to the tail feathers. The lower parts are white.

The common coucal or crow-pheasant (_Centropus sinensis_) is a cuckoo
that builds a nest and incubates its eggs. It is as big as a pheasant,
and is known as the Griff's pheasant because new arrivals in India
sometimes shoot it as a game bird. If naturalists could show that
this cuckoo derived any benefit from its resemblance to a pheasant,
I doubt not that they would hold it up as an example of protective
mimicry. It is a black bird with rich chestnut wings. The black tail
is nearly a foot long. The coucal is fairly abundant on the Nilgiris.

THE PSITTACIDAE OR PARROT FAMILY

The green parrots of the plains do not venture far up the slopes of
the hills. The only species likely to be seen on the Nilgiris at
elevations of 4000 feet and upwards is the blue-winged paroquet
(_Palaeornis columboides_). This is distinguishable from the green
parrots of the plains by having the head, neck, breast, and upper
back dove-coloured. It has none of the aggressive habits of its
brethren of the plains. It keeps mainly to dense forests. Jerdon
describes its cry as "mellow, subdued, and agreeable." It is the prima
donna of the Psittaci.

Another member of the parrot family found on the Nilgiris is the Indian
loriquet, or love-bird or pigmy parrot (_Loriculus vernalis_). This
is a short-tailed bird about the size of a sparrow. It is grass green
in colour, save for the red beak, a large crimson patch on the rump,
and a small blue patch on the throat. This species does not obtrude
itself on the observer. It is seen in cages more often than in a state
of nature. It sleeps with the head hanging down after the manner of
bats, hence Finn calls this pretty little bird the bat-parrot.

THE STRIGIDAE OR OWL FAMILY

Owls, like woodpeckers, do not patronise the Nilgiris very largely.
The only owl that commonly makes itself heard on those mountains is
the brown wood-owl (_Syrnium indrani_). This is the bird which perches
on the roof of the house at night and calls _to-whoo_.

Occasionally, especially round about Ootacamund, the grunting
_ur-ur-ur-ur_ of the brown fish-owl (_Ketupa zeylonensis_) disturbs
the silence of the night on the Nilgiris.

THE VULTURIDAE OR VULTURE FAMILY

Only four species of vulture occur on the hills of South India. One
of these is the smaller white scavenger vulture (_Neophron
ginginianus_), which is probably the ugliest bird in the world. Its
plumage is dir