[64]. Cercomela fusca: The Brown Rock Chat—the Desi shama of Indians. (F. 629), (J. 494), (+I.)
A dull inconspicuous brown bird. It frequents buildings and is robin-like in its habits. As it hops about it continually bobs its head. The cock sings a sweet little lay. The nest is made up of dried grass and placed in a niche or on a ledge in an outhouse, or a mosque, or even an inhabited room. It is made of dried grass and roots, and falls to pieces if lifted from its foundation. The eggs are pale blue blotched with reddish yellow.
Found in Punjab, Rajputana, U. P., and C. P.; very common at Lahore.
[65]. Ruticilla rufiventris: The Indian Redstart. (F. 644), (J. 497), (I.)
Cock: Each feather of the head, breast, and upper plumage is black, fringed with grey, so that after the autumn moult the cock is dark grey in these parts; but gradually the grey edges wear away, so that by the spring the head, neck, and upper parts of the cock look black. The rump and the feathers over the tail are reddish chestnut. The abdomen is orange-red. All the feathers of the tail are reddish except the two median ones, which are brown.
Hen: Reddish brown when the cock is grey or black; otherwise like the cock, except that the red in her plumage is duller.
The redstart is an easy bird to identify, it behaves as though it had St. Vitus’ dance in the tail. As it flies away all the red in its plumage shows, so that the bird looks like a ball of fire. It feeds largely on the ground, taking cover in bushes when alarmed. It frequents gardens.
A winter visitor to India. Very common in the north and rarer in the south.
[66]. Thamnobia cambaiensis: The Brown-backed Indian Robin. (F. 661), (J. 480), (+I.)
Cock: A glossy black bird with a brown back, a narrow white bar in the wing, and a conspicuous patch of brick-red under the tail.