Pet Birds of Bengal/The Dhayal (Magpie-Robin)

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If there is a bird, very familiar in an Indian village, and has a voice exquisitely sweet, it is the Dhayal. The black and white markings of its body correspond so nearly to those of the Magpie, that it is known as the Magpie-Robin. The bird resembles the English Robin in many of its habits. Constantly jerking up its tail, it loves, like the Robin, to frequent places close to human habitation. Bold and vivacious, it steps into our verandahs, and nests in the holes and crannies of human dwellings. As a songster it has no rival in the plains of India, the Shama being a bird of the forest depths. Its notes are clear and varied. They greet our ears the very first thing in ​the morning, and when all nature is silent in the evening, their cheerful music rings out a farewell to the departing day.

The Dhayal is indeed a superb singer. With its presence in the gardens, orchards, barnsides, and the backyards of houses, it is one of the attractions of our rural surroundings. The semi-domestic nature of the bird has left it in comparative liberty, and though it is often caged, people have not the same rage for it as they have for the more unfamiliar Shama. Legge says that, like the latter, the Dhayal is a mimic; it can roll its tongue in imitation of other birds. Layard also records that its power of mimicry manifests itself in its wild life as well. This, if true, is singular, as it is unlike other birds that have similar habits. Even the parrots do not show this trait while at large. The Dhayals in my own aviary, however, do not "degrade" their voice, as has been observed also by Gould, "by apish tricks of imitation." The Dhayal's pugnacious instinct makes it a special favourite ​

Male

Female

DHAYAL

​with the rich in Nepal where it is kept like gamecocks for fighting.

It is one of the most widely distributed birds in India and is found everywhere except in the extreme North-west beyond the Punjab. In Rajputana and westwards, the desert tracts are too arid for its habitation.Distribution It is, however, found in Kathiawar, Sind, and in and around Karachi, whence it departs in April with the advent of summer. Eastwards it is abundant and is an inevitable feature of bird life everywhere—both in the Sub-Himalayan regions from Mussoorie eastwards, and the hills and plains of Aryavarta. In Bengal, no place is unrepresented up to the very base of the Himalayas, where it is not seen higher up than the Terais. Thence its range extends up to Burma. Though not so abundant in the Deccan, it is pretty numerous along the Hills in the West, and in the lowlands of the Madras Presidency in the East. It is distributed throughout the whole island of Ceylon.

​The characteristic difference between the Shama and the Dhayal is that while the former confines itself solely to the most secluded depths of forests, the latter, though not unknown in the solitude of woods, seldom strays very far from the vicinity of man.Field Notes Its graceful form is always in evidence around us. Early at dawn, before other members of the fledged tribes are astir, it pours forth its music in a continuous stream from the foliage. At noon it is generally busy, silently foraging for food in the chequered shades of gardens and orchards. While thus engaged, the approach of man does not seem to ruffle its composure, and except bestowing a half-amusing quizzical look, it cares no more for your presence than for that of any other living thing. At the same time, it will not allow you to take any undue liberty with it. If it notices that you are trying to come very near, it will fly away a few yards, and perching on the branch of a tree, regard your discomfiture with a sublime complacency or ​defy you by a musical rebuke for thoughtlessly disturbing it at its midday meal. In the evening when the day's labour is over, it resumes its rapturous strain of music till late at dusk.

This habit of keeping early and late hours is true also of the more retired Shama. In fact, we observe many traits common to both these birds. The Dhayal is as voracious an insect-feeder as the Shama. It seeks its prey near the ground and generally selects the low branches of trees for perching, though it is not uncommon to find it seated on the top of some large tree or other elevated spots. In pugnacity, it is almost a cousin-german to the Shama. Like all pugnacious birds, the Dhayal is unsociable to a degree, staying alone throughout the greater part of the year, and only occasionally in the company of its mate.

Sometimes one may notice a deviation from this habit of exclusiveness on the part of the Dhayal. But this is seasonal only. Prompted by a freshly roused combative ​instinct, the bird suddenly develops a gregarious impulse during the mating period. It is not unusual to observe a number of Dhayals congregating in an open space in a garden or a grove to fight out duels like the knights of medieval Europe. As each bird comes out a winner, its success is received with such an uproar of applause that the uninitiated may easily mistake it for some disaster in the avine world. Amidst such din and commotion, each competitor engages in combat till one is left the sole champion of the field. Then, mighty pleased with themselves and their performances, the birds retire to their roosts, chattering the while and discussing perhaps the merits of different competitors. The Dhayal's bullying tendency very often betrays it into bondage. Bird-catchers take advantage of this propensity and employ tame birds to entrap it. Among the various devices which are resorted to, one is to bring a caged Dhayal to the place where wild ones abound. Small sticks smeared with ​bird-lime are attached to the cage. As soon as the captive bird begins to sing, the wild Dhayals while coming down to challenge the newcomer perch upon the sticks and get fastened to the bird-lime. Sometimes the tame bird is taken out of the cage and tied to a long piece of string. While combating its wild antagonist, it holds the latter in such a firm grip with its beak and claw that the catcher has no difficulty in securing the bird.

The Dhayal is full of activity. Watch it feeding on the ground in the alleys and by-lanes of our countryside, you cannot fail to notice its quick and animated movements. With its wing half open or almost drooping, it hops about in search of its prey, and at each hop, stops with a jerk of its tail instantly spread out and turned to the sky. If cattle pass by at the moment, it flies up to a low twig and keeps a sharp eye on any insect or grub that may chance to be brought to light. The moment it is noticed, it comes down to snatch it up and after ​beating it to death, returns with it to its former perch. Always in motion, it raises and depresses its body accompanied by a flirtation of its tail. This tail-play is most in evidence during the mating season and specially at the time when several of Dhayals are engaged in fighting out their duels. The display consists in expanding the tail like a fan so as to show the white outer feathers, and continually jerking it up and down. Although far from shy, the bird likes the security of a thicket and revels in the shade. While warily working its way along the hedge, it betrays its presence by uttering its shrill note every now and then. It seldom sings in full view of man whose sudden intrusion would check its flow of vocal music; and when thus interrupted, it assumes a still attitude, fixing its cold look upon him. If you advance nearer, it will fly up to a higher perch or a more distant twig. When flushed, it is seen to fly directly from its perch in the cover of the thicket to a more remote hiding place. ​The hen bird is not slow to follow her mate's example, but if she flies, she keeps aloof from her lord and loses herself amidst dense cover. While at ordinary times the Dhayal seldom indulges in protracted flights, it has been observed to develop a tendency for sustained aerial gyrations in the mating season. The female Dhayal is far less obtrusive than the male, and as she has a less striking appearance, she easily eludes detection. In conformity with the etiquette of pugnacious birds, she knows what distance to keep between herself and her lord. This explains why the males appear singly so often, but if you take a little pain to watch carefully, you are likely to detect its retiring partner not very far off. The Dhayal is conscious of its right to its territory and tenaciously keeps to its hunting ground. It is not timid. Fond of insects as it is, it may be easily encouraged to closer familiarity with man, if we care to put now and then a few grubs or disabled worms in its way, or fix up in some safe place close to ​our habitation little boxes or even earthen pots which will be readily acceptable to the bird as its nesting site. It is a beneficial bird as far as its insect-feeding habit goes; and so, the more it is left to its liberty and allowed to multiply, the better.

The Dhayal does not appear to sing in the same way all the year round. It has been observed to be in full choral activity chiefly during the mating period viz., in April and May. The bird seems at that time to be possessed with a musical mania, warbling forth its amorous notes, which by reason of their volume, depth, variety, and sweetness sound perfect to the human ear. From August, its song begins to lose much of its sweetness until in mid-winter it ceases to fascinate us as before. And lo! when February comes, its voice begins again to get into form and emerge once more into full-throated melody towards the close of March.

The Dhayal takes to house-keeping at this period and for nearly four months it is busy ​rearing up its family. The bird seems to have a remarkably monogamous instinct. Observations of its habits in the aviary substantiateNests and Eggs the fact that a cock-bird which has lost its hen refuses to chum up with any other female, and feels so much enraged as to kill all subsequent wives submitted for its approval. The Dhayal breeds throughout the plains of India; but many birds resort to the Dhoons and Terais of the Himalayas during the nesting season. Holes in trees, walls, banks, corners of the under-roof or the eaves of a verandah are the places generally selected for nesting. The nest is invariably placed in a secure and sheltered position and is made up of roots, grass, fibres, feathers—in fact anything that is to hand is utilized for the purpose. In the hills, the nest is a shallow loosely-built cup of moss, small twigs, and dry leaves. The Dhayal develops a great fondness for particular places. However far it may stray from its abode in other seasons, it will come back year after ​year to the same spot as soon as the nesting season arrives, and build its nest in exactly the same place. Five is the usual complement of eggs, which are oval, neither broad nor very narrow, somewhat elongated, with a moderately glossy surface. The ground colour is sometimes greenish or greenish white, and sometimes greenish-blue with rusty blotches.

In the cage, the Dhayal is no less attractive than the Shama. It becomes tame and docile, and appears very happy, seeming to realise that "iron bars do not a prison make", and sings away its time as sweetly as when at liberty.Cage-life Young, hand-reared birds grow up very hardy and make very nice pets, but adult birds seem to feel their loss of liberty very keenly just after capture. The provision of a bath in the cage delights it immensely, for it enjoys a dip in water as much as the Shama. Its treatment in captivity is almost similar to that of the latter. The food prepared for the one is well suited to the other. Only a ​little more insect-food is necessary in order to keep it in health. This discourages many people from caging it. Apart from this question of its insect-food, there are good grounds for leaving it at liberty. The bird is so much attached to the vicinities of human habitation that it seems not to be a gain to deprive it of its freedom. The growth of civilization with the concomitants of modern town-planning is working such a havoc on bird-life that even many of the commonest birds have chosen to leave our company for ever. It is not advisable, therefore, to make life unbearable even for those few that still adhere to us. In Bengal such a large number of nestlings of this bird is caught during the nesting season that the law meant to prevent it by declaring the season a closed period for bird-catchers utterly fails in its object. One effect of this indiscriminate capture is that in Calcutta what was once a familiar garden-bird a few years back is now a rara avis.

It is not very difficult to get the Dhayal ​to breed in captivity. Any small wooden box comes handy to it for nesting. It is known to have done so successfully in England. In a few instances, however, the nestlings were killed by the cock-bird, which had to be separated from the hen soon after she had laid eggs. When it is housed in an aviary with other birds, care should be taken to eliminate the smaller and weaker birds, as the latter are likely to be worried by the bad-tempered Dhayal.

The bird is very well-proportioned, has a graceful form, and looks very bold for its tail which is almost always carried erect. The upper part of its body is black with a blue metallic gloss, the whiteColoration wing-coverts forming a broad band. The under-surface is white from the chest downwards. The two median pairs of tail-feathers are black, the others white; the fourth pair is either white with a small black tip, or white with a greater or less amount of black. The bill is black, iris hazel-brown, and the legs dark plumbeous.

​In the female, the upper part of the body is uniformly dark-brown glossed with blue. In the wings and tail, the white is distributed as in the male. Chin, throat, breast, and sides of the neck are grey; forehead and cheeks mottled with white and grey; sides of the body, vent, under tail-coverts pale fulvescent, and middle of the abdomen whitish.

In the young, the upper plumage is dark brown streaked with rufous; the white in the wings being as that in the adult; the tail brown with similar white patches. Throat and breast greyish brown streaked with rufous. The rest of the lower body is white. The young assume adult plumage as soon as they are fully fledged.

The Dhayal is considerably smaller in size than the Shama, being only about eight inches from the tip of its bill to the end of its tail. But if we leave the tail in both cases out of account, the Dhayal becomes larger than the Shama, the reason being that the latter has a longer tail. The ​Dhayal's tail which is much shorter equals its wings in length. In both the Dhayal and the Shama, the two central pairs of tail-feathers are black.