A dark brown bird, with dark red on the lower back and tail.
It is found chiefly in Central India in Bombay. In Sind and the Punjab it is replaced by A. phœnicuroides (the Desert Finch-Lark). Not found in Madras.
[105]. Pyrrhulauda grisea: The Ashy-crowned Finch-Lark. (F. 879), (J. 760), (-I.)
This is the common Finch-Lark of India, being a permanent resident everywhere, except the N.W. F. P., Eastern Bengal, Assam, and Burma.
Cock: Upper parts dark ashy grey. Streak through the eye and all the lower plumage black, cheeks and sides of breast white, so that, as Eha points out, the black on the throat takes the form of a cross. [This very unusual colouring, i.e. darker below than above, renders the cock easy to identify.]
Hen: The parts that are black in the cock are reddish brown. (Illus. B. B., p. 142.)
The Sunbirds, or Honeysuckers, 106-108
These charming little birds are easy to identify. They are the Old World counterparts of the humming birds of the New World. The hens are inconspicuous little brown birds with yellow under parts, but the cocks wear a gay livery. They build large hanging nests, composed of dried grass, leaves, etc., held together by cobweb, so that they look, from a little distance, like hanging masses of rubbish. Close inspection shows that the nest is pear-shaped, with a circular entrance at one side and a little porch over the entrance. The nests are found in gardens, being sometimes suspended from the roof of the verandah.
These birds feed largely on the nectar of flowers, which they abstract by means of their long tubular tongues. In order to obtain the honey they frequently hover on rapidly-vibrating wings, like humming birds.
[106]. Arachnechthra lotenia: Loten’s Sunbird. (F. 894), (J. 235), (-I.)