Birds and Birding's Guide to:
Watching THE SPARROW-LIKE BIRDS
THE SONG BIRDS
THE FLYCATCHERS
Indian White-browed Fantail
Of the four Indian species, the best-known is the White-browed Fantail (R. albifrontata), so named from a broad band of white on the forehead and over the eye, the upper parts being ashy brown, with the crown, sides of the head, chin, throat, and the sides of the body black, while the remainder of the lower parts are white; the length is about seven inches. It is common throughout the whole empire, ascending the Himalayas to 5000 feet and frequenting groves, especially of the mango. It nests from February to August, constructing the usual cup-shaped nest and laying usually three eggs, which are white or cream-colored spotted with grayish brown; two or more broods are reared in a season. With the general plumage of a dark sooty brown, relieved by a black crown, white eye stripe, and whitish throat, is the White-throated Fantail (R. albicollis), which Mr. Gould says is generally found in pairs, though occasionally four or five are seen together. It is one of the tamest birds imaginable, allowing a near approach without evincing the slightest timidity, even entering houses in pursuit of gnats and other insects. It inhabits alike, he says, the topmost branches of the higher trees, those of more moderate growth, and the gloomy foliaged dells in the neighborhood of rivulets; from these retreats it darts out a short distance to capture insects, and in most instances returns to the same branch it had left. When in the air it often assumes a number of lively and beautiful positions, at one moment mounting almost perpendicularly, constantly spreading out its tail to the full extent, and frequently tumbling completely over in the descent. They construct, according to Campbell, a neatly and marvelously made nest which is wine-glass shaped with the base of the stalk broken off, and saddled on a naked horizontal twig with the tail-like appendage extending below the twig; it is composed of fine grass and shreds of bark matted with cobwebs and lined with softer grass, and occasionally horse-hair. The two or three eggs are yellowish white, mottled and spotted with rufous and gray.
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