, three in number, are pure white in color, long ovals
in shape, and average 078 in length by 0'55 in breadth.
Hirundo fluvicola,
86. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 161 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 378 ; Guzerat, Stray Feathers, Vol.
Ill, p. 432.
THE INDIAN CLIFF SWALLOW.
Length, 4'5 ; wing, 3'5 ; tail, 175.
Above, glossy black with some whitish edges to the dorsal
feathers ; crown dark-rufous ; rump brownish ; beneath white, with
black mesial streaks to the feathers of the throat and breast ;
the under-surface of the wings pale brown ; tail slightly furcate,
with a small whitish spot towards the tip of the inner weB of
each feather.
; The Indian Cliff Swallow is not uncommon in some parts of
the Deccan, but is very locally distributed. It occurs at Satara
and Sholapur in some numbers. Near Aboo and Deesa it is
very rare, but at Ahmedabad there are several large colonies. It
does not* occur in Sind. It is generally a permanent resident
where found, breeding against the faces of cliffs,. &c., from
February to April, and again in July and August ; the nests,
composed of mud, lined with feathers, are retort-shaped, and occur
in clusters of from 30 to 200, or even more ; the eggs, generally
three in number, are either wholly white, or white, streaked,
6
82 HIRUNDININJi:.
spotted, blotched, or capped with pale yellowish or reddish-brown.
They average 076 in length by 0*53 in "breadth.
GENUS, Cotyle, Soie.
Bill weak, depressed, very broad at base, smaller than in
Hirundo, barely hooked at tip ; wings somewhat longer, first quill
longest, longer than the tail ; tail, even or slightly notched ; tarsus
slightly longer ; toes weaker, outer toe proportionally longer ;
claws lengthened ; plumage sombre, and barely glossed.
Cotyle riparia, Lin.
87. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 1 63 ; Butler, Deccan,
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 378 ; Guzerat, Vol. Ill, p. 432 ;
Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 103.
THE EUROPEAN SAND MARTIN.
Length, 475 ; wing, 4 ; tail, 2.
Bill black ; legs and feet horny ; tarsus feathered on the back,
down to the hind-toe.
Plumage above, and the breast, pale dusky greyish-brown ;
throat, belly, and under tail-coverts white ; the tail slightly
forked.
The European Sand Martin has been very doubtfully recorded
from almost every part of the district. I have myself never met
with it.
Cotyle sinensis, J. E. Or.
89. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 164 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray
Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 432 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX,
p. 378 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 103 ; Swinhoe
and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 60.
THE INDIAN SAND MARTIN.
Length, 4 to 47 ; expanse, 9*8 to 1075 ; wing, 3;3 to 3'8 ; tail,
1-6 to 1-8 ; tarsus, 0'4 ; bill from gape, 0'42 to 0*47.
Bill black ; gape pale fleshy ; irides dark-brown ; feet brownish
or dusky fleshy.
Above earthy grey-brown, darker on the crown ; upper tail-
coverts somewhat albescent ; throat and breast pale-greyish ; crown,
wings and tail dusky-brown ; belly and lower tail-coverts white ;
tarsus not feathered, but with a small tuft.
The young birds have a more or less rufous tinge.
The Indian Sand Martin is common throughout the district,
and breeds in holes in banks of rivers, from November to Febru-
ary, and even later. The nest-holes vary from eighteen to thirty-
six inches in depth, according to the nature of the soil in which
they are excavated ; the nest is composed of fine grass, lined
with feathers ; the eggs, three in number, are pure white ovals,
measuring 0'68 inches in length by about 0'48 in breadth.
HIRUNDININyE. 83
Cotyle (Ptyonoprogne) concolor, Sykes.
90. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 165 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 453 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 378 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885,
p 60.
THE DUSKY CRAG MARTIN.
Length, 4'6 ; wing, 4 ; tail, 2.
Smoky brown, slightly paler, and with a reddish tinge beneath ;
a round white spot on the inner webs of all the tail-feathers,
except the centre and outer pairs ; the tail is nearly square.
The Dusky Crag Martin, with the exception of Sind, occurs
more or less abundantly throughout our limits. It is somewhat
solitary in its habits, rarely more than a single pair nesting in the
same vicinity. They have apparently two broods in the year, and
lay at different seasons in different parts of the country, but from
January to March, and July to September, are perhaps the best
months to search for eggs. Its nest, affixed to projecting eaves
or ledges of rock, is very like that of H. filifera, but is smaller,
more cup-shaped, and pointed at the bottom, but, like it, is well
lined with feathers ; the eggs, three or four in number, are white
with numerous spots and specks of various shades of yellowish or
reddish-brown, but these markings are neither so bright, or so
bold, as those of the Wire-tailed Swallow ; they average 072
in length by 0'52 in breadth.
Cotyle (Ptyonoprogne) rupestris, Scop.
91. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 166 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. III. p. 456 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 378.
THE MOUNTAIN CRAG MARTIN.
Length, 5'25 ; expanse, 14*5 ; wing, 5*5 ; tail, 2*4 ; tail nearly
square.
Bill black ; legs light reddish-brown.
Above, pale ashy-brown, darker on the quills and tail ; throat
and breast rufous-white ; abdomen rufous-ashy ; under tail-coverts
ashy-brown ; a large white spot on the inner webs of all the tail
feathers, except the two outer and two centre ones.
The Mountain Crag Martin is a not uncommon winter visitant
to the more hilly districts, but it does not occur on the plains,
and has not as yet been recorded from Sind, where its place is
taken by the next species,
Cotyle (Ptyonoprogne) obsoleta, Cab.
9l6is. Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 104 ; Hume,
Stray Feathers, Vol. I, p. 1.
Length, 5'25 to 5'6 ; expanse, I2'25 to 13 ; wing, 4'4 to 475 ;
tail, 1-8.
Bill black ; legs and feet horny-brown,
84
The whole upper surface a very pale greyish earthy -brown, very
much paler than the same parts in P. rupestris or G. sinensis ;
the quills only slightly darker, yet sufficiently so to contrast pretty
markedly with the scapulars, back, rump, and upper tail-coverts ;
the lateral tail-feathers, all but the external feather on each side,
with a large oval white spot on the inner web, as in rupestris, and
with dark shafts arid a darker tint on the web near the shaft, as
in that latter species ; lower surface as in rupestris, but much paler ;
the whole of the chin, throat, breast, and abdomen being white
with only a faint fulvous or rufous tinge, and the wing-lining
and lower tail coverts, which in rupestris are a decided dark-
brown, are in this species the same pale earthy grey-brown as the
upper surface.
Mr. Hume states that the Pallid Crag Martin occurs along
the streams that issue from the bare stony hills that divide Sind
from Kelat, and also that it is common off the rocky headland of
Manora, at the mouth of the Kurrachee Harbour. It is not
recorded from any other portion of the district.
GENUS, Chelidon.
Bill somewhat shorter than in Hirundo, but thicker ; first quill
longest ; tarsi and toes feathered ; tail very slightly forked.
Chelidon urbica, Lin.
92. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 166 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 378.
THE ENGLISH HOUSE MARTIN.
Length, 5 '5 ; expanse, 12 ; wing, 41 ; tail, 2*4 ; legs fleshy-
white.
Above glossy blue-black ; wing and tail dull black ; rump and
entire under parts pure white ; under parts of shoulders and
axillaries greyish-white.
The English House Martin only occurs as a somewhat rare
seasonal visitant to some parts of the Deccan.
GENUS, Chaetura, Steph.
Toes three in front, nearly equal ; the hallux shorter, op-
posable, but also reversible to the front ; tarsus covered with a
naked skin ; tail short, even, or wedged, the feathers with the
shafts ending in rigid spines.
Chaetura sylvatica, Tick.
95. Acanthylis sylvatica, Tickell. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 170.
THE WHITE-HUMPED SPINE-TAIL.
Length, 4'25 ; wing, 5 ; tail, 1 '5.
Bill black ; irides dark brown ; legs and feet livid.
CYPSELIN.E. 85
Above, the whole plumage glossy green-black, except the
rump, which is pure white, and the upper tail-coverts which are
also white, the outermost being tipped black ; the throat, cheeks,
and breast pale grey, gradually passing into black on the sides
of the body ; belly and under tail -coverts pure white.
Tickell was the first naturalist who observed this species, and he
states that, in Central India, " it haunts open cultivated grounds
in the midst of forest ; also the cleared patches on the sides
and summits of hills,"
SUB-FAMILY, Cypselinae.
Bill very small, much hooked ; wings excessively long and
pointed ; tail usually short, often feathers only; hind- toe directed
inward but reversible to the front.
GENUS, Cypsellus, Ittiger*
Wing, with the first quill equal to the second, or the second
longest ; tail emartrinate, or forked ; tarsus feathered, in front at
all events ; toes and claws nearly equal, short, robust ; hallux
directed inwards and forwards, not opposable.
Cypsellus melba, Lin.
98. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 175 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 379 ; Guzerat, Stray Feathers, VoL
III, p. 453 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 104.
THE ALPINE SWIFT.
Length, 9 ; expanse, 19*5 ; wing, 8'5 ; tail (moderately forked) 3..
Bill blackish ; irides deep-brown ; legs and toes livid-purple.
Above wood- brown, glossed with purple on the back ; wings
somewhat darker ; beneath the chin, throat, and abdomen white ;
a wide pectoral band brown ; sides of the rump, tarsal plumes,
and under tail -co verts also brown.
The Alpine Swift only occurs as a somewhat rare cold weather
visitant to most parts of the region, but is rather more common
in the more hilly districts.
Gypsellus apus, Lin.
99. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 177 ; Murray's Vertebrate-
Zoology of Sind, p. 105.
THE EUROPEAN SWIFT.
Length, 7; extent, 15'5; wing, 6'25 ; tail, 2*62.
The whole plumage, except the chin and throat, which are
white, glossy brown-black ; the tail is rather more forked than
in the last; and the wings extend two inches beyond the tail.
The European Swift only occurs as a cold weather visitant
to some parts of Sind. It has not been recorded from any other
portion of the district.
86 CYPSELINJ5.
Cypsellus affinis, J. E. Gr.
100. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 177; Butler, Deccan"'
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 379 ; Guzerat, Stray Feathers, Vol.
Ill, p. 454 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoo'ogy of Sind, p. 105 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 60.
THE COMMON INDIAN SWIFT.
Ababil, Hin.
Length, 55; extent, 12 ; winor, 5 ; tail, 1*75.
Bill black ; irides deep brown, feet dusky.
Above brown-black, darkest on the back, and glossed with
green ; head brownish, paler on the forehead ; cjnn^^^hroat,
anolrump white ; rest of body beneath brownish-black ; the tail
is~~nearly even, with the feathers not pointed.
The Common Indian Swift is abundant throughout the whole
district, and is a permanent resident ; it has at least two broods
in the 3 7 ear, and eggs may be taken, I believe, the whole year
through. They are very accommodating in the choice of nesting
sites, and I have found them in all the following places :
In holes in the faces of old walls, mosques, and forts ; in these
cases the nests are detached, unless the hole happens to be large
enough to contain more than one.
On the roofs of caves, they occur in large clusters, containing
over fifty or a hundred nests.
Under the eaves of houses, tombs, &c., several nests are found
together, with a few detached ones.
' {X*J^ In the doorways and roofs of stables, or between closely set
beams or rafters.
I never saw so many nests as at Hyderabad, Sind, where
the favorite nesting place seemed to be under the roofs of
the domed canopies that are built over the Mirs' tombs ;
almost every one of them had an immense cluster or congeries
of nests affixed round the central portion of the dome ; these
nests are composed of agglutinated saliva of the birds, mixed
with feathers and occasional straws ; they are of every conceiv-
able shape and size, so as to fit in with each other.
The eggs, two or three in number, are elongated ovals, and
glossless white in color; they vary considerably in size, but
average 0'87 by 0'57 inches.
Cypsellus leuconyx, Btyth.
101. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 179 ; Butler, Deccan
and South Mahratta Countrv; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX,
p. 379.
THE WHITE-CLAWED SWIFT.
Length, 6'25 ; tail, 2'5 ; wing, 675.
Feet small ; claws white, or more or less so.
Very similar in color to the last ; above glossy blackish-brown,
darkest on the head ; the rump white ; beneath the chin and
CYPSELINJ:, 87
throat dirty white ; the rest of the body glossy brown ; the tips
of the feathers whitish ; the tail is forked, the outer feathers being
about one inch shorter than the central ones.
In the Ibis for 1871-72, Dr. Jerdon considerably modified the
above description. I cannot do better than reproduce the passage :
" Stolickza remarks that in some specimens there was no trace of
white on the claws, This character is indeed exceptional, and
the name is therefore unfortunate.'' Dr. S. also states that a slight
pale supercilium is generally traceable, and that the head and
neck are paler than the back.
Dr. Jerdon obtained a specimen in the western part of the
Deccan, and several in Malabar ; it does not appear to have been
procured by any other naturalist.
Cypsellus batassiensis, J, E. Gr.
102. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 180 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 379 ; Guzerat, Stray Feathers,
Vol. Ill, p. 454.
THE PALM SWIFT.
Tadi ababil, Hin.
Length, 4*92 to 5*25 ; expanse, 9 ! 50 ; wing, 4'5 ; tail, 2'35 ;
tarsus, 0*4 ; bill from gape, 0'5.
Bill black ; irides brown ; feet dusky-reddish.
Wholly glossy ashy-brown ; darker on the wings and tail, and
lighter and somewhat albescent beneath ; tail deeply forked.
The Palm Swift is a common and permanent resident in many
parts of the Deccan, wherever there are plenty of palm trees,
but where there are not, this bird is generally absent. Captain
Butler saw a pair at Mount Aboo, but it must be very rare there,
as no other observer has noticed it.
They nest twice in the year, in March and again in July ;
the nest, a tiny, watch-pocket-shaped cup, is made of saliva,
incorporated with fine feathers, the down of plants, and such like
kindred substances, and is fixed to the under surface of a bent
palm leaf ; the eggs, generally three in number, are miniatures
of those of 0. affinis, and average barely 071 in length by 0'46
in breadth.
GENUS, Collocalia, Gray.
Hind toe pointing backwards; second quill longest; tail moderate,
even, or slightly forked ; bill very small, much hooked ; feet very
small.
Collocalia unicolor, Jerd.
103. Collocalia nidifica, Latham. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 183; Butler, Deccan; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX,
p. 380.
THE INDIAN EDIBLE-NEST SWIFTLET.
Length, 475 to 5 ; expanse, 11-5 ; wing, 4'5 to 475 ; tail, 2*25,
slightly forked and the feathers very broad.
88 CAPBIMULGIN^.
. >
Of a glossy cinereous-brown or mouse-brown color, darkest on.
the head, wings, and tail, and tinged with steel-blue or green,
paler beneath.
The Edible -nest Swiftlet is a hot weather visitant to the
Vingorla Rocks, where it breeds ; it has not been recorded from
any other part of our district.
GENUS, Dendrochelidon, Bole.
Hallux posterior, not reversible ; tarsus short, naked, or feather-
ed ; wings very long, the first two feathers sub-equal ; tail long,
forked ; head crested.
Dendrochelidon coronata, Tick.
/ 104. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 185; Butler, Deccan ;
vUfS Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 380 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central
. India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 60.
^Ai/^K7 ^ HE I NDIAN CRESTED SWIFT.
7 Length, 9 to 10 ; expanse, 14 to 157; wing, 6 '05 to 6'35 ;
/ tail, 3-16 to 5-25 ; tarsus, 0'28 ; bill from gape, 07 to 0'8.
Bill black ; irides deep-brown ; legs blue-black ; soles of feet
reddish-white.
Above bluish-grey, somewhat darker on the head, clearer on
the back and rump, and glossed throughout with greenish ;
wings anteriorly with a slight purple gloss ; beneath pale
ashy, whitening on the middle of the belly and lower tail-
coverts ; ear-coverts ferruginous in the male, (connected
with the chin by a line of the same color), black in the female,
with a whitish line bordering the throat.
The Indian Crested Swift is common at and near Mhow in
Central India, and has also been obtained along the Sahyadri
range ; it has not been recorded from any other portion of the
region.
FAMILY, Caprimulgidae, Vigors.
Bill small or moderate, (large in a few), weak, curved ; gape, very
wide, extending below the eyes, generally with numerous and
strong bristles ; wings, and their coverts, long ; tail moderate, or
long, of ten feathers ; tarsus short, scutellate, often feathered in
front ; feet feeble ; hallux in some reversible ; head broad, flat ;
plumage soft, light, mottled ; eyes large ; of nocturnal habits.
SUB-FAMILY, Caprimulginae.
Bill small, weak, flexible ; nostrils tubular ; wings long, usually
the second quill longest ; tail usually long ; lateral toes short,
equal or nearly so ; middle toe long with the claw pectinated
on the inner margin ; hallux short, sometimes reversible.
GENUS, Oaprimulgus, Lin.
Bill * very short, flexible, broad at base, compressed and bent
CAPEIMULGIN^:. 89
at the tip ; rictal bristles very strong, numerous, directed for-
wards ; other characters as in the sub-family.
Caprimulgus indicus, Lath.
107. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 192; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 454 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers,
Vol. IX, p. 380.
THE JUNGLE NIGHT-JAR.
Length, 12 ; wing, 7'5 to 7'9 ; tail, 5'5 to 6.
v Prevalent hue light ashy, with dusky pencillings and black
streaks to the feathers of the middle of the head, back, scapu-
lars, rump, and upper tail-coverts, and fulvous blotches on the
wing-coverts ; the quills with dark rufous spots or interrupted
bars ; the tail cinerascent, more or less dark, and the outer
feathers more or less tinged with rufous, with narrow black
bars, and numerous dusky mottlings ; the lower parts rufescent-
ashy with dark bars and mottlings.
Some specimens are darker in their ground color than others,
and the rufescent markings are deeper.
The male has the cheek-stripe, throat band, the spots or -
interrupted bands on the first three primaries, and the tips of all
the outer feathers, white, the latter ended by a narrow dusky
tip ; the female has these marks more or less rufescent, or-
fulvescent, and wants the white terminations to the tail-feathers ;
the primaries are strongly mottled towards their tips ; the first
primary almost equals the fourth ; the tail is slightly rounded,
and the wings reach to about one inch from its end.
The Jungle Night-jar is not very common ; it affects forest and
hilly districts in the Deccan, and is fairly common at Mount
Aboo ; it is believed to be a permanent resident.
It does not occur in Sind.
Caprimulgus kelaarti, Sly.
108. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 193; Butler, Deccan;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 380.
THE NEILGHERRY NIGHT- JAR.
Length, 11*5; wing, 7'25 ; tail, 5'75 ; tarsus, 0*6.
Plumage generally light cinereous, much mottled with black
and dusky, and in parts tinged with light fawn and cream-color ;
ears black, edged with light rufous ; line below the ears extend-
ing along the gape and throat spot white ; small white marks
on the inner webs only of the first four quills ; all the tail-
feathers, except the four centre ones, tipped with white, with a
dusky margin ; the primaries are slightly mottled at their tip ;
the wings do not reach to the end of the tail.
The Neilgherry Night-jar is very rare, and has only been
recorded from the Konkan and the forest tract to the west of
90 CAPRIMULGIN.E.
Belgaum. It is only doubtfully distinct from C. indicus, and
might I think with advantage be suppressed.
Caprimulgus albonotatus, Tick.
109. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 194.
THE LARGE BENGAL NIGHT-JAR.
Length, 13 ; expanse, 25 ; wing, 9 ; tail, 7.
Crown and tertiaries cinerascent, minutely mottled and marked
with a stripe of black dashes along the middle of the crown ;
upper range of scapularies black, more developed in the male, and
bordered more broadly externally with rufescent white ; a broad
white patch in front of the neck, as in several allied species ; a
double spot, or interrupted band of white on both webs of the
first four primaries contracted and rufescent in the female ;
two outer tail feathers broadly tipped with white in the male,
tinged with fulvous, or rufescent, in the female ; rictorial bristles
white at the base, black tipped ; altogether the females are
usually paler, more brown, and less ashy than the males.
According to Tickell (quoted by Jerdon) the large Bengal
Night-jar is common in the jungles of Central India.
Caprimulgus atripennis, Jerd.
111. Jerdon's Birds of of India, Vol. I, p. 196 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 380.
THE GHAT NIGHT-JAR.
Length, 10'5 to 11; wing, 6'5 to 7'5 ; tail, 5'5 to 6.
Males have the crown and nape dark brownish-ashy, minutely
mottled with black dashes along the crown ; margins of the
scapulars and wings white ; breast and forepart of the abdomen
dark, contrasting strongly with the light buffy tint of the hind
part of the belly ; vent and lower tail-coverts, which last tend to
whitish in some ; nape, breast, and back suffused with a russet
tinge, not seen in the other species of the group ; quills pure
black, not mottled at the tip ; ear-coverts ferruginous.
In females the quills are mottled at the tips ; the Ghat Night-
jar has been obtained in the forest tract to the west of Belgaum,
but has not been recorded from any other portion of our limits.
Caprimulgus unwini, Hume.
111&2S. Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 105.
UNWIN'S NIGHT-JAR.
Length, 975 to 10'37 ; expanse, 20 to 21'5 ; wing, 675 to
7-25 ; tail, 4*5 to 5 "25 ; bill at front, 0'25 to 0'43 ; bill at gape,
1-18 to 1-31.
Very similar to C. europceus, a description of which I give
below :
Caprimulgus europaus. Plumage above and that of the throat
ashy-grey, thickly streaked and spotted with brown, mostly of
91
a yellowish tinge ; head and neck with longitudinal blackish
streaks; a white stripe beneath the base of the lower mandilble
extends along each side of the lower part of the head, and there
is a central patch upon the throat ; primaries, secondaries, and
tertiaries dark-brown ; the outer webs blotched with reddish-
brown and the three exterior feathers \uth a large white patch near
the tips of the inner webs ; tail irregularly marked amd indistinctly
barred with blackish-grey and yellowish-brown ; the two external
feathers on each side white at their termination ; plumage of
under parts yellowish-brown ; tarsi paler ; female like the male,
the white spots on the quills and tail feathers absent.
The following is a description of G. unuini :
This species has the upper three-fourths of the tarsus feathered
in front.
In both sexes the two outer feathers on each side are tipped
with white, but the tippings are about 1 55 and TO broad in the
male on the outer and penultimate feathers respectively, and only
about 075 and 0*44 in the female, and in the latter sex the white
is less pure ; both sexes have a white spot on the inner webs of the
first three, and a corresponding one on the outer webs of the
second and third primaries ; but here again, while the spots on
the inner webs of the male are about one inch broad, those of the
female are about half the size.
Within our limits, this Night-jar has only been obtained in
Sind, where it is very common.
Caprimulgus asiaticus, Lath.
112. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 197 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 455 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers,
Vol. IX, p. 380; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind,
p. 106 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885,
p. 60.
THE COMMON INDIAN NIGHT-JAR.
Length, 9 ; expanse, 18 ; wing, 5'5 to 6 ; tail, 4'5.
Pale rufescent-ashy, the feathers finely mottled with dusky;
the top of the head (as usual), marked narrowly with black ; a
distinct rufescent collar with black marks ; the black markings
on the scapulars not extended, but they are much edged
with buff, as are all the wing-coverts ; back not streaked with
black ; quills with a white spot on each of the first four feathers
and mottled at the tip ; the outermost feathers are tipped with
white, and there is a white spot on the neck ; the lower parts are
lightly mottled and barred.
The Indian Night-jar is common throughout the district
and is a permanent resident, breeding during April and May.
The eggs (there is no nest) are two in number, and are laid on
the bare ground ; they vary from a warm pinkish stone-color to
a deep salmon-pink, and are clouded, blotched, and streaked with
92 TROGONID.E.
different shades of pale reddish and purplish brown ; they
average 1'04 by 077 inches.
Caprimulgus mahrattensis, SyJces.
H3._Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 198; Butler, Guzerat;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 455 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 381 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 107.
SYKES' NIGHT-JAR.
Length, 875 to 9'5 ; wing, 675 to 7 ; tail, 4'5 to 5'5.
Pale ashy-grey, variegated and waved with brown and ferrugi-
nous ; the breast, the three outer quills in the centre, and the
two lateral tail feathers on each side marked with white.
This Night-jar occurs pretty well throughout the district, and
is a permanent resident at all events in Sind, where it breeds in
February and March, laying two eggs, upon the bare ground.
Caprimulgus monticolus, FranU.
114. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 198; Butler, Guzerat;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 455 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 381.
FRANKLIN'S NIGHT-JAR.
Length, 10 ; expanse, 24 ; wing, 8 ; tail, 4'25.
Pale ashy-brown, variegated with rufous and dusky ; the abdo-
men banded with rufous and black ; primaries brownish-black,
the four outer ones with a broad white band, the six middle tail-
feathers with slender black undulations, the two outer ones
on each side entirely white, tipped with brown.
The female has a rufous band on the first four primaries,
and the tail is all of one color without any white ; she is also
generally paler than the male.
The general hue of this species is more uniform than in any
of the others ; tarsus naked.
Franklin's Night-jar is not uncommon in well- wooded portions
of the Deccan and South Mahratta country, and it is also
common at Mount Aboo, Mhow and Neemuch, but has not been
recorded from Sind.
FAMILY, Trogonidae.
Bill short, stout, somewhat triangular, strong, curved from
the base ; tip, and sometimes the margin, toothed ; gape wide ;
nostrils and base of bill concealed by long tufts of bristles ;
wings moderate or sjjr.t ; tarsus short, partially feathered ;
toes short, feeble, two before and two behind, the inner toe being
turned backwards ; tail long and broad, of twelve feathers ;
plumage soft ; skin very thin.
GENUS, Harpactes, Swains.
Bill strong, broad and deep, conic much curved ; margins of
the mandibles smooth ; nostrils partially covered by tufts of
MEROPID.E. 03
hair-like feathers ; tarsus half feathered ; anterior toes of equal
length, barely joined at the base ; a naked skin round, the eyes.
Harpactes fasciatus, Forst.
115. Jerdon's Birds" of India, Vol. I, p. 201 ; Butler, Deccan
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 381.
THE MALABAR TROGON.
Length, 12 ; expanse, 16 ; wing, 5 ; tail, 6 ; bill at front, 0'5 ;
bill at gape, 1.
Bill deep blue ; orbital skin smalt-blue ; irides dark-brown ;
feet light lavender-blue.
Male, entire head and neck black ; the rest of the upper
plumage castaneous olive-brown; the lesser wing-coverts, ter-
tiaries, and some of the secondaries finely streaked with black
and white ; breast, belly and lower parts fine crimson red ; the
tail with the centre feathers the same color as the back but
more chesnut ; the lateral feathers black and white.
The female wants the black head and neck, which are con-
colorous with the body ; the tertiaries and coverts are finely
banded black and brown, and the lower plumage is ochreous-
yellow instead of red.
The Malabar Trogon occurs sp aringly in the forest tracts of
the Deccan and South Mahratta country, but does not occur in
any other portion of the district.
FAMILY, Meropidae.
Bill lengthened, rather slender, slightly curved throughout,
sharp pointed ; wings long and pointed ; tail generally even,
moderate or long, with the central-feathers frequently elongated.
GENUS, Merops, Lin.
Bill very long, slender, slightly curved, depressed at base,
somewhat compressed for the rest of its length; culmen keeled ;
tip entire, sharp, not bent down ; nostrils partially covered
by a tuft of bristles ; some small rictal bristles at the base of
the bill ; wings long and pointed ; first quill longest ; tips of the
lesser quills emarginate ; tail somewhat lengthened, nearly even,
the two centre feathers occasionally lengthened ; tarsus very
short ; feet short with the two lateral toes much syndactyle ;
outer-toe much longer than the inner one ; claws acute, strong,
well-curved.
Merops viridis, Lin.
117. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 205 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 455 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers,
Vol. IX, p. 381 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoo'.ogy of Sind, p. 107 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 60.
94 MEROPID.E.
THE COMMON INDIAN BEE-EATER.
Hurrt'al, Hin.
Length, including centre tail-feathers, 8'5 ; expanse, 10; wing,
3*5; tail, 4 ; tarsus, 0'36 ; bill at gape, 1'3 ; bill at front, 1 ; the
centre tail feathers exceed the others by 1'25 to 2 '5 inches.
Bill black ; irides blood-red; feet plumbeous,
Plumage, above bright grass-green ; the head, nape, and hind
neck burnished with golden ; a black eye-streak from the
base of the bill through the eye to the top of the ear-coverts ;
quills with a reddish tinge, especially on the inner w r eb, and all
tipped dusky ; tail duller green, the webs dusky at their inner
edge ; the two central tail-feathers elongated ; chin and throat
verdigris-green, and a black collar on the top of the breast ; the
rest of the lower parts bright green, mixed with verdigris, paler and
more coerulescent on the lower abdomen, and under tail-coverts.
The Common Indian Bee-eater occurs abundantly throughout the
district ; it is a permanent resident, breeding during April and May.
They usually excavate holes in sand banks or earthy cliffs,
but occasionally make them in leve 1 ground ; these holes vary
in depth from 1^ to 5 feet, according to the nature of the soil ;
the eggs, four or five in number (more rarely six), are spherical
in shape, white in color and are highly glossy when fresh, but as
incubation proceeds the gloss disappears and they become dead
white ; they measure 078 in length by about 07 in breadth.
Merops philippinus, Lin.
118. Merops philippensis, Lin. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol.
I, p. 207 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 456 ;
Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 381 ; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoology of Sind, p. 108.
THE BLUE-TAILED BEE-EATER.
Length, 12 to 12'5 ; wing 5'25 ; tail, 575 ; tarsus, 0'5 ; bill
at front, 1*6.
Bill black ; irides crimson ; feet plumbeous.
Head, neck, back, wing-coverts, and tertiaries dull grass-green,
with more or less rufous gloss; rump and upper tail-coverts
bright azure-blue ; a black eye-streak from the base of both
mandibles to the end of the ear-coverts, with a pale blue line
beneath ; quills dull green-rufous towards the edge of the inner
webs, and black tipped ; tail dull blue ; chin yellow- white ; throat
dark ferruginous, extending to the sides of the face and neck as
far as the end of the ear- coverts ; breast and upper abdomen
green, glossed with rufous ; lower abdomen and vent paler, and
with a blue tinge and the under tail-coverts pale blue ; the
tail is nearly even, with the centre pair of feathers elongate and
the pair next them slightly shorter.
The Blue-tailed Bee-eater occurs sparingly throughout the
greater portion of our district.
MEROPID.E. 05
Merops swinhoii, Hume.
. Merops quinticolor, Vieillot. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 208 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 382;
THE CHESNUT-HEADED BEE -EATER.
Length, 8'5 ; wing, 4'3 ; tail, 3'25 ; bill at front, 1'3.
Bill black ; irides fine crimson-red ; legs and feet plumbeous.
Whole top of the head, nape, hind-neck, and upper part of
back rich chesnut ; wing-coverts, interscapulars, and tertiaries
bight green, the latter tinged with blue ; rump and upper
tail-coverts pale azure-blue ; quills dull green, tending to rufous
on the inner web, and black tipped ; tail, with the centre
feathers, blue on the outer web, all the rest dull green,
tipped dusky ; tail even, or slightly emarginate, with the centre
feathers not elongated ; beneath, the chin, throat, and sides of
the neck up to the ear-coverts, pale yellow, below which is a band
or collar of ferruginous, edged with black ; the breast bright
green ; abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts the same, tinged
with blue; wings within rufous-brown.
The Chesnut-headed Bee -eater occurs sparingly on the Western
Ghats and in the jungles adjoining.
Merops persicus, Pall.
120. Merops cegyptius, Vieill. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 209; Butler, Guzerat; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 456;
Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 382 ; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoology of Sind, p. 1 08 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ;
Ibis, 1885, p. 61.
THE EGYPTIAN BEE-EATEK.
Length, 12 to 12'5; expanse, 18*5; wing, 6'21 ; tail to the
end of the central tail-feathers, 5*5 ; tarsus, 44 ; bill at gape,
2-34 ; bill at front, 1-6.
Bill black ; irides crimson ; feet dark-plumbeous.
Above, including wings and tail, green mixed with verdigris-
blue on the back, rump, and upper tail-coverts ; forehead with a
narrow line of yellowish- white, succeeded by a pale blue band,
which continues over the eyes ; a dark line through the eyes to
the ear-coverts, which are mixed greenish blue and dusky ; below
this from the gape is another narrow white line, edged with
pale blue ; chin yellow ; throat deep chesnut ; rest of the lower
parts blue-green ; tail even, with the two centre tail-feathers
elongated.
The Egyptian Bee-eater is a common seasonal visitant to all
parts of Sind, but occurs less commonly in Guzerat, Rajpootana
and Central India, and is extremely rare in the Deccan.
Merops apiaster, Lin.
121. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 210; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoology of Sind, p. 108.
96 CORACIAD.E.
THE EUROPEAN BEE-EATER.
Length, 10 to 11 ; expanse, 17 to 18 ; wing, 5 '5 to 6 ; tail, 375
to 475 ; tarsus, 0'5 ; bill at front, T2.
Bill black ; irides red ; legs reddish-brown ; forehead pale
whitish-blue ; body above maroon-red, passing into rufous-yellow
on the rump ; a black eye-streak from the base of the bill, through
the eye, nearly meeting another black band which crosses the
lower part of the throat ; chin and throat rich yellow ; wings
blue-green, or greenish blue, with most of the coverts and the
secondaries chesnut, the latter black tipped, as are the primaries,
though faintly ; tertiaries blue-green ; tail dull green, the tips
of the centre feathers bluish ; lower parts verdigris-blue.
Mr. Murray, in his Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, states that the
European Bee-eater " occurs as a bird of passage in Sind, Kutch,
Kattiawar, Rajpootana, and the Deccan." I have myself never met
with the bird in India, but further north in Afghanistan, I found it
very common.
GENUS, Nycticornis, Swainson.
Bill moderately long, well curved, strong, compressed ; ridge
flattened towards the base, with a parallel groove on each side ;
nostrils concealed by setaceous feathers ; wings moderate, full,
rounded ; fourth quill longest ; tail longish, nearly even ; feet short,
much as in Merops ; plumage lax, soft and dense, with a plume
of long stiff pectoral feathers differently colored.
Nycticornis athertoni, Jard. & Selby.
122. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 211 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 382.
THE BLUE-NECKED BEE-EATER.
Length, 14 ; expanse, 18 ; wings 5 '5 ; tail 6 ; bill at front, 17 ;
tarsus, 0*6.
Bill bluish-plumbeous, with black tip ; irides deep yellow ; legs
and feet dusky-greenish.
General color bright vernal-green, shaded on the belly and
vent with buff ; forehead blue ; gular hackles rich ultramarine-
blue, formed of a double series of long drooping plumes, ranged
opposite each other or either side of the median line ; lining of
wings, the wings internally, under tail-coverts, and lower surface
of the tail buff.
The Blue-necked Bee-eater was obtained by Mr. Laird in the
forests to the west of Belgaum. This seems to be the only re-
corded instance of its occurrence within the district.
FAMILY, Coraciadse.
Bill moderate or rather long, strong, broad at the base, com-
pressed towards the tip, which is hooked, and sometimes slightly
notched ; the gape is large, with or without rictal bristles ; tarsus
short, stout ; feet moderate ; toes free, or slightly syndactyle ;
CORACIANIN^J. 97
wings moderate or long, broad ; tail variable, sometimes short
and even, at other times with very elongated outer tail-feathers.
GENUS, Coracias, Lin.
Bill large, moderately thick, lengthened; straight, strong, some-
what broad at the base, compressed towards the tip ; culmen sloping,
hooked abruptly ; the nostrils basal, oblique, linear, apert ; gape very
wide, with strong rictal bristles ; wings tolerably lengthened, the
second quill longest, or the second and third sub-equal ; tail even
or slightly rounded, short ; tarsus stout, shorter than the middle-
toe ; outer-toe nearly free to the base, much longer than the
inner-toe ; hind-toe shorter than the inner-toe ; tarsus and toes
strongly scutate.
Coracias jndica, Lin.
123, Jerdon's Birds of India, ToTT, p. 214 ; Butler, Guzerat;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 456 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 382 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 109 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 61.
THE INDIAN ROLLER.
Nilkant, Hin.
Length, 12 to 13'5 ; expanse, 23'3 to 25 ; wing, 7'25 ; tail, 51 ;
tarsus, 0'98 ; bill at gape, 17 ; bill at front, 1*1.
Bill dusky-brown ; irides dark red-brown ; eyelids yellow ; legs
dusky orange-yellow.
Head above and nape dingy greenish-blue, the forehead
tinged with rufous ; hind-neck, scapulars, inter-scapulars and
tertiaries dull ashy-brown with a green gloss, and tinged with
vinous on the hind-neck ; back blue ; rump and upper tail-
coverts deep violet-blue ; lesser-coverts and shoulders deep co-
balt-blue ; the other coverts dingy greenish -blue ; the winglet,
greater coverts and quills pale sky-blue, with a broad band of
violet-blue on the middle of the wings, occupying the terminal
half of the secondaries and last two or three primaries ; the first
seven primaries tipped dark blue ; tail, with the two centre
feathers, dull green, the others dark violet-blue, with a broad
pale-blue band, occupying the greater part of the terminal half
of the tail, and widening exteriorly ; beneath, chin, throat, and
breast, light vinous-purple ; the feathers with pale fulvous shafts
passing into tawny-isabella, with light streaks on the abdomen ;
lower abdomen, flanks, vent, and under tail-coverts pale blue ;
wings beneath entirely pale blue, with a broad violet band.
The Roller, or as Europeans prefer to call it, the Blue Jay,
is generally distributed throughout the district ; it is a perma-
nent resident, but retires to the better-wooded portions of the
country to breed. At and near Hyderabad, Sind, I found many
nests and have several times taken them in Central India.
They breed during April, May and June, in holes in trees, old
7
98 HALCYONIN.E.
walls and roofs ; the size of the nest depends mainly on the
size of the hole, and is composed of grass, feathers, and bits of
rags, &c. ; the eggs, generally four in number, are broad oval in
shape, glossy china- white in color, and measure 1'3 in length by
1-06 in breadth.
Coracias garrula, Lin.
125. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 218 ; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoology of Sind, p. 109.
THE EUROPEAN ROLLER.
Length, 13 ; wing, 775 ; tail, 5 ; tarsus, 0'98 ; bill at front,
1-37.
Bill blackish ; irides red-brown ; feet yellow-brown.
The whole head, neck, and lower parts pale blue, duller on
the head, brighter on the chin and throat, and streaked paler ;
back, scapulars and tertiaries chesnut-bay ; shoulders and lesser-
coverts violet-blue ; the greater-coverts pale blue ; quills deep
violet blue ; the lower part of the back violet-blue ; upper tail-
coverts light blue ; tail with the two centre tail-feathers dull
ashy-blue, the others pale azure, dull dark blue at their base,
which color increases in extent towards the centre ; the two outer
feathers are tipped with dark blue.
The European Roller occurs as an occasional seasonal visitant
to Sind ; but has not been recorded from any other portion of the
district.
FAMILY, Halcyonidse, Vigors.
Bill very long, stout, angular, straight pointed, broadish at
base, acute at tip ; gape wide ; rictus smooth ; wings moderate,
rounded ; tail usually short ; tarsus and toes very small, feeble, the
latter much syndactyle, especially the outer one to the middle ;
one toe sometimes wanting.
SUB-FAMILY, Halcyoninae.
Mostly of large size ; bill strong, thick, broad at the base,
straight ; culmen slightly inclining at the tip ; gape smooth ;
wings short, broad.
GENUS, Pelargopsis.
The characters are the same as those of the sub-family, but
the culmen is flattened.
Pelargopsis gurial, Pears.
127. Halcyon leucocephalus, Gmel. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 222 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 382 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 61.
THE BROWN-HEADED KINGFISHER.
Length, 16; expanse, 22 ; wing, 6 ; tail, 4 ; tarsus, 075 ; bill
at gape, 4 ; bill at front, 3 '4,
HALCYONINJE, 99
Bill dark blood-red, dusky at tip, lighter on gonys ; irides
brown ; legs and feet coral-red.
Head : lores, cheeks, and hind-neck in part light olive or fulvous-
brown ; the sides and lower part of the back of the neck buff;
lower part of hind-neck and scapulars dingy brownish-green ;
the wing-coverts, quills, the sides of the lower part of the back,
upper tail-coverts, and tail dull bluish-green ; the primary quills
tipped dusky -black and the inner webs of all dusky ; the back,
from the shoulders to the rump, light silky azure-blue ; chin
and throat pale yellowish-white, passing into the buff of the
' sides of the neck ; rest of the lower plumage orange-buff, deepest
on the flanks.
The young has the buff of the lower parts edged with brown,
and the colors generally duller.
The Brown-headed Kingfisher occurs as a somewhat rare
straggler in the Deccan. I met with it at Neemuch, and Colonel
S win hoe found it near Mhow, Central India. It has not been
recorded from Guzerat, neither does it occur in Sind.
GENUS, Halcyon, Swains.
Bill long, straight, deep, and broad, somewhat quadrangular ;
culmen, in some, inclining towards the tip, near which the
margin is slightly sinuated ; lower mandible angulated ; gonys
ascending towards the tip ; wing rather short, third quill longest,
fourth and fifth nearly equal ; tail short, rounded, or even ; feet with
the outer toe nearly as long as the middle one, syndactyle for
more than half its length ; scales of the tarsus obsolete.
Halcyon smyrnensis, Lin.
129. Halcyon fuscus, Bodd. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol.
I, p. 224 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 456 ;
Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 382 ; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoology of Sind, p. 110 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India;
Ibis, 1885, p. 61.
THE WHETE-BREASTED KINGFISHER.
Length, 10'5 to 1T5 ; expanse, 14*25 to 16'5 ; wing, 4 '5
to 5 ; tail, 3'2 to 37 ; tarsus, 0'6 ; bill at front, 2'25 ; bill at gape,
27 to 3.
Bill rich coral-red, dusky at tip ; irides brown ; feet vermilion-red.
Head : face^sides of neck and body, abdomen, and under tail-
coverts, deep rich brown-chcsnut ; scapulars and tertiaries dul-
greenish-blue ; back, rump^ancllipper tail-coverts bright ccerulean
blue ; wings, with the lesser-coverts, chesnut, median-coverts
black, and the greater-coverts and winglet dull blue ; quills blue,
with a broad black tip diminishing to the last primary ; and the
inner webs of all dusky black, with a broad oblique white bar
on the inner webs of the primaries, extending over nearly the
whole feather in the last primary, small in extent on the first ;
100 HALCYONIN^I.
chin, throat, middle of the back, breast and abdomen pure white ;
tail blue, the centre feathers slightly tinged with greenish.
The White-breasted Kingfisher is generally distributed through-
out the district ; it is a permanent resident and breeds from
March to the commencement of July and even later ; it pierces
a hole in the bank of a river, or side of a well or tank ; there is
no nest, and the eggs, five or six in number, are nearly spherical
in shape, pure white in color, highly glossy when freshly laid, but
becoming discolored and dull as incubation proceeds.
They measure 112 inches in length by T03 in breadth.
Halcyon pileata, Bodd.
130. Halcyon atricapillus, Gmel. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol.
I, p. 226 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 382.
THE BLACK-CAPPED PURPLE KINGFISHER.
Length, 11*5 to 12*5 ; expanse, 18 to 19 ; wing, 5 to 5'3 ; tail,
3 25 to 375 ; bill from gape, 3.
Bill coral-red ; hides red-brown ; legs dusky brownish-red.
Head, lores, face, ear-coverts and nape black ; whole upper
parts rich violet purple, brighter on the back and rump ; wings
with the coverts, except those of the primaries, black ; quills
tipped black, with a white wing-bar on the inner webs, and the
inner webs of the rest black ; chin, neck, and throat all round
white, with a tinge of fulvous ; the middle of the breast and
abdomen also white ; rest of the lower parts, including the under
wing-coverts, rich rusty.
This beautiful Kingfisher was obtained by Mr. Vidal at
Ratnagiri, and is the only recorded instance of its occurrence
within the region.
Halcyon chloris, Bodd.
132. Todiramphus collaris, Scop. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol.
I, p. 228 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 383.
THE WHITE-COLLARED KINGFISHER.
Length, 10'25 ; expanse, 14 to 15 ; wing, 4'25 to 4'5 ; tail, 2'8
to 3 ; tarsus, 0'6 ; bill from gape, 1*6 to 2*3.
Bill black, livid-reddish at base beneath ; irides reddish-brown ;
legs shining greenish-grey.
Head, ears and nape dull bluish-green, darker on the ear-
coverts and nape, forming a sort of collar, or coronet, slightly
separated from the cap by some white feathers mixed with the
others ; upper back and scapulars blue-green ; the lower back and
rump bright pale blue ; wings and tail blue, more dull on the
coverts, and slightly tinged greenish beneath, and a broad collar
all round the neck, white.
The White-collared Kingfisher has been obtained by Mr. Vidal
on two or three occasions at Ratnagiri ; it has not been observed
in any other portion of the district.
ALCEDINIM. 101
GENUS, Ceyx, Lacepede. , , , ,
Bill, as in Halcyon, large, wide, barely grooved'; -goriy'tf i-ncline'd
upwards; culmen flattish ; tail very short , feet with cr.ly three
toes, two in front, one behind, the inner-toe being> absent* ".' '. " "
Ceyx tridactylus, Pallas.
183. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 229 ; Butler, Deccan,
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 383.
v THE THREE-TOED PURPLE KINGFISHER.
Length, 5 to 5'5 ; expanse, 8 ; wing, 2'25 ; tail, 075 ; bill at
front, 1'25.
Bill fine coral-red ; irides brown ; legs and feet red,
Head rufous, with a lilac gloss, a violet spot behind the ear,
and a white patch below that ; a small dark blue patch at the
base of the bill ; interscapulars and wings deep blue, the quills
black ; back dark blue, with some lustrous blue streaks ; lower
back, rump, and upper tail-coverts, rich rufous, with a lilac shine
on the middle; cheeks and lower parts ferruginous, paler on
lower belly ; chin and throat white.
The Three-toed Purple Kingfisher was observed by Major
Butler at Khandalla, and has been recorded from other parts of
the Deccan, but it is very rare, and only occurs along the banks of
the mountain streams that issue from the more densely- wooded
parts of the Sahyadri range.
SUB-FAMILY, Alcedininse.
Bill longer, more slender and compressed, acute, grooved near
the culmen for the greater part of its length ; gonys nearly
straight.
GENUS, Alcedo, Lin.
Bill long, slender, straight, compressed, tip acute ; culmen
sharp, carinated, not inclined ; commissure straight, second and
third quills sub-equal, third slightly the longest, first very little
shorter ; tail very short, even ; feet weak ; inner-toe very short,
equal to the hind-toe, both lateral toes syndactyle.
Alcedo bengalensis, Gm.
134. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 230 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 456 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 383 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. Ill ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 61.
THE COMMON INDIAN KINGFISHER.
Length, 6 to 6'5 ; expanse, 9'5 to 10 ; wing, 275 to 2*9 ; tail,
11 to 1*3 ; tarsus, 0*4 ; bill from gape, 1*9 ; bill at front, 1'4.
Bill blackish on culmen, orange beneath towards base ; irides
dark brown ; legs and feet orange-red.
102 ALCEDININ.E.
Head and hind -rieck dusky, the feathers edged with pale
blue a ifou- !){^ from the base of the nostrils to the end of
the ^ear-coverts^; 'below this a dark band, extending down the
Aides'. . 01 tK^'nec^ . followed by a white patch; scapulars dull
green;' 'back, rump, "and upper tail-coverts pale blue ; wings and
tail dull green-blue ; the wing-coverts speckled with pale blue ;
quills dusky on their inner edges ; chin and throat white, the
rest of the lower plumage bright ferruginous.
In young birds a bluish-green tinge is the prevalent tint ;
in adults a pure blue.
The Indian Kingfisher is commonly distributed throughout
the district, but it occurs more rarely in Sind, where it is
replaced by the next species ; with this exception it is a
permanent resident, breeding from March quite to the end of
May and occasionally later ; the nest-hole is pierced in the
bank of a stream, invariably according to my experience over
running water ; the eggs, five or six in number, are broadish
ovals, white and beautifully glossy. They measure 0'8 in length
by 0'68 in breadth.
Alcedo ispida, Lin.
134fo's. Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 111.
THE EUROPEAN KINGFISHER.
Length, 6'8 to 7'5 ; expanse, 10 to 11 ; wing, 2*95 to 3' ; bill,
at front, 1'4 to I '6.
Bill above blackish-brown, at base and beneath reddish-
orange ; irides hazel ; legs orange-red.
A broad bright orange stripe from the bill to the ear-coverts
margined on the sides of the gape and crossed below the eye
by a narrow black streak ; sides of the neck with a white patch
commencing from behind the ear-coverts ; chin and throat white ;
head, nape, neck behind, a broad streak from the base of the
lower mandible and lesser wing-coverts, greenish-blue ; the
feathers edged with bright light blue, and forming narrow bars
or spots of that color ; scapulars and exterior webs of the
primaries greenish-blue, the inner webs of the latter dusky
brown ; back, rump, and upper tail-coverts rich azure-blue ; tail
deep blue ; breast and entire under surface of the body bright
orange.
The European Kingfisher occurs commonly in Sind, where
it takes the place of A. bengalensis ; the latter, however, is not
altogether absent, but only occurs as an occasional seasonal
visitant.
Its nesting arrangements are similar to those of its relative,
A. bengalensis.
Alcedo beavani, Wald.
Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 383.
ALCEDININJ?. 103
BEAVAN'S KINGFISHER.
Length, 6'25 to 6'5 ; expanse, 9'25 to 975 ; wing 2'55 to 2'62 ;
tail, 1-4 to 175 ; tarsus, 0'3 to 0'35 ; bill from gape, T9 to 2'05 ;
bill at front, 1-4 to 1'6'
Bill, (?, black, orange at gape ; ? , deep red, clouded with dusky.
Chin and throat creamy-white, washed faintly with rufous ;
remainder of under surface and the under tail-coverts deep
bright rufous, paler in some than in others ; feathers of the
head black, with a penultimate bright blue band, those of the
cheeks all bright blue ; back and upper tail-coverts bright blue ;
wing-coverts black, washed with blue, each feather tipped with,
bright blue ; scapulars and rectrices black, washed with blue.
Major Butler had a specimen in his possession that was shot in
the forests west of Belgaum; this is the only record I can
find of its occurrence within the region.
GENUS, Ceryle.
Bill long, straight, compressed, acute at tip ; culraen obtuse,
somewhat flattened, and margined on each side by an indented
groove ; tail slightly lengthened, rounded ; wings long, second and
third quills nearly equal ; inner- toe longer than the hinder one
which is very short.
Ceryle rudis, Lin.
136. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 232 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 456 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers'
Vol. IX, p. 383 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 112 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 61.
THE PIED KINGFISHER.
Length, 11 to 11 '5 ; expanse, 18*5 to 20; wing, 5*4 to 5'8 ;
tail, 3 ; tarsus, 0;5 to 07; bill at front, 2'3 ; bill from gape, 31.
Bill black ; irides dark brown ; legs and feet blackish-brown.
Head and ears black, white-streaked, with also a white
supercilium ; back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and wings black,
white-edged ; lower parts and the sides of the neck white,
with a streak of black down the sides of the neck from the
ear-coverts ; breast with a broad interrupted band of black in
both sexes, and below this another complete but narrow band
in the male only ; wings with a white band, formed by the
bases of some of the quills, and the greater-coverts ; primary-
coverts and winglet black; tail white at the base, broadly black
at the end, and tipped white.
The Pied Kingfisher is another very common species, generally
distributed throughout our limits.
It is a permanent resident and breeds from February to April,
in holes pierced in the banks of rivers ; the eggs, four to six in
number, are broad oval in shape, white in color, and are highly
glossy. They measure 115 in length by about 0'92 in breadth.
This Kingfisher never resorts to wells and tanks, as H. smyr-
1
104? BUCEROTIMI.
nensls and A. bengalensis do, but only occurs on rivers and the
larger lakes.
FAMILY, Bucerotidae.
Bill enormous, arched or curved, often with an appendage or
casque on the upper mandible ; nostrils small at the junction
of the casque with the bill, or near the culmen, when there is
no casque ; wings short, rounded ; tail long, of ten feathers ; tarsus
short, stout ; feet moderately large, syndactyle ; hind-toe short ;
claws short, thick, well curved.
GENUS, Dichoceros.
GENUS, Homraius.
Bill with a broad flat casque, extending backwards over the
head, for more than half the length of the bill, and descending
to meet the bill at a right angle, of large size ; plumage black
and white.
Dichoceros cavatus, Shaw.
14,0. Homraius bicornis, Lin. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 242 ; Butler, Deccan, &c. ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 383.
THE GKEAT HORNBILL.
<?. Length, 45 to 47 ; expanse, 63 to 66 ; tail, 15'5 to 1675 ;
wing, 18-25 to 19; tarsus, 273 to 3; bill from gape, 975 to
10'6.
? Length, 4175 to 44; expanse, 54 to 59'28; tail, 14'5
to 1775 ; wing, 17'25 to 18'25 ; tarsus, 2'45 to 275 ; bill from
gape, 8-25 to 9.
General color of bill and casque yellow, paler on the lower
mandible, but varying much in depth of color.
The upper mandible is more or less tinted with red at the tip
and with orange in the medial portion ; the sides of the casque
have generally an orange tinge, and the flat or rather curved
portion of the casque is generally tinged with orange, intermin-
gled with red.
In some specimens the coloration is very bright, in others the
whole bill and casque is duller and paler.
In the male, the posterior portion of the casque, a triangular
patch on each side of the casque in front, and the truncated por-
tion of the culmen from three to five inches downwards from the
anterior margin of the casque, are black.
In the female, the posterior portion of the casque is red ; there
is no patch on the side of the casque, and the truncated portion
of the culmen in front of the casque or more is red.
In the male the irides are blood-red ; in the female pearly-
white ; the orbital region dark fleshy-pink ; the eyelids black.
The legs and feet are dull greenish-plumbeous, or pale dingy
glaucous-green ; claws dark greenish-horny.
BUCEROTLTXE. 105
Head and base of bill all round, back, wings, and belly, black ;
neck, ends of upper tail-coverts, tail, thigh-coverts, vent, under
tail-coverts, and wing-spot, white, the latter formed by the edges
of the greater-coverts ; the base of the primaries, and the tips of
all the quills, also white ; tail with a broad black band towards
the terminal third ; the neck, and sometimes the wing-spot,
are often smeared yellow from the secretion of the uropygial
gland.
The Great Hornbill is a permanent resident in the forest-clad
portions of the Sahyadri range, where it is not uncommon.
It has not been recorded from any other portion of our limits.
GENUS, Hydrocissa, Bonap.
Bill with a long, sharp, acute casque, extending from the
of the bill over two-thirds of its length.
Hydrocissa coronata, Bodd.
141. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 245; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 383.
THE MALABAR PIED HORNBILL.
Length, 36 ; expanse, 39 ; wing, 11-25 to 13 ; tail, 12 to 14 ; bill
from gape, 6 to 7.
Bill and part of the casque yellowish-white ; base of both man-
dibles black, extending obliquely downwards and forwards, also
the hind margin of the casque (in the male only) ; a large patch of
the same color occupies the anterior three-fourths of the casque
in old specimens, but never reaches downwards to the upper
mandible, as in the next species ; casque very large and exceeding-
ly compressed, laterally protruding far backward over the crown
and its ridge terminating in an acute angle anteriorly, being
prolonged considerably beyond the junction of the casque with the
upper mandible ; irides crimson ; feet dark green.
The female has no black on the hind edge of the casque, and
both bill and casque are slightly smaller.
The young have at first no black on the incipient casque,
which appears and increases in quantity with the growth of the
latter.
Black beneath from the breast; tips of the primaries and
secondaries, and the three outer tail-feathers on each side, with
more or less of the next pair, pure white.
Permanent resident and not uncommon in the forests near
Belgaum and in the Kanara jungles. It also occurs along the
Sahyadri range.
It has not been recorded from any other portion of the district.
GENUS, Ocyceros.
Bill with a compressed sharp-pointed 'casque, size small ; plum-
age grey.
106 BUCEROTID.E.
Ocyceros birostris, Scop.
144. Meniceros bicornis, Scop. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 248 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 457 ; Dec-
can, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 384 ; Lophoceros birostris, Scop.
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 62.
THE COMMON GREY HORNBILL.
Length, 22 to 25 ; expanse, 25 to 32 ; wing, 7'5 to 87 ; tail, 10
to 12 ; tarsus, 1/7 ; bill from gape, 3'5 to 4'25.
Bill and casque dusky ; the tips and ridges of both mandibles
whitish ; casque low and compressed, the ridge prolonged anteri-
orly to a very acute angle, and the hind part concealed by the
feathers of the forehead (which bend down over it) and not
extending backward over the crown.
In the female the casque is lower, more depressed and the sharp
pointed horn is wanting ; irides red-brown ; feet dark plumbeous.
Plumage grey, paler below, and from the breast gradually albes-
cent ; ear-coverts darker cinereous, and a light streak over the
eye and ear-coverts ; primaries and secondaries dusky black, the
latter margined with grey, all except the two first tipped white,
with a brownish- white streak on the outer web ; tail black near
the end, tipped white.
In the female and in immature bird the first six or seven pri-
maries want the white tips entirely, while on all but the first two,
the whitish streaks are much more developed and conspicuous
than in the adult male.
The Common Grey Hornbill does not occur in Sind, and has
only been doubtfully recorded from the Deccan ; it is not uncom-
mon at Mount Aboo and forests at foot, and is very common at
and near Mhow and Neemuch ; indeed, generally speaking, it is
not uncommon in all the well- wooded portions of Rajpootana,
Guzerat, and Central India.
GENUS, Tockus, Lesson.
Bill without a casque, but with the ridge somewhat elevated
and much curved ; size small ; plumage grey.
Tockus griseus, Lath.
145. Tockus gingalensis, Shaw. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 250 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 384.
THE JUNGLE GREY HORNBILL.
Length, 22 ; expanse, 25 to 27 ; wing, 8'25 ; tail, 8*5 to 9'5 ;
tarsus, 1-6 ; bill from gape, 4'25.
Bill horny-yellow, suffused with a brownish-red tinge, except
towards the tips ; margin along commissure black ; tips paler ;
orbital skin black ; irides red ; tarsi and feet greenish.
Head above, and back, dark cinereous-brown, with a cast of
bluish grey ; the greater coverts, secondaries, and primaries, all
narrowly edged with whitish, and the latter broadly tipped with
BUCEROTID^E PSITTACID^. 107
white, and with an oblique white line on their outer edge ; a pale
line over the eyes, extending along the sides of the head; the two
centre tail feathers dusky bluish -grey, the rest dusky blackish-grey,
broadly tipped with white, except the pair next the centrals ;
beneath light dusky-grey, the feathers centred paler ; rufescent
on the lower abdomen, outer thigh-feathers, and under tail-
coverts.
A specimen in Mr. Hume's possession, obtained from Travancore
does not correspond over well with Dr. Jerdon's description. I
therefore quote Mr. Hume's description in full : " The forehead
is greyish- white ; a broad superciliary stripe from the nostrils
over the eyes extending some distance back, a slightly brownish-
white ; the feathers of the crown and occiput slaty-grey, the
latter conspicuously elongated and with greyish-white shaft-
stripes ; faint greyish- white tippings to most of the feathers of
the crown ; the ear-coverts dark brown paler shafted ; feathers
of the chin whitish ; entire throat and sides of the neck grey ;
the feathers pale, almost white shafted ; the whole of the
plumage of these parts is dull, as is also that of the lower parts,
but all the rest of the upper parts is well glossed ; the entire
back, rump, upper tail-coverts, scapulars, and wing-coverts, dark
greyish-dusky, with a faint greenish reflection on it ; the coverts
have mostly the faintest possible pale edges, and the shafts of
many of the feathers have in certain lights a scarcely perceptible
line on either side of them ; the quills and tail-feathers are black,
with a greenish lustre on them, very conspicuous on the secondaries
and tail-feathers except the central pair ; the third to the eighth
primary inclusive broadly tipped with pure white on both webs,
the ninth similarly tipped but on the inner web only.
All the tail-feathers but the central pair broadly tipped with
white ; breast, flanks, sides, and upper abdomen, greyish-white
to white ; vent and lower tail-coverts white, tinged with fulvous
or dingy pale rufescent.
The Jungle Grey Hornbill is a permanent resident and occurs
sparingly all along the Sahyadri range. It does not occur in
any other portion of our limits.
TRIBE, Scansores.
Toes in pairs ; bill, wings, and tail various.
FAMILY, Psittacidse.
Bill short, thick, strong ; upper mandible much curved and
hooked (sometimes toothed or notched), overhanging the lower
one, and with an acute tip ; lower mandible short, obtuse ; base
of bill covered with a cere, in which the round and small nostrils
are pierced near the culmen ; wings usually moderate or long,
the second quill generally the longest ; tail various ; tarsi short,
stout, covered with small tubercle-like scales ; toes in pairs ;
claws well curved.
108 PAL.EORNIN.E.
SUB-FAMILY, Palseorninse, Vigors.
Bill moderate ; upper mandible moderately hooked ; under
mandible short ; tail very long, wedge-shaped, the feathers
narrow and pointed ; tarsus moderate.
GENUS, Palseornis, Vigors.
Bill short ; culmen rounded, well curved, toothed, and with the
tip acute, not much deeper than it is long ; lower mandible short ;
wings long, with the second and third quills sub-equal and
longest ; tail very long, cuneate ; the feathers narrow, almost
linear, with their tips obtuse, and the two middle feathers in
general exceeding the others.
Palseornis eupatria, Lin.
147. Palceornis alexandri, Lin. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol.
I, p. 256 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol . Ill, p. 457 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 62.
THE ALEXANDRINE PAROQUET.
Length, 21 ; wing, 8'25 ; tail, 11'5 ; bill at gape, 1-25.
Bill deep red, yellowish beneath ; irides pale yellow ; feet
plumbeous.
Adult male, green, brilliant emeraldine on the head and face,
duller on the back, paler beneath, inclining to dingy on the
breast and yellowish on the chin and lower tail-coverts ; quills
bluish ; the inner edge of the inner webs dusky ; tail with
the two centre feathers bright green at their base, pale
bluish-green for the remaining two-thirds, and tipped yellowish ;
the outer feathers light green on the outer webs, yellowish-
green internally ; a b lack stripe from the base of the lower
mandible crossing round behind the ears, and a demi-collar
of peach-rose color on the nape and sides of the neck ; in front of
this collar the feathers are glaucous ; a dark red spot on the
shoulders of the wings, and some of the feathers of the wing-
coverts and scapulars narrowly edged with dusky ; a narrow line
from the nostrils to the eye tinged with black.
The female wants the collar of the male, and is generally less
brightly colored.
The Alexandrine Paroquet is not uncommon on the Vindhian
range and the jungles adjacent ; and it also occurs not infrequent-
ly in the better wooded portions of Rajpootana and Central India ;
one was obtained at Mount Aboo by Captain Butler. It does not
occur either in the Deccan or in any part of Sind.
Palseornis torquatus, Eodd.
148. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 257 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 457 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers,
Vol. IX, p. 384 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 112 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India; Ibis, 1885, p. 62.
109
THE ROSE-RINGED PAROQUET.
Tola, Hin.
Length, 16'5 ; wing, 6'5 to 7 ; tail, 9'5 ; bill from gape, 1.
Bill cherry-red ; irides pale yellow ; feet cinereous.
Adult male : head and face emerald-green ; a dark line from the
nostrils to the front of the eye, indistinct round the base of the
narrow cere ; hind-neck and nape glaucous or light-ashy, succeed-
ed on the sides of the neck by a black demi-collar meeting under
the chin and followed by another of a peach-rose color ; back,
scapulars, and tertiaries dull-green ; upper tail-coverts emerald-
green ; entire under-surface pale green, yellowish towards the
vent ; primaries, their coverts and secondaries, dark-green, their
inner webs and under-surface dusky ; tail-feathers dark-green,
their inner webs and under-surface yellowish, the two centre fea-
thers dark-green at their base, bluish for the remaining two-thirds
and tipped yellowish, all black shafted ; under wing-coverts
greenish-yellow.
The female wants the rose collar, but has a bright emeraldine
narrow green collar in its place.
The Rose-ringed Paroquet occurs in vast flocks, throughout the
district ; it is a permanent resident, breeding during February
and March, in holes in trees or stone walls, occasionally under
roof tiles ; when the nest hole is in a tree, it is often two or three
feet in extent.
There is no nest ; the eggs, four in number, are deposited on any
chips that may have accidentally fallen whilst the hole was being
enlarged ; they are oval in shape, pure glossless white in color,
and measure 1*2 in length by 0*95 in breadth.
The absurd attitude and affected manner of the female during
the courting season in the endeavour to attract the notice of her
mate is highly entertaining ; the male, on the other hand, seems
to take little notice of it, beyond rewarding her with an occasional
kiss.
Palaeornis purpureus, P. Z. S. Mull.
149. Palceornis rosa, Bodd. Jerdon's Birds of India, Yol. I, p.
259 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p, 457 ; Deccan,
Stray Feathers, Yol. IX, p. 384 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central
India; Ibis, 1885, p. 62.
THE ROSE-HEADED PAROQUET.
Tuia-tota, Hin.
Length, 14 to 15 ; wing, 5'25 ; tail, 8'5 ; bill from gape, 0'62
to 07.
Bill : upper mandible yellow,, under dusky ; irides, outer circle
yellowish- white, inner blue ; legs grey.
Adult male : the whole head and face pale roseate, tinged with
plum-bloom posteriorly and inferiorly ; a black spot from the base
of the lower mandible, uniting into a narrow complete collar, and
meeting its opposite one at the chin, which is thus broadly black ;
110 PAL.EORNIN^E.
behind the collar, the hind-neck verdigris-green ; the upper por-
tion of the back and scapulars yellow-green ; the lower back,
rump, and upper tail-coverts, pale blue-green ; the wings green ;
with a small red spot on the lesser-coverts ; shoulders bluish-
green ; the whole inner webs of most of the quills dusky ; tail,
with the two centre feathers, cobalt-blue, tipped white ; the next
pair blue towards the apical portion, also tipped white, the others
pale green on their out er webs, yellowish internally ; plumage
beneath bright siskin, or yellow green ; some are less brightly
colored, and more of an uniform green color, with less yellow ; and
the old males have the cap much brighter and deeper colored
than their juniors.
The female has the head plum-blue, and wants the black col-
lar, but has a yellow demi-collar in front and on the sides ; and
the breast is much tinged with oil yellow.
The young birds are green throughout ; but the centre tail-
feathers are always blue, and there is usually a faint indication of
the pale collar of the female.
With the exception of Sind, the Purple-headed Paroquet
is generally distributed throughout our limits, but is far
less common and is more locally distributed than P. tor-
quatus. It is a permanent resident, and breeds in holes
in trees about April.
The eggs are miniatures of those of P. torquatus ; they
measure 1 inch in length by 0*8 in breadth.
Palaeornis columboides, rigors.
151. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 261 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 384.
THE BLUE-WINGED PAROQUET.
Length, 15 ; wing, 6 ; tail, 875 ; bill from gape, 07.
Bill, above cherry-red, beneath dusky ; legs and feet greenish-
plumbeous.
Head : hind-neck, inter-scapularies, and the plumage beneath,
generally, pale dove-grey, purest on the head and cheeks ; a
verdigris-green patch on the forehead, lores, and below the eye ;
a black collar round the neck, meeting at the chin ; and in front
of this, there is a verdigris-green collar, which widens on the
upper part of the neck ; the lower part of the back, rump, and
upper tail-coverts, blue-green; wing-coverts and scapulars dark
blue-green ; the feathers edged pale ; the primary-coverts and
quills darkish blue, faintly edged with green externally, and
dusky on the inner webs ; tail, with the centre feathers blue,
tipped with yellowish-white ; the next pair blue on the outer
web, greenish near the base, and tipped yellow ; all the others
green externally, yellow internally ; lower abdomen, vent, and
under tail -coverts pale verdigris-green.
The female wants the collar, or has only a faint indication of
it, and the bill is black.
LORIIN^E PICIN.E. Ill
The Blue-winged Paroquet is common on the Ghats to the
west of Belgaum, and it also occurs on the Sahyadri range quite
as far north as Khandalla.
It does not occur elsewhere within our limits.
SUB-FAMILY, Loriinse.
Bill compressed, small or moderate, slightly curved ; the mar-
gin of the upper mandible sometimes sinuated, and the notch
obsolete ; the lower mandible slender, conic, much longer than
high.
GENUS, Loriculus, Blyih.
Bill rather small, gently curving from the base ; the upper
mandible lengthened, slightly sinuated at the margin, moderate-
ly hooked, and tapering to a fine point ; lower mandible small ;
wings nearly as long as the tail ; first and second quill longest ;
tail short, even, or barely rounded.
Loriculus vernalis, Sparrm.
153. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 265 ; Butler, Deccan and
South Mahratta country ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 384.
THE INDIAN LORIQUET.
Length, 5'5 to 575 ; expanse, 875 to 10*25 ; wing, 3*4 to 375 ;
tail, 1-5 to 1'81 ; tarsus, 0'3 to 0'35 ; bill from gape, 0'45 to 0'5.
BilLdark yellow to plumbeous ; irides pale yellow ; legs and
feet leaden to plumbeous.
Above grass-green, darker on the wing-coverts and scapulars,
paler and yellowish beneath ; the wings and tail blue-green ;
rump and__imrj^r_ tail-coverts^ dull deep red ; wings and tail
beneath pale bluish ; chiETand throalTlirthe male, tinged with
verdigris-blue.
The Indian Lorikeet is a cold weather visitant to the forests
of the Sahyadri Range as far north at least as Khandalla, and it
has been observed at Ratnagiri, Dharwar and in the Goa forests,
but it is absent from all other portions of the district.
FAMILY, Picidse.
Bill moderate and long, straight, angular, wedge-like ; tongue
long, extensile ; wings moderate, or rather long ; tail of twelve
feathers, ten of them with shafts, thick and stiff, the outermost
pair minute ; feet with the toes in pairs, one toe sometimes
wanting.
SUB-FAMILY, Picinae, Gray.
Bill perfectly wedge-shaped, compressed ; culmen straight ; the
lateral ridge well marked, more or less median ; gonys long ; the
outer posterior toe longer than the anterior one ; wings rather
long.
112
GENUS, Picus, Lin.
Bill moderate, compressed, with the culmen straight and sharp ;
the lateral ridge distinct, midway between the culmen and
margin, and joining the margin about its middle ; gonys long,
barely angulated ; versatile toe longer than the anterior.
Picas sindianus, Gould.
158. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 273 ; Murray's Verte-
brate Zoology of Sind, p. 113.
THE SIND PIED WOODPECKER.
$. Length, 8'5 to 8'6 ; expanse, 14'5 to 15 ; wing, 4'5 to 4'6 ;
tail, 31 to 3-2 ; bill, 1-25.
?. Length, 8 to 8'5 ; expanse, 13 to 15 ; wing, 4'4 to ,47 ;
tail, 3 to 3-2.
Bill blackish above, lighter beneath ; irides crimson ; legs dusky.
Adult male : forehead, lores, sides of the head, ear-coverts,
supercilia and breast white, tinged buffy on the forehead, or a
soiled white ; a very narrow dark line above the supercilia ; a
dark stripe from the lower mandible extending down each side
of the throat, projecting to the lower side of the breast, and
joining the back at the shoulder ; crown of the head mixed
crimson and black; back, rump, upper tail-coverts and centre
tail-feathers, glossy black with a dusky tinge ; scapulars, and the
adjacent wing-coverts, white, the remainder of the wing-coverts
black with a few white spots ; quills brownish-black, spotted with
white on both webs forming white wing-bars, of which there are
four on the primaries and three on the secondaries ; lateral tail-
feathers black, barred and tipped with white ; lower parts white,
with a few dusky streaks on the flanks and abdomen ; middle of
abdomen and lower tail-coverts crimson.
The female has the crown black.
This Woodpecker occurs pretty generally throughout Sind,
where it is a permanent resident, breeding during March and
April. It does not occur in any other portion of the district.
Picus mahrattensis, Lath.
160. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 274 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 458 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 385 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 114 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 62.
Length, 7'5Tb T7&7 expanse, 12'5 ; wing, 4 to 4'4 ; tail, 2'5 ;
bill at front, 1.
Bill slaty-plumbeous ; irides crimson ; legs cinereous.
Plumage above, wings, and tail, black, banded with white ;
forehead and top of head pale yellow ; occiput, bright criiso.n
in the male, yellow in the female ; loresTaround the eyes, ear-
coverts, sides of neck behind the throat, and middle of the neck
CAMPEPHILIN^. 113
and breast, white, a brown stripe commencing near the nape,
down the sides of the neck and breast ; breast and abdomen
brown, with pale edges to the feathers ; a patch of crimson on
the centre of the abdomen continued to the vent.
"TKe Yellow-fronted Woodpecker occurs sparingly in Sind,
but is common throughout the remaining portion of the district.
It is a permanent resident breeding about March ; it lays
three transparent white eggs, at the bottom of a hole, pierced
in a decayed branch of a tree ; there is no nest, except a few
chips that may have fallen in during the time the hole was being
excavated. They measure 0*87 inches in length, by 0'68 in
breadth.
GENUS, Yungipicus, Bonap.
Of small size ; plumage spotted, or banded black and white
above ; bill barely straight ; lateral ridge near the culmen ;
wings long ; tail, with the two central feathers, longest ; the
outer feathers soft and rounded.
Yungipicus nanus, rig.
164. Yungipicus hardwickii, Jerd. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol, I, p. 278 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p.
385 ; Guzerat, Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 458.
THE SOUTHERN PIGMY WOODPECKER.
Length, 5 to 5 '25 ; expanse, 9 '5 ; wing 3 ; tail, 1'5 ; tarsus, 0'4 ;
bill at front, 0'4.
Bill plumbeous ; orbital skin lake ; irides pale yellow ; legs
plumbeous.
Above brownish or sooty-brown, banded with white on the
back ; head pale rufescent or yellowish-brown, scarcely deepen-
ing posteriorly ; beneath white, sullied on the abdomen, and
with pale brown streaks throughout; a narrow white band
from above the eye down the side of the neck ; a pale brown
band from beneath the eye, below the white band, and another
faint line beginning on the sides of the neck and being gradu-
ally lost in the markings of the breast. The male has a
somewhat long and narrow orange streak, beginning consider-
ably behind the eye.
This Woodpecker occurs sparingly along the Sahyadri
Range as far north as Khandalla ; it also occurs in the forest to
the west of Belgaum, and at Mahableshwar, Savantvadi and
Ratnagiri. With the exception of a doubtful specimen from
Anadra near Mount Aboo, it has not been recorded from any
other portion of the district.
SUB-FAMILY, Campephilinse.
Bill strong, somewhat wide, nearly straight, or very slightly
curving; lateral ridge near the culmen sometimes wanting;
gonys short ; versatile toe about equal to the anterior, sometimes
8
CAMPEPHILIN.E.
longer ; hind-head generally with a full crest ; neck thin ; wings
and tail various.
GENUS, Hemicercus, Swainson.
Bill straight, considerably compressed, the lateral ridge slight
near the margin ; wings long, nearly reaching (when closed) to
the end of the tail; tail very short, broad; neck short, very
slender ; feet very large ; versatile toe always longer than the
anterior one.
Hemicercus cordatus, Jerd.
165. Hemicercws canente, Lesson. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 280 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p.
385.
THE HEART-SPOTTED WOODPECKER.
<?. Length, 6 ; expanse, 12 ; wing, 372 ; tail, T25 ; bill at front,
0-88.
?. Length, 575 ; expanse, 1075 ; wing, 3'6 ; tail, 1-36 ; bill at
front, 0-67.
Bill bluish-black ; irides brownish-red ; legs dusky-green.
Female, with the forehead and top of the head a narrow
line in the middle of the inter-scapular region, rump, shoulders,
lesser wing-coverts, and a stripe from the lower mandible
running below the ears of a light whitish-yellow ; the wing-
coverts and tertiaries with a black heart-shaped spot near the
tip of each feather ; face, cheeks, long occipital crest, nape,
scapulars, quills, upper tail-coverts, and tail, deep black ; terti-
aries greenish ; middle of back dull blackish-green ; beneath,
chin and throat, whitish-yellow ; from throat to vent dull black-
ish-green ; under tail-coverts black.
The male differs from the female in having the forehead and
head black, with minute whitish spots. On the centre of the
back is a brush of dark sap-green bristly feathers, smeared with
a viscid secretion from a gland beneath.
Jerdon (by a slip of the pen. probably) has described the
male as the female, and vied versa, but this has been rectified in
the text.
The Heart-spotted Woodpecker occurs sparingly in the forests
west of Belgaum and on the Sahyadri Kange. It has not been
recorded from elsewhere within our limits.
GENUS, Ohrysocolaptes, Slyth.
Bill much as in typical picus, almost quite straight, strong ;
the lateral ridg-e medial at first, afterwards parallel to, and
nearer the margin ; tail short, square ; the four central feathers
equal ; feet strong ; hind-toe longer than the anterior- toe.
Chrysocolaptes delesserti, Malh.
. Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p.. 885.
CAMPEPH1LIN,E. 115
THE SOUTHERN LARGE GOLDEN-BACKED WOODPECKER.
Length, 11-5 ; expanse, 1875 ; wing, 575 ; tail, 4 ; bill at
front, 17,
Bill slaty ; irides yellow ; legs slaty.
, Male :, top of the head and crest crimson ; upper back and
greater part of the wings externally golden-yellow ; lower part
of back shining carmine -red ; band from the eyes, surrounding
the forehead, ruddy-brown, passing through the eye, and chang-
ing into a wide black neck-stripe ; above this, between it and
the crest is a narrow white line ; the dorsal aspect of the neck
also white ; primaries wholly blackish, with three or four white
spots on the inner webs of all the feathers ; upper tail-coverts
and tail black ; beneath the neck is anteriorly white, with five
black gular stripes ; breast black, more or less brunnescent,
with large central drops of white ; the rest of the body, below,
and lining of the wings, white, transversely barred with black.
The female has the cap black, with a white drop on each
feather.
This Woodpecker only differs from Chrysocolaptes sultaneus,
Hodgs., in its smaller size.
It is a not uncommon permanent resident all along the Sahya-
dri Range, but has not been recorded from elsewhere within
our limits.
Chrysocolaptes festivus, Bodd.
167. Chrysocolaptes goensis, Gmel. Jerdon's Birds of India,
- Vol. I 3 p. 282 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p.
458 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 385 ; Swinhoe and
Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 62.
THE BLACKJACKED WOODPECKER.
Length, 12'2 to 12'5 ; expanse, 19'5 to 20'5 ; wings, 6 to 6 25 ;
tail, 3'4 to 3-5 ; tarsus, 1 ; bill at front, T9 to 2.
Bill dusky-blackish ; irides crimson ; legs and feet horny-plum-
beous.
Crown and occiput of the male splendid crimson ; forehead
mingled black and white ; lores white ; a white streak begins be-
hind the eye, and is continued to the nape, the entire hind-part
of the neck being wholly white, and extending down upon the
interscapulars ; the rest of the back, scapulars, rump, and tail,
are brownish-black, having a slight aureous cast on the scapulars;
wings, with their coverts and secondaries, bright golden-yellow ;
bend of the wing, winglet, and coverts of the primaries, as also the
primaries, dusky black, with distant, large, round whitish spots on
their inner webs, and similar dull spots on the outer webs ; a broad
black streak, down the sides of the neck, from the eye, beneath, the
throat white, with three black stripes ; the rest of the body, be-
neath, more or less streaked ; the feathers of the breast white, with
black lateral edges, which last gradually all but disappear on
the belly, vent and lower tail-coverts.
116 GECININJE.
The Black -backed Woodpecker is not common ; it has been
obtained near Aboo, at Mhow in Central India, aud at Ratnagiri ;
it does not occur in Sind.
GENUS, Thriponax.
Lateral ridge prominent near the culmen, which is sharp and
very slightly arched ; gonys hardly half the length of the^ under
mandible ; toes short ; anterior toe longer than the versatile one ;
claws very large ; neck long and slender ; head, with a short
compact crest ; wings and tail long, the latter cuneate.
Thriponax hodgsoni, Jerdon.
169. Mulleripicus hodgsoni, Jerd. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 284 ; Butler, Deccan; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 386.
THE GREAT BLACK WOODPECKER.
Length, 17 to 19 ; expanse, 24 to 26 ; wing, 8 to 9 ; tail, 7'5 ;
bill at front, 2 to 2*3.
Bill black ; irides crimson ; legs dark plumbeous.
Head, with short thick crest, and stripe running from the base
of the lower mandible, crimson ; lower part of back, rump and
middle of belly, white ; the rest of the plumage deep black.
The Great Black Woodpecker has been obtained at Kanara
and also in the forests west of Belgaum ; there is no other record
of its occurrence within the district.
SUB-FAMILY, Gecininae.
Bill widened, with the culmen more or less curved ; lateral
ridge very slight or absent altogether ; gon ys short ; feet small ;
hind-toe shorter than the anterior outer one ; the hind-toe, indeed,
is always very small, and absent in some.
GENUS, Gecinus, Boie.
Bill slightly widened in its whole length, compressed at the
tip ; upper mandible thickened at the base, with one or more
slightly elevated lines (representing the lateral ridge), close to
the culmen, which is very slightly arched ; gonys very short ;
wings moderate ; anterior and versatile toes nearly equal ; hind-
head with a narrow pointed crest ; neck thick ; tail rather long,
cuneate.
Gecinus striolatus, Etyth.
171. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 287 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 458 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 386.
THE SMALL GREEN WOODPECKER.
Length, 11-5 ; expanse, 17 ; wing, 5'25 ; tail, 375 ; bill at
front, 1'2; foot, 2'2.
Bill horny above, yellowish at base and beneath ; irides pink
with an outer circle of white ; feet greenish-slaty.
GECINESLE. 117
Above green, the rump and upper tail-coverts tinged with
yellowish ; forehead and lores whitish, mixed with black ; a small
white eye-brow, with a bkck line above it, which is lost on the hind-
head ; ear-coverts mixed black and white ; cheek-stripe inconspi-
cuous, with a white line above it ; entire under parts whitish,
streaked with dusky-green, more or less dark on the breast, and
always greenish-black on the belly ; on the throat and foreneck
the feathers have each a mesial dusky-black line, widening on the
breast, and dividing and becoming scale-like, lower on the abdo-
men ; caudal bars almost obsolete, except on the middle pair, and
on the exterior web of the outermost pair in some specimens ;
head crimson in the male, black in the female.
The Small Green Woodpecker has been observed in the forests
west of Belgaum, and is not uncommon in the jungles at the
foot of the Aravalli Range ; it has not been recorded from any
other part of the district.
GENUS, Chrysophlegma, Gould.
Bill similar to that of the last, wider at the base and
more compressed at the tip, slightly more curved, and shorter,
with the lateral ridge nearly obsolete, only existing close to
the base of the bill ; the culmen blunt ; tail long, cuneate ; feet
short ; the claws very strongly curved.
Chrysophlegma chlorigaster, Jerdon.
175. Chrysophlegma chlorophanes, Vieill. Jerdon's Birds of
India, Vol. I. p. 290 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX,
p. 386.
THE SOUTHERN YELLOW-NAPED WOODPECKER.
Length, 9 ; wing, 475 ; tail, 3'9 ; bill at front, 0'9.
Bill slaty-greenish, yellow beneath ; irides reddish-brown ; legs
dull green.
J^Eale with the whole head and cheek-stripe red, a small
occipital crest of the same color, shortly terminated by bright
yellow; plumage above bright green ; ear-feathers and beneath
dull sap or brownish-green ; the feathers of the lower abdomen
banded and spotted with white ; wings greenish with an orange
tinge, and the outer web of most of the quill feathersH3eep
orange-red ; the inner webs dusky with white spots ; tail unspotted,
black.
Has several times been obtained in the forests west of Belgaum,
but hitherto has not been recorded from any other portion of
the district.
GENUS Micropternus, Slyth.
Bill broad at base ; culmen arched, the sides slightly rounded ;
lateral ridge wanting ; wing rather short ; tail short and broad ;
feet small ; versatile and anterior toes above equal ; inner hind-
toe and claw minute ; the plumage of a peculiar chesnut-bay
coloring.
Micropternus phaioceps, Blyth.
178. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I. p. 294
THE BENGAL RUFOUS WOODPECKER.
Length, 9'5 ; wing, 475 to 5; tail, 275; bill at front, 1.
Plumage dark chesnut bay, with black bands ; head brown above,
paling posteriorly, the feathers faintly streaked, and gradually
merged on the hind-neck in the bay color of the back ; chin,
cheek, and throat, pale, the feathers of this last concolorous with
the body, or nearly so, merely having lighter lateral margins ;
neck in front, breast and upper part of abdomen, bright chesnut-
bay ; from the middle of the abdomen the same but paler and
with dusky cross-bands.
According to Jerdon, the Bengal Rufous Woodpecker is found
in some of the forests of Central India.
Micropternus gularis, Jerd.
179. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 294 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 386.
THE MADRAS RUFOUS WOODPECKER.
Length, 7 to 9 ; wing, 4*8 ; tail, 2'5 to 3 ; bill at front, 0'9.
Bill blackish ; orbital skin slaty ; irides brown ; legs slaty.
Head dusky -brown ; the rest of body rufous-bay, with cross
bars of dusky black ; a crimson stripe in the male ; chin, throat,
lower sides of neck, dark olive-brown, the feathers edged with
white ; lower parts unspotted bay ; under tail-coverts faintly
barred with dusky.
The Madras Rufous Woodpecker is a permanent resident in
the forests of the Sahyadri Range, and occurs as far north as
Khandalla, where it is not very uncommon. It has not been
recorded from any other place within the district.
GENUS, Brachypternus, Strick.
Bill distinctly curved, moderately compressed and sloping on
the sides ; lateral ridge wanting ; nostrils apert, but the frontal
feathers produced to their base Tgonys short ; tail cuneate, the
two central feathers longest ; feet small, outer posterior and
mid-toe nearly equal ; hind-toe and claw minute.
Brachypternus aurantius, Lin.
ISO. Jerdon's Birds' of India, Vol. I, p. 295 ; Butler, Guzerat;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 458 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology
of Smd, p. 114 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885,
p. 62.
GECININ.E. 119
THE GOLDEN-BACKED WOODPECKER.
Length, 11 to 12; extent, 17 to 19; wing, 5'5 to 5'8 ; tail,
3-5 to 4 ; bill at front, T35 ; bill from gape, 1*5 to 17.
Bill slaty-black ; irides red-brown ; legs and feet dark green.
Male : head and crest bright crimson ; middle of neck, behind,
black ; upper back and scapulars rich golden-yellow ; middle
of the back black mixed with olive-yellow ; lower back, upper
tail-coverts, and tail, black ; wing-coverts black at the shoulder,
gradually changing to golden olive-yellow, each feather spotted
with fulvescent-white ; wings the same externally, except the
first quills which are black, as all are internally, and marked
with large white spots on their inner webs ; a stripe through
the eyes and ear-coverts mixed black and grey ; lores,
cheek and sides of neck forming a white stripe below the
dark eye-streak ; chin, throat, neck below, and breast black,
with white marks increasing in size on the breast, all the
feathers being edged or scaled with black, diminishing in extent
on the lower abdomen, which is almost white, and forming
cross-bands on the flanks and thigh-coverts.
The Golden-backed Woodpecker is very common throughout
the district, with the exception of the Deccan and South
Mahratta country, where it is replaced by the next species.
It is a permanent resident, breeding during March and April
and again in June and July ; the eggs, there is no nest, are
deposited at the bottom of a hole, pierced in a branch of a tree,
most frequently a mango ; they are three in number, of a polished
milk-white color, of an elongated oval shape and measure I'll
inches in length by 0'8 in breadth.
Brachypternus puncticollis, Malh.
181. Brachypternus chrysonotus, Less. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol, I, p. 296 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX,
p. 386.
THE LESSER GOLDEN-BACKED WOODPECKER.
Length, 11 '5 ; expanse, 17 ; wing, 5'25 ; tail, 3'25 ; bill at
front, 1-12.
Bill dark slaty ; irides crimson ; legs plumbeous-green.
Very similar to the last, but smaller ; the frontal feathers are
more mixed with black in the male ; the black of the nape is
continued lower upon the shoulders, contrasting strongly with
the golden-orange of the back ; the wings are of a duller golden ;
the eye-streak is narrower, but darker and more strongly defined,
and it has the white spots smaller ; the white markings of the
throat and foreneck are also smaller, and consist of round oval
points, being edged on the sides of the neck by unspotted black ;
and, lastly, the white markings of the under parts are narrower,
giving a generally darker hue to the breast and abdomen.
The Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker only occurs in the
120 YUNGIN^J.
Deccan, where it replaces R aumntiu, from which it is only
doubtfully distinct.
SUB-FAMILY, Yunginae.
Bill short, conical, somewhat round, straight, pointed ; nostrils
basal, approximate, near the culmen, narrow, pierced in the
membrane, apert ; wings moderate, pointed, second and third
quills subequal, but third the longest, first nearly as long, and
fourth only a little shorter ; tail moderate, flexible, broad, slightly
rounded, or nearly even, of twelve feathers, the two outer small,
as in the Woodpeckers ; tarsus short, with the toes in pairs ;
posterior (outer) toe long but equal to the anterior outer ; hind
and inner-toes short ; claws well curved and compressed.
GENUS, Yunx, (lynx.)
Similar to the sub-family, of which it is the only genus.
Yunx (lynx) torquilla, Lin.
188. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 303 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 459 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 386; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 115;
lynx torquilla, Jerd. ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ;
Ibis, 1885, p. 62.
THE COMMON WRYNECK.
Length, 7'5 ; expanse, 11'5 ; wing, 3'5 ; tail, 2'5 ; tarsus, 0*98 ;
bill at front, 0'5 ; bill from gape, 078.
Biil horny-brown ; irides crimson ; legs greenish-horny.
Above, a beautiful speckled grey, with a broad irregular line
from the crown to the middle of the back, dark brown, with
black stripes ; lores whitish, and sometimes the chin ; sides of
the throat, cheeks, and breast, pale buff-yellow, with narrow
transverse bars ; a brown stripe runs from each eye through the
ear-coverts, extending along the side of the neck, and another
darker and narrower from the base of the lower mandible down
the sides of the throat ; between these is a buff or isabella band,
finally becoming albescent ; breast and upper part of the belly
fulvous-white with narrow cross lines, pointed anteriorly, and
passing into small triangular black linear spots on the lower
abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts, which are whitish ; the
wings are fulvous-brown, minutely speckled, and with some
fulvous spots, and a black longitudinal band on the scapulars ;
lower part of belly fulvous 1 white, with narrow cross lines, pointed
anteriorly, passing into small triangular black linear spots ; the
quills are barred with deep brown and isabella ; rump and tail
speckled grey, the former with black longitudinal streaks, the
latter with three darker broad bands, and a fourth subterminal
one.
The Wryneck, though not common, occurs throughout our limits
as a cold weather visitant.
MEGALAIMHXE. 121
FAMILY, Megalaimidse.
Bill stout and somewhat conic, inflated at the sides, moderate
in length or short, wide at the base, more or less compressed
towards the tip ; base of upper mandible continued backward
to the gape, and usually furnished at the base with numerous
stiff bristles projecting forwards ; some have the mandibles denti-
culated, and grooved at the sides ; culmen generally blunt ; wings
and tail short, the latter even or nearly so ; with the feathers
soft, only ten in number ; toes in pairs, the hind-claws much
curved ; tongue of ordinary structure.
GENUS, Megalaima, Gray.
Bill moderate, about as long as the head, robust, conical, more
or less wide at the base and compressed at the tip ; culmen
tolerably arched ; upper mandible somewhat overlapping the
lower one ; gape wide ; nostrils somewhat exposed in a groove at
the side of the culmen ; wings moderate, rounded ; tail short,
nearly even ; feet truly zygodactyle ; conspicuous tufts of bristles
surrounding the bill, a series of them above each nostril, a tuft
at each angle of the gape, and another growing from the chin.
Megalaima caniceps, Frankl.
193. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 310 ; Swinhoe and
Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 63.
THE COMMON GREEN BAEBET.
Length, 10'5 ; expame, 16; wing, 5; tail, 3'5 ; tarsus, 11;
bill at front, T37.
Bill pale orange-brown ; irides orange-brown ; orbitar skin
dull orange ; legs light yellowish-brown.
Above green ; paler on the flanks and lower belly ; vent and
lower tail-coverts yellowish; head, neck, breast, and upper
abdomen brownish ; throat dusky-brown ; the feathers of these
parts with narrow pale streaks, continued but gradually diminish-
ing upon the green of the back ; each wing-covert and tertiary
has a whitish speck on the tip ; forehead and neck almost
uniform brown, with pale mesial streaks.
Within our limits the Common Green Barbet has only been
recorded from the forests on the Vindhian Hills, near Mhow,
Central India, its place being taken elsewhere by the next
species, with which it is often confounded.
Megalaima inornat a, Wald.
1936is. Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 459 ;
Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 387.
THE WESTERN GREEN BARBET.
Length, 10'5 ; expanse, 16'5 ; wing, 51 ; tail, 3'4 ; tarsus, T08 ;
bill at front, 1'35.
122 MEGALAIMID^E.
Very similar to M. caniceps, but the terminal spots to the
wincr-coverts and tertiaries are almost altogether wanting ; the
chin, throat, breast, and upper portion of the abdominal region
uniform pale-brown ; each feather has the shaft very faintly paler ;
the absence of the pale median streaks on the pectoral feathers
readily distinguishes this species.
The Western Green Barbet is common on the Aravelli Hills,
and in the jungles below ; it occurs on the Western Ghats and
all along the Sahyadri Range as far north at least as Khandalla.
It is a permanent resident, breeding during April and May.
The eggs, four in number, are of a dull white color, and are
deposited in a hole, pierced in the branch ot a tree, generally
at some distance from the ground ; there is no nest.
Megalaima viridis, Bodd.
194. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 311 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 387.
THE SMALL GREEN BARBET.
Length, 8 ; wing, 4 ; tail, 275 ; bill at front, O'iJ.
Bill pale horny-brown ; irides red-brown ; orbitar skin brown ;
legs plumbeons-brown.
Very similar to M. caniceps, but smaller, the brown of the
head and nape scarcely lineated, that of the under parts pale,
becoming whitish on the throat ; there are no pale specks on
the wing-coverts, nor any traces of pale streaks on the green
of the back.
The Small Green Barbet is common at Satara, Belgaum, and
on the Sahyadri Range as far north as Khandalla. It has not
been recorded from any other portion of our limits.
GENUS, Xantholaema, Bonap.
Bill still shorter, wider, and less compressed ; wing, with
second quill, long, sub-equal to the next three.
Xantholsema haemacephala, Mull
197. Xantholcema indica, Lath. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol.
I, p. 315 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p.
460 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 387 ; Murray's Verte-
brate Zoology of Sind, p. 116; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central
India; Ibis, 1885, p. 63.
THE CRIMSON-BREASTED BARBET.
Length, 6'3 to 6 5 ; expanse, 1075 to 11 ; wing, 312 to 3'25 ;
tail, 1-4 to 1'5 ; bill at front, 07 ; tarsus, 075.
Bill black ; irides brown ; orbits dull crimson ; feet coral-red ;
claws black.
Green above, the feathers of the back and wing-coverts more
or less margined with yellowish ; beneath, yellowish or greenish-
white, streaked with green ; the whitish predominating on the
CUCULIN^E, , 123
middle of the belly, broad frontal space, and wide pectoral gorget,
glistening crimson ; throat and around the eye pale sulphur-
yellow ; below the crimson gorget is a narrow crescent of
golden-yellow ; a band across the crown, continued round to the
yellow throat, and a moustachial streak black ; a bluish tinge on
the occiput and sides of the neck, where the black passes
gradually into the green of the back, and also on the margins
of the scapulars and tail.
The Crimson-breasted Barbet is very common throughout the
- Deccan, and in most parts of Rajpootana and Central India ; it
is not uncommon in Guzerat, but in Sind it only occurs as a
somewhat rare visitant. In all other places within our limits
it is a permanent resident, breeding from February to the end
of May ; its eggs, three in number, (there is no nest) are de-
posited in a hole pierced in a branch of a tree, generally one
that is decayed and hollow in the centre ; the eggs are dull-
white in color, elongated ovals in shape, and measure 0*99 inches
in length by 0'69 in breadth.
During the breeding season its monotonous note (from which
it gets its name of coppersmith), toolc-took-took, which it utters
from the top of a tree, is heard incessantly from early mornin
till late at night.
Xantholaema malabarica, Blyih.
198. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 317 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 387.
THE CRIMSON-THROATED BARBET.
Length, 6'25 ; wing, 3'2 ; tail, 1'5 ; bill at front, 0'5; tarsus, 07.
Bill black ; irides red-brown ; legs red.
Above darkish-green, the feathers edged pale, light green
beneath ; forehead, arouiidjthe eyes, and chin and throat. crimsrm,
the last margined externally^ with golden-yellow,; occiput black
passing into dull blue, which is the" color of the cheeks, ear-
coverts and sides of the neck.
The Crimson-throated Barbet has been recorded from Savant-
wadi and from the forests west of Belgaum, but it is rare, and
has not been found in any other portion of the region.
FAMILY, Cuculidse.
Bill of moderate size, usually slender, moderately curved and
compressed ; nostrils exposed ; gape wide ; toes long, unequal ; the
outer toe versatile, usually turned back ; tail long and broad,
with ten feathers, eight only in one group.
SUB-FAMILY, Cuculinse.
Bill slender, somewhat broad at the base, convex above, gently
curved at the culmen ; nostrils round, membranous ; wings
pointed ; tail rounded, nearly square, sub-furcate in one group ;
tibial feathers lengthened ; tarsus very short, partly feathered ;
124 CUCULINJE.
feet small ; outer-toe capable of being directed either backwards
or sideways,
GENUS, Cuculus.
Bill rather small, broadish at the base, compressed moderately
beyond, gently curved, and the culmen convex ; tip obsoletely
notched ; nostrils basal, circular, with a raised tumid margin ;
wings long, pointed ; the third quill usually longest, second and
fourth nearly equal ; tail lengthened, rounded ; tarsus very short,
feathered posteriorly, with transverse scutse in front ; feet slender,
short ; feathers of the rump and upper tail-coverts long, thick
set and rigid.
Cuculus canorus, Lin.
199. -Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 322 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 199 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers,
Vol. IX, p. 387 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 116 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 63,
THE CUCKOO.
Length, 14 ; expanse, 26 ; wing, 875 to 9 ; tail, 7 ; tarsus, 0'8 ;
bill at front, 078.
Bill black, yellowish at base beneath, and at gape ; irides
yellow ; orbits deeper yellow ; legs yellow.
Adult : head and upper parts ashy ; throat, underside of neck,
and upper part of breast, pale ashy ; lower part of breast and
belly white, with narrow transverse, undulating black lines ;
quills dusky, with a faint gloss of green ; inner webs barred
with oval white spots or incomplete bars ; the two central
feathers of the tail blackish, dashed with ashy, and tipped white ;
the others black, with white spots on one or both webs, and
the tip white ; under tail-coverts white, with distinct arrow-
shaped markings.
The female has very generally a tawny-brown tinge on the
upper parts ; and the neck and breast of both sexes are often
mingled with rufous, having some dusky-bars.
The young bird is dusky-grey above with white or ferruginous
bars ; beneath white, with the bars close on the neck and breast,
distant and narrower on the abdomen ; irides blue-grey, after-
wards brown ; they vary considerably in this state of plumage.
The European Cuckoo is found throughout the district, but,
excepting the hills, it is nowhere common and only occurs
during the rains and cold weather.
Cuculus poliocephalus, Lath.
201. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 324 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 388.
THE SMALL CUCKOO.
Length, 10 to 10*5 ; wing, 5*85 ; tail, 512 ; tarsus, 0'62 ; bill
at front, 07.
CUCULIN^I. 125
Male : upper plumage ashy, slightly glossed with green on
the back and upper tail-coverts ; quills brown, also with a green
gloss, and numerous close large white spots ; tail deep ashy,
almost black, with large white spots on the middle of each
feather on the edge of the inner webs, and at the tip ; beneath
the chin and throat are pale ashy, with some rusty about the,
breast ; the lower parts white, with rather narrow distant bars ;
under tail-coverts spotless.
Many adults have the upper parts fine rufous-bay, spotless on
the forehead, sides of neck, and rump, but elegantly barred with
dusky across the scapulars, wings and tail, and faintly on the
crown, hind-neck, and interscapulars ; throat, foreneck, and
breast, whitish along the middle, stained with rufous laterally,
and with dark bars more or less distinct ; the rest of the lower
parts broadly barred, as also are the tail-coverts.
The Small Cuckoo has been obtained in various parts of the
Deccan, but is rare ; it has not been recorded from elsewhere
within our district.
Cuculus sonnerati, Lath.
202. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 325 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 388.
THE BANDED BAY CCJCKOO.
Length, 10 ; wing, 5 ; tail, 5 ; tarsus, 0'6 ; bill at front, 07.
Above greenish-dusky, numerously crossed barred with rufous
(which color, indeed, may be said to predominate), except on
the coverts of the primaries; quills dusky-rufous on the
edge of the outer web, pale internally ; tail rufous, with a
broad dusky bar near the end ; the outer webs nearly dusky,
and the tip white, and the inner webs with narrow bars ; the
whole under-parts, from the throat, white, very faintly tinged
with fulvous on the flanks, and marked with numerous narrow
dusky cross bars ; sides of head and neck also white, similarly
barred ; but the ear-coverts are colored like the back, and the
frontal feathers are white at the base, showing conspicuously
just over the bill.
The young are more coarsely barred than adults, with pale
rufescent on a blackish ground, and the breast is white, banded
with dusky, and aged individuals have the back and wings
very faintly barred, the tail with the central feathers nearly all
black, the edges scolloped with rufous, and the outer feathers with
dusky.
The Banded Bay Cuckoo occurs sparingly in various parts of
the Deccan and South Mahratta country, but only as a seasonal
visitant. It does not occur elsewhere within our limits.
Cuculus micropterus, Gould.
203. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 326 ; Butler, Deecan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 388.
12G CUCULIN.E,
*
THE INDIAN CUCKOO.
Length, 12 to 12'5 ; expanse, 23 ; wing, 7'5 ; tail, 575 ; tarsus,
075 ; bill at front, 0'96.
Bill blackish, yellow at the base beneath, and at the gape ; irides
pale dusky, or yellowish-brown ; orbits light wax-yellow ; legs
yellow.
Upper parts darkish-ashy, pure on the head ; throat and breast
grey ; abdomen white, with - broad and tolerably distant dark-
brown bars ; quills brown, the inner webs with wider bars or
spots than those of C. canorus ; tail concolorous with the body,
or brownish-ashy j a broad dark band at the end, narrowly tipped
with white ; in some with a few white spots, successively more
developed on the outer tail-feathers.
In old birds the color above is deep-ashy ; but in those only
once moulted the hue is a bronzed ash-brown, with the head and
neck grey, and some slight traces of rufous on the sides of the
neck and wings. The young are much mottled with blackish and
white, especially on the head, neck, and back ; the quills and tail
have rufous bars and tips ; but they have much less rufous than
the young of 0. canorus, and are much less barred.
The Indian Cuckoo is common along the Sahyadri range and
adjacent forests ; it has been obtained from other parts of the
Deccan and South Mahratta country, and is not uncommon in the
jungles on the Vindhian Range, but Major Butler did not meet
with it in Northern Guzerat, nor has it been recorded from
Sind,
GENUS, Hierococcyx, Muller.
Bill stouter, deeper and wider, than in cuculu s ; wing shorter ;
the fourth quill longest, and the fifth about equal to the second ;
tail nearly even, broad, with distinct dark bars.
Hierococcyx varius, Vahl.
205. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 329 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 205 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 388 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885,
p. 63.
THE COMMON HAWK CUCKOO.
Length, 13 '4 f expanse, 22*1 ; wing, 7 '5~; tail, 7 ; tarsus, 0'8 ;
ill at front, 0'83 ; bill from gape, 1/2.
Bill black on the culmen and tip, yellow beneath ; orbits
orange-yellow ; irides dull gamboge-yellow ; legs and feet yellow.
Upper parts uniform ash-grey ; the winglet and coverts of the
primaries darker ; foreneck and breast pale rufous, each feather
light grey in the centre ; belly and flanks white, barred with ad-
joining lines of grey and rufous, the white hardly visible exterior-
ly, from the overlapping of the feathers ; thighs, vent, and lower-
coverts, pure white, the first a little barred ; throat grey, and some
white at the base of the bill and sides of the throat ; tail grey,
CUCULINJE. 127
tipped with faint rufous, and finally whitish, having a broad dusky
subterminal band, and five other narrower and undulating zigzag
bands (one near the base) composed of a dusky bar, then a whit-
ish one adjoining, with some traces of rufous ; quills barred
with white on their inner webs for the basal two-thirds of
their length.
The young bird has the upper plumage browner and rufous-
barred ; and the lower parts are whitish, tinged with rusty, and
with longitudinal brown drops. In older birds the spots are longi-
tudinal on the neck and breast, transverse and arrow-shaped on
the abdomen.
With the exception of Sind, the Hawk Cuckoo is generally
spread throughout the district ; but there are parts of the Deccan
where it is absent or only occurs as a somewhat rare straggler.
GENUS, Cacomantis, Mailer.
Of small size ; plumage variable, grey or dusky above ; lower
plumage not barred in the normal adult state ; the tarsi less
plumed externally than in cuculus.
Cacomantis passerinus, Vahl
208. Polyphasia nigra, apud Blyth. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 333; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill,
p. 461 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 388.
THE INDIAN PLAINTIVE CUCKOO.
Length, 9 ; expanse, 14 ; wing, 4'5 ; tail, 4'5 ; tarsus, 0'6 ; bill
at front, O6.
Bill blackish, red at base and gape ; irides rusty-red ; feet red-
dish-yellow.
Adult, uniform dark -ashy above, with more or less of a green
gloss ; beneath pale ashy ; vent and under tail-coverts pure
white ; quills dusky, with a broad white band on the inner web of
each feather ; tail blackish ; the inner webs banded with white
(except the middle pair), and all tipped white.
A common phase of this species in South India is dusky-cine-
reous, almost blackish above, with a greenish gloss beneath the
same, but less glossed ; tail as in the last, but darker and with
fewer white spots.
The younger state of this phase is glossy dark-cinereous only
on the back and wings, the head and rump being ashy ; chin
and throat cinereous ; breast darker cinereous, banded with rufous
and white ; belly pale cinereous, faintly marked with pale rufous
and white ; under tail-coverts white ; tail as in the last.
In some states of plumage all the upper parts are - bright
rufous, with dusky bars ; the primaries dusky brown with rufous
edges ; the tail rufous, all the outer feathers having dark bars
and a broader subterminal one, with a white spot at the tip ;
throat, neck and breast, pale rufous, with dusky bars ; and the
128 CUCULIN.E.
belly, flanks, and tail-coverts white, also with dusky cross bars
tibial feathers rufous barred.
In a more advanced state of the same plumage the bars on
the head and rump disappear, and those that remain have a
green gloss upon them.
Not uncommon during the rains in many parts of the Deccan,
and at Mount Aboo ; it probably also occurs at and near Mfrbw ;
it has never been recorded from Sind, Cutch, Kattiawar, or Jodh-
pore.
GENUS, Surniculus, Lesson.
Tail even or forked, with the two outermost feathers short, the
penultimate being slightly the longest, and each lateral half
of the tail curling outward towards the tip as in the -Drongos ;
otherwise as in the last ; plumage black.
Surniculus lugubris, Horsf.
210. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 336.
THE DRONGO OR FORK-TAILED CUCKOO.
Length, 10 ; wing, 5'5 ; tail 375 ; outermost tail feathers, T25
inches less than the penultimate, which is the longest ; middle
pair 05 inch shorter.
Bill black ; palate red ; irides red brown ; legs and feet dusky
reddish.
Black, with a changeable blue and green gloss, brightest above ;
the head sub-crested, and generally two or three white feathers
in the centre of the occiput ; tibial and tarsal feathers partially
white ; some white specks on the wing-coverts, and on the upper
tail-coverts occasionally ; lower tail-coverts marked with white ;
outermost primary with a round white spot, and all the others
with an oblique white mark, causing an oblique streak of white
on the inner surface of the wings ; outermost tail-feathers
obliquely barred or spotted with white.
The young birds are spotted with white on the head, wing-
coverts, and lower surface ; and the tail has also more white
spots.
According to Jerdon, the Drongo or Tork-tailed Cuckoo occurs
sparingly in Central India.
GENUS, Chrysococcyx, Boie.
Bill as in cuculus, but a little more depressed at the base,
and quite entire at tip ; wings pointed ; second quill longer than
the fourth; third nearly as long; the feathers of the rump and
upper tail-coverts soft ; and tarsi very short and much plumed.
Chrysococcyx maculatus, Gm.
211. C. hodgsoni, Moore. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p.
338.
CUCULIN^.
g THE EMEEALD CUCKOO.
Length, 6'5 to 7; wing, 4'25 ; tail, 3; tarsus, 0*5; bill at
front, 0'6.
Bill yellow, tipped dusky ; irides red brown ; feet reddish
cinereous.
Above brilliant emerald-green with a rich golden gloss; beneath
white with cross bars of shining green ; tail, with the outer
feathers barred with white externally.
Jerdon in his " Birds of India " states that this lovely Cuckoo
. has been procured rarely in Central India.
GENUS, Coccystes, Goger.
Head crested ; bill slender and cuculine, but more compressed,
slightly curving at first, suddenly bent down at the tip which
is entire; nostrils basal, lengthened and ovate, close to edge of
mandible ; wings moderate, slightly rounded ; third and fourth
quills sub-equal, or fourth quill longest; tail long graduated*
tarsus longer than in cucwlus, not feathered ; feathers of the
r ump soft.
Coccystes jacobinus, Bodd.
212. Coecystes melanoleucos, Gmel. Jerdon's Birds of India,,
Vol. I, p. 339 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill,
p. 461; Peccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 388 ; Murray's
i Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 117 ; Swinhoe and Barnes,
Central India; Ibis, 1885, p. 63.
THE PIED-CRESTED CUCKOO.
Popiya, Hin.
6 Length,. 13 ; expanse, 17*5 ^ wing, 575 ; tail, 7 ; tarsus, 0'98 ;
bill at front, 075 ; bill at gape, I'l.
Bill black ; irides red-brown ; legs leaden-blue.
Above, uniform black, with a greenish shine ; bases of the
primaries white, forming a conspicuous wing-spot ; all the tail-
feathers tipped white, broadly, except the central pair, which
are very narrowly tipped ; under -parts dull white ; in some,
especially the females, slightly tinged with fulvescent.
The nestling plumage is dull black above, and fulvous be-
neath.
The Pied-crested Cuckoo occurs as a monsoon visitant through-
out the .district, but is much more common in some places
than others ; for instance, at Mhow it literally swarms during
the rains, while at Neemuch it only occurs. as a straggler.
Its eggs resemble somewhat those of 0. caudata, in whose
nests, as well as in those of M. terricolor and malcolmi, they
are generally deposited, but may be distinguished from the
former by their somewhat larger size and rounder shape, and
from those of the latter by being slightly smaller as well as
rounder.
130 CUCULIN.E.
They are deep sky-blue in color, and measure 0'94 inches
in length by 073 in breadth.
Coccystes coromandus, Lin.
213. -Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 341 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 389.
THE RED-WINGED CHESTED CUCKOO.
Length, 14'5 to 15'5 ; expanse, 18 to 19 ; wing, 6'25 to 6*5 ;
tail, 8-5 to 9-8 ; tarsus, 0'8 to T08 ; bill at front, 1 ; bill from
gape, 1-3.
Bill black; inside of mouth fleshy; irides hazel to red-
brown ; feet leaden or plumbeous.
Upper parts with the tertiaries black, glossed with green,
paler on the tertiaries, and less glossed on the head ; a con-
spicuous half collar of white encircles the nape ; wings deep
ferruginous, with the tips of the primaries and secondaries
dusky ; under parts white, a little tinged with fulvous, except
the lower tail-coverts, which are green-black, and the throat
and foreneck, which are deep ochreous fulvous in some ; in
others, light fulvous.
Mr. Vidal obtained a specimen at Savantwadi ; this is the
only recorded instance of its occurrence within our limits.
GENUS, Eudynamis, Vig. & Horsf.
Bill strong, thick, vertically deep, much curved at tip, and
hooked ; the lower mandible nearly straight ; gonys slightly
undulated upwards ; nostrils long, oval ; wings with the fourth
quill longest ; tail lengthened, rounded ; rump and upper tail-
feathers soft ; tarsus strong, not feathered below . the joint,
flattened in front.
Eudynamis honorata, Lin.
214. Eudynamis orientalis, Lin. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 342 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill,
*i "?>1 P- 461 J Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 389 ; Murray's
Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 117 ; Swinhoe and Barnes,
Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 63.
THE INDIAN KOEL. THE BLACK CUCKOO.
Rod, Hin.
<?. Length, 15'5 ; expanse, 23; wing, 7'5 ; tail, 7*5; tarsus,
1-12; bill at front, 1.
5. Length, 17'5 ; wing, 8; tail, 8.
Bill pale greenish ; inside of mouth reddish ; irides crimson ;
legs slaty-blue.
Male, glossy greenish-black throughout.
Female, glossy dusky-green, spotted with white above ; wings
and tail banded white ; beneath white, with black spots, longi-
, tudinal on the throat and neck, somewhat heart-shaped
PHCENICOPHAINJS. 131
or arrow-shaped on the breast, and transverse on the abdomen,
thigh-coverts, and under tail-coverts.
The young female has the white spots and marks much tinged
with rufous ; and the young male has a good deal of white on
his plumage.
The Indian Koel is very common throughout the district,
excepting Sind, where it appears to be somewhat rare. Some
of them at least are permanent residents, but during the breed-
ing season they are everywhere more common; at this season,
too, they are excessively noisy, so much so as to become a
positive nuisance. They lay their eggs in nests of the common
crow, sometimes a single egg only, but as often as not two
will be found, and I have on two occasions found three Koel
eggs in a single nest. I much doubt whether the Koel de-
stroys the crow eggs before depositing her own, as I have always
found them intact ; they may do so in other districts, but my
experience is a wide one, extending through Guzerat, Raj-
pootana, Central India, Sind, and the Deccan.
The eggs vary surprisingly in color ; pale sea-green, dingy
stone-color, and olive-green and brown, are all met with; the
markings also are diversified ; specks, spots, streaks and clouds
of olive and reddish-brown and dull purple are all represented.
The eggs measure about 1*19 inches in length by 0'92 in
breadth. The bird has not inaptly been named the Brain Fever
Bird by some waggish godfather.
SUB-FAMILY, Phoenicophainss.
Bill moderate or longish, ridge curved ; orbital region gene-
rally naked ; wings short ; tail long, graduated.
GENUS, Rhopodytes.
( Zanclostomus).
Bill much compressed throughout, curved both at^the culmen
and lower mandible: nostrils basal, oval, pierced in a slight
depression in the horny substance ; wing short, rounded, with
the fourth, fifth and sixth quills nearly equal and longest ; tail
much lengthened, graduated ; tarsus moderate or longish ; hallux
very short ; claws well curved, sharp.
Rhopodytes viridirostris, Jerd.
216. Zanclostomus viridirostris. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 346; Butler, Deccan; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX,
p. 389.
THE SMALL GREEN-BILLED MALKOHA.
Length, 15 ; wings, 5 '2 5 ; tail, 10 ; tarsus, T3 ; bill at front, 1.
Bill bright apple green ; naked skin around the eyes cobalt-
blue ; irides blood-red ; legs blackish green.
Above, dusky cinereous, with a tinge of glossy green ; wings
132 CENTROPODIN.E.
and tail glossy green-black, the latter tipped with white p
beneath light greyish, with a tinge of fawn color mixed with
blackish on the chin and throat.
. The Small Green-billed Malkoha is not uncommon .at Belgaum
and Ratnagiri, where it is a permanent resident I know of
no record of its occurrence elsewhere within our limits.
SUB-FAMILY, Centropodinse.
Bill strong, deep, compressed; wings rather short, rounded;
tarsus long; feet fitted for walking; hallux lengthened in some,
and with the nail straight, in others short and more curved.
GENUS, Centropus, Illiger.
Bill strong, of moderate length, well curved, high at the
base, entire at the tip ; nostrils lateral, basal half covered with
a scale ; wings rounded ; tail elongate, graduate, very broad ;
tarsus long ; feet larger ; hallux long ; claws of the hallux
generally lengthened, somewhat straight.
Centropus rufipennis, Illiger.
217. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 349; Butler, Guzerat;
Stray Feathers, Vol. 11^, p. 461; Deccan, Stray Feathers,
Vol. IX, p. 389 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis,
1885, p. 64.
THE CROW 'PHEASANT.
THE COMMON COUCAL.
Mahoka, Hin.
Length, 19 ; extent, 23 ; wing, 7'25 ; tail, 10 ; tarsus, 2 ; bill
at front, 1'3.
Bill black ; iyides crimson ; legs black.
Whole head, neck, lower back, upper tail-coverts and all the
under parts, richly empurpled black ; tail glossed with green ;
upper part of the back and wings bright deep rufous bay. ;
The young vary very much ; some (females) are barred through-
out with rufous and blackish above, and with dusky and whitish
.beneath; tail barred with pale grey bands; wings also prettily
banded.
Others (young males) resemble the adult, but the colors
are more dull.
With the exception of . Sind, the Crow Pheasant is common
throughout our limits. It- is a permanent resident, breeding
during the monsoon. They build large, globular-shaped, domed
nests, in the centre of thick, thorny bushes or trees ; the
eggs, three in number, are broadish regular ovals, coarse and
chalky in texture, of a dull white color, and average 1'44 in
'length by 116 in breadth.
They are subject to great variation in size ; eggs of the same
clutch even differ. -
CENTROPODIN^E, 133
Centropus maximus, Hume.
2l7quint. Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 118.
THE LARGE CROW PHEASANT.
Length, 19 to 20; wing, 9 to 10; tail, 10 to 10'5 ; bill at
front, 1-25.
Bill black ; irides crimson ; legs black.
Head, neck, lower back, upper tail-coverts and entire under
parts richly empurpled black, duller towards the vent ; feathers
of the forehead bristly, and those on the neck and breast with
spiny shafts ; tail dusky-black, with a greenish gloss ; wings deep
rufous-bay or dark red.
Only found within our limits, in the Sind district ; its habits
are similar to those of G. rufipennis.
Centropus bengalensis, Gm.
218. G. viridis, Scop.- Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 350.
THE LESSER INDIAN COUCAL.
Length, 15 ; wing, 6*5 ; tail, 8 ; tarsus, T5 ; bill at front, 1.
Bill black ; irides red ; legs plumbeous,
Adult. Head, hind-neck, upper tail-coverts, tail, and beneath,
glossy green black ; wings and back rufous, or chesnut, infus-*
cated at the tips of the wings, and often more or less so on the
back, scapulars and tertiaries ; tail-coverts much elongated.
Young birds are pale rufous above with broadish black bands,
the rufous forming narrow bands on the upper tail-coverts and
tail, and the black, narrow bands on the back and wings ; the
head and neck are streaked longitudinally, the feathers being
dusky with a pale rufous centre ; under-parts flavescent whitish,
with only a few dusky specks and rays ; bill pale yellow-horny.
In another state, in the adult female, the general color is
light rufous, more or less infuscated above, dingy yellowish-white
below ; the spinous shafts to the feathers of , the head, neck,
wing-coverts, and breast yellowish-white and showing conspi-
cuously, being set off with blackish, which brings out the
contrasts, and the feathers are more or less barred transversely/-
expecially the scapulars, back, and the long upper tail-coverts.
In a further stage the feathers are black with yellowish-white'
shafts on the head, back, wing-coverts and breast, to a greater
or lesser extent ; and to this the fully adult plumage appears
to succeed.
Dr. Jerdon remarks that " the Small Indian Ooucal is a ;
somewhat rare bird, but spreads more or less through most parts
of India," and that he has had it from Central India,
GENUS, Taccocua, Lesson.
Bill short or of a moderate length, much compressed, the
culmen regularly arching ; commissure and gonys straight or
CENTROPODIN^I.
slightly concave ; nostrils basal, in a slight depression near the
gape, with a tuft of bristly feathers bordering their upper
edge ; wings rounded ; third and fourth quills nearly equal and
longest; tail long, graduated; tarsus high; feet adapted for
walking, of moderate size ; the hallux short ; claws short and
moderately curved.
Taccocua leschenaulti, Less.
219. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 352 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 389 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central
India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 64.
THE SOUTHERN SIRKEEH.
Jungli Totah, Hin.
Length, 15 to 15'5 ; wing, 5-5 to 575 ; tail, 8.
Bill cherry-red, yellowish at the tip ; irides reddish-brown ; feet
plumbeous.
Above, pale earthy-brown ; head inclining to ashy ; throat
^\ \ whitish ; foreneck and breast ashy, tinged with ferruginous ; belly
i^i dark ferruginous, there being a marked distinction between the
two colors ; feathers of the head, neck, and breast, with the shafts,
black and glistening ; upper tail-coverts long ; lateral tail-feathers
dark brown, broadly tipped with white.
The Southern Sirkeer occurs sparingly in the Deccan, and at
Mhow, Central India, and again in Neemuch, R-ajpootana ; its
place in other portions of our district being occupied by T. sirkee.
It is a permanent resident and breeds in a similar manner to
C. rufipennis.
Taccocua sirkee, Gray.
220. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 353 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 461 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of
Sind, p. 118.
THE BENGAL SIRKEER.
Length, 17 ; wing, 6 ; tail, 9'5.
Above, pale satin-brown ; beneath ashy-brown on the foreneck
and breast, tinged with ferruginous, and passing gradually into
the ferruginous of the belly, flanks and tibia! plumes ; this hue is
darker here than in the last, and browner about the vent and
under tail-coverts ; feathers of the head and neck also black
shafted.
The Bengal Sirkeer is not uncommon in Northern Guzerat and
Sind } its habits much resemble those of the last.
TRIBE, Tenuirostris.
Bill, in most, slender and long, often curved ; in a few short and
thick ; wings moderate or long.
FAMILY, Nectarinidse.
Bill of various length, generally long, more or less curved, gene-
NECTARININ^E. 135
rally entire ; nostrils basal, usually nearly covered by a scale ;
wings moderate, more or less rounded ; nine or ten primaries, third
and fourth longest ; wing-coverts short ; tarsus moderate ; hind^
claw equal to, or scarcely longer than, that of the middle-toe,
SUBFAMILY, Nectarininse.
Bill curved, base broad; nostril small; tail long; outer-toe
longer than inner.
GENUS, Arachnothera, Tern.
Bill very long, moderately curved ; base broad, and somewhat
three-sided ; tip entire ; nostrils small, oval, completely covered by
a membrane, which only opens by a lateral slit ; wings long ; third
and fourth quill longest ; tail short, broad, even ; legs large and
strong ; lateral toes slightly unequal ; hind-toe and claw large.
Arachnothera longirostra, Lath.
224. A pmilla, Blyth. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 361 ;
Butler, Deccan; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 389.
THE LITTLE SPIDER-HUNTER,
Length, 575; wing, 2'5 ; tail, T5; tarsus, 0'6 ; bill at front,
1'5.
Bill dusky ; irides brown ; legs plumbeous-brown.
Above, olive-green, more or less fulvescent ; the crown darker,
with scale-like feathers, merely green-edged ; a dark streak from
the base of the upper mandible ; chin and throat white ; rest of
the under parts dull greenish-albescent, passing into bright palQ
yellow on the belly ; tail-feathers slightly tipped with whitish,
chiefly on their inner webs, forming a spot most distinct out*
wardly.
The Little Spider-hunter is very rare ; it has been obtained in
the forests west of Belgaum, but does not occur elsewhere within
our limits.
GENUS, JEthopyga, Cabanis,
Bill of moderate length and curvature ; tail graduated, with
the central tail-feathers much elongated.
.ffithopyga vigorsi, Sylces.
226. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 363 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 390.
THE VIOLET-EARED BED HONEY SUCKER.
Male. Length, 5'5 ; tail, 2*5.
Female. Length, 5 ; tail, 1.
Bill black ; irides brown.
Head metallic green ; nape, neck above, shoulders, and scapu-
lars, deep sanguineous ; lower part of back sulphur-yellow ; upper
tail-coverts, middle tail-feathers, and outer webs of all the others
136 NECTARININ^.
(except the outermost pair), metallic-green ; throat, neck, and
breast, scarlet ; a stripe on each side from the chin to the breast,
shining violet ; ear-spot also violet ; wings, lateral tail-feathers,
sides of the lower part of the back, and a band below the breast,
dusky ; abdomen grey.
The female is greenish-olive above; wings and tail darker,
lighter beneath.
The Violet-eared Red Honey Sucker only occurs within our
limits on the Sahyadri Range and in the adjacent forests as far
north as Khandalla, where it is a not uncommon permanent
resident.
GENUS, Leptocoma (CINNYRIS) Cabanis.
Tail square or nearly so ; bill moderately curved, most of
small size.
Cinnyris zeylonica, Lin.
232. Leptocoma zeylonica, Lin. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 368 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 390.
THE AMETHYST-BUMPED HONEY SUCKER.
Length, 4'5 ; wing, 2'2 ; tail, 1'5 ; bill in front, 0'63.
Irides bright ruby-red ; bill and legs black.
Head above and angle of the wing jbright metallic glossy-green ;
back, scapulars and wing-coverts, deep maroon-red ; wings dusky-
brown, the quill edged with cinnamon-brown ; tail black ; throat,
neck, rump, and upper tail-coverts fine metallic amethystine -pur-
ple ; the rest of the body beneath yellow, divided from the
amethyst of the neck by a narrow maroon bar.
The female is dull green above, with a slight tinge of rufous ;
the quills edged with pale brown ; the tail dusky-black ; under
parts pale yellow, albescent on throat and foreneck.
Young males resemble the females, but have the throat more
yellow.
The Amethyst-rumped Honey Sucker is a permanent resident
in the Deccan, where it is not uncommon ; it does not occur else-
where within our region.
Cinnyris minima, SyJses.
233. Leptocoma minima, Sykes. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 369 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 380.
THE TINY HONEY SUCKER.
Length, 3*5 to 3'75 ; expanse, 5'25 to 575 ; wing, 1-8 ; tail, 1 to
1-2 ; tarsus, 0'5 ; bill at front, 0'65.
Head and nape fine metallic-green ; back, scapulars, and wing-
coverts, rich bright sanguine-red ; rump the same, but with a fine
violet or amethystine gloss ; wings and tail dusky-brown ; throat
'and neck fine amethystine ; the rest of the lower parts yellow.
The female is olive brown above, with a red rump, and pale
beneath, - -
NEOTARININ.E. 137
'Major Butler says : " Permanent resident on the Ghats. Com-
mon, as a rule, all along the Sahyadri Range from Goa to Khandalla,
extending often to the adjacent forests." He also obtained a
specimen or two at Belgaum, where, however, it is only a rare
seasonal visitant.
It has not been recorded from elsewhere within our limits,
Cinnyris asiatica, Lath.
234. Arachnechthra asiatica, Lath. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 370 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 390 ;
Guzerat, Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 462 ; Murray's Vertebrate *
Zoology of Sind, p. 119 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ;
Ibis, 1885, p. 64.
THE PURPLE HONEY SUCKER.
Length, 4'5 ; wing, 2'3 ; tail, To ; tarsus, 0'6 ; bill at front,
075.
Bill and legs black ; irides red-brown. In summer, breeding
plumage this species has the whole head, neck, throat, breast, and
back glossy green-purple ; the abdomen purplish-black ; wings
and tail dull black, the latter faintly white-tipped; a tuft of
crimson and yellow feathers at the axillse of the wings.
After breeding, the fine purple garb is doffed, all except a long
stripe from the chin to the vent.
The young bird has the upper parts dull olive-green ; beneath
bright yellow ; shoulders and central stripe beneath brilliant
glossy-violet ; wings and tail dusky or black.
< The female is greenish brown-grey above, greenish-yellow
beneath, deepest on the throat and breast, and lighter on the vent
and under tail-coverts ; quills dusky ; tail black*
The Purple Honey Sucker is very common throughout the region
and is a permanent resident.
It breeds from March to September, but most nests are found
in April and May ; the nest is pendant, and resembles a florence-
flask in shape ; it is attached to a twig, and all sorts of material
are made use of in its construction, fine grass, lichens, cobwebs,
pieces of straw, dead flowers, and leaves, &c. The entrance is
high up on one side, and has a projection or canopy over it to
keep out the rain,
The eggs, two or three in number, are dingy little ovals, of a
whitish ground color, thickly speckled with brown and greyish-
brown. They measure 0'64 in length by about 0'46 in breadth.
Cinnyrisjotenja, Lin.
205. Arachnecthra lotenia, Lin. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
: p. 372 ; Butler, Deccan Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 390.
THE^ LARGE PURPLE HONEY SUCKER.
Length, 5'^ffwmg, 2 '3 ; tail, 1'6 ; tarsus, 0*6 ; bill at front, 1.
Bill and legs black ; irides dark brown.
138
Above, brilliantly glossed with metallic green and purple;
abdomen dull brownish-black ; axillary tuft yellow and red ; wings
and tail black, the latter slightly glossed purple ; throat and breast
rich purple ; a narrow bright maroon collar separates the purple of
the breast from the back of the abdomen.
Within our limits, the Large Purple Honey Sucker only occurs
on the Western Ghats and in the adjacent forests, also in the
forests west of Belgaum and perhaps in the Konkan, but it is no-
where common.
SUB-FAMILY, Dicseinaa.
Bill short, usually depressed at the base, thick in some ; tail
short ; wings rather long, of very small size.
GENUS, Dicseum, Cuvier.
Bill short, broad at the base, suddenly compressed beyond, tip
entire, culmen curved ; nostrils triangular ; wings lengthened, with
nine primaries, the first three are about equal, the second slightly
the longest ; tail short, even ; feet with the lateral toes unequal,
the outer-toe a good deal syndactyle.
Dicseum erythrorhynchus, Lath.
238. D. minimum, Tickel. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 374 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 390.
TICKELL'S FLOWER-PECKER.
Length, 3'12 ; wing, 175 ; tail, 88 ; tarsus, 0'66 ; bill at front,
0-38.
Bill pale-fleshy ; tip dusky ; irides brown ; legs leaden-brown.
Above ashy-olive, paler and fulvescent beneath ; wings and
tail darker.
Tickell's Flower-pecker is locally common in many parts of
the Deccan. At Belgaum, where it is very common, it breeds in the
hot weather. It occurs along the Sahyadri Kange as far north as
Mahableshwar and has been procured at Ratnagiri. It has not
been recorded from any other portion of our limits.
Dicseum concolor, Jerdon.
239. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 375 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 391.
THE NEILGHERRY FLOWER-PECKER.
Length, 4'2 ; wing, 21 ; tail, 1*1 ; tarsus, 0*5 ; bill at front,
0-4.
Bill dusky-brown ; irides dark brown ; legs cinereous-brown.
Above brownish-olive ; beneath greenish-white ; wings and
tail brown ; sexes alike.
Occurs in the same localities as the last, but is somewhat
rare.
CERTHIJLE. 139
GENUS, Piprisomse, Blyth.
Bill short and sub-conical, acutely triangular as viewed from
above ; ridge of the upper mandible angulated, and that of the
lower slightly so ; both of them curved, the lower one perhaps
most ; tip of the upper over-hanging the lower mandible ; nostrils
almost closed by the nasal membrane ; gape unarmed ; feet rather
small ; tarsus equal to the middle-toe ; outer-toe syndactyle ;
claws moderately hooked ; wings long, reaching to the end of
tail ; tail short, even.
Piprisoma agile, TicMl.
240. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 376 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 391.
THE THICK-BILLED FLOWER-PECKER.
Length, 4 ; wing, 2'25 ; tail, 1'2 ; tarsus, 0'5.
Bill and legs leaden ; irides orange-yellow.
Above dull olive-ashy, greenish on the rump and upper tail-
coverts ; wing and tail brownish, the former edged green and
the tail slightly edged at tip with whitish, which forms a terminal
spot on the inner web of the outermost feathers; beneath
dirty greenish-white, with a few faint strise on the throat, fore-
neck, and flanks.
Occurs in the same localities as the last, but as a rule is not
very common.
SUB-FAMILY, Certhinse.
Bill generally curved, of moderate length, or rather long,
slender; wings moderate or long, ample, rounded, of ten
primaries, the first short; wing-coverts short; tail longish in
most and with the feathers often stiff and pointed, short in some ;
toes long and slender, outer-toe longer than the inner, much
syndactile ; inner-toe slightly so ; hind-toe very long, and its
claw longer than the middle one^; claws long, compressed, and
curved and all the toes very mobile.
GENUS, Salpornis, Oray.
Bill long, curved, broadish at base, much compressed beyond
the nostrils ; wings reaching to the end of the short tail, pointed ;
first primary very short, second nearly as long as third and fourth,
which are equal and longest ; tail short, even, soft and flexible.
Salpornis spilonota, Franklin.
246. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 382; Butler, Guzerat;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 462.
THE SPOTTED-GREY CREEPER.
Length, 575 ; wing, 3'5 ; tail, 17 ; tarsus, T6 ; bill at front, 1.
Above fuscous-grey, white-spotted, with narrow white streaks
140 SITTING.
on the head ; throat and abdomen whitish, the latter barred with
.dusky ; tail banded and fuscous.
The Spotted-grey Creeper has been obtained at Mount Aboo,;
it has not been recorded from any other portion of our limits,
SUB-FAMILY, Sittinae.
Bill of moderate length, nearly straight, stout, compressed at
the tip ; wings moderate ; tail short, even ; toes long and slender ;
outer- toe longest, syndactyle.
GENUS, Sitta, Lin.
Bill moderate, straight, wedge-shaped; tip entire, -barely ; de r
flexed ; nostrils basal, rounded, covered by setaceous tufts ; wings
rather long, first quill short, fourth and fifth equal and longest ;
tail short, ev^n, soft ; feet short, strong ; the inner-toe very
short ; outer nearly equal to the middle one, all 'cleft to the
base ; hind-toe long, equal to the tarsus ; claws strong, broad and
well curved.
Sitta castaneiventris, Franklin.
250. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 386.
THE CHESNUT-BELLIED NUTHATCH.
Length, 5'5 ; wing, 3'1 ; tail, 17 ; bill at front, 0'68.
Bill horny-black ; irides brown ; legs plumbeous.
Above greyish-plumbeous, lightest on the head and nape ;
stripe from the gape, through the eyes, to the nape, black ;
quills, with the inner webs of the feathers, black ; throat and
face white; breast and under tail-coverts, with the abdomen,
deep chesnut bay in the male, dark cinnamon color in the
female; the tail has the two central feathers grey, the rest
blackish; the outermost three on each side with large white
spots on the inner webs near the tip ; the outermost of all has
also a spot on the outer web near the base ; the two next the
uropygials are grey at the tip and on the outer web.
The Chesnut-bellied Nuthatch occurs in most of the jungles of
Central India ; it is much more common on the Yindhian Range.
GENUS, Dendrophila, Swainson.
General structure of Sitta ; nostrils large, oval, open, nearly
<naked, with a very few incumbent hairs ; base of bill widened ;
tip -of the culmen slightly inclined downwards ; tha foot typical,
with the hind-toe, if anything, larger.
Dendrophila frontalis, Horsf.
253. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 388; Butler, Beccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 391.
THE VELVET-FRONTED BLUE NUTHATCH.
Length, 5 ; extent, 8'5 ; wing, 3 ; tarsus, 0'9 ; tail, T5.
UPUPIN.E. 141
Bill bright coral-red ; orbitar skin lemon -yellow ; hides light
straw-yellow ; legs sienna-yellow.
Above fine coerulean-blue, with a tinge of lilac on the head ;
forehead deep velvety-black ; quills and lateral feathers blackish,
the former more or less edged with blue, the latter tipped with
white ; beneath, delicate lilac-brownish, darkest on the vent
and under tail-coverts, and reddish on the flanks ; chin and
throat white. The male, even in nestling plumage, is distin-
guished by having a black sincipital streak.
The Velvet-fronted Nuthatch occurs on the Sahyadri Range
and in the adjacent forests ; it has been found in the jungles
west of Belgaum, Savantwadi, and along the Goa frontier ; it is
very rare, and has not been obtained in any other portion of our
limits.
FAMILY, Upupidse.
Bill long and slender, slightly curved throughout ; the tip
acute and entire ; nostrils small ; wings rounded ; tail moderate
or long, even or rounded ; tarsi short and stout ; outer toe syndac-
tyle at the base ; toes and claws strong.
SUB-FAMILY, Upupinse.
Tail with ten feathers ; wings long ; bill keeled at the base ;
head with a large erectile crest.
GENUS, Upupa, Lin.
Bill very long, moderately curved, compressed ; gape wide ;
head with a large crest ; nostrils round, slightly removed from
'the base, destitute of any membrane; wings long, with fourth
quill longest ; tail even, broad, of ten feathers ; tarsus moderate,
with transverse scutse in front, reticulate posteriorly ; claws short,
that of hallux longer, somewhat straight.
Upupa epops, Lin.
254. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 390 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 462 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, VoL
IX, p. 391; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 120;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 64.
T^ EUROPEAN HOOPOE.
Length, 12 to 12'5 ; wing, 5'5 ; tail, 4 ; tarsus, 0*8 ; bill at front,
175 to 2.
Bill black, reddish at base ; irides red-brown ; legs brownish-
black.
Head, with the feathers of the crest, pale cinnamon-rufous,
tipped with black, and with a white space between the black
and rufous on the median and posterior feathers ; hind-neck,
Asides of neck, interscapulars, and shoulders of the wings, pale
fawn, passing into brownish-ashy ; the middle of the back banded
white and black ; the upper tail-eoverts white at the base, ended
142 LANIAN.E.
with black ; wings black ; the coverts black, with two large
white bars ; the primary quills with a white spot or bar near the
tip, on the first on the inner web only, on the others upon both
webs ; the secondaries and tertiaries with three, and finally four,
white bands ; tail with a broad white oblique band, about the
middle ; beneath the chin whitish ; the throat and breast pale
rufous-fawn, ashy on the sides of the breast ; abdomen white,
with black streaks and dashes ; under tail-coverts white.
The European Hoopoe is a common cold weather visitant,
throughout our limits.
Upupa ceylonensis, Reich.
255. Upupa nigripennis, Gould. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 392 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Fathers, Vol. Ill,
p. 462 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 391.
THE INDIAN HOOPOE.
Length, 10'5 ; expanse, 18 ; wing, 5 to 5 '5 ; tail, 4 ; tarsus, 0'87 ;
bill at front, T8.
Bill blackish, paler at base ; irides brown ; legs dusky-plum-
beous.
Very similar to the last, but smaller, and distinguished by
the generally darker hue of the rufous of the head and crest,
and there is no white on the crest, the white wing-bands being
also smaller and less conspicuous ; the hind-neck and inter-
scapulars are deeper rufous, inclining to brown and less to ashy ;
the rump is dusky-black, with a downy- white ending to the fea-
thers ; the chin is rufous, and this color extends along the abdomen
to the vent with only a few dusky streaks on the lower abdomen ;
vent and under tail-coverts white.
With the exception of Sind, the Indian Hoopoe is a not
uncommon permanent resident throughout the district.
They nest from February to May, in holes in trees, banks, or
walls under the rafters of houses, and such like places ; the eggs
are five or six in number, and are of a pale greyish-blue color, some-
times olive-brown or dingy olive-green and intermediate shades ;
in shape, they are lengthened ovals, occasionally pointed at both
'ends. They measure 0'97 inches in length by 0*66 in breadth,
FAMILY, Laniadse.
Bill strong or of moderate length, notched or toothed at the
tip ; gape rather wide with rictal bristles ; tarsus short, strong,
usually with large scutse in front and on the toes.
SUB-FAMILY, Lanianae.
Bill strong, deep, more or less abruptly hooked, and the tip
strongly notched; wings moderate; tail moderate or long;
tarsus rather short, stout ; feet short, strong ; lateral toes nearly
equal; middle-toe short; claws sharp.
LANIAN^S. 143
GENUS, Lanius, Lin. (in part)
Bill short, strongly hooked and toothed, much compressed 5
rictal bristles numerous, rather weak ; wings moderate ; third and
fourth quills about equal and longest ; tail somewhat long,
graduated ; tarsus short ; feet short, but strong.
Lanius lahtora, Sykes.
256. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 400 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 462 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX,
p. 39 1 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 120 ; Swinhoe and
Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 64.
THE INDIAN GREY SHRIKE.
Dudeya Latora and Sufaid Latora, Hin.
Length, 9'5 to 10 ; wing, 4'25 ; tarsus, M2 ; bill at front, 0'62.
Bill black ; irides hazel-brown ; legs brown-black.
Pale blue-grey ; a very narrow frontal streak, continued
through the eyes to the nape ; the wings and middle tail-feathers
black ; a large band on the wings, formed by a broad band
occupying two-thirds of all the primaries, and the outer webs and
tips of the secondaries ; the margins of the scapulars, the two
external tail-feathers on each side, and the tips of the two follow-
ing white ; also all the lower plumage.
The Indian Grey Shrike is generally distributed throughout the
province, but is less common perhaps in the more hilly districts.
It is a permanent resident and breeds from February to July,
but most nests are found in March, April and May. The nest
is large, compact and cup-shaped, and is composed of twigs, coarse
grass, pieces of rag, &c., lined with finer grass roots. It is general-
ly placed in the centre of a dense thorny bush or small tree.
The eggs, generally four in number, occasionally five, are broad
ovals, pointed at one end, of a delicate greenish-white color, spot-
ted and blotched with yellowish, reddish, or purplish brown. The
markings are more numerous at the larger end, sometimes form-
ing a zone or cap* They measure about an inch in length by
079 in breadth.
Lanius erythronotus. Via.
257. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 402 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 463 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX,
p. 392 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 121 ; Swinhoe
and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis 1885, p. 64.
THE RUFOUS-BACKED SHRIKE.
Mattiya Latora, Hin.
Length, 10 ; wing, 3'5 to 375 ; tail, 4'5 to 5 ; tarsus, 112.
Bill black ; irides dark brown ; legs black.
Head above, and nape, and upper part of back, pure ashy ; narrow
frontaPstreak, continued through the eyes to the end 01 the ear-
coverts, black ; scapulars, lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts
144 LANIAN.E.
ferruginous ; wing black ; edge of the wing, and a small spot
near the base of the primaries, white ; tail, with the four
central feathers, black, the outer feathers reddish-cineraceous,
edged and tipped paler or whitish ; beneath white, ferruginous
on the flanks and under tail-coverts.
The Rufous-backed Shrike is common throughout the district,
and is a permanent resident, breeding from May to August, but
occasionally nests are found much earlier; they are generally
built in babool trees, and are compact, deep, cup-shaped
structures, composed of the same materials as the last.
The eggs, from four to six in number, are miniatures of
those of L. lahtora. They measure 0'92 inches in length by
071 in breadth.
Lanius nigriceps, Franklin.
259. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 404.
THE BLACK-HEADED SHRIKE.
Length, 9'2 to 1 "3 ; expanse, 11 to 12; wing, 3 '6 to 375 ;
tail, 475 to 5*25 ; tarsus, 1/16 ; bill from gape, 1 ; bill at front,
0-65.
Bill black ; irides deep brown ; legs brown-black.
Head above, nape, wings and tail, black ; upper part of back
ashy ; lower back, scapulars, rump and upper tail-coverts, rufous ;
beneath the throat, breast and middle of the abdomen white ;
sides of abdomen, vent, and lower tail-coverts, rufous.
Jerdon in his Birds of India states : " I have seen it in Goomsoor
but not further south ; and from this it ranges in land into the nor-
thern part of Central India."
Lanius vittatus, Palenc.
260. Lanius hardivicJdi, Vigors. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol.
I, p. 405; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 463;
Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 392 ; Murray's Vertebrate
Zoology of Sind, p. 121 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India;
Ibis, 1885, p. 65.
THE BAY-BACKED SHRIKE.
Length, 7'25 to 8 ; expanse, 10 ; wing, 8'25 ; tail, 3 '2 5 to 4 ;
tarsus, 07to 0'8 ; bill at front, 0'5.
Bill black ; irides hazel-brown ; legs black.
The whote forehead, with eye-stripe, continued to the nape,
black ; top of the head white ; back of head, nape and the
lower part of the back, whitish-grey, paler and almost white on
the upper tail-coverts ; middle of the back and scapulars deep
chesnutor bay ; wings and tail black, the former with a wing-spot
on the primaries, and the latter with the two outermost tail-
feathers on each side and base, and tips of the others (except the
four central) white ; body beneath, white, tinged with fulvescent
ou the breast, and the sides of the abdomen dark ferruginous.
LANIAN.E.
The female sometimes wants the black forehead and stripe
over the eyes.
The Bay-backed Shrike is generally spread throughout the
district, frequenting low thorny jungle, groves of young babool
trees, gardens, hedges, &c.
It is a permanent resident, breeding from April to September,
but June and July are the months in which most nests are to be-
found ; they . are generally built in forks of small trees, and are
firm, compact, deep, well-woven cups, composed of fine twigs,
grass roots, wool, rags, &c.
The eggs, four in number, are miniatures of the preceding,
but the markings are perhaps paler.
They measure 0*82 inches in length by 36 in breadth.
Lanius collurio, Lin.
260&W. Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 463.
THE EUROPEAN EED-BACKED SHRIKE.
Length, 7'5 ; wing, 3'5 ; tail, 3'5 ; tarsus, 0'96 ; bill at front,
0'56 ; bill from gape, 0'81.
Bill black, paler at base of lower mandible ; irides dark brown ;
legs black.
A conspicuous black streak from the nostrils, widening so as to
include the whole of the lores, eyes and ear-coverts ; the fore-
head and the whole top and back of the head, between the
black stripes, pale grey, darkening on the occiput and nape ;
scapulars and interscapulary region brownish-chesnut ; lower
back duller and more rusty ; rump and upper tail-coverts light
grey, the feathers just perceptibly darker shafted ; wings hair-
brown ; primaries and their coverts very narrowly, and secondaries
and tertiaries very broadly margined with dull pale and
bright rusty-chesnut respectively ; the tail black, all but the
central tail-feathers white at their bases, and the external
feathers on each side 0'4 shorter than the others, narrowly
tipped white and with nearly the whole of their outer webs
white; the entire under parts white, but the breast, abdomen,
sides, and flanks with a rich vinaceous tinge.
There is a small white spot at the base of the fourth long
primary on the outer web, only visible, however, when the larger-
coverts are somewhat deranged.
The European Red-backed Shrike was discovered by Major
Butler in the neighbourhood of Deesa, during the latter part of
the rains in September, 1874.
This is the only instance on record of the occurrence of the bird
within the Indian Empire.
Lanius cristatus, Lin.
261. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 406 ; Butler, Guzerat;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 464 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
10
146 MALACONOTIN2E.
IX, p. 392 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 122 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 66.
THE BROWN SHRIKE.
Length, 7'6 to 81 ; expanse, 9*5 to 11 ; wing, 3'25 to 3*5 ; tail,
3'4 to 3'9 ; bill from gape, 0'84 to 0'86 ; bill from front, 0'5 to
0-58.
Bill blackish-horny, beneath fleshy ; irides brown ; legs leaden-
blue.
Above rufous-brown with the head, tail and upper tail-coverts,
more rufous ; streak over the eye, sometimes faintly and nar-
rowly extending over the forehead, white ; throat white ; the
rest of the lower parts whitish, with a fulvous tinge ; lores and
ear-coverts forming a broad band through the eye, dull brown-
black. Female and young much edged with brown bands, and
the eye-spot paler and brown.
The Brown Shrike occurs more or less commonly as a cold
weather visitant throughout the district.
Lanius isabellinus, Hemp. Sf Ehr.
262. Lanius arenarius, Ely. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 407 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 464 ;
Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 122.
THE PALE BROWN SHRIKE.
Length, 775 ; wing, 375 ; tail, 3'5.
The race differs from cristatus by its much paler hue, being
light ashy-brown, barely tinged with rufous on the rump only ;
lores and superciliary streak pale ; ear-coverts dark above, pale
beneath ; wings pale brown ; the primaries narrowly edged, and
the coverts and secondaries broadly with rufescent ; the central
tail-feathers brown ; the rest pale rufous-brown ; beneath white,
smeared all over, but especially on tlie breast and flanks, with fawn
or fulvescent ; under tail-coverts white.
The Pale Brown Shrike is a common winter visitant to Sind and
Guzerat. It does not occur in the Deccan, nor has it as yet been
recorded from Central India.
SUB-FAMILY, Malaconotinsa.
Bill more lengthened and less compressed than in the true
Shrikes ; wings longer, and tail shorter ; tarsus short ; feet small.
GENUS, Tephrodornis, Swainson.
Bill lengthened, widish at the base, compressed, strong,
moderately hooked at the tip, and notched ; base of bill and
nostrils partially covered with procumbent setaceous feathers ;
a few moderately long rictal bristles ; wings moderate or long,
slightly rounded ; tail rather short, even, or slightly emarginate ;
tarsus and toes short ; lateral toes unequal ; outer-toe the longest,
slightly syndactyle.
MALACONOTIN.E. 147
Tephrodornis sylvicola, Jerdon.
264.- Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 409 ; Butler, Deccan
and South Mahratta country ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 392.
THE MALABAR WOOD SHRIKE.
Length, 8*5 ; expanse, 14 ; wing, 4*5 ; tail, 3*25 ; tarsus, 0'9 ; bill
at front, 07.
Bill blackish ; irides wax-yellow ; legs plumbeous.
Above slaty-cinereous ; rump white ; wings, tail, and some of the
upper-coverts, dusky-brown ; a broad eye streak from the nostrils,
through the eye, to beyond the ear-coverts, black ; beneath white,
reddish-cinereous on the neck, breast, and flanks.
The Malabar Wood Shrike is not common, and has only been
recorded from the jungles west of Belgaum.
Tephrodornis pondicerianus, Gm.
265. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p, 410 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 464 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX,
p. 392 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 123 ; Swinhoe
and Barnes, Central India; Ibis, 1885, p. 65.
THE COMMON WOOD SHRIKE.
Length, 6'5 to 7 ; expanse, 10 ; wing, 3'5 ; tail, 275 ; tarsus,
075 ; bill at front, 0'62.
Bill dusky-horny ; irides greenish-yellow ; legs plumbeous-brown.
Above ashy-brownish ; the feathers of the rump edged with
white, and the upper tail-coverts deep brown ; beneath, chin and
throat white, the rest whitish, with a tinge of reddish grey ; under
tail-coverts white ; superciliary streak reddish-white ; wings and
tail dusky-brown, and with the two outer feathers on each side
white at the base and also at the tip ; a dark brown band from the
nostrils through the eye to the ear-coverts.
The Common Wood Shrike is found in all the principal portions
of our limits, but is much more numerous in some places than in
others. It is a permanent resident, breeding generally in March
and April. The nest, composed of fine roots and grass, and lined
with wool and vegetable fibres, is a neat, well made, compact,
shallow cup, coated on the exterior with cobwebs, and is built in
the fork of a tree. The eggs, three in number, are broadish oval
in shape, delicate greenish-white in color, spotted and blotched
with different shades of yellowish and reddish-brown. They
measure 075 in length by 0'61 in breadth.
GENUS, Hemipus, Hodgson.
Much as in Tephrodornis, but the bill more flat, depressed
and wider at the base ; rictal bristles small ; nostrils concealed ;
wing moderate, third quill almost equal to fourth ; tail narrow,
graduated ; logs and feet small
148 CAMPErHAGIN.E.
Hemipus picatus, Sykes.
267. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 412 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 393.
THE LITTLE PIED SHKIKE.
Length, 5*5 ; expanse, 7'6 ; wing, 2'3 to 2'5 ; tail, 23 to 2'5 ;
tarsus, 0'5 ; bill at front, 04 ; bill from gape, 0'7.
Bill black ; irides hazel ; legs plumbeous-brown.
Male, above black glossed, less so on the back and scapulars,
with a white nuchal collar and white rump ; band on the wings
white ; tail with the lateral feathers tipped with white, more
broadly so on the outermost feathers ; beneath white, tinged with
reddish-ashy, purer white on the throat, vent, and under tail-
coverts.
The female differs in having the upper parts dull sooty brown-
black.
Within our limits the Little Pied Shrike only occurs in various
parts of the Deccan and South Mahratta country. I cannot do
better than reproduce, in extenso, what Major Butler has written
concerning its distribution. He says :
" Locally not uncommon along the Sahyadri Kange. Mr.
Fairbank obtained it at Nagar ; Mr. Laird in the jungles south-
west of Belgaum ; Mr. Crawford at Savantwadi ; and Mr. Vidal
mentions it from the south of Ratnagiri ; outside of the forests
tracts it probably does not occur/'
SUB-FAMILY, Campephaginae.
Bill of moderate length, or rather short, rather deep vertically,
broadish at base ; culmen arched or curved ; rictal bristles few,
feeble ; nostrils basal, in a fossa, partially covered by short plu-
mules ; wings of moderate length ; third and fourth or fourth and
fifth quills sub-equal and longest ; tail rather long, rounded, or
graduated ; feathers of the back and rump often rigid ; tarsus
short ; feet weak or moderate.
GENUS, Volvocivora, Hodgson.
Bill rather short, broadish at base, compressed at tip, where
bent down and notched ; culmen scarcely keeled ; rictal bristles
almost wanting ; nostrils basal, oval, partly concealed by tufts ;
wings rather long ; third and fourth quills equal and longest ; tail
moderate or long, rounded ; upper tail-coverts long ; tarsus short ;
feet short ; outer-toe slightly longer than the inner ; claws small,
slightly curved.
Volvocivora sykesi, Strich.
268. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 414 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 464 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, , p. 393 ; Lalage sykesi, Strick. ; Swiuhoc and Barnes,
Central India ; Ibis, 1885., p. 65.
THE BLACK-HEADED CUCKOO-SHRIKE.
Length, 7'5 ; wing, 4 ; tail, 3 ; tarsus, 0'8 ; bill at front, 0'5.
Bill black ; irides dark red-brown ; feet black.
Head, neck, and breast deep black ; whole upper plumage pale
grey ; tail black, the outer feathers broadly tipped with white ;
lower breast and abdomen pale grey, passing gradually to white
on the lower abdomen and lower tail-^coverts.
The young bird has the head grey like the back ; the throat
and entire under parts whitish, with dusky cross rays ; and the
rump more or less distinctly rayed.
The Black-headed Cuckoo-Shrike is a not uncommon visitant
to most parts of the district, but it has not as yet been recorded
from Sind.
Volvocivora melaschista, Hodgson.
269. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 415 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 393.
"CgE DARK-GREY CUCKOO-SHRIKE.
Length, 9'5 to 10 ; expanse, 15; wing, 46 ; tail, 5*25 ; tarsus,
0-88 ; bill at front, 0'62.
Bill black ; irides hazel-brown ; legs black.
Plumage iron-grey, darker and almost black on the quills and
tail, the latter tipped white on all but the central feathers, paler
grey beneath.
Young birds are dusky-grey above, paler beneath, with dark
bands ; albescent on the under tail-coverts.
The Dark-grey Cuckoo-Shrike has been obtained at Savant-
vadi, but there is no other record of its occurrence within our
limits.
GENUS, Hypocolius, Bp.
Bill hooked at tip, and notched ; third quill longest ; feet scute! *
lated ; tail long, subcuneate.
Hypocolius ampelinus, Bp.
%69quak Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 123.
Length, 10'25 ; wing, 4'2 ; tail, 475 ; tarsus, 1 ; bill from gape
09.
Bill horny, dusky at tip ; legs flesh-colored.
Upper parts generally ashy-grey, with a slight rufous tinge on
the head, which is more marked on the frontal portion where the
feathers are rather lighter and more isabelline in tint ; feathers
above the nostrils, lower part of the lores, all round the eyes, and
a band round the nape, black, so that there is a black ring all
round the head, except in the centre of the forehead ; ear-coverts
dark silver-grey, looking black in some lights in the preserved
skin ; primary quills black, with rather long white tips, the tip
on the first long primary being wholly, and on the second partially
dusky ; outer secondaries black with grey edges, the black dimi-
150 CAMPEPHAGINJ3.
nishing in amount, until it disappears completely on the feathers
near the body ; tail-feathers all the same color as the back, with
black tips about three-quarters of an inch long ; chin and throat
isabelline ; breast grey, like the back ; abdomen and lower tail-
coverts pinkish-isabelline ; under wing-coverts light grey.
A. single specimen was obtained in Sind, by Mr. Blanford, on
the lower hills of the Kirthur Range, which forms the boundary
between Sind and Khelat.
It has not been procured elsewhere within our range.
GENUS, Graucalus, Cuvier.
Bill strong, deep, of moderate length, wide at the base ;
culmen tolerably curved and hooked, slightly toothed ; a few
weak rictal bristles ; wings rather long, pointed ; tail moderate,
slightly rounded, or nearly even, with the two outer feathers
shorter ; tarsus and toes moderate ; claws well curved, of rather
large size.
Graucalus macii, Less.
270. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 417 ; Butler, Guzerat;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 464 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 393 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 126 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 65.
THE LARGE CUCKOO-SHRIKE.
Length, 12 ; wing, 6 '5 ; tail, 5 ; tarsus, 1 ; bill at front, 0'87.
Bill blackish ; hides rich-lake ; legs plumbeous.
Whole upper plumage light plumbeous-grey, paling on the
rump and upper tail-coverts ; tail with the two central feathers
grey, the rest dusky-black, the two outer ones on each side tipped
white, and the outermost also edged with white ; beneath, neck
and breast, light grey, slightly tinged with reddish-ash on the
breast ; abdomen greyish-white, with numerous narrow cross
stripes, white on the lower abdomen and under tail-coverts.
Mr. Hume remarks that " Dr. Jerdon does not point out the
difference that exists between the adults of the two sexes in all
the races of this species. In the young of both sexes, the whole of
the lower parts, except the vent and lower tail-coverts, are more
or less regularly transversely barred : as the bird grows older, the
bars disappear in both sexes from the chin, throat and breast,
the whole of which parts become pale grey ; more or less barring
remains for a time on the abdomen in both sexes, and indeed
always remains in the female even in the most perfect plumage.
In the male, as time goes on, the chin, throat and breast become
a darker grey, and the markings disappear entirely from the
abdomen, the upper portions of which become tinged with
grey.
Moreover, the black eye-streak becomes much more strongly
marked in the male than it ever is in the female, and the points
of the forehead, which always remain grey in the female, become
CAMPEPHAGIN.E. 151
quite black, presenting the appearance of a narrow black fron-
tal band.
The Large Cuckoo-Shrike is more or less common throughout
the district, and is said to be a resident at Ratnagiri and other
localities. It is, however, somewhat uncommon in Sind.
GENUS, Pericrocotus, Bole.
Bill shorter than the head, moderately broad at the base
rather high ; culmen slightly curved ; nostrils partially concealed
by the frontal plumes ; rictal bristles few and feeble ; wings
moderate, fourth and fifth quills sub-equal and longest ; tail long,
with three outer feathers on each side graduated, and the four
middle ones nearly equal ; tarsi and feet short, rather feeble ;
claws well curved.
Pericrocotus speciosus, Lath.
271. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 419.
THE LAEGE MINIVET.
Length, 9 ; expanse, 12'5 ; wing, 4'25 ; tail, 4'25 ; tarsus, - 9 ;
bill at front, 0'5.
Bill black ; irides deep-brown ; legs black.
Male. Head, whole neck, upper back, wings and two central
tail-feathers, shiny blue-black!; lower back broad band on the
wing, formed by a large spot on all of the quills and some of the
lower-coverts also, some spots on the secondaries, the lateral
tail-feathers and beneath from the breast, rich vermilion-red.
Female. Head, neck, upper back, and central tail-feathers,
light ashy-grey, with a tinge of green ; forehead, rump and upper
tail-coverts greenish yellow ; the quills dusky-black, with a deep
yellow spot ; tail with the four central feathers dusky, the outer
pair tipped yellow ; the whole of the others deep yellow, with
some blackish at the base crossing each feather obliquely ; the
whole of the lower parts deep king's-yellow.
The two central tail-feathers have sometimes the outer web
red for a great part of their length, and the yellow on the fore-
head of the young male has an orange tinge ; otherwise it resem-
bles the adult female.
Jerdon states in his Birds of India that "this splendidly
colored bird extends from the Himalayas to Central India and
Goomsoor, where I obtained it, but it does not appear to go fur-
ther south,"
Pericrocotus flammeus, Forst.
272. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 420 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 393.
THE OEANGE MINIVET.
Length, 8'25 ; wing, 8'8 ; tail, 4 ; tarsus, 0'62 ; bill at front, 05.
Bill black ; irides dark-brown ; legs brown-black,
1
152 CAMPEPHAGIN.E.
Male, with the whole head and neck, upper back, scapulars
and wings, glossy blue-black ; wings with a broad orange-red
band, formed by all the quills having the central portion red,
and the edges of the lesser wing-coverts also ; tail with the two
central feathers black, the next pair black, tipped red, and all the
others blackish at the base, and orange-red for nearly half their
terminal length.
The female has the head, neck, back and wing-coverts ashy ;
the forehead narrowly tinged with yellow ; the lower back, rump
and upper tail-coverts, greenish-yellow ; the quills and tail dusky-
black, the former with a yellow wing spot, and the latter with
the lateral tail-feathers yellow.
The Orange Minivet is a permanent resident and is not
uncommon all along the Sahyadri Range from Goa to Khandalla.
It has not been recorded from any other portion of our pro-
vince.
Pericrocotus brevirostris, Vig.
273. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 421 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 465 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology
of Sind, p. 126.
THE SHORT-BILLED MINIVET.
Length, 7*5 to 8 ; expanse, 11 ; wing, 3'5 ; tail, nearly 4 ; tar-
sus, 0-6 ; bill at front, 0'37.
Bill black ; irides dark-brown ; legs brown-black.
Male. Head, neck, nape, upper back, wings, and middle tail-
feathers, shining blue-black ; body beneath, lower back, rump,
upper tail-coverts, wing spot, and tips of some of the coverts,
and the lateral tail-feathers, fine deep crimson ; the latter black
at their bases.
The female has the head and back grey ; the forehead tinged
with yellow ; beneath, spots on the wings, rump, and lateral
tail-feathers, yellow ; wings and tail dusky ; the pair next the
middle feathers slightly edged with yellow.
The Short-billed Minivet is rare ; it has been obtained on Mount
Aboo and on the Vindhian Hills near Mhow. It also occurs
during the summer months in Sind.
Pericrocotus peregrinus, Lin.
276. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 423 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 465 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 394 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 125 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 65.
THE SMALL MINIVET.
Length, 6'4 ; wing, 27 ; expanse, 8'5 ; tail, 3 ; tarsus, 0'9 ; bill
at front, 0'3.
Bill black ; irides brown ; legs black.
Male. Head, nape, and back, ashy ; lores, chin, throat, and
ears, blackish ; wings and tail dusky-black, the former with an
DICRURIN/E. 153
orange stripe formed by a central band on all the primaries
(except the first three), and the secondaries orange on the outer,
yellow on the inner web ; tail, with the four outer feathers on
each side, widely tipped with orange ; breast, upper part of abdo-
men, flanks, and rump, rich scarlet or aurora-red, fading to
yellow on the lower abdomen and under tail-coverts, and whitish
on the vent.
The female differs in having the eyestreak, sides of forehead,
chin, throat, and lower parts whitish, tinged with yellow on the
breast, abdomen, flanks, and under tail-coverts ; the wings and
tail are dingier black, and the wing-spot is yellow ; the under
tail-coverts of the wing are yellow in both sexes ; tail as in the
male, but the colors are not quite so bright.
The Small Minivet is a common permanent resident throughout
the region.
It breeds during the months of June, July and August.
The nest is placed high up, in a fork in a tree, generally a mango ;
it is a well made, compact, deepish cup-shaped nest, composed
of fine twigs, grass roots, lichens, dead leaves and pieces of bark,
which assimilate in color with the bark of the tree, and make it
an exceedingly hard nest to find. The eggs are of a rather broad
oval shape, pale greenish- white in color, more or less spotted
and blotched with brownish-red. They measure 0'67 inches in
length by 0'53 in breadth.
Pericrocotus erythropygius, Jerd.
277. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 424 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 465 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 394 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885,
p. 66.
THE WHITE-BELLIED MINIVET.
Length, 6'5 ; wing, 27 ; tail, 3*5 ; tarsus, 0'5 ; bill at front, 0'3.
Bill black ; irides brownish-yellow ; legs black.
Male. Plumage above (except rump), cheeks, and chin, of a
glossy blue-black ; beneath longitudinal stripe on wings, outer
edges and tips of the lateral tail-feathers, white ; breast and rump
of a fine orange or aurora-red, darkest on the rump.
The female has the parts that are black in the male smoky ^
ash color (except the tail, which is deep black) ; the forehead
whitish; rump and beneath white, tinged with ashy on the
breast.
With the exception of Sind, the White-bellied Minivet is
spread throughout the region, but is everywhere rare.
SUB-FAMILY, Dicrurinse.
Bill rather large, wide at the base, thick, more or less curved
and keeled at the culmen, and notched at the tip; numerous
moderately strong rictal bristles ; nostrils basal, rounded, concealed
by short plumes ; wings lengthened ; fourth and fifth quills usually
<\
154 DICRURIN^E.
the longest ; legs short ; feet small ; tail usually long, forked ; the
outer feathers occasionally much lengthened ; of ten feathers
only.
GENUS, Buchanga, Eodgson.
Bill moderate or rather long, stout, depressed at the base,
moderately hooked, and the culmen more or less keeled, and
distinctly notched at the tip ; nostrils small, partially covered by
short feathers and bristles ; rictal bristles strong ; ^ wings
lengthened ; first quill short, second shorter than sixth ; tail long,
deeply forked ; tarsus moderate, strongly scaled in front ; outer-toe
slightly the longest ; claws sharp.
Buchanga atra, Herm.
278.Dicrurus macrocercus, Vieill. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 427 ; B. albmctus, Hodgs. ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray
Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 465 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX,
p. 394 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 126 ; S win-
hoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 66.
THE COMMON DKONGO-SHKIKE.
THE KING CROW.
Kolsa, Hin.
Length, 11*5 to 1375 ; expanse, 17 to 1875 ; wing, 5'50 to
575 ; tail, 6 to 7'25 ; tarsus, 0'9 ; bill from gape, 1 to 1-25 ; bill
at front, 075.
Bill black ; irides maroon-red ; legs black.
Glossy black, with a small white spot at the gape (not always
present), somewhat duller black on the quills and tail, which are
brownish-black beneath.
Young with whitish lunules on the abdominal plumage.
The King Crow is a common permanent resident throughout
the region, breeding during May, June and July, a few breed-
ing earlier or later according to locality.
The nest is usually built in a fork of a tree, at some height
from the ground, and is composed of grass roots and stems neatly
woven together, and is of a shallow saucer-shape. The regular
number of eggs is four, but occasionally five are found ; they are
of two very distinct types. The first is a pure white, without
markings ; the other a pale salmon color, marked with rich
red-brown.
Between these types every variety occurs, but all the eggs out
of the same nest strongly resemble each other.
They measure T01 inches in length by 075 in breadth.
Buchanga longicauda, Hay.
28Q.Dicrurus longicaudatus, Hay. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol.
I, p. 395 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 394 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p, 66,
155
THE LONG-TAILED DRONGO-SHRIKE.
Length, 10'8 to 11 '8 ; expanse, 16 ; wing, 5 2 to 55 ; tail, 6 to
7 ; tarsus, 0'8 ; bill from gape, 1'15.
Bill black ; irides brownish-red ; legs black.
Above glossy bluish-black ; beneath dusky blackish, with a tinge
of blue ; wings and tail brownish-black, also with a blue gloss.
The young bird has some white mixed with the black of the
abdomen and under tail-coverts.
The Long-tailed Drongo is common on the Western Ghats and
in the adjoining forests, also on the Sahyadri Range as far north
as Khandalla. Major Butler notes that it is common in Belgaum
in the cold weather, but it is a permanent resident in the other
places mentioned. Colonel Swinhoe procured it near Mhow, and
I have occasionally met with it at and near Neemuch. It does
not occur in Sind ; neither did Major Butler or myself obtain it
in Guzerat.
Buchanga coerulescens, Lin.
281. Dicrurus coerulescens, Lin. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 432 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 465 ;
Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 394 ; Swinhoe and Barnes,
Central India ; Ibis, p. 66.
THE WHITE-BELLIED DRONGO.
Length, 9*5 ; wing, 475 ; tail, 5 ; tarsus, 0'8 ; bill at front,
07.
Bill black ; irides lake ; legs black.
Upper plumage, wings, and tail, black, with a blue gloss ;
chin, throat, and breast, iron-grey ; abdomen and lower tail-
coverts white.
With the exception of Sind, the White -bellied Drongo occurs
sparingly throughout the region.
GENUS, Chaptia, Hodgson.
Bill much more depressed and feeble, muscipeta-like, wide;
the culmen very gently arching, and feebly hooked and toothed ;
first quill very short, fourth longest, third and sixth equal;
tail moderately forked ; legs and feet very feeble.
Chaptia senea, Vieill.
282. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 433 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 394.
THE BRONZED DRONGO.
Length, 9 to 9'5 ; wing, 475 ; tail, 4'5 ; tarsus, 0'6 ; bill at
front, 075.
Bill black ; irides deep-brown ; legs black.
Plumage throughout richly glossy, bronzed blue-black ; quills
156 DICRURINjE.
and tail black, with a faint gloss ; abdomen, vent, and under tail-
coverts, dull grey-black.
The Bronzed Drongo is not uncommon on the Sahyadri Range*
as far north as Khandalla. It does not occur elsewhere within
our limits.
GENUS, Dissemurus, Olog.
Bill lengthened, strong, moderately depressed at the base, com-
pressed towards the tip ; the culmen well curved and hooked,
and distinctly notched, and the ridge well developed; rictal
bristles long, rather weak ; a few short frontal plumes cresting
the nostrils, but they mostly rise up and fall back over the fore-
head, forming a fine crest ; tail forked ; the outermost pair have
the inner webs gradually thinning off, and the shaft is bare for
some distance, terminating in a web, long and broadish on the
outer side, with a narrow and short web on the inner side.
Dissemurus grandis, Gould.
284. Edolius paradiseus, Lin. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 435.
THE LARGE RACKET-TAILED DRONGO.
Length, to end of ordinary tail, 14 ; wing, 675 ; tail to
middle, 6 - 5 ; outer tail-feathers, 12 or 13 inches more ; the
shaft having the terminal end, for about 3' 5 inches barbed
externally, but towards the tip only on the inner side, and turning
inwards, so that the underside becomes uppermost ; bill at
front, 1*4 to 1*5 ; tarsus, 1.
Plumage uniformly black, with a steel-blue gloss ; feathers
of the crown slightly hackled, those of the nape strongly so, on
breast slightly ; plumage generally loose and puffy ; frontal
crest falling backwards over the nape, varying from 1 5 to 2*25
inches in length.
According to Jerdon, the Large Racket-tailed Drongo occurs
in Central India.
Dissemurus paradiseus, Lin.
285. Edolius malabaricus, Scop. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol.
I, p. 437 ; Butler, Deccan, Vol. IX, p. 395.
THE MALABAR RACKET-TAILED DRONGO.
Bhimraj, Hin.
Length, 13 ; wing, 575 to 6*25 ; tail, 6 f 5 ; outer tail-feathers,
12 inches more ; bill at front, 075.
Plumage uniformly black, with a steel-blue gloss ; feathers
of crown slightly hackled, those of the nape strongly so, on
breast slightly ; plumage generally loose and puffy ; frontal crest
falling backwards over the nape, varying from 075 inches to 1*25
in length.
The Bhimraj is a permanent resident all along the Sahyadri
ARTAM1N.E. 157
Range, as far north as Khandalla, extending to the forests below.
It is very partial to bamboo jungles.
It does not occur elsewhere within our limits.
GENUS, Chibia, Hodgson.
Bill lengthened, compressed, curved both on the culmen and
commissure, more slender than in others of the family, slightly
hooked at the tip, and obsoletely notched ; rictal bristles short
and feeble ; nostrils denuded ; a crest of hair arising from the
forehead and falling back over neck ; tail forked ; outer tail-
feathers slightly lengthened, turned up into a sort of scoop ;
plumage of the head and neck highly lanceolate, especially on
the sides of neck.
Chibia hottentota, Lin.
286. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 439 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 395.
THE HAIR-CRESTED DRONGO.
Length, 11 '9 ; wing, 6*5 ; tail, 5 ; tarsus, 1 ; bill at front, 1'4.
Bill black ; irides red-brown ; legs black.
Deep black, with purple and blue reflections on the hind-neck
and breast ; wings deep glossy bronze-green ; tail the same ;
abdomen deep black.
The Hair- crested Drongo is very rare ; it was obtained in
Savantvadi by Mr. Vidal, but this is the only record of its
occurrence within our limits.
SUB-FAMILY, Artaminae.
Bill short or moderate, wide at the base, deep, slightly curved ;
culmen rounded ; commissure gently curved, barely hooked at
the tip, and entire ; nostrils basal, impended by a minute tuft
at their base only ; a few inconspicuous rictal bristles ; tarsus
and toes short, strong ; claws well curved, acute ; wings long ;
first quill minute, second longest ; tail short or moderate, even or
slightly emarginate ; lateral toes nearly equal.
GENUS, Artamus, Vieill.
The characters are the same as those of the sub-family.
Artamus fuscus, Vieill.
287. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 441 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 395.
THE ASHY SWALLOW-SHRIKE.
Length, 7 ; expanse, 15 ; wing, 5*25 ; tail, 2'2 ; tarsus, 0'6 ;
bill at front, 06.
158 MYI AGEING.
Bill pale-bluish, dusky at tip ; irides dark brown ; legs
slaty.
Lores black ; general hue cinereous, or ashy-grey, purest on
the head, and with a tinge of rufous on the back and scapulars ;
breast, abdomen, under wing-coverts, and under tail-coverts, ashy-
white, with a tinge of rufous on the belly ; quills and tail black-
ish ashy-grey, the latter tipped narrowly with pale ashy ; upper
tail-coverts white beneath, showing a white border next the dark
tail.
This is another bird that within our limits has only been
obtained by Mr. Vidal. He remarks : " Has been found in the
cocoanut gardens round Yingorla."
FAMILY, Muscicapidae.
Bill rather wide, depressed, shallow ; the culmen straight,
distinctly hooked and notched at the tip ; rictal bristles (typically)
numerous and strong ; wings moderate ; tail generally rather
short or moderate ; tarsus short, weak ; feet moderately small,
feeble.
SUB-FAMILY, Myiagrinae, Bonap.
Bill broad at base, much depressed, straight, considerably
hooked at the tip, and notched ; rictal bristles numerous and long ;
wings rather lengthened ; tail moderate or somewhat long, in
one genus with the central tail-feathers greatly elongated in
the male sex ; feet and legs short and feeble.
GENUS, Muscipeta, Cuv.
Bill lengthened, wide, depressed at base, tolerably stout
and deep, narrowing suddenly at the tip, which is moder-
ately hooked and notched ; the ridge of the culmen raised ;
nostrils somewhat in front, protected by a few stout nareal bristles,
and plumed at their base ; gape wide ; rictal bristles numerous,
long, and stout ; wings rather long, somewhat pointed ; the first
four quills unequally graduated, fourth and fifth sub-equal and
longest ; tail rather long, cuneate, with the two central feathers
greatly elongated in the male ; feet and legs short and feeble ;
head crested.
Muscipeta paradisi, Lin.
5288. Tchitrea paradisi, Lin. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p.
445 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 466 ; Deccan,
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 395 ; Tersiphoni paradisi, Lin. ;
Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 127 ; Swinhoe and
Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1835, p. 66.
THE PARADISE FLY-CATCHER.
Dood-raj and Shah Bulbul, Hin. The white
Sultana Bulbul, Hin. The red bird.
159
Dimensions.
Sex.
Plumage.
Length.
Expanse.
Wing.
Tail from
vent.
Tarsus.
Bill from
gape.
Bill at
front.
?
Chesnut
8-2
10-2
341
3-7
062
1
058
>i
8-6
106
3-66
6-4
0-62
098
05
u
8-56
10-58
3-66
6-1
0-6
1-04
0-C6
n
8-58
10-25
3-44
4-98
0-66
104
064
g
i
18-12
10-8
3-8
13-5
0-62
1-18
068
1
17-78
11 1
3-81
135
062
1-08
0-62
19-1
10-5
355
14-6
0-62
1-06
0'64
V
White
2175
1125
375
17
066
1-2
0-7
fj
)t
10-42
10-7
36
5-8
0-6
11
0-64
M
1375
10-8
368
9-1
062
1-06
066
195
112
3-81
1525
066
1-16
0-66
H
H
19
1025
37
14-6
0'64
1
0-64
Bill cobalt-blue ; irides deep brown ; eyelids cobalt-blue ; legs
pale lavender-blue.
Adult male. Whole head with the full crest, neck and throat,
glossy green-black, the rest of the plumage white, the feathers
more or less black shafted ; primaries and secondaries black, with
the outer webs white, and also the edge of inner webs of the
innermost quills ; head with a full crest of elongated feathers ;
two central tail-feathers greatly elongated.
The adult female is similar to the male ; its middle tail-feathers
are only slightly elongated.
The^ younger male has the head, neck, and throat, glossy black,
the abdomen white, and the rest of the plumage light chesnut.
The young female has the same, without the long tail.
In a still younger state, the throat, breast, upper part of abdo-
men, and the flanks are ashy.
The Paradise Fly-catcher is probably a permanent resident
throughout the district, but is very locally distributed. It is some-
what rare in Sind. I found it breeding near Neemuch in Central
India.
GENUS, Myiagra (Hypoihymis) Vigors.
Bill of moderate length, broad, triangular, suddenly narrowed,
straight; tip well hooked and distinctly notched ; rictal bristles
long, slender, numerous ; nostrils small, basal, plumed at the base
and overhung by a few fine hairs ; wings moderate, broad, fourth
and fifth quills about equal and longest ; tail rather long, even or
slightly rounded ; tarsus rather short ; feet very small ; outer-toe
much longer than inner one, much syndactyle.
Hypothymis azurea, Bodd.
290. Myiagra azurea, Bodd. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I.
p. 450; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 395.
THE BLACK-NAPED BLUE FLY-CATCHER.
Length, 6 to 6'5 ; expanse, 8'5 ; wing, 275 to 2'85 ; tail, 275
160 AIYIAGRINNE.
to 3 ; tarsus, 0'6 to 075; bill from gape, 071 to 0'8; bill at
front, 0-4.
Bill dark cobalt-blue, edges and tip black, edges of eyelids blue ;
eyelids plumbeous ; irides deep brown ; legs ranging from cobalt-
blue to plumbeous.
Above pale lazuline-blue, with the head and neck paler but
brighter blue ; a large occipital spot of short erectile feathers, and
a slender jugular one, silky-black ; throat, neck, and breast, pale
blue ; abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts, bluish-white.
The female is bluish-ashy above ; the head and neck pale blue,
and the abdomen white ; and it has neither the occipital crestlet
nor jugular black streak.
The Black-napped Blue Fly-catcher within our limits is confined
to the Ghats region. It has been recorded from Belgaum, Nagar,
and Ratnagiri. It oceurs sparingly all along the Sahyadri Range
as far north as Khandalla.
GENUS, Leucocerca, Swains.
Bill rather long, depressed, wide throughout, except at tip,
which is slightly hooked and notched ; nostrils apert, but over-
hung by some long nareal bristles ; rictal bristles very long,
slender ; wings with the first four quills unequally graduated ;
fourth and fifth quills sub-equal and longest ; tail lengthened,
wide, rounded or graduated ; tarsus moderate, strong ; feet
moderate ; lateral toes unequal,
Leucocerca albicollis, Vieill.
291. Leucocerca fuscoventris, Frankl. Jerdon's Birds of India*
Vol. I, p. 451 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX,
p. 395.
THE WHITE THROATED FANTAIL.
Length, 7*5 ; expanse, 9'25 ; wing, 313 ; tail, 4'5 ; tarsus, 075 ;
bill at front, 0'3.
Bill black ; irides dark-brown ; legs black.
Sooty brown-black throughout, tinged with ashy in the
abdomen and back, and dusky-brownish on the wings and outer
tail-feathers, the three outermost of which are tipped with
dirty- white ; a very short supercilium ; chin and throat white.
The occurrence of the White-throated Fantail within our limits
is doubtful.
Franklin is said to have procured it in Central India. Adams,
who evidently mistook it for L. aureola, says it is common
at Poona. Colonel Sykes includes it in the Birds of the
Decuan.
Leucocerca aureola, Vieill.
292. Leucocerca albofrontata, Frankl. Jerdon's Birds of India,
_ Vol. I, p. 452 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill,
cM
MYIAGRIN^E. 161
p. 466 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 396 ; Rhipidura
albofrontata, Frankl. ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p.
129 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 66.
THE WHITE-BROWED FANTAIL.
Length, 7'5 ; expanse, 10 ; wing, 33 ; tail, 375 ; tarsus, 07 ; bill
at front, 0'3. ,
Bill black ; irides deep-brown ; legs black.
Above the head and neck deep-black ; a. broad frontal band,
extending over the eyes to the nape, pure white ; back ashy-black ;
wings and tail dusky-black, the wing-coverts with some white
spots ; the tips of all the tail-feathers, except the central ones,
broadly white ; beneath, the chin and throat black, more or less
spotted and lined with white ; the breast and abdomen white.
The White-browed Fantail Fly-catcher is common throughout
the region, excepting, perhaps, the hilly and more wooded tracts,
where it is replaced by the next species. It is a permanent
resident and breeds from February to August, but March and
July are the months in which most nests are to be found. They
have at least two broods in the year, and if undisturbed use
the same nest for the second brood. The nest is generally
placed on the upper surface of a horizontal bough, and is difficult
to find, as it appears to be a mere excrescence on the branch,
with which it assimilates in color. In shape it is a rather deep
cup, about If inches in diameter, and rather more than an inch
in depth ; it is rarely more than one-quarter of an inch thick.
It is generally composed of fine grass or vegetable fibres, coated
on the outside with cobwebs.
After their eggs are laid, these little birds become very fussy
and courageous, darting out and attacking any bird that
approaches the nest, no matter how large. The eggs, three in
number, are broad ovals in shape, and vary from white to dingy
creamy-white or pale yellowish-brown in color, with a belt of
greyish-brown and faint inky-purple specks and spots round the
larger end. They average 0'66 in length by about 0*5 in breadth.
Leucocerca leucogaster, Cav.
293. Leucocerca pectoralis, Jerd. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol.
I, p. 453 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 293 ;
Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 396.
THE WHITE-SPOTTED FANTAIL.
Length, 7 ; wing, 3 ; tail, 4 ; tarsus, 0'38 ; bill at front, 0'3.
Bill black ; irides dark-brown ; legs black.
Above, the whole head black, with a narrow white supercilium ;
the rest of the upper plumage brownish-dusky ; wings dusky ; the
coverts very slightly tipped with albescent ; tail dusky, all but the
middle feathers passing gradually into dirty-whitish towards
their extremity ; beneath, the throat and belly white ; the under
tail-coverts edged with rufous ; the sides of the throat, and the
11
162 MUSCICAPIN/E.
whole breast, black, the middle of the latter marked with oval
white spots.
The White-spotted Fantail Fly-catcher is found in various
parts of the Deccan ; it is also common at Mount Aboo ; it is a
permanent resident, and breeds during March and April. The
nest is placed in a fork of some low thick bush, generally a
cowranda bush, and is a neat, well-made cup, composed of grass
stems, and coated on the exterior with cobwebs ; the sides are
nowhere more than a quarter of an inch in thickness, but the
bottom is often continued to a point. The eggs, three in
number, are broad ovals in shape, of a buffy- white color, with a
zone of lavender and brownish spots towards the larger end.
They measure 0*67 inches in length by about O52 in breadth.
GENUS, Culicicapa.
Bill short, broad, suddenly compressed at tip, and much deflect-
ed, barely notched ; nareal bristles long and strong ; rictal bristles
a little shorter ; wings, with the first quill shorter, and the third
longer, the fourth and fifth very little longer ; tail moderate, almost
even ; tarsus short ; feet very feeble.
Culicicapa ceylonensis, Swains.
295. Cryptolopha cinereocapilla, Vieill. Jerdon's Birds of
India, Vol. I, p. 455 ; Butler, Deccan ; Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 396 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885,
p. 66.
THE GEEY-HEADED FLY-CATCHER.
Length, 4'5 to 475 ; wing, 2'4 ; tail, 212 ; tarsus, 0'5.
Bill blackish above, horny-reddish beneath ; irides deep-brown ;
feet dingy-red.
Above, the head, nape, and ear-coverts, dark-ashy; back,
wings, and tail light-yellow green ; quills and tail-feathers dusky
internally ; rump and upper tail-coverts tinged yellow ; beneath,
the chin, throat, neck, and breast, pale-ashy ; the rest of the
lower plumage dingy-yellow, greenish on the flanks.
The Grey-headed Fly-catcher is a not uncommon cold weather
visitant to Satara, and has been recorded from the Ahmednagar
district. It is fairly common in Central India, but does not occur
elsewhere within our limits.
SUB-FAMILY, Muscicapinse.
Bill depressed, moderately wide, slightly hooked and notched
at the tip ; rictal bristles moderate ; wings moderate ; tarsus short
or slightly lengthened, moderately strong ; feet small or moderate,
chiefly of small size.
GENUS, Alseonax.
Bill much depressed and very shallow, wide at the base, slender
and suddenly narrowed at the tip, and faintly hooked and
MUSCICAPIN^E. 163r
notched ; rictal bristles moderate ; wing longish, the third and
fourth quills equal and longest.
Alseonax latirostris, Raffles.
297, Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p, 459 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 396.
THE SOUTHERN BROWN FLY-CATCHER.
Length, 5'5 ; wing, 275 ; tail, 2 ; tarsus, 0'53 ; bill at front, 0'3.
Bill dusky-yellow at gape and beneath, and dusky at tip ;
Hides deep-brown ; legs brown.
Above light brownish-grey, beneath white, tinged with very
pale-ashy on the breast, sides of throat, and flanks ; eyelids
conspicuously white.
The Southern Brown Fly-catcher occurs sparingly throughout
the Deccan, but is rather more common at Belgaum and "Ratnagiri.
It has not been recorded from either Sind or Guzerat.
Butalis grisola, Lin.
299bis. Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 467 ;
Muscicapa grisola, Lin. ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind,
p. 127.
THE SPOTTED-GREY FLY-CATCHER.
THE CHERRY CHOPPER.
Length, 6 to 6 '3 ; expanse, 10 to 10*5; wing, 3'25 to 3'45 ; tail
from vent, 2 '7 5 to 3 ; tarsus, 0'6.
Bill black, dark fleshy at base of lower mandible ; irides deep-
brown ; legs and feet blackish-brown.
The lores and feathers immediately above the nostrils dingy
fulvous-white ; head, nape, cheeks, ear-coverts, back and scapulars,
pale-earthy or greyish-brown ; the feathers of the head with
darker brown central streaks not extending to the tips, and those
of the forehead tinged with the fulvous color of the lores ; the
rump in some uniform with the back, in others slightly darker ;
wings and tail brown, paler and greyer on the tertials and laterals ;
all the feathers margined with brownish- white, the greater
secondary-coverts and tertials most broadly so ; the tail-feathers,
except the exterior lateral ones, very inconspicuously so ; lower
parts white, tinged with fawn-color towards the vent, and with
narrrow inconspicuous grey-brown streaks on the breast ; axillaries
and wing-lining very pale rufous-fawn ; sides and flanks tinged
faintly with the same color and dull fulvous.
The Cherry Chopper only occurs as a very rare visitant, during
August and September, to parts of Sind and Guzerat. It has
not been recorded from the Deccan.
GENUS, Stoporala, Slyth.
Bill short, depressed, perfectly triangular, short, much hooked
at tip ; rictal and nareal bristles moderate ; wings rather long ;
164 MUSCICAPIN.E.
third, fourth, and fifth quills subequal ; tail moderate, even ; tarsus
short, stout ; lateral toes nearly equal.
Stoporala melanops, Vig.
301. Eumyias melanops, Vig. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol.
I, p. 463 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p 467 ;
Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 396 ; Swinhoe and Barnes,
Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 66.
THE VERDITER FLY-CATCHER.
Length, 6 ; wing, 3'3 ; tail, 275 ; tarsus, 0'6.
Bill black ; irides deep-brown ; legs black.
Plumage generally verditer-blue, brightest on the forehead,
sides of head, chin, throat and breast, also on the rump and
upper tail-coverts ; dull on the back of the neck and interscapu-
lars ; lores black ; quills dusky internally, dull-blue externally ;
tail greenish-blue.
With the exception of Sind, the Verditer Fly-catcher occurs as
a cold weather visitant throughout the region, but is nowhere
very common.
GENUS, Cyornis, Bly.
Bill feeble, somewhat lengthened, not very wide at the base,
tapering, suddenly narrowing and well hooked at tip ;rictal bristles
moderate, feeble ; nareal bristles rather long ; wings moderate ;
third quill a little shorter ; fourth and fifth quills sub-equal and
longest ; tail moderate, nearly even ; tarsus moderate, slender ;
lateral toes nearly equal ; middle-toe long.
Cyornis rubeculoides, Vig.
304. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 466 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 397.
THE BLUE-THROATED RED-BREAST.
Length, 575 ; expanse, 9 ; wing, 2'9 ; tarsus, 07 ; bill at front,
0-33.
Bill black ; irides dark-brown ; legs brown.
Male. The head, neck, body above, dark-blue ; forehead and
shoulder of the wing bright pale-blue ; lores, ear-coverts, and
frontal plumes, black ; inner webs of quills, and of the tail-
feathers (and the whole under surface of these), dusky-black ;
throat dark-blue ; neck and breast bright-rufous ; abdomen
white.
The female is olive-brown above, with a rufous breast and
white belly.
The Blue-throated Red-breast is a very rare cold weather
visitant to parts of the Deccan, but does not occur elsewhere
within our range.
Cyornis tickelli, Bly.
305 c?. Cyornis banyumas, Horsfield.
MUSCICAPIN^:. 165
306 $ . Cyornis tickellice, Blyth. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
pp. 466 and 467 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill,
p. 468; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 397; Siphia
tickellce, Bly. ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885,
p. 66.
TICKELL'S BLUE RED-BREAST.
Length, 575 to 6 ; expanse, 9 ; wing, 275 ; tail, 2'5 ; tarsus,
075 ; bill at front, 0'3.
. Bill black ; irides deep-brown ; legs brownish.
' Male. Above rather dark-blue ; forehead, and streak over eye,
pale bright-blue ; lores and ear-coverts black ; beneath, the chin,
throat, and breast, yellow-ferruginous, passing to white on the
middle of the abdomen, and the under tail-coverts pure white ;
flanks slightly fulvescent.
Female. Above dull greyish-blue, brighter on the forehead,
shoulders of the wings, and upper tail-coverts ; chin white, tinged
with fulvescent ; throat and breast light ferruginous ; belly
albescent ; under tail-coverts pure white ; bill blackish ; legs
pale.
Tickell's Blue Red-breast does not occur in Sind, but it has
been recorded as more or less rare from all other portions of our
district. It is probably a permanent resident in the hilly and
forest districts, but elsewhere appears to be a seasonal visitant
only.
Jerdon in his Birds of India has described the male and female
as different species.
Cyornis ruficaudus, Swains.
307. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 468 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 469 ; Guzerat, Stray Feathers,
Vol. Ill, p. 397.
THE RUFOUS-TAILED FLY-CATCHER.
Length, 5*5 ; wing, 2'8 ; tail, 2'25 ; tarsus, 0'6.
Bill dusky ; irides deep-brown.
Above, olivaceous-brown ; rump and upper tail-coverts ferru-
ginous, and the tail bright dark-ferruginous, the middle pair
suffused with dusky, and the outer webs of the other also sullied
with fuscous ; beneath, the chin whitish, the rest of the plumage
below pale greyish-brown, passing to white on the abdomen and
under tail-coverts, which last are faintly tinged with ferruginous.
The Rufous-tailed Fly-catcher has been recorded as a very rare
cold weather visitant both from Ahmednagar and Sholapur, and
also from Mount Aboo. These are the only instances of its occur-
rence within our limits.
Cyornis pallipes, Jerd.
309. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 469 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 397.
166 MUSCICAPIN^E.
THE WHITE-BELLIED BLUE FLY-CATCHER.
Length, 6'5 ; expanse, 10 ; wing, 3 ; tail, 2'5 ; bill at front,
from edge of feathers, 0'5 ; tarsus, 073.
Bill black ; irides brown ; feet and claws vary from pale whity-
brown to pale leaden-grey.
Entirely of a deep indigo-blue, except on the belly and under
tail-coverts which are white ; wings and tail dusky on their inner
webs.
The above is Dr. Jerdon's description which is very brief and
not altogether satisfactory. I therefore subjoin Mr. Hume's
description :
The lores and an excessively narrow line across the forehead at
the base of the bill black ; above this the forehead and two long
superciliary stripes are of a perceptibly paler and brighter blue
than the rest of the plumage ; the belly, abdomen, vent, and
lower tail-coverts, and greater portion of wing-lining, pure white ;
sides and flanks greyish ; chin blackish ; inner webs of the quills,
greater-coverts, and tail-feathers, hair-brown ; the rest of the
plumage dull blue, indigo in some specimens.
The White-bellied Blue Fly-catcher is probably a rare cold
weather visitant to the Ghat range only. It has been obtained
on the Goa frontier and on the Ghats west of Belgaum.
GENUS, Muscicapulse, Blyih.
Bill feeble, depressed, moderately wide at the base, gradually
narrowing and triangular, very slightly hooked and notched at the
tip ; nareal and rictal bristles rather short ; wing moderate ;
third and fourth quills sub-equal, fifth very little shorter ; tail
moderate ; tarsus slender, slightly lengthened ; toes unequal, middle-
toe somewhat lengthened.
Muscicapula superciliaris, Jerd.
310. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 470 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 397.
THE WHITE-BROWED BLUE FLY-CATCHER.
Length, 4 '2 5 ; wing, 2 ; tail, 1/8 ; tarsus, 0'5.
Bill black ; irides deep-brown ; legs brown.
Above, and the sides of the head, full prussian blue, some of
the feathers of the rump with the shaft, and a bar in the middle
of the feather, white ; wing and tail black, edged with blue ;
the base of the tail-feathers except the centrals, white ; a broad
superciliary stripe extending to some distance behind the eyes,
and the plumage beneath snowy-white ; a band of blue extend-
ing from the sides of the neck more or less across the sides of the
breast.
The White-browed Blue Fly-catcher is an extremely rare cold
weather visitant to the Deccan, it having been obtained at
Nagar by Mr. Fairbank, but this is the only record of its occur-
rence within our limits.
MUSCICAPIN.E. 167
GENUS, Erythrosterna, Bon.
Bill moderately wide at the base, depressed, slightly hooked and
notched at the tip ; rictal and nareal bristles moderate ; wings
moderate, or rather long, third quill nearly as long as the fourth ;
tail moderate, even, or emarginate ; tarsus slighly lengthened ;
feet moderate,
Erythrosterna albicilla, Pall.
323. Erythrosterna leucura, Gmel. Jerdon's Birds of India,
: Vol. I, p. 481.
THE WHITE-TAILED ROBIN FLY-CATCHER.
Length, 5 ; wings, 2'6 ; tail, 2 ; tarsus, 07.
Bill dusky-brown ; irides dark-brown ; legs pale-brown.
Above greyish olive-brown ; wings brown ; tail blackish-brown ;
the four outer tail-feathers on each side white for the greater
part of their length, broadly tipped with brown ; beneath white,
tinged with ashy-brown on the breast and flanks.
In spring, by the end of March or the beginning of April, the
male by a partial moult assumes a bright orange-rufous chin and
throat, and the lores, cheeks, and sides of the neck become
tolerably pure ashy. This livery is again cast at the autumnal
moult.
The occurrence of the White-tailed Robin Fly-catcher within
our limits is very doubtful.
Erythrosterna parva, Beclist.
3236s. Jerdon's Birds of India, Supplementary List ; Ibis,
1872 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol, III, p. 469 ;
Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 397 ; Muscicapa parva,
Bechst ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 128 ; Swinhoe
and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 67.
The EUROPEAN WHITE-TAILED FLY-CATCHER differs only
from the last in having the ferruginous coloring spread down the
breast, instead of being confined to the neck and throat. It is
doubtful if the male ever assumes the garb of the female. It is
spread generally throughout the district, but only as a rather
common cold weather visitant
Erythrosterna maculata, Tickdl.
326. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 483.
THE LITTLE PIED FLY-CATCHER.
Length, 4'5 ; expanse, 7'5 ; wing, 2'4 ; tail, 1'85 ; tarsus, 0'9.
Bill black ; irides dark-brown ; legs red- brown.
Above, with the lores, cheeks, and sides of neck black ; a broad
white eyebrow extending to the nape ; large spot on the wings
formed by the greater-coverts, and the edges of the secondaries
white, and all the tail-feathers, except the central ones, white for
two-thirds of their length ; beneath pure white.
168 MYIOTHERIN.E.
The Little Pied Fly-catcher is stated by Tickell to be rare in
Central India, and Jerdon surmises that it occurs only during the
cold weather.
FAMILY, Merulids9.
Bill typically moderate, compressed, nearly straight, with the
culmen gently curved, and slightly notched or entire ; in a few
larger and curved, in some thick and deep ; tarsus moderate or
long ; feet strong, fit for progression on the ground.
SUB-FAMILY, Myiotherinse, Swains.
Bill slender, straight, or slightly curved, stout in a few ; wings
typically short ; feet and legs long and strong ; tail short in
most.
GENUS, Myiophonus, Temm.
Bill large, strong, compressed, of moderate length, nearly
straight, strongly hooked at tip, and slightly notched ; rictal
bristles almost wanting ; nares round, with some frontal plumes
and hairs at their base ; wing long, rather pointed ; fourth and
fifth quills nearly equal ; fifth longest ; tail moderate, even, or
slightly rounded ; tarsus long, stout, entire ; feet strong ; middle-toe
long ; laterals short, nearly equal ; claws strong, well curved.
Myiophonus horsfieldi, Vig.
342. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 499 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 342 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 398.
THE MALABAK WHISTLING THRUSH.
Length, 11 ; wing, 6 ; tail, 475 ; tarsus, 0'9 ; bill at front,
1-25.
Bill black ; irides dark-brown ; legs brown-black.
General plumage black, more or less tinged with deep-blue ; a
band on the forehead, not extending to the base of the bill, and
shoulders fine, shining cobalt or smalt-blue ; some of the feathers
of the breast and abdomen edged with the same.
The Malabar Whistling Thrush is a not uncommon permanent
resident along the whole of the Sahyadri range ; it occurs also
at Mount Aboo. The nest, a large structure composed of roots,
moss, &c., is placed under the shelf of a rock, or in some such simi-
lar situation. The eggs, three or four in number, are broadish
ovals, salmon-pink or whitish-pink in color, speckled and spotted
with brownish-pink. They measure 1*22 in length by about 0*96
inches in breadth. It breeds during March and April.
GENUS, Pitta, Vieill.
Bill moderate ; tip slightly forked ; wings moderate ; the second
and third, or third and fourth quills being the longest ; first a little
shorter than the fourth.
TURBINE. 169
Pitta brachyura, Lin.
345. Pitta bengatensis, Gmel. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I,
p. 503 ; P. coronata, Mull ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers,
Vol. Ill, p. 470 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 398.
THE YELLOW-BREASTED GROUND THRUSH.
Nourang, Hin.
Length, 7 ; wing, 4'25 ; tail, 1'7 ; tarsus, 1-5 ; bill at front, 0'6.
Bill black ; irides hazel-brown ; legs yellowish-pink.
Head olivaceous- fulvous, with a median black stripe from the
base of bill to the back of the neck, meeting another black band
that passes through the ears ; a white superciliary line extending
also to the nape, but not quite meeting its fellow ; the whole back,
rump, scapulars and wing-coverts, dull blue-green ; the lengthened
upper tail-coverts pale-blue ; a pale azure-blue patch on the
shoulder of the wing ; quills black, with a white bar on the first six
primaries, and the tip of all white or albescent ; secondaries blue-
green on the outer margin, increasing in extent inwardly ; tail
black, tipped with dull-blue ; beneath, the chin, throat, and the
sides of the neck below the ears, white ; the rest of the lower
parts isabelline or fulvescent, with the middle of the lower part of
the abdomen, the vent, and the under tail-coverts, scarlet.
The Yellow-breasted Ground Thrush is not uncommon in the
Deccan, during the seasons of migration, viz., April and May, and
again in September and October ; it also occurs at Mount Aboo,
about the same time, and has not unfrequently been obtained at
and near Deesa.
It has not been recorded from Sind.
SUB-FAMILY, Turdinae.
Bill of moderate length, as long as head ; nostrils in a groovf
apert ; wings long and broad, somewhat pointed ; first quill ver}
short ; third and fourth longest, sub-equal ; tail moderate ; outer-
toe longer than inner, and united to middle at base.
GENUS, Monticola.
Bill moderate or long, mod erately hooked at tip ; nostrils apert ;
rictal bristles numerous ; wings long ; third quill longest ; tarsus
scutellate.
Monticola cyaneus, Lin.
351. Petrocossyphus cyaneus, Lin. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 511 ; Cyanocincla cyana, Lm.; Butler, Guzerat; Stray
Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 470 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX,
p. 398 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 129 ; Swinhoe
and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 67.
THE BLUE ROCK THRUSH.
Length, 8-5 to 9 ; expanse, 13 to 14'5 ; wing, 4'5 to 5 ; tail, 3'1
to 3-8 ; bill at front, 07 to 0'9 ; bill from gape, 1'25.
170 TURDIN^E.
Bill black ; irides brown ; legs black.
Male throughout of a dull indigo-blue, more or less marked with
dusky, and the feathers of the abdomen, vent, and under tail-
coverts, pale tipped, in some specimens with a tinge of deep
ferruginous on the feathers of these parts.
The female is dingy greyish-brown, with a faint blue or ashy
tinge, greyish on the tail; some of the feathers edged with
whitish, and the under parts fulvescent-greyish, with dusky cross
bands, some being rufescent on the lower parts, especially on the
vent and under tail-coverts.
The Blue Rock Thrush is a common winter visitant throughout
the region, arriving during October and leaving about April ; it is
very solitary in its habits, and appears to frequent the same loca-
lity, not only throughout the season, but for several successive
ones Jerdon records that " it is supposed to be the sparrow of
our English version of the Scriptures that sitteth alone on the
house tops."
Monticola cinclorhynchus, Fig.
353. Orocetes cinclorhynchus, Vig. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I, p. 515 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p.
470 ; Petrophila cinclorhynchus, Vig. ; Deccan, Stray Feathers,
Vol. IX, p. 398 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 130 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 67.
THE BLUE-HEADED CHAT THEUSH.
Length, 7'5 ; expanse, 11'5; wing, 3'8 to 42; tail, 2*8; tarsus,
0'85 ; bill at front, 0*6 ; bill from gape, 1-1.
Bill brownish-black ; irides hazel-brown ; legs plumbeous.
Male. Head, nape, and shoulders of the wings, pale-blue ; lores,
ear-coverts, back and wings, black, tinged with dusky-blue on
the back, and on some of the wing-coverts and quills ; a white
wing spot, formed by a white bar on the outer webs of the
secondaries ; rump and upper tail-coverts ferruginous ; tail black,
edged with blue ; chin pale-blue ; breast, abdomen, and under tail-
coverts ferruginous.
Female. Brownish-olive above, yellowish- white beneath, tinged
with rufous on the breast, and barred crosswise with olive-brown.
During the cold weather the Blue-headed Chat Thrush is
generally distributed throughout the region, but occurs much more
rarely in Sind. It is solitary in its habits.
GENUS, Geocichla, Kuhl.
Bill moderate, stout, compressed, straight ; culmen gently arched
throughout, tolerably hooked at the tip, and slightly notched ;
nostrils lengthened ; a small nude spot behind the eye ; wings and
tail moderate, or rather short ; tarsus slightly lengthened ; lateral
toes short, nearly equal.
TURBINE. 171
Geocichla cyanotis, Jard and Selby.
354. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 517 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 398.
THE WHITE-WINGED GROUND THRUSH.
Length, 7'5 to 8'5 ; expanse, 12'25 to 14 ; wing, 4'2 to 4'5 ; tail,
275 to 3 ; tarsus, T25 to 1-5 ; bill at front, 07 ; bill from gape, 1.
Bill blackish ; irides dark-brown ; legs fleshy-brown.
Head, nape, hind-neck, and sides of neck, ferruginous ; the rest
of the plumage above dull-cyaneous or leaden ; wings and tail
dusky, the former with a white spot on the median wing-coverts,
and the outer feathers of the tail also tipped with white ; lores
white ; ear-coverts white in the centre, continued down the sides of
the neck, and with a brown spot above and below the latter passing
into ferruginous, and bordering the white of the ears ; beneath,
the chin, throat, and neck, white ; the breast, abdomen, and flanks,
bright- ferruginous ; and the vent and under tail-coverts white.
The colors of the female are less pure than those of the male.
The White-winged Ground Thrush only occurs within our limits
on the Sahyadri Kange and in the adjoining forests, as far north
at least as Khandalla.
It is a permanent resident, but owing to the bird's crepuscular
habits, it often escapes observation.
Geocichla citrina, Lath.
355. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 517 ; Butler, Deccan ; V T **
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 398.
THE ORANGE-HEADED GROUND THRUSH.
Length, 812 to 9; expanse, 1375 to 15 ; tail, 275 to 3'25 ;
wing, 4-4 to 4'82 ; tarsus, 1'2 to 1'35 ; bill from gape, 1'05 to 1*2.
Bill horny-black, fleshy-white at base beneath ; irides dark-
brown ; nude patch behind eye, flesh-colored ; legs fleshy-white.
The whole head, neck, and lower plumage, pale brownish-orange ;
the chin and throat paling and albescent ; the rest of the upper
plumage blue-grey ; a small white wing spot on the median-
coverts, and the primary-coverts tipped black ; lower part of abdo-
men paling towards the vent, which, with the lower tail-coverts,
is white.
The female differs slightly, being tinged with olivaceous on the
back, wings and tail.
The occurrence of the Orange-headed Ground Thrush within
our limits is very doubtful ; if it occurs at all, it can only be
as a very rare winter visitant.
Geocichla unicolor, TicMl.
356. -.Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 519 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 470 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 399 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 131.
172 TURDIN^E.
THE DUSKY GROUND THRUSH.
Length, 9 ; expanse, 14'5;wing, 4'5 ; tail, 313; tarsus, 1 '12 ;
bill at front, 07.
Bill dusky-yellow ; eyelids and gape yellow ; irides brown ;
legs yellowish-brown.
Male above uniform dusky slaty ash-color ; chin nearly white ;
throat pale-ashy; breast ashy; abdomen and lower tail-coverts
white ; under wing-coverts and flanks of abdomen ferruginous.
The female is olive-brown above, ashy about the rump ; ear-
coverts ashy-brown, with light shafts ; beneath the chin and throat
albescent or very pale-ashy, bordered by a dark stripe from the base
of the lower mandible, and the feathers of the throat and neck
streaked with dusky-brown ; the breast and sides ashy-brown,
tinged with fulvous, or olive-brown on the flanks ; belly, vent,
and lower tail-coverts, white.
Occurs throughout the district as a rather rare cold weather
visitant.
GENUS, Turdulus, Hodgson.
Bill rather short, something like that of Geocichla, generally
yellow ; tarsus rather short. Males colored black, and white ;
females dingy-olive or brown. Otherwise as in Merula.
Turdulus wardi, Jerd.
357. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 520 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 399.
WARD'S PIED BLACKBIRD.
Length, 8*5 to 9 ; wing, 4*6 ; tail, 3*4; tarsus, 1*2; bill at front,
075.
Bill yellow ; irides brown ; legs yellow.
Male, above with the whole . head and neck, black ; eye-streak,
a patch on the shoulders of the wings, tips of all the coverts,
especially the medial -co verts white ; tertiaries and secondaries
also tipped white, the latter slightly, and the primaries narrowly
edged with the same ; upper tail-coverts also tipped ; tail with
the central tail-feathers slightly white tipped, the rest of the
feathers successively more broadly so, but chiefly on the inner
webs, and increasing in amount to the outermost, which has
the inner web white for two-thirds of its length ; the web black
nearly to the tip.
The female is pale-brownish above ; the eye-streak, tips of the
wing-coverts and of the tertiaries, fulvous-white ; upper tail-
coverts and tips of the tail-feathers, whitish ; beneath fulvous-
white, variegated with dusky ; under tail-coverts pure white ;
the feathers of the throat, breast and flanks, with dusky spots ;
axillaries pure white.
The occurrence of Ward's Blackbird within our limits is very
doubtful.
Major Lloyd includes it in his list of the Birds of the Concan.
TURBINE. 173
GENUS, Merula, Leach.
Bill slightly lengthened, compressed at the tip, and notched ;
nostrils feathered at the base ; rictal bristles short and strong ;
tarsus of moderate length ; feet strong ; wings long, second quill
shorter than the fifth, which is nearly as long as the third and
fourth ; tail square or nearly so.
Merula nigropilea, Lafr.
359. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 523; Butler , Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 470 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Yol,
IX, p. 399.
THE BLACK-CAPPED BLACKBIRD.
Length, 9*5 ; wing, 4'9 ; tail, 3'5 ; tarsus, T2 ; bill at front, 0*8.
Bill orange-yellow, as also are the gape and eyelids ; legs
brownish-yellow.
Male. Head, with the lores, cheeks and nape, deep black ; back,
rump, wings and tail, dark-blackish, tinged with brown on the
interscapulars ; chin blackish ; neck, all round to the nape (con-
trasting there strongly with the black of the crown) and the
lower parts brownish-ashy, paler on the belly, and passing to
white on the vent ; under tail-coverts mingled white and ashy.
The Black-capped Blackbird is a permanent resident and
occurs on the Sahyadri Range as far north as Khandalla, and
is also common at Mount Aboo, where it is particularly abundant
during the rains at which season it breeds, but its nest does not
appear to have been taken.
Merula atrogularis, Tern.
365. Planesticus atrogularis, Gm. Jerdon's Birds of India,
Vol. I. p. 529 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 131.
THE BLACK-THROATED THRUSH.
Length, 10'5 ; expanse, 17 ; wing, 575 ; tail, 4'4 ; bill at front,
0-6.
Bill yellow, dusky at tip; orbits yellow; irides dark-brown;
legs horny-yellowish-brown.
Male. Above pale cinereous-brown ; wings and tail darker ;
tail occasionally tinged with rufous ; beneath the throat albescent-
brownish with some undefined dark markings, the centre of each
feather being dark, and lower down these coalesce and form a
broad dark-brown, or blackish pectoral gorget ; the rest, beneath,
pale cinereous-white, a few of the feathers next the breast centred
or barred with dusky ; under wing-coverts rusty ; lower tail-
coverts indistinctly barred with brown and rusty.
The female wants the pectoral gorget, but has the breast
buff, mixed with dusky, and some brown striae on the sides of
the throat and breast ; the abdomen, too, is whiter than in the
male, and the lower tail-coverts are bufty-white.
1 74 SIMALIN.E.
The Black-throated Thrush only occurs as a cold weather visi-
tant to Northern Sind. I found it very common between
Kandahar and Q uetta during the time of its migration.
SUB-FAMILY, Simalinae.
Legs and feet stout and large ; bill various in form and length,
almost always compressed, usually notched ; wings short and
rounded ; tail largish, graduated ; plumage often lax.
GENUS, Pyctorhis, Gmelin.
Bill rather short, strong, deep, arched, entire ; rictus strongly
bristled ; orbits nude ; wings rather short and feeble, fourth and
fifth quills longest ; tail long, graduated ; legs and feet stout and
large ; claws large, moderately curved.
Pyctorhis sinensis, Gmelin.
385. Jerdon's Birds of India, VoL II, p. 15 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. III. p. 471 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 399 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 132 ;
Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 67.
THE YELLOW-EYED BABBLER,
Length, 6'5 ; expanse, 7 to 7 '8 ; wing, 2'4 to 2'8 ; tail, 3 to 3'5 ;
bill at front, 0'45 ; tarsus, 09 to I'l.
Bill black, with the nostrils deep yellow ; irides dark brown,
with an outer circle of buff ; orbits bright orange ; legs yellow.
Above clear red-brown, rufous or cinnamon color on the wings,
and the tail obsoletely banded with dusky ; lores and all the,
lower plumage white; lower surface of wings and tail dusky-
cinereous.
The Yellow-eyed Babbler is a common permanent resident
throughout the district, breeding from June to August ; the nest
is beautifully made, of a deep cup-shape, and is placed in a slender
fork of a bush or small tree ; sometimes it is suspended between
stalks of growing corn or reeds ; it is composed of grass, inter-
laced with vegetable fibre and lined with fine grass ; the eggs,
four or five in number, vary much in shape, size and color but
they are generally rather broad ovals, averaging 073 in length by
about 0*59 inches in breadth.
Some eggs have a pinkish-white ground, thickly mottled and
speckled with bright deep brick-dust red ; others have the pinkish-
white ground, but are boldly, though sparingly, blotched with
patches and streaks of blood or bright brick-red, interspersed with
a few inky-purple spots or clouds ; between these two types every
variety is met with ; the eggs are in general finely glossed.
Pyctorhis griseigularis, Hume.
Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 132.
SIMALIN.E. 175
THE GREY-THROATED BABBLER.
Length, 5*5 ; wing, 2'5 ; tail,3'4 ; tarsus, 1.
Bill horny or fleshy-brown ; legs pale fleshy-brown.
Forehead, upper part of lores and streak over the eyes deep
reddish-brown, each feather streaked with ashy-grey ; crown and
occiput deep ferruginous ; cheeks and ear-coverts paler ferruginous ;
sides of neck yellowish-rusty ; nape, back, scapulars, rump, and
upper tail-coverts, bright rusty-ferruginous, in some lights slightly
brownish and most rusty on upper tail-coverts, almost entire
visible portion of closed wing bright ferruginous-chesuut, rest of
feathers hair-brown ; tail moderately dark-brown, feathers margined
strongly on outer webs with ferruginous and most broadly so to-
wards their bases ; chin, throat, and upper breast pale brownish-
grey or ashy, rest of lower parts dull rusty, browner and lighter
on lower breast, brighter and more ferruginous on flanks and lower
tail-coverts.
The Grey-throated Babbler is a rather doubtful species.
Within our limits it has only been procured in Sind, where
doubtless it is a permanent resident.
GENUS, Alcippe, Blyth.
Bill short, moderately stout and compressed ; culmen slightly
curved, hooked and notched ; nostrils slightly impended by some
setae ; rictal bristles moderate ; wings moderate, rounded, fourth
and fifth quills equal ; tail moderate or rather short, very slightly
rounded ; tarsus stout, moderate ; lateral toes unequal ; claws
tolerably curved.
Alcippe poiocephala, Jerdon.
380. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. II, p. 18 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 399.
THE NEILGHERRY QUAKER THRUSH.
Length, 5'9 ; wing, 2'8 ; tail, 23 ; tarsus, 0'88 ; bill at front, 0'45.
Bill horny, yellow at gape and edges ; irides greenish-white ;
legs pale fleshy.
Head and nape dusky-cinereous ; back and ramp greenish-olive,
inclining to rufous on the rump, darker and more ferruginous on
the wings and tail ; beneath pale rufescent or fulvous, lightest and
albescent on the chin and throat.
The Neilgherry Quaker Thrush is a permanent resident on the
Sahyadri Range, but has not been recorded from any other por-
tion of our limits.
Alcippe atriceps, Jerdon.
390. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. II, p. 19 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 399.
THE BLACK-HEADED WREN BABBLER.
Length, 5'5 ; expanse, 7 ; wing, 2 3 ; tail, 2 ; tarsus, 0'9 ; bill at
front, 0-4.
176 SIMALIN^E.
Bill horny-brown ; irides pale orange'or buff ; legs plumbeous.
Head, cheeks, and nape, black ; wings, tail and under tail-
coverts, brownish-olive, darkest on the tail and wings ; beneath
white, with a tinge of orange-brown on the sides and towards the
vent.
The Black-hoaded Wren Babbler has been obtained in the forest
west of Belgaum ; it has not been recorded from elsewhere within
the region.
GENUS, Mixornis, Hodgson.
Bill rather long, compressed, with a tendency to arch ; tip blunt,
barely notched ; nostrils ovoid, advanced ; wings moderate, rounded,
the first four quills graduated, fifth and sixth sub-equal and
longest ; tail moderate or rather short, laterals very unequal ; hind-
toe large, nails well curved.
Mixornis rubicapillus, Tickell.
395. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. II, p. 23.
THE YELLOW-BREASTED WEEN BABBLER.
Length, 575 ; wing, 2'38 ; tail, 2 ; tarsus, 0'8 ; bill at front, 0'6.
Bill horny ; irides reddish-hazel ; legs pale horny-brown.
Above dull olive-green, inclining to rufescent or brown ; wings
and tail rufescent-brown ; part of the forehead, supercilium, ears,
and sides of the neck, yellowish-green, with some dusky streaks ;
crown of the head dull ferruginous ; beneath pale yellow,
fading to whitish on the lower abdomen and olivaceous on the
flanks and vent ; the throat and upper part of the breast with
some blackish streaks.
The Yellow-breasted Wren Babbler has been doubtfully record-
ed from Central India.
GENUS, Dumetia, Blyih.
Bill moderate, or rather short, compressed, pointed ; culmen
slightly curving from the base, and the commissure also slightly
curved ; a few small rictal bristles ; wings short, rounded, fourth,
fifth, and sixth quills nearly equal ; tail moderate, rounded ; tarsus
stout ; middle-toe not elongate, lateral toes about equal, hind-toe
and claw moderately large.
Dumetia hyperythra, Franklin.
397. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. II, p. 26 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 399 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central
India ; Ibis, 1885, p. 67.
THE RUFOUS-BELLIED BABBLER.
Length, 5'25 ; wing, 21 ; tail, 3'2 ; tarsus, 0'8.
Bill horny ; irides pale yellow-brown ; legs fleshy-yellow.
Above brownish-olive, the tail obsoletely barred with dusky ;
forehead and whole body beneath rufous.
SIMALIN.E. 177
The Rufous-bellied Babbler is a permanent resident in parts
of the Deccan, and occurs also in the vicinity of Mhow.
It breeds from June to August ; the nest is globular in shape,
composed of coarse grass blades, sparingly lined with fine grass.
It is frequently placed on the ground amongst coarse grass or
dead leaves, with which it is frequently incorporated, but
sometimes in low scrub-bushes, only a foot or so from the ground.
The eggs, four in number, are broad oval in shape, white in color,
spotted, freckled, streaked, and blotched with brownish-red and
"reddish-purple ; the markings are sometimes clearly defined,
at others they are smudgy ; in others again they are speckly.
They measure 0'67 inches in length by about 0*53 in breadth.
Dumetia albogularis, Blyth.
398. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. II, p. 26 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 471 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol.
IX, p. 400.
THE WHITE-THROATED WREN BABBLER.
Length, 5'62 ; expanse, 6*2 ; wing, 2-12 ; tail, 2'25 ; tarsus,
075 ; bill at front, 0'4 ; bill at gape, 0'57.
Like the last, but the chin and throat pure white.
The White-throated Babbler is another species that only
occurs within our limits, on the Sahyadri Range and forests
adjacent, but turns up again at Mount Aboo. It is probably
a permanent resident.
GENUS, Pellorneum, Swainson.
Bill moderate, straight, compressed, very gently curving
throughout, slightly hooked at tip, and notched ; rictal bristles
feeble ; wings much rounded, fifth, sixth and seventh quills nearly
equal ; tail moderate, rounded ; tarsus moderate ; feet large ; mid-
dle-toe lengthened ; laterals barely unequal ; hind- toe long ; claws
tolerably curved.
Pellorneum ruficeps, Swainson.
399. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. II, p. 27 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 400.
THE SPOTTED WREN BABBLER.
Length, 7 ; expanse, 9 ; wing, 3 ; tail, 3 ; tarsus, 1 ; bill at
front, 07.
Bill horny above, yellowish-fleshy beneath ; irides brick-red ;
legs fleshy-yellow.
Above olive-brown ; crown and nape deep rusty colored, with
a more or less marked white eyebrow from the forehead to the
nape ; ears dusky- white, or mixed brown and white, or entirely
brown ; beneath white or fulvous- white, with spots of dark olive on
the sides of the breast and belly, olivaceous on the flanks and
under tail -co verts.
12
178 SIMALINJE.
The Spotted Wren Babbler only occurs within our limits, on
the Sahyadri Range, as far north as Mahableshwar.
GENUS, Pomatorhinus, Horsfield.
Bill long, compressed, pointed, much curved throughout, entire
at the tip ; nostrils barely apert, lengthened ; a few very small
rictal bristles ; wings short, rounded ; fifth and sixth quills longest ;
tail long or moderate, rounded ; tarsi and feet long and stout ;
anterior toes not much elongated ; hind-toe large ; claws large,
moderately curved, somewhat blunt.
Pomatorhinus horsfieldi, Sykes.
404. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. II, p. 31 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 400.
THE SOUTHERN SCIMITAR BABBLER.
Length, 9'5 ; wing, 3'8; tail, 4 ; tarsus, 1*3 ; bill at front, 1.
Bill yellow, dusky above ; irides dark-red ; legs dusky-green.
Above deep olive-brown ; a white superciliary stripe ; neck in
front, breast, and middle of abdomen, white ; the flanks, vent,
and under tail-coverts olive-brown.
The Southern Scimitar Babbler has the same range as the
preceding, but is much more common and is a permanent resident.
Pomatorhinus obscurus, Hume.
404ter. Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 471.
HUME'S SCIMITAR BABBLER.
Length, 9'5 to 10 12 ; expanse, 11 ; wing, 3'5 to 415 ; tail, 4 ;
bill at front, T32 to 135 ; bill at gape, T4.
Bill ivory-yellow, horny at base of upper mandible or dirty-
yellow, blackish on the ridge at base of upper mandible ; irides
dark red or reddish-brown ; legs and feet dark, slightly greenish-
plumbeous, or olivaceous-slate.
Chin, throat, breast and centre of abdomen, and a long super-
ciliary stripe from forehead to nape, pure white ; the whole of
the rest of the plumage a dull smoky earth-brown, rather
a purer brown on quills and tail, which are very faintly
rufescent ; the tail obsoletely barred ; the lores dark-brown ;
the ear-coverts slightly darker-brown than the rest of the body.
Hume's Scimitar Babbler is common at Aboo, and must occur
on the hills in the vicinity of Mhow.
GENUS, Malacocercus, Swainson.
Bill short or moderate, much compressed, rather deep, curving
from the base, barely hooked at the tip, entire ; commissure
slightly curved ; gonys ascending ; nostrils apert ; a few short pale
rictal setae ; wings short, much rounded, fourth, fifth and sixth
quills nearly equal and longest ; tail moderately long, broad ; tarsus
stout, scutellate ; feet rather large ; claws moderately curved.
SIMALIN.E. 179
Malacocereus terricolor, Hodgson.
432. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. II, p. 59 ; Butler, Guzerat ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 472 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology
of Sind, p, 133 ; Svvinhoe and Barnes, Central India; Ibis, 1885,
p. 67.
THE BENGAL BABBLER.
Sat bhai, Hin.
Length, 9 to 10 ; extent, 13 ; wing, 412 ; tail, 4'5 ; tarsus,
:1 '5 ; bill at front, 075.
Bill horny-brown ; irides pale yellow ; legs dingy-yellow.
Above brownish-ashy, paler and somewhat cinereous on the
head and neck, browner on the back, where the feathers are
faintly pale shafted ; quills brown, with outer webs paler, and
narrowly bordered with ashy ; tail reddish-brown, faintly barred,
and the outer feathers tipped with pale whity-brown ; beneath
pale ashy-brown on the throat and breast, the feathers very faintly
edged and shafted lighter ; abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts,
pale fulvescent.
With the exception of the Deccan, the Bengal Babbler is
common throughout our limits ; it is a permanent resident and
breeds from March to July.
The nests are often found in gardens, in fruit trees, vineries,
thick hedges, and in fact almost anywhere ; they are of a deep
cup-shape, generally loosely constructed, but occasionally they
are more neatly made ; they are composed of grass stems and
roots.
The eggs, three or four in number, are variable both in shape
and color, but are typically broad oval in shape and deep blue
in color.
They average one inch in length by about 078 in breadth.
They are in general highly glossy.
Malacocereus griseus, Latham,
433. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. II, p. 60 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 400.
THE WHITE-HEADED BABBLER.
Length, 9 ; wing, 4 ; tail, 4 ; tarsus, T25 ; bill at front, 0'55.
Bill yellowish ; irides yellowish- white ; legs fleshy-yellow.
Head, lores and nape, fulvescent or dirty-whitish ; plumage
above darker brown than the last, the feathers with pale
shafts ; quills not barred ; tail brown, very faintly barred, and
the outer feathers tipped pale ; beneath the chin and throat
are mixed brown and ashy, conspicuously darker than the
neighbouring parts, each feather being ashy at the base,
and with a dark band, tipped paler ; as the pale tip gets worn
away, the dark tinge becomes more apparent ; from the breast
the rest of the lower parts are pale fulvescent, inclining to
rufescent.
180 SIMALIN-ffl.
The White-headed Babbler is common at and near Belgaum,
where it is a permanent resident, breeding from April to July.
Malacocercus malabaricus, Jerdon.
434 Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. II, p. 62 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 400.
THE JUNGLE BABBLER.
Length, 9 ; wing, 4'1 ; tail, 4'5 ; tarsus, T2 ; bill at front, 075.
Bill and gape dark yellow ; orbits yellow ; irides pale-yellow ;
legs dirty-yellow, with a fleshy tinge.
Very like M. terricolor, but somewhat darker in color, with
broader and more distinct pale mesial streaks on the feathers
of the back, and especially of the breast ; the tertiaries are but
very obscurely striated, but the tail is distinctly so.
The Jungle Babbler is rather irregular in its breeding habits,
nests having been taken from April to October ; it is generally
placed in the centre of a thorny bush. The eggs, three or four
in number, are similar to those of M. terricolor.
They average 0'97 inches in length by about 077 in breadth.
The occurrence of the Jungle Babbler within our limit is rather
doubtful. Jerdon implies that it occurs along the Malabar coast,
and Major Lloyd includes it in his list of Konkan species.
Malacocercus somervillii, Sykes.
435. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. II, p. 63 ; Butler, Deccan ;
Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 400.
THE RUFOUS-TAILED BABBLER.
Length, 9'5; wing, 4'25; tail, 4; tarsus, 1*13; bill at
front, 075.
Bill horny-yellow ; irides pale-yellow ; legs dirty-yellow.
Above ashy-brown, the feathers of the back barel 
