ndantly a
little below Coonoor, but does not appear to ascend so high as
Ootacamund. Its upper parts are chocolate brown, save the feathers
above the tail, which Oates describes as "glistening fulvous." The
wings and tail are black, as are the cheeks, chin, and throat. The
lower parts are pinkish brown. The stout bill is slaty blue. Like
the spotted munia, this species is considerably smaller than a
sparrow.

The Indian red-munia or red waxbill or _lal_ (_Sporaeginthus
amandava_) is another very small bird. Its bill and eyes are bright
red. Over its brown plumage are dotted many tiny white spots. There
are also some large patches of red or crimson, notably one on the
rump. The amount of crimson varies considerably; in the breeding
season nearly the whole of the upper plumage of the cock is crimson.
Amadavats go about in flocks and utter a cheeping note during flight.
Their happy hunting grounds are tangles of long grass. Amadavats occur
all over the Nilgiris.

THE FRINGILLIDAE OR FINCH FAMILY

Finches are seed-eating birds characterised by a stout bill, which
is used for husking grain.

The common sparrow (_Passer domesticus_) is the best known member
of the finch family. Most of us see too much of him. He is to be observed
in every garden on the Nilgiris, looking as though the particular
garden in which he happens to be belongs to him. As a rule, sparrows
nest about houses, but numbers of them breed in the steep cuttings
on the road between Coonoor and Ootacamund.

The only other finch common on the Nilgiris is the rose-finch
(_Carpodacus erythrinus_). This, however, is only a winter visitor:
it departs from the Nilgiris in April and does not return until the
summer season is over.

THE HIRUNDINIDAE OR SWALLOW FAMILY

This family includes the swallows and the martins.

The swallows commonly found on the Nilgiris in summer are the Nilgiri
house-swallow (_Hirundo javanica_) and the red-rumped or mosque
swallow (_H. erythropygia_). I regret to have to state that Oates
has saddled the latter with the name "Sykes's striated swallow"; he
was apparently seduced by the sibilant alliteration!

Those two swallows are easily distinguished. The latter is the larger
bird; its upper parts are glossy steel-blue, except the rump, which
is of chestnut hue. The house-swallow has the rump glossy black, but
it displays a good deal of red about the head and neck.

In the cold weather the European swallow and two species o