birds, shunning observation and haunting thick cover. Jerdon says: "It frequents the thickest underwood in dense and lofty jungles; lives in small flocks of five or six, and is constantly hopping about the thick bushes with an incessant loud, twittering note. It lives on various insects."
(295) Rhopocichla atriceps bourdilloni.
Bourdillon's Babbler.
- Alcippe bourdilloni Hume, S. F., iv, p. 399 (1876) (Mynall).
- Rhopocichla bourdilloni. Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 161.
Vernacular names. None recorded.
Description. The black of the crown, nape, lores and cheeks of R. a. atriceps is replaced with brown and the lower parts from lower breast to under tail-coverts are ferruginous.
Distribution. Travancore, from North to South.
Colours of soft parts and Habits as in the last bird. Mr. T. F. Bourdillon describes the nest as being made of soft blades of reed-grass lined with fine roots. The eggs, which are always two, measure 19·1 × 14·3 mm.
The principal breeding season lasts from March to May but there seems to be a second brood very often in July and August.
(296) Rhopocichla atriceps nigrifrons.
The Black-fronted Babbler.
- Alcippe nigrifons Blyth, J. A. S. B., xviii, p. 815 (1849) (Ceylon).
- Rhopocichla nigrifrons. Blanf. & Oates, i, p. 160.
Vernacular names. Batitchia (Ceylon).
Description. Differs from R. a. atriceps in having the black of the crown replaced by rufous-brown, a little darker than the rest of the upper plumage; the white feathers of the cheeks have lengthened black shafts and the vent, thighs and under tail-coverts are rufous-brown.
Colours of soft parts and Measurements as in the two preceding forms.
Distribution. Ceylon only.
Nidification. There are apparently two breeding seasons, one in May and June and the second in December and January. The nest is a ball of dead leaves with an inner lining of twigs and is usually placed in some bramble or straggling bush near a jungle pathway, 2 to 5 feet from the ground. The eggs, two only, are exactly like those of the other races and measure about 19·2 × 14·2 mm.
Habits. According to Legge this race is much bolder and more ively than either of the others and he describes it as a very nquisitive, cheerful little bird fluttering about the bushes and ollowing one another in true Babbler style.
