Read Ebook: Indian Birds: Being a Key to the Common Birds of the Plains of India by Dewar Douglas

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The Finch-Larks .

PART II Descriptive List of the Common Birds of the Plains of India

NOTES

In describing a bird its size is a matter of importance as an aid to identification; but as the statement that a bird is six inches in length probably does not convey to the average person a definite idea of its size, I have adopted another system of indicating the size of each bird described. I have taken five standards of size, each being that of a familiar bird, and have described each species in terms of these standards, which are:

In cases where birds build very characteristic nests or have very characteristic songs or habits, I shall mention these as aids to identification. It must be remembered that this little book is not a natural history of birds, but merely a key to the identification of our commoner Indian feathered friends. Having identified a bird, the reader should refer to some other writer for information regarding its habits, etc.

Glossy black all over. Nests from March to May. Nest a large structure placed high up in a tree. Not found in the N.W. Punjab, where it is replaced by the next species.

Glossy black all over. Found only in the N.W.F. province and the western parts of the Punjab.

Like a jackdaw in marking and appearance. Glossy black, except for nape, neck, upper back and breast, which are ashy brown. Nesting season May to July, or later. Nest like that of 1. In Burma this species is replaced by the next.

A dingy brown bird; upper plumage darker than the lower. In each feather there is a dark line along the shaft which causes the bird to have a streaked appearance. It goes about in pairs, or in small flocks. It feeds largely on the ground. When it runs, its tail seems to trail on the ground like that of a rat, hence one of its names. Its note is not unpleasant. It nests chiefly in the hot weather. The nursery is a neatly constructed cup, which is invariably placed in a low bush. Its eggs are pale blue.

Does not appear to occur in the neighbourhood of Calcutta, Bombay, or Madras. Addicted to arid parts of India.

This bird is abundant in Northern India, and becomes rarer in the south, where it is largely replaced in the plains by the two next species.

This is the common babbler of the Madras presidency. It is easily recognised by the greyish white crown of its head.

The common babbler of Bombay and Poona. It is the least untidy-looking of the babblers, and may be recognised by the distinctly reddish hue of its tail.

All three species of babblers build neat cup-shaped nests not far above the ground and lay beautiful blue eggs.

This is considerably smaller than the other babblers described. Its general colour is cinnamon brown. The eyebrows, throat, and breast are white. The under parts are cream-coloured. The eye is bright yellow. It emits a sweet note and builds a beautiful nest. This last is in shape not unlike the hat worn by a political officer in full dress. It measures about five inches in depth and is usually slung by its broadest part on to two or more growing reeds, heads of millet, stout grass stems, or perhaps more frequently to a forked branch.

A black bird with large cobalt blue patches on the forehead and the wings. Small patches of the same hue occur on other parts of the body.

Not found in the N.W. Frontier Province, the Punjab, United Provinces, Bengal, or the eastern portion of Madras. Usually occurs in the neighbourhood of shaded streams. Its note is a striking whistle.

A greenish yellow bird, with bright yellow throat and a patch of yellow under the tail. The rest of the lower plumage is greyish white. The most noticeable feature of the bird is a ring of white feathers round the eye. Hence its popular name. White-eyes go about in large flocks; they feed largely on insects which they pick from off the leaves of trees. Each individual utters unceasingly a cheeping note. At the nesting season, which is usually at the beginning of the hot weather, the cock sings a sweet little song. The nest is a beautiful little cup suspended from a forked branch. Two pale blue eggs are usually laid.

In winter the black parts of the head and back are replaced by yellowish green.

This species has a sweet song. It does not occur in the Frontier Province or the Punjab. "A little bird," writes Eha, "like a tomtit, in black and yellow, followed by its mate in green and yellow, can be nothing else than the Iora." Builds at the beginning of the hot weather a very neat and tiny cup-shaped nest.

A beautiful emerald green bird. There is a patch of yellow on the forehead. The cock has the sides of the head, chin, and throat black, and a purple-blue moustache. The black of the male is replaced by bluish green in the hen.

Does not occur in the Frontier Province, the Punjab, Rajputana, Bengal, or the northern and western portions of the United Provinces. It is essentially a bird of Central and Southern India, but rare on the east coast. It affects well-wooded parts of the country.

Head black with short crest; remainder of plumage brown, each feather having a narrow margin of a lighter hue. The tail is tipped with white, and there is a white patch above the tail. A conspicuous crimson patch under the tail. Bulbuls go about in pairs and constantly emit a cheery note. They build neat cup-shaped nests, frequently in plants in the verandahs of houses. When the nest is approached by a human being the parent birds set up a loud chattering. These bulbuls occur all over India, but ornithologists divide them into several species:

The common bulbul of South India, as far North as Lucknow.

The common bulbul of Burma.

The common bulbul of Eastern Oudh, the Bengals, and Assam.

The common bulbul of the Frontier Province, the Punjab, and the province of Agra.

This species differs from the Red-vented Bulbuls in its somewhat smaller size, its shorter crest and in having a large white patch on each side of the head, and the patch of feathers under the tail yellow instead of crimson.

Found only in the north-west portion of India. In the cold weather its range extends into the Province of Agra and the C. P., but in the spring it migrates to the west and breeds in Sind, the Frontier Province, and the Western Districts of the Punjab. Its nests have also been taken in Rajputana, Katywar, and Cutch.

These sprightly and handsome birds are characterised by their long crests, which end in a point and project forward, like Mr. Punch's cap. The head and crest are black, but each cheek is characterised by a large white and a small crimson patch, hence the name "red-whiskered." The upper plumage is earthy brown. The tail feathers are somewhat darker brown and are tipped with white. The breast and lower plumage are white. The breast is separated from the abdomen by a conspicuous band of black feathers known as the collaret. There is a crimson patch of feathers under the tail.

Found in Northern and Eastern India, and Burma.

Found chiefly in the south-western portion of India, more especially in the hills. This is the common bulbul of all our South-Indian hill stations.

A dull greenish brown bird, having no crest. It has a white eyebrow, and the patch of feathers under the tail is pale yellow.

It occurs only in Southern India and is exceedingly common in the vicinity of Madras. It frequents gardens and utters a variety of very cheery little notes, and has, therefore, been called "the blithest little bird in existence." It does not show itself very much in the open, being heard much more frequently than seen. It builds a cup-shaped nest in a bush or low tree.

Nuthatches are little climbing birds characterised by very short tails. They go about in small flocks and run up and down the trunks and branches of trees with great address, picking up small insects. They also, as their name implies, feed upon nuts. They nest in holes of trees, frequently closing up a portion of the aperture with mud.

Upper plumage dark blue, the cock having a velvet-like black forehead and a black streak through the eye; throat whitish; lower parts greyish.

Not found in the Punjab.

Jet black all over, with a long-forked tail. One of the most familiar of Indian birds. It frequently perches on telegraph wires, or on the backs of cattle. It makes little flights after insects and then returns to its perch. Its call is very cheery and is heard most often at earliest dawn.

It breeds in the hot weather; the nest is a small cup, wedged into the fork of a lofty branch. The oriole and the dove frequently nest in the same tree.

Found all over India, but only a summer visitor to the Frontier Province and the Western Punjab, and a winter visitor to Assam.

Very like the King Crow in appearance, save that it is a little smaller and its plumage is deep indigo instead of glossy black . The breast is grey and the abdomen white.

This bird, although nowhere common in India, is found in all parts save the N.W. F. P., the Punjab, and the eastern portion of Bengal.

Glossy black all over. The head is decorated by a large backwardly-directed crest. The two outer tail feathers are a foot and a half in length; on the inner side of the shaft there is scarcely any web, while the web on the outer shaft grows longer as it nears the tip of the feather. These elongated outer feathers are turned upwards and outwards at the tip.

Confined almost entirely to forests, and hence is very rarely seen in the plains.

In the hot weather the two middle tail feathers of the cock exceed the others in length by fully two inches. These projecting, bristle-like tail feathers render it very easy to recognise the cock tailor bird in breeding plumage.

This, too, is a dull-coloured little brownie bird. It visits India in great numbers in the winter, and is said to breed in Sind. In colouring it is much like the tailor bird, but it is more solidly built and has a narrow cream-coloured eyebrow. A little brown bird which is not the tailor bird, or one of the wren-warblers described below, is likely to be this species.

Brown above and cream-coloured below. This little bird is easily distinguished from the other long-tailed wrens, by the fact that its upper plumage is streaked with dark brown. The brown tail shows cross bars. The tip of each tail feather is white and next to this is a black patch.

This bird is common in the Punjab and in Sind. It also occurs in Rajputana and in the valley of the Ganges.

It builds a neat ball-like nest with an entrance at the side. The nest is usually situated at a few inches from the ground. Several are to be found in April and May amid the wild indigo that grows on the Lahore golf links. The green eggs have a distinct ring of reddish dots at the thick end.

Another "tiny brownie bird." Ashy upper plumage with brown wings and tail, lower plumage cream-coloured. A very slender and loosely-knit bird. It is easily distinguished by the curious snapping noise it makes as it flits from bush to bush. How this noise is made we do not know. It sounds as though it were due to the upper and lower mandibles of the beak closing sharply together.

This species constructs two types of nests--one is like that of the Tailor Bird , the other is a ball-like woven structure with an entrance at the side. The nest is invariably placed near the ground. The eggs are mahogany red. Does not occur in the N.W. F. P.

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