Part 15

It will be noticed that I have refrained from giving any specific name to either of these two genera. This is due to the fact that these bulbuls are widely distributed and fall into a number of local races, each of which has some little peculiarity in colouring. For this reason, bulbuls are birds after the heart of the museum ornithologist. They afford him ample scope for species-making.

If you go from Madras to the Punjab you will there meet with a bulbul which you will take for the same species as the bulbul you left behind in Madras. But if you look up the birds in an ornithological text-book you will find that they belong to different species. The Punjab bulbul is known as _Molpastes intermedius_, while the Madras bird is called _M. hæmorrhous_. The only difference in appearance between the two species is that in the Madras bird the black of the head does not extend to the neck, whereas in the Punjab bird it does. Similarly, there is a Burmese, a Tenasserim, a Chinese, and a Bengal red-vented bulbul.

Now, I regard all these different bulbuls as local races of one species, which might perhaps be called _Molpastes indicus_; and I think that I am justified in holding this view by the fact that the bulbuls you come across at Lucknow do not fit in with the description of any of these so-called species. The reason is that the Bengal and the Madras races meet at Lucknow, and of course interbreed. The result is a cross between the two races.

In addition to the above there are some _Molpastes_ which have white cheeks and a yellow patch under the tail. In all, nine or ten Indian “species” of _Molpastes_ have been described.

The same applies in a lesser degree to _Otocompsa_. This is a widely distributed species, but is not so plastic as _Molpastes_. There is the Bengal red-whiskered bulbul (_Otocompsa emeria_), which is distinguishable from the southern variety (_O. fuscicaudata_) by having white tips to the tail feathers, and the dark necklace interrupted in the middle. There is also an _Otocompsa_ with a yellow patch under the tail.

This division of a species or genus into a number of races or nearly allied species is interesting as showing one of the ways in which new species arise in Nature quite independently of natural selection. It is unreasonable to suppose that the extension into the neck of the black of the head in the Punjab bulbul and its non-extension in the Madras bulbul are due to the action of natural selection in each locality, that a bulbul with black in its neck is unfitted for existence in Madras.

Whenever a group of animals becomes isolated from its fellows, it almost invariably develops peculiarities which are of no help to it in the struggle for existence. Thus isolation is the cause of the origin of dialects and languages. A dialect is an incipient language, even as a race is a potential species.

But let us return to our bulbuls. The habits of both _Otocompsa_ and _Molpastes_ are so similar that we can speak of them together. They are what Mr. Finn calls thoroughly nice birds. They are, none of them, great songsters, but all continually give forth exceedingly cheery notes. The twittering of the red-whiskered bulbuls is not the least of the charms of our southern hill stations.

Bulbuls feed on insects and berries, so are apt to be destructive in gardens. They built nests of the orthodox type—cups of the description always depicted on Christmas cards. These are built anywhere, without much attempt at concealment. Rose bushes are a favourite site, so are crotons, especially if they be in a verandah. A pair of bulbuls once built a nest in my greenhouse at Gonda. Among the fronds of a fern growing in a hanging basket did those unsophisticated birds construct that nest. Every time the fern was watered the sitting bird, nest, and eggs received a shower-bath!

Sometimes bulbuls do by chance construct their nest in a well-concealed spot, but then they invariably “give the show away” by setting up a tremendous cackling whenever a human being happens to pass by.

I have had the opportunity of watching closely the nesting operations of seven pairs of bulbuls; of these only one couple succeeded in raising their brood. The first of these nests was built in a croton plant in a verandah at Fyzabad. One day a lizard passed by and sucked the eggs. The next was the nest at Gonda already mentioned. In spite of the numerous waterings they received, the eggs actually yielded young bulbuls; but these disappeared when about four days old. The _mali_ probably caused them to be gathered unto their fathers. The third nest was situated in a bush outside the drawing-room window of the house in which I spent a month’s leave at Coonoor. This little nursery was so well concealed that I expected the parents would succeed in rearing their young. But one morning I saw on the gravel path near the nest a number of tell-tale feathers. Puss had eaten mamma bulbul for breakfast! The fourth nest—but why should I detail these tragedies? Notwithstanding all their nesting disasters, bulbuls flourish so greatly as to severely shake one’s faith in the doctrine of natural selection.

In conclusion, a word or two must be said concerning bulbuls in captivity. These birds make charming pets, but as their diet is largely insectivorous, they cannot be fed on seed. They become delightfully tame. One I kept used to fly on to my shoulder whenever it saw me, and open its mouth, flutter its wings, and twitter, which was its way of asking to be fed. It _would_ insist on using my pen as a perch, and as one’s handwriting is not improved by an excitable bulbul hopping up and down the penholder, I was obliged to shut the bird up in a cage when I wanted to write. The bulbul used to resent this, and did not hesitate to tell me so. In young birds the tail is very short, and the patch of feathers under it is pale red instead of being bright crimson.

Natives of India keep bulbuls for fighting purposes. These birds are not caged, but are tied to a cloth-covered perch by a long piece of fine twine attached to the leg. Bulbuls, although full of pluck, are not by nature quarrelsome. In order to make them fight they are kept without food for some time. Then two ravenous birds are shown the same piece of food. This, of course, leads to a fight, for a hungry bulbul is an angry bulbul.

THE INDIAN CORBY

I have never been able to discover why the great black crow (_Corvus macrorhynchus_), so common in India, is called the jungle-crow. It is, indeed, true that the corby is found in the jungle, but it is found everywhere else in most parts of India, and is certainly abundant in villages and towns, being in some places quite as much a house bird as its smaller cousin, the grey-necked crow.

Considering the character of the larger species and its extensive distribution, one hears remarkably little about it. The explanation is, of course, that the house-crow absorbs all the attention that man has to bestow upon the sable-plumaged tribe. The prevailing opinion seems to be that the black crow is merely a mild edition, a feeble imitation of, a scoundrel of lesser calibre than, its smaller cousin, _Corvus splendens_, and, therefore, everything that applies to the house-crow applies in a lesser degree to the big-billed bird. This is, I submit, a mistaken view, the result of imperfect observation. _Corvus macrorhynchus_ has an individuality of his own, and we do him scant justice in dismissing him with a short paragraph at the foot of a lengthy description of _Corvus splendens_.

In saying this, I feel that I am speaking as one having authority, and not as the Scribes and Pharisees, whose zoological horizon coincides with the limits of the museum. For a period of eighteen months I lived in a station which should be renamed and called Crowborough. To assert that the place in question swarms with crows is, of course, to assert nothing, for it shares this feature with every other place in India. The point I desire to bring out clearly is that in this particular place the black crows are nearly as numerous as the grey-necked birds. The former are certainly in a minority, but their minority is, like Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman’s in the previous House of Commons, a large one, and what they lack in numbers they make up in weight and beak-force. It was truly delightful to watch them lord it over the grey-necked birds. Grammarians will observe that I here use the past tense. This is a point of some importance. Just as it is impossible to properly estimate the character of an eminent man during his lifetime, so is it to form a proper opinion of the personality and behaviour of a species of crow while one is in the midst of that species, while one is subjected to the persecutions, the annoyances, and the insults to which it thinks fit to treat one.

But I am now far away from Crowborough, and I may never again return thither. As I sit upon the Irish shore and see the blue waters of the North Atlantic roll softly up against the black rocks of Antrim, I feel that I am in a position to form a true estimate of the character of _Corvus macrorhynchus_.

Until I went to Crowborough I laboured under the delusion that the grey-necked crow knew not the meaning of the word “respect.” The deference with which the big-beaked species is treated by his smaller cousin came as a complete surprise to me.

Most Anglo-Indians are so embittered against the whole tribe of the _corvi_ that they will on no account feed them. I do not share this prejudice. I am able to see things from the corvine point of view. Were I a crow I should most certainly consider man fair game.

While in Crowborough I invariably gave the surplus of my _tiffin_ to the crows. Those in the locality of my office window did not take long to find this out. The grey-necked crows were the first to make the discovery. It takes these less time to put two and two together than it does the more sluggish-brained black crows. At the end of a few days quite half-a-dozen grey-necked fellows had learned to hang about my windows at the luncheon hour. They used to sit in a row along each window-ledge. One day a corby appeared upon the scene. His arrival was the signal for the departure of his grey-necked brethren. From that day onwards he regarded that ledge as his special preserve, and whenever a house-crow ventured on to the ledge he “went for” it savagely with his great beak. The intruder never waited long enough to enable him to get a blow home. Thus the hunting-ground of the grey-necked crows became restricted to one of the window-ledges.

In order to tease the black fellow I used sometimes to throw all the food to the window in which the grey crows were perched. He would fly round and drive them off that ledge and then give me a bit of his mind! Later on he introduced his wife. She took possession of one window and he of the other; so that the poor house-crows no longer had “a look in.” Some of the bolder spirits among them used certainly to settle on the shutters in hopes of catching a stray crumb, but none durst venture on to the ledge while a black crow was there.

Upon one occasion I put a whole milk pudding upon the ledge; the corbies would not allow the house-crows so much as a peck at the dainty dish until they themselves had had their fill.

Every one knows that the grey-necked crows, when harassing a creature more powerful than themselves, work in concert. It is my belief that two of these birds acting together are more than a match for any other creature. The way in which a pair of them will, by alternate feint and attack, take food away from a great kite or a dog is truly admirable. But so great is the respect of the grey-necked crows for the corby that I have never seen them attack him in this way. This says volumes for the force of character of _Corvus macrorhynchus_. He is quite an Oliver Cromwell among birds. He is a dour, austere, masterful, selfish bird—a bird which it is impossible to like or to despise.

When he has once made up his mind to do anything there is no deterring him from the accomplishment thereof. Early in the year one of these birds spent at least the greater part of a day in trying to secure for its nest one of the twigs in a little circular fence erected for the protection of a young tree. The fence in question was composed of leafless branches, interlaced and tied together. One of these twigs, being loose at one end, was pounced upon by a black crow who intended to carry it to his or her nest. But the other end was securely fastened. I watched that crow at intervals for several hours. Whenever I looked it was grappling in vain with the refractory twig. The work was, it is true, frequently interrupted, for natives kept passing by. But immediately the human being had gone, the crow resumed the attack. Every now and again it would fly to a dust-bin hard by and alight on the rim in order to take a breather. Occasionally it would dive into that bin in order to secure the wherewithal to feed the inner crow. It would then return to work like a giant refreshed.

I am of opinion that that dust-bin was to the crow what the public-house is to the British working man.

APPENDIX

A LIST OF THE BIRDS WHICH HAVE BEEN RECORDED BOTH IN THE BRITISH ISLES AND IN INDIA

1. _Corvus corax._ The Raven. 2. _Corvus corone._ The Carrion Crow. 3. _Corvus frugilegus._ The Rook. 4. _Corvus comix._ The Hooded Crow. 5. _Corvus monedula._ The Jackdaw. 6. _Graculus eremita._ The Red-billed Chough. 7. _Pyrrhocorax alpinus._ The Yellow-billed Chough. 8. _Pica rustica._ The Magpie. 9. _Regulus cristatus._ The Goldcrest. 10. _Lanius collurio._ The Red-backed Shrike. 11. _Ampelis garrulus._ The Waxwing. 12. _Oriolus galbula._ The Golden Oriole. 13. _Pastor roseus._ The Rose-coloured Starling. 14. _Siphia parva._ The European Red-breasted Flycatcher. 15. _Muscicapa grisola._ The Spotted Flycatcher. 16. _Geocichla sibirica._ The Siberian Ground Thrush. 17. _Monticola saxatilis._ The Rock Thrush. 18. _Saxicola aenanthe._ The Wheatear. 19. _Cyanecula wolfi._ The White spotted Bluethroat. 20. _Turdus viscivorus._ The Missel Thrush. 21. _Turdus pilaris._ The Fieldfare. 22. _Turdus iliacus._ The Redwing. 23. _Linota cannabina._ The Linnet. 24. _Passer montanus._ The Tree Sparrow. 25. _Passer domesticus._ The House Sparrow. 26. _Emberiza schoeniclus._ The Reed Bunting. 27. _Emberiza pusilla._ The Dwarf Bunting. 28. _Emberiza hortulana._ The Ortolan Bunting. 29. _Emberiza melanocephala._ The Black-headed Bunting 30. _Fringilla montifringilla._ The Brambling. 31. _Alauda arvensis._ The Skylark. 32. _Calandrella brachydactyla._ The Short-toed Lark. 33. _Galerita cristata._ The Crested Lark. 34. _Anthus trivialis._ The Tree Pipit. 35. _Anthus richardi._ Richard’s Pipit. 36. _Anthus campestris._ The Tawny Pipit. 37. _Anthus spinoletta._ The Water Pipit. 38. _Anthus pratensis._ The Meadow Pipit. 39. _Hirundo rustica._ The Swallow. 40. _Cotile riparia._ The Sand Martin. 41. _Chelidon urbica._ The Martin. 42. _Motacilla alba._ The White Wagtail. 43. _Motacilla melanope._ The Grey Wagtail. 44. _Motacilla borealis._ The Grey-headed Wagtail. 45. _Motacilla flava._ The Blue-headed Wagtail. 46. _Iynx torquilla._ The Wryneck. 47. _Merops phillippinus._ The Blue-tailed Bee-eater. 48. _Merops apiaster._ The European Bee-eater. 49. _Upupa epops._ The Hoopoe. 50. _Coracias garrula._ The European Roller. 51. _Cypselus alpinus._ The Alpine Swift. 52. _Cypselus apus._ The European Swift. 53. _Caprimulgus europaeus._ The European Nightjar. 54. _Strix flammea._ The Barn Owl. 55. _Scops giu._ The Scops Owl. 56. _Asio otus._ The Long-eared Owl. 57. _Asio accipitrinus._ The Short-eared Owl. 58. _Bubo ignavus._ The Eagle Owl. 59. _Nyctea scandiaca._ The Snowy Owl. 60. _Alcedo ispida._ The Common Kingfisher. 61. _Cuculus canorus._ The Cuckoo. 62. _Gyps fulvus._ The Griffon Vulture. 63. _Neophron percnopterus._ The Egyptian Vulture. 64. _Milvus migrans._ The Black Kite. 65. _Haliaetus albicilla._ The White-tailed Sea Eagle. 66. _Pandion haliaetus._ The Osprey. 67. _Accipiter nisus._ The Sparrow Hawk. 68. _Astur palumbarius._ The Goshawk. 69. _Aquila chrysætus._ The Golden Eagle. 70. _Aquila maculata._ The Large Spotted Eagle. 71. _Buteo desertorum._ The Common Buzzard. 72. _Circus cineraceus._ Montagu’s Harrier. 73. _Circus cyaneus._ The Hen Harrier. 74. _Circus aeruginosus._ The Marsh Harrier. 75. _Elanus caeruleus._ The Black-winged Kite. 76. _Falco peregrinus._ The Peregrine Falcon. 77. _Falco subbuteo._ The Hobby. 78. _Aesalon regulus._ The Merlin. 79. _Tinnunculus alaudaris._ The Kestrel. 80. _Tinnunculus cenchris._ The Lesser Kestrel. 81. _Columbia livia._ The Blue Rock Pigeon. 82. _Turtur communis._ The Turtle Dove. 83. _Coturnix communis._ The Quail. 84. _Rallus aquaticus._ The Water-Rail. 85. _Crex pratensis._ The Corn Crake. 86. _Porzana parva._ The Little Crake. 87. _Porzana maruetta._ The Spotted Crake. 88. _Fulica atra._ The Coot. 89. _Gallinula chloropus._ The Moorhen. 90. _Grus communis._ The Crane. 91. _Anthropoides virgo._ The Demoiselle Crane. 92. _Otis tarda._ The Great Bustard. 93. _Otis tetrax._ The Little Bustard. 94. _Oedicnemus scolopa._ The Stone Curlew. 95. _Glareola pratincola._ The Pratincole. 96. _Cursorius gallicus._ The Cream-coloured Courser. 97. _Strepsilas interpres._ The Turnstone. 98. _Charadrius fulvus._ The Eastern Golden Plover. 99. _Charadrius pluvialis._ The Golden Plover. 100. _Vanellus vulgaris._ The Lapwing. 101. _Squatarola helvitica._ The Grey Plover. 102. _Aegialitis alexandrina._ The Kentish Plover. 103. _Aegialitis dubia._ The Little Ringed Plover. 104. _Aegialitis hiaticula._ The Ringed Plover. 105. _Haematopus ostralegus._ The Oystercatcher. 106. _Himantopus candidus._ The Black-winged Stilt. 107. _Limosa belgica._ The Black-tailed Godwit. 108. _Limosa lapponica._ The Bar-tailed Godwit. 109. _Numenius arquata._ The Curlew, 110. _Numenius phaeopus._ The Whimbrel. 111. _Recurvirostra avocetta._ The Avocet. 112. _Totanus hypoleucus._ The Common Sandpiper. 113. _Totanus glareola._ The Wood Sandpiper. 114. _Totanus ochropus._ The Green Sandpiper. 115. _Totanus calidris._ The Redshank. 116. _Totanus fuscus._ The Spotted Redshank. 117. _Totanus glottis._ The Greenshank. 118. _Tringa minuta._ The Little Stint. 119. _Tringa temmincki._ Temminck’s Stint. 120. _Tringa subarquata._ The Curlew Stint. 121. _Tringa alpina._ The Dunlin. 122. _Tringa platyrhyncha._ The Broad-billed Stint. 123. _Calidris arenaria._ The Sanderling. 124. _Pavoncella pugnax._ The Ruff. 125. _Phalaropus hyperboreus._ The Red-necked Phalarope. 126. _Phalaropus fulicarius._ The Grey Phalarope. 127. _Scolopax rusticula._ The Woodcock. 128. _Gallinago coelestis._ The Common Snipe. 129. _Gallinago gallinula._ The Jack Snipe. 130. _Larus ichthyaetus._ The Great Black-billed Gull. 131. _Larus ridibundus._ The Laughing Gull. 132. _Larus affinis._ The Dark-backed Herring Gull. 133. _Hydrochelidon hybrida._ The Whiskered Tern. 134. _Hydrochelidon leucoptera._ The White-winged Black Tern. 135. _Sterna angelica._ The Gull-billed Tern. 136. _Sterna cantiaca._ The Sandwich Tern. 137. _Sterna fluviatilis._ The Common Tern. 138. _Sterna dougalli._ The Roseate Tern. 139. _Sterna minuta._ The Little Tern. 140. _Sterna fuliginosa._ The Sooty Tern. 141. _Hydroprogne caspia._ The Caspian Tern. 142. _Stercorarius crepidatus._ Richardson’s Skua. 143. _Stercorarius pomatorhinus._ The Pomatorhine Skua. 144. _Oceanites oceanicus._ Wilson’s Petrel. 145. _Anous stolidus._ The Noddy. 146. _Phalacrocorax carbo._ The Cormorant. 147. _Platalea leucorodia._ The Spoonbill. 148. _Nycticorax griseus._ The Night Heron. 149. _Ardea manillensis._ The Purple Heron. 150. _Ardea cinerea._ The Common Heron. 151. _Herodias alba._ The Large Egret. 152. _Herodias garzetta._ The Little Egret. 153. _Bulbulcus coromnandus._ The Cattle Egret. 154. _Ardetta minuta._ The Little Bittern. 155. _Ciconia alba._ The White Stork. 156. _Ciconia nigra._ The Black Stork. 157. _Plegadis falcinellus._ The Glossy Ibis. 158. _Phoenicopterus roseus._ The Flamingo. 159. _Cygnus olor._ The Mute Swan. 160. _Cygnus musicus._ The Whooper. 161. _Anser ferus._ The Grey-lag Goose. 162. _Anser albifrons._ The White-fronted Goose. 163. _Anser erythropus._ The Lesser White-fronted Goose. 164. _Anser brachyrhynchus._ The Pink-footed Goose. 165. _Tadorna cornuta._ The Sheld-Duck. 166. _Casarca rutila._ The Brahminy Duck. 167. _Mareca penelope._ The Widgeon. 168. _Anas boscas._ The Mallard. 169. _Chaulelasmus streperus._ The Gadwall. 170. _Nyroca ferruginea._ The White-eyed Duck. 171. _Nyroca ferina._ The Pochard. 172. _Nyroca marila._ The Scaup. 173. _Nyroca fuligula._ The Tufted Duck. 174. _Netta rufina._ The Red-crested Pochard. 175. _Dafila acuta._ The Pintail. 176. _Clangula glaucion._ The Golden-Eye. 177. _Spatula clypeata._ The Shoveller. 178. _Querquedula urcia._ The Garganey Teal. 179. _Nettium crecca._ The Common Teal. 180. _Podiceps cristatus._ The Great Crested Grebe. 181. _Podiceps nigricollis._ The Eared Grebe. 182. _Mergus albellus._ The Smew. 183. _Merganser castor._ The Goosander. 184. _Merganser serrator._ The Red-breasted Merganser.

GLOSSARY

_Babul._ _Acacia arabica._ A thorny tree.

_Badmash._ A bad character, a ruffian.

_Barsath._ Rain.

_Bhabar._ The waterless tract of forest-clad land between the Himalayas and the _Terai_. It is from ten to fifteen miles in breadth and higher than the general level of the plains.

_Chaprassi._ Lit. a badgeman. A servant who runs messages, an orderly.

_Chik._ A number of thin pieces of bamboo strung together to form a curtain. Thin chiks are usually hung in front of doors in India with the object of keeping out flies but not air. Chiks of stouter make are hung from the verandah in order to keep out the sun.

_Chit._ Short for _Chitti_, a letter or testimonial.

_Coolie._ An unskilled labourer.

_Dhak._ _Butea frondosa._ A common tree in low jungle.

_Dhobi._ Washerman.

_Dirzie._ Tailor.

_Farash._ _Tamarix indica._

_Gali galoj._ Abuse.

_Jhil._ A lake, broad tank, or any natural depression which is filled with rain water at certain seasons or permanently.

_Kankar, or Kunkar._ Lumps of limestone with which roads are metalled in Northern India.

_Kannaut._ The sides of a tent.

_Khansamah._ Cook.

_Khud._ A deep valley.

_Mali._ Gardener.

_Murghi._ Barndoor Fowl.

_Neem._ _Azadirachta melia_, a common tree in India.

_Paddy._ Growing rice.

_Puggarree._ A turban.

_Ryot._ A cultivator, small farmer.

_Sal._ The iron-wood tree (_Shorea robusta_).

_Sahib._ Master, sir, gentleman; a term used to denote a European.

_Shikar._ Hunting or shooting.

_Shikari._ (1) The man who goes hunting or shooting. (2) The native who accompanies him and directs the beat.

_Terai._ Lit. “Moist land.” A marshy tract of land about twelve miles broad, between the _Bhabar_ and the plains proper. It is low-lying.

_Tiffin._ Lunch.

_Topi._ A sun-helmet.

With the exception of _British Birds in the Plains of India_, which appeared in _The Civil and Military Gazette_, and _The Indian Corby, Birds in the Rain_, and _Do Animals Think?_ which came out in _The Times of India_, the articles which compose this book made their _debût_ in one or other of the following papers: _The Madras Mail_, _The Indian Field_, _The Englishman_.

The author takes this opportunity of thanking the editors of the above-named newspapers for permission to reproduce these essays.

INDEX