Page:The Common Birds of Bombay.djvu/90

74 The first onset may, perhaps, be dodged, but the nimble bird wheels and rises and plunges again with derisive screams, and again and again piling pain and humiliation on the abject fugitive till it has gone far beyond the forbidden limits. Then the King sails slowly back to its tree and resumes its undisputed reign. Over the length and breadth of India this bird is found, and wherever it is found it takes the first place by sheer force of character and high spirit. Its cheery voice is one of the first sounds that greet the dawning of the day. It has not much of a song, though Jerdon says he has heard it profanely called the Scotch Nightingale. It makes a little cupshaped nest on any moderately high tree, usually about April in this part of the country, and lays three whitish eggs with claret-coloured blotches. In other parts of India there are several species of Drongos besides the common one, but the only other that I have ever seen in Bombay is Jerdon's Whitebellied Drongo (Dicrurus cærulescens). It is white from the breast downwards and a little smaller than the King Crow. It has a charming song.

This is the proper place to mention a few birds which are allied to the Shrikes and may occasionally be seen in Bombay. One is a medium-sized bird, with a slate-coloured, or blue-grey, back, passing into white on the under parts. The male has the head, throat, and breast deep black. The underparts are narrowly banded with dusky in immature birds. This is the Black-headed Cuckoo-shrike (Volvocivom sykesii) It attracts little attention except in the hot season, when it constantly utters a loud, not unmusical, exclamation. I have found its nest