Upper plumage dark greyish blue. A broad black band runs from the beak, through the eye and down the side of the head. The other parts of the cheek are white. The lower plumage is dark chestnut-red, as denoted by the popular name of the bird. (The lower parts of the hen are of a lighter hue.) Distribution: U. P., C. P., C. I., and western parts of Bengal.
[24]. Sitta frontalis: The Velvet-fronted Blue Nuthatch. (F. 325), (J. 253), (-I.)
Upper plumage dark blue, the cock having a velvet-like black forehead and a black streak through the eye; throat whitish; lower parts greyish.
Not found in the Punjab.
The Drongos, 25-27
[25]. Dicrurus ater: The Black Drongo, or King Crow. (F. 327), (J. 278), (II, but with a tail six inches long.)
Jet black all over, with a long-forked tail. One of the most familiar of Indian birds. It frequently perches on telegraph wires, or on the backs of cattle. It makes little flights after insects and then returns to its perch. Its call is very cheery and is heard most often at earliest dawn.
It breeds in the hot weather; the nest is a small cup, wedged into the fork of a lofty branch. The oriole and the dove frequently nest in the same tree.
Found all over India, but only a summer visitor to the Frontier Province and the Western Punjab, and a winter visitor to Assam. (Illus. B. D., frontispiece; also I. F., p. 148, and B. B., p. 1.)
[26]. Dicrurus cærulescens: The White-bellied Drongo. (F. 330), (J. 281), (II, but with long-forked tail.)