Nilgiri Sholakili   Sholicola major 

 Etymology :

• Sholicola : Tamil word  sholāi wooded ravine, thicket; Latin word –cola

• Major : Latin for greater 

Vernacular Names : Tamil/ Malayalam – Sholakili

Distribution:  Resident of Nilgiri Hills N of Palaghat Gap, in S Karnataka and NW Tamil Nadu (SW India). 

Description: It has a size of 14 cm. It is chunky and long-legged. The male is dusky blue-grey above, with dull bluish brow, dusky lores. It has a greyer breast clear-cut from buffy-white mid-belly, fulvous flanks, black bill and pinkish legs. Female is slightly paler.

Habitat: It is found in undergrowth of sheltered woods ,sholas, at 900 m–2100 m.

Food habits:  It eats insects. It creeps through vegetation and around fallen timber, foraging for small insects. It is secretive and shy.

Breeding habits: They breed in Apr–May. The nest is a neat cup made of a soft mass of green moss, lined with fine moss roots, placed in hole in bank or trunk, or in broken stump. They lay a clutch of  2–3 eggs.