eacli feather tipped finely with w h i t e ; the quills are dark brown, but their inner webs at
t h e base, as well as the exterior web of both primaries and secondaries and the tips of the
latter, are edged with yellowish w h i t e ; the chin and throat are earthy brown, paler on the
breast and shading into light blue green on the under surface, the brown feathers of the
breast being faintly centred paler; the under surface of the tail greenish b l u e ; rictal bristles
strongly developed; the flesh colours vary in tint according to the time of year; the bill
is pale brown, with a pinkish or orange t i n g e ; the bare skin round the eyes and on the
sides of the face is orange, brighter and more yellowish in t h e spring; the eyelid is lighter
yellow; the legs are yellow with more or less brownish tinge in them, and the claws are
pale greenish h o r n y ; irides clear brown.
The female is rather smaller than t h e male, but the difference is slight. The dimensions
of a male average a b o u t : length 10""5, expanse 16"., wing 4""75, tail 3"-, tarsus l"-
inch; and of a female : length 10"*25, expanse 15""5, wing 4"-6, tail 3"- inches.
Habitat. Throughout Northern India in wooded localities, but not extending into the
Himalayas, or, as far as we know, anywhere north of the Sutlej ; Sewalik mountains and
Rohilkund (Marshall) ; N. W. Provinces (Ewer); Manbhoom (Beavan) ; Central India,
Nagpoor, and Chanda (Jerdon); Bengal and the Vindhyan hills (Franklin); Eastern
Ghats, Malabar and Goomsoor (Jerdon). The last localities we have taken from Dr.
Jerdon's book on the birds of India; but we have never seen any specimens of true M.
caniceps from Southern India, and we r a t h e r suspect they will t u r n out to be Lord Walden's
new species, M. inornata.
This dingily-coloured Barbet belongs to a sub-group of the Megalamiina, the different
species of which are closely allied and not easily distinguishable from each other by description
only; but as more is known of the habits of this species than of those of the others,
we have pointed out the distinctions at greater length under the descriptions of M. zeylonica
and M. inornata.
The place where we have had the best opportunities of observing the habits of the
Hoary Jungle Barbet was the Ealoowala Rao, a valley on the Southern slope of the Sewalik
mountains, situated about half way between the Ganges and the Jumna and the source of
a mountain torrent from which it derives its name. The sides of the mountains here, and
the plains for about two or three miles from their base, are covered with forest interspersed
with patches of rank jungle grass, the forest consisting chiefly of thorn trees and bushes
about twenty feet high, with here and there a clump of fine old mango trees, or a solitary
peepul or banyan stretching out its giant arms far over the tops of the other trees, and
marking the probable site of some ancient village of bygone days in what is now a silent
wilderness. The soil is stony and dry, and during the greater part of the year, though
the thick covers abound with pea fowl, j u n g l e fowl, grey partridges, and spotted deer, the
oppressive stillness of the air in the heat of the day is only broken by the crackling of the
dead leaves under the feet of the traveller. Far different is t h e case when the shade of one
of these wild fig trees has been reached ; the dense foliage seems almost alive with the
rustling caused by the ceaseless creeping of the Barbets among the small twigs in search of
food and the patter of the berries that they occasionally drop. So like, however, is their
plumage to the colour of the trees that we have frequently waited many minutes and
strained our eyes among the rustling branches in the hopes of catching sight of them, without
success ; and as the curiosity was sharpened by the suspense, and the possibility of its
being a new species gained ground in our minds, we generally ended by taking a blind shot
at the moving foliage rather than risk a flying shot in our anxiety to ascertain the fact: the
result, alas! always ending in disappointment, though we frequently bagged the bird.
When startled by an intruder the Barbets fly leisurely off to the next fig tree, keeping j u st
over the tops of the trees and moving in strong undulations with repeated flaps of the
wings. They are not very shy, but when they have been once disturbed they do not stay
long in the next tree, but change their position quickly several times till they recover their
equanimity, when they may again be approached.
Their note is very loud and startling, but it has a clear metallic ring and would be
pleasant if it were not associated in our minds with the intense heat of an Indian summer,
when it comes with an oppressive iteration of sound across the b u r n t - u p forests. It resembles
the word Kohtoor repeated several times, t h e accent being on t h e last syllable. In the parts
of the forests where the fig trees abound they may be heard calling to each other and
making the woods resound with their clear ringing note. Dr. Jerdon says that " t h e call
" Kohtoor is preceded by a harsh sort of laugh," and that " t h e y continue to call for some
" minutes at a time, and are heard at all hours, frequently indeed at night, especially when
" there is moonlight."
Mr. Elliot, in some remarks on this bird's habits, notes that one was shot while pecking
the flowers of a tree. This seems to be an occasional habit with others of this family
also, for Mr. Brian Hodgson mentions finding the stomach of a specimen of M. virens full of
t h e leaves of some odorous flowers. Its usual food, however, is fruit and berries. Dr.
Jerdon mentions " insects " also; but this is probably only an occasional habit, as none of
the specimens we have examined contained any. Our specimens were almost all killed in