s tribe, and continually makes,
from a perch, little sallies into the air after flying insects. But,
more often than not it starts from one branch, and, having secured
its quarry, alights on another. It sings a joyous lay, not unlike
that of the fantail-flycatcher, but less sweet and powerful. It nests
in a hole in a tree or bank, laying in May two or three eggs very
thickly speckled with red spots.

The grey-headed flycatcher (_Culicicapa ceylonensis_) is a bird of
somewhat sombre plumage. Its total length is only five inches, and
of this half is composed of tail. The head is ashy grey, the back
and wings are greenish; the lower plumage is bright yellow, but this
is not conspicuous except when the bird is on the wing. This flycatcher
has a loud song, which may be syllabised: _Think of me.... Never to
be_.

The white-browed fantail-flycatcher (_Rhipidura albifrontata_),
which delights the inhabitants of Madras with its cheerful whistle
of five or six notes, occurs on the Nilgiris, but is there largely
replaced by an allied species--the white-spotted fantail-flycatcher
(_R. pectoralis_). The latter has all the habits of the former. Both
make the same melody, and each has the habit of spreading out and
erecting the tail whenever it settles on a perch after a flight. The
white-spotted is distinguishable from the white-browed species by
the white eyebrow being much narrower and less conspicuous. It is
a black bird with a white abdomen, some white in the wings and tail,
a few white spots on the chin, and the white eyebrow mentioned above.

The most beautiful of all the flycatchers is _Terpsiphone
paradisi_--the paradise-flycatcher, or ribbon-bird, as it is often
called. This is fairly abundant on the Nilgiris. The cock in the full
glory of his adult plumage is a truly magnificent object. His crested
head is metallic blue-black. This stands out in sharp contrast to
the remainder of the plumage, which is as white as snow. Two of his
tail feathers, being 12 inches longer than the others, hang down like
satin streamers. Young cocks are chestnut instead of white. Birds
in both phases of plumage breed. The hen has the metallic blue-black
crested head, but she lacks the elongated tail feathers. Her plumage
is chestnut, like that of the young cock. In both the hen and the
young cock the breast is white. As "Eha" remarks, the hen looks very
like a bulbul.

THE TURDIDAE OR THRUSH FAMILY

This heterogeneous family includes thr