Page:The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma (Birds Vol 1).djvu/415

Rh grey. The texture is neither very fine nor very close; the gloss is but slight or even altogether absent and the normal shape is a rather long, well-pointed oval. Fifty eggs average 26.2 × 19.1 mm. and the extremes are 28.2 × 20.0, 23.8 × 18.7 and 25.2 × 18.3 mm. The longest egg is also the broadest.

Habits. The Himalayan Black Bulbul is the exact opposite of the White-throated Bulbul in most of its ways. It is equally noisy and equally discordant in its notes but it is essentially a bird of high tree-tops, a percher and not a climber, a free and fairly easy flyer and largely vegetarian in its diet. The nectar of flowers, which Oates says it takes, is probably swallowed together with the numerous small insects which frequent these same flowers and upon which the Bulbuls feed. It goes about regularly in flocks all through the winter, sometimes two flocks combining where food is plentiful, and they have a curious follow-my-leader style when flying from one tree to another. It is a very bold bird and has no objection to being watched but it is naturally restless and unless on some tree, such as a Bombax in flower, which offers particularly fascinating food, soon flits away out of sight.

It is never found except in really well-forested hills and mountains which it ascends to about 9,000 feet elevation.

(387) Microscelis psaroides nigrescens.

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Vernacular names. Dao-bulip gashim (Cachari).

Description. Differs from M. p. psaroides in being very much darker both above and below; at the same time it is a paler bird than M. p. concolor and has the black crown and the head distinctly defined from the paler, blackish grey of the back.

Colours of soft parts and Measurements much as in the last, though they average a little bigger.

Distribution. South Assam, Manipur, Arrakan and the Northern Chin Hills apparently as far East as the Chindwin, but not to the Irrawaddy. It is also found in North-East Assam and the Abor Hills.

Nidification. Similar to that of the last bird but moss seems to be far more used in the construction of the nest and in some cases this material forms practically the whole of the nest. Like the last bird this also is one of the very few that employ pine-needles as a lining to their nests. The eggs cannot be distiguished from those of the Himalayan race. 100 average 27.1 × 19.7 mm., with extremes of 29.0 × 19.2, 27.0 × 20.5, 24.7 × l9.3 and 25.8 × 18.0 mm.

Habits. Those of the genus. It is found up to 6,000 or 7,000 feet and descends almost to the plains. It was common in Margherita at about 700 feet and in the winter in N. Lakhimpur extends well into the plains.