Birds of the Indian Hills Part 16

THE PHASIANIDae OR PHEASANT FAMILY

This important family includes the pea- and the jungle-fowl and the various pheasants.

The peac.o.c.k is not found at alt.i.tudes above 4000 feet.

Jungle-fowl are abundant on the Nilgiris. He who keeps his eyes open may occasionally see one of these birds running across a road in the hills. This must not lead the observer to think that jungle-fowl spend most of their time in sprinting across roads. The fact of the matter is that the fowl tribe do not appreciate their food unless they have to scratch for it. Paths and roads are highly scratchable objects, hence they are largely resorted to for food; further, they are used for the purpose of the daily dust-bath in which every self-respecting fowl indulges. If these birds are disturbed when feeding or bathing, they do not make for the nearest cover as most other birds do: they insist on running across the road, thereby giving the grateful sportsman a clear shot. The domestic rooster has the same habit. So has the Indian child. To test the truth of these a.s.sertions, it is only necessary to drive briskly along a street at the side of which children or fowls are playing in perfect safety. At the sight of the horse, the child or hen, as the case may be, makes a dash for the far side of the road, and pa.s.ses almost under the horse's nose. The fowl always gets across safely. The child is not so fortunate.

Two species of jungle-fowl have part.i.tioned the Indian peninsula between them. The red species (_Gallus ferrugineus_) has appropriated the part of India which lies between Kashmir and the G.o.davery; while the grey jungle-fowl (_G. sonnerati_) has possessed itself of the territory south of the G.o.davery. The third jungle-fowl (_G. lafayetti_) has to be content with Ceylon, but the size of its name very nearly makes up for its deficiency in acres!

Davison is my authority for stating that the _Strobilanthes whitiani_, which const.i.tutes the main undergrowth of many of the forests of the Nilgiris, seeds only once in about seven years, and that when this plant is seeding the grey jungle-fowl a.s.semble in vast numbers to feed on the seed. They collect in the same way for the sake of bamboo seeds. The crow of the c.o.c.k, which is heard chiefly in the morning and the evening, is not like that of the red jungle-fowl. It has been syllabised _kuk-kah-kah-kaha-kuk_. The call of the hen may be expressed by the syllables _kukkun-kukkun_.

The red spur-fowl (_Galloperdix spadicea_) is perhaps the most abundant game bird of the Nilgiris. It is quite partridge-like in shape. Both s.e.xes have red legs and a patch of red skin round the eye. The feathers of the c.o.c.k are dull red with blue edges, while those of the hen are black with broad buff margins. The c.o.c.k may be described as a dull red bird with a grey head and some buff scale-like markings, and the hen as a grey bird, heavily barred with black.

The only quail commonly seen on the Nilgiris is the painted bush-quail (_Microperdix erythrorhynchus_). A bird in shape like a partridge, but not much larger than a sparrow, is probably this species. The prevailing hue is umber brown with coa.r.s.e black blotches. The c.o.c.k has the breast white and the head black with a white eyebrow. The head of the hen is dull red. The bill, legs, and feet of both s.e.xes are red.

THE CHARADRIIDae OR PLOVER FAMILY

This very large family includes the plovers, sandpipers, and snipes.

It is not very well represented on the Nilgiris. In winter snipe and woodc.o.c.k visit those mountains and afford good sport to the human residents, but all have gone northward long before the summer visitors arrive.

Several species of sandpiper likewise visit the Nilgiris in winter; one of these--the wood sandpiper (_Tota.n.u.s glareola_)--tarries on until after the beginning of summer. This is a bird as large as a dove; its plumage is speckled brown and white. It looks somewhat like a snipe with a short bill. It lives on the margins of ponds and constantly wags its apology for a tail.

THE RALLIDae OR RAIL FAMILY

The rails are not well represented on the Nilgiris.

The water-hen (_Gallinula chloropus_) is common on the lake at Ootacamund. This is an olive-green bird about the size of a pigeon.

Its bill and forehead are red; there is a patch of white under the tail. This species swims like a duck.

Another rail which may be seen sometimes in the Botanical Gardens at Ootacamund is the white-breasted water-hen (_Amaurornis phoenicurus_). This is a black bird with the face, throat, and breast white. There is a chestnut-hued patch under the tail.

THE ARDEIDae OR HERON FAMILY

Almost the only member of the heron family that visits the Nilgiri hill stations is the pond-heron or paddy-bird (_Ardeola grayii_).

A colony of these birds pursues its avocations on the margin of the lake at Ootacamund, but I believe that I am right in saying that the paddy-birds of Ootacamund go to the plains for nesting purposes.

_PART III_ _The Common Birds of the Palni Hills_

_THE COMMON BIRDS OF THE PALNI HILLS_

For the benefit of those who visit Kodika.n.a.l I have compiled a list of the birds most commonly seen at alt.i.tudes of over 5000 feet in the Palni hills. I must here state that I have no first-hand knowledge of the avifauna of those hills, and the list that follows is based on the observations of Dr. Fairbank, made nearly 40 years ago.

The avifauna of the Palni is a comparatively restricted one: which is in part doubtless explained by the comparatively small area of the higher ranges that is covered by forest.

The great majority of the birds that follow have been described in the chapter on the birds of the Nilgiris, and I have contented myself with merely naming such.

THE CORVIDae OR CROW FAMILY

1. _Corvus macrorhynchus_. The Indian corby. This is not very abundant above 5500 feet.

2. _Dendrocitta rufa_. The tree-pie. This does not appear to occur above 5000 feet.

3. _Machlolophus haplonotus_. The southern yellow t.i.t. Occurs at Kodika.n.a.l, but is not very common there.

THE CRATEROPODIDae OR BABBLER FAMILY

4. _Crateropus canorus_. The jungle babbler. This rarely ascends higher than 5000 feet.

5. _Trochalopterum fairbanki_. The Palni laughing-thrush. This species is peculiar to the Palnis and the Anamallis. The head is very dark brown, almost black, with a broad white eyebrow. The cheeks are grey, as are the chin, throat, and breast. The back, wings, and tail are olive brown tinged with rusty red. The abdomen is bright rufous.

The noisy cries of this bird are among the most familiar sounds of Kodika.n.a.l. It is destructive to peaches and raspberries.

6. _Pomatorhinus horsfieldi_. The southern scimitar-babbler. This is not nearly so abundant on the Palnis as on the Nilgiris.

7. _Zosterops palpebrosa_. The Indian white-eye. A common bird.

8. _Iole icteria_. The yellow-browed bulbul. _Otocompsa fuscicaudata_. The southern red-whiskered bulbul or hill-bulbul. As in the Nilgiris so in the Palnis, this is the most abundant bird on the higher hills.

9. _Molpastes haemorrhous_. The Madras red-vented bulbul. The higher one ascends, the rarer this bird becomes.

10. _Hypsipetes ganeesa_. The southern black bulbul.

11. _Myiophoneus horsfieldi_. The Malabar whistling-thrush or idle schoolboy. This fine but shy bird is found on the streams up to 6000 feet. It is a bird as large as a crow, with glossy black plumage, in which are patches of bright cobalt blue.

It is better known to the ear than to the eye. It emits a number of cheerful whistling notes.

THE SITTIDae OR NUTHATCH FAMILY

12. _Sitta frontalis_. The velvet-fronted blue nuthatch. This bird is found in every part of the Palnis where there are trees.

THE DICRURIDae OR DRONGO FAMILY

13. _Chaptia aenea_. The bronzed drongo. This species is not often seen at alt.i.tudes of more than 5000 feet above sea-level.

It is like the common king-crow in appearance, but the plumage is glossed with a bronze sheen, and the tail is less markedly forked.