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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/18237-h.zip b/18237-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..cab0f3c --- /dev/null +++ b/18237-h.zip diff --git a/18237-h/18237-h.htm b/18237-h/18237-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ee3b99b --- /dev/null +++ b/18237-h/18237-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6987 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> + +<html> +<head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> + <title>The Project Gutenberg e-Book of A Bird Calendar for Northern India, by Douglas Dewar</title> + <style type="text/css"> + <!-- + body {margin:10%; text-align:justify} + h1 {text-align:center} + h2 {text-align:center} + h3 {text-align:center} + h4 {text-align:center} --> + </style> +</head> + +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's A Bird Calendar for Northern India, by Douglas Dewar + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Bird Calendar for Northern India + +Author: Douglas Dewar + +Release Date: April 23, 2006 [EBook #18237] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A BIRD CALENDAR FOR NORTHERN INDIA *** + + + + +Produced by Ron Swanson + + + + + +</pre> + +<small><i>BY THE SAME AUTHOR</i><br> +<br> +ANIMALS OF NO IMPORTANCE<br> +THE INDIAN CROW: HIS BOOK<br> +BOMBAY DUCKS<br> +BIRDS OF THE PLAINS<br> +INDIAN BIRDS<br> +JUNGLE FOLK<br> +GLIMPSES OF INDIAN BIRDS<br> +BIRDS OF THE INDIAN HILLS<br> +<br> +<br> +<i>IN COLLABORATION WITH FRANK FINN</i><br> +<br> +THE MAKING OF SPECIES<br></small> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h1>A BIRD CALENDAR FOR NORTHERN INDIA</h1> + +<h2>BY DOUGLAS DEWAR</h2> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<center>LONDON: W. THACKER & CO., CREED LANE, E.C.<br> +CALCUTTA AND SIMLA: THACKER, SPINK & CO.<br> +1916</center> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<center><small>WM. BRENDON AND SON, LTD., PRINTERS, PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND.</small></center> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<p>I am indebted to the editor of <i>The Pioneer</i> for permission to +republish the sketches that form this calendar, and to Mr. A. J. +Currie for placing at my disposal his unpublished notes on the +birds of the Punjab.</p> + +<p>Full descriptions of all the Indian birds of which the doings +are chronicled in this calendar are to be found in the four +volumes of the <i>Fauna of British India</i> devoted to birds; +popular descriptions of the majority are given in my <i>Indian +Birds</i>.</p> + +<div align="right">D. D. </div> + +<p>H<small>ARROW</small>,<br> + <i>J<small>anuary 1916</small></i>.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h3>CONTENTS</h3> + +<a href="#january">J<small>ANUARY</small></a><br> +<br> +<a href="#february">F<small>EBRUARY</small></a><br> +<br> +<a href="#march">M<small>ARCH</small></a><br> +<br> +<a href="#april">A<small>PRIL</small></a><br> +<br> +<a href="#may">M<small>AY</small></a><br> +<br> +<a href="#june">J<small>UNE</small></a><br> +<br> +<a href="#july">J<small>ULY</small></a><br> +<br> +<a href="#august">A<small>UGUST</small></a><br> +<br> +<a href="#september">S<small>EPTEMBER</small></a><br> +<br> +<a href="#october">O<small>CTOBER</small></a><br> +<br> +<a href="#november">N<small>OVEMBER</small></a><br> +<br> +<a href="#december">D<small>ECEMBER</small></a><br> +<br> +<a href="#glossary">G<small>LOSSARY</small></a><br> +<br> +<a href="#index">I<small>NDEX</small></a><br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="page1"></a> +<h3><a name="january">JANUARY</a></h3> +<table width="100%" summary="january poem"> + <tr> + <td width="20%"></td> + <td width="60%"> + <small>Up—let us to the fields away,<br> + And breathe the fresh and balmy air.</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right"> + M<small>ARY</small> H<small>OWITT.</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<br> +<p>Take nine-and-twenty sunny, bracing English May days, steal from +March as many still, starry nights, to these add two rainy +mornings and evenings, and the product will resemble a typical +Indian January. This is the coolest month in the year, a month +when the climate is invigorating and the sunshine temperate. But +even in January the sun's rays have sufficient power to cause +the thermometer to register 70° in the shade at noon, +save on an occasional cloudy day.</p> + +<p>Sunset is marked by a sudden fall of temperature. The village +smoke then hangs a few feet above the earth like a blue-grey +diaphanous cloud.</p> + +<p>The cold increases throughout the hours of darkness. In the +Punjab hoar-frosts form daily; and in the milder United +Provinces <a name="page2"></a>the temperature often falls sufficiently to allow of +the formation of thin sheets of ice. Towards dawn mists collect +which are not dispersed until the sun has shone upon them for +several hours. The vultures await the dissipation of these +vapours before they ascend to the upper air, there to soar on +outstretched wings and scan the earth for food.</p> + +<p>On New Year's Day the wheat, the barley, the gram, and the other +Spring crops are well above the ground, and, ere January has +given place to February, the emerald shoots of the corn attain a +height of fully sixteen inches. On these the geese levy toll.</p> + +<p>Light showers usually fall in January. These are very welcome to +the agriculturalist because they impart vigour to the young +crops. In the seasons when the earth is not blessed with the +refreshing winter rain men and oxen are kept busy irrigating the +fields. The cutting and the pressing of the sugar-cane employ +thousands of husbandmen and their cattle. In almost every +village little sugar-cane presses are being worked by oxen from +sunrise to sunset. At night-time the country-side is illumined +by the flames of the <a href="#megas"><i>megas</i></a> burned by +the rustic sugar-boilers.</p> +<a name="page3"></a> +<p>January is the month in which the avian population attains its +maximum. Geese, ducks, teal, pelicans, cormorants, snake-birds +and ospreys abound in the rivers and <a href="#jhil"><i>jhils</i></a>; the marshes and +swamps are the resort of millions of snipe and other waders; the +fields and groves swarm with flycatchers, chats, starlings, +warblers, finches, birds of prey and the other migrants which in +winter visit the plains from the Himalayas and the country +beyond.</p> + +<p>The bracing climate of the Punjab attracts some cold-loving +species for which the milder United Provinces have no charms. +Conspicuous among these are rooks, ravens and jackdaws. On the +other hand, frosts drive away from the Land of the Five Rivers +certain of the feathered folk which do not leave the United +Provinces or Bengal: to wit, the purple sunbird, the bee-eater +and, to a large extent, the king-crow.</p> + +<p>The activity of the feathered folk is not at its height in +January. Birds are warm-blooded creatures and they love not the +cold. Comparatively few of them are in song, and still fewer +nest, at this season.</p> + +<p>Song and sound are expressions of energy. <a name="page4"></a>Birds have more +vitality, more life in them than has any other class of +organism. They are, therefore, the most noisy of beings.</p> + +<p>Many of the calls of birds are purposeful, being used to express +pleasure or anger, or to apprise members of a flock of one +another's presence. Others appear to serve no useful end. These +are simply the outpourings of superfluous energy, the +expressions of the supreme happiness that perfect health +engenders. Since the vigour of birds is greatest at the nesting +season, it follows that that is the time when they are most +vociferous. Some birds sing only at the breeding season, while +others emit their cries at all times. Hence the avian choir in +India, as in all other countries, is composed of two sets of +vocalists—those who perform throughout the year, "the musicians +of all times and places," and those who join the chorus only for +a few weeks or months. The calls of the former class go far to +create for India its characteristic atmosphere. To enumerate all +such bird calls would be wearisome. For the purposes of this +calendar it is necessary to describe only the common daily +cries—the sounds that at all times and all seasons form the +basis of the avian chorus.</p> +<a name="page5"></a> +<p>From early dawn till nightfall the welkin rings with the harsh +caw of the house-crow, the deeper note of the black crow or +corby, the tinkling music of the bulbuls, the cheery <i>keky</i>, +<i>keky</i>, <i>kek</i>, <i>kek</i> ... <i>chur</i>, <i>chur</i>, <i>kok</i>, <i>kok</i>, <i>kok</i> of +the myna, the monotonous <i>cuckoo-coo-coo</i> of the spotted dove +(<i>Turtur suratensis</i>), the soft subdued <i>cuk-cuk-coo-coo-coo</i> of +the little brown dove (<i>T. cambayensis</i>), the mechanical +<i>ku-ku—ku</i> of the ring-dove (<i>T. risorius</i>), the loud penetrating +shrieks of the green parrot, the trumpet-like calls of the saras +crane, the high-pitched <i>did-he-do-it</i> of the red-wattled +lapwing, the wailing trill <i>chee-hee-hee-hee</i> <i>hee—hee</i> of the +kite, the hard grating notes and the metallic <i>coch-lee</i>, +<i>coch-lee</i> of the tree-pie; the sharp <i>towee</i>, <i>towee</i>, <i>towee</i> +of the tailor-bird, the soft melodious cheeping calls of the +flocks of little white-eyes, the <i>chit</i>, <i>chit</i>, <i>chitter</i> of +the sparrow, the screaming cries of the golden-backed +woodpecker, the screams and the trills of the white-breasted +kingfisher, the curious harsh clamour of the cuckoo-shrike, and, +last but by no means least, the sweet and cheerful whistling +refrain of the fan-tail flycatcher, which at frequent intervals +emanates from a tree in the garden or the mango <a href="#tope">tope</a>. Nor is <a name="page6"></a>the +bird choir altogether hushed during the hours of darkness. +Throughout the year, more especially on moonlit nights, the +shrieking <i>kucha</i>, <i>kwachee</i>, <i>kwachee</i>, <i>kwachee</i>, <i>kwachee</i> of +the little spotted owlet disturbs the silences of the moon. Few +nights pass on which the dusky horned owl fails to utter his +grunting hoot, or the jungle owlet to emit his curious but not +unpleasant <i>turtuck</i>, <i>turtuck</i>, <i>turtuck</i>, <i>turtuck</i>, +<i>turtuck</i>, <i>tukatu</i>, <i>chatuckatuckatuck</i>.</p> + +<p>The above are the commonest of the bird calls heard throughout +the year. They form the basis of the avian melody in India. This +melody is reinforced from time to time by the songs of those +birds that may be termed the seasonal choristers. It is the +presence or absence of the voices of these latter which imparts +distinctive features to the minstrelsy of every month of the +year.</p> + +<p>In January the sprightly little metallic purple sunbird pours +forth, from almost every tree or bush, his powerful song, which, +were it a little less sharp, might easily be mistaken for that +of a canary.</p> + +<p>From every mango tope emanates a loud "Think of me ... Never to +be." This is the call of the grey-headed flycatcher (<i>Culicicapa +<a name="page7"></a>ceylonensis</i>), a bird that visits the plains of northern India +every winter. In summer it retires to the Himalayas for nesting +purposes. Still more melodious is the call of the wood-shrike, +which is frequently heard at this season, and indeed during the +greater part of the year.</p> + +<p>Every now and again the green barbet emits his curious chuckling +laugh, followed by a monotonous <i>kutur</i>, <i>kutur</i>, <i>kuturuk</i>. At +rare intervals his cousin, the coppersmith, utters a soft <i>wow</i> +and thereby reminds us that he is in the land of the living. +These two species, more especially the latter, seem to dislike +the cold weather. They revel in the heat; it is when the +thermometer stands at something over 100° in the shade +that they feel like giants refreshed, and repeat their loud +calls with wearying insistence throughout the hours of daylight.</p> + +<p>The nuthatches begin to tune up in January. They sing with more +cheer than harmony, their love-song being a sharp penetrating +<i>tee-tee-tee-tee-tee</i>.</p> + +<p>The hoopoe reminds us of his presence by an occasional soft +<i>uk-uk-uk</i>. His breeding season, like that of the nuthatch, is +about to begin.</p> +<a name="page8"></a> +<p>The magpie-robin or <i>dhayal</i>, who for months past has uttered no +sound, save a scolding note when occasion demanded, now begins +to make melody. His January song, however, is harsh and crude, +and not such as to lead one to expect the rich deep-toned music +that will compel admiration in April, May and June.</p> + +<p>Towards the end of the month the fluty call of the koel, another +hot-weather chorister, may be heard in the eastern portions of +northern India.</p> + +<p>Most of the cock sunbirds cast off their workaday plumage and +assumed their splendid metallic purple wedding garment in +November and December, a few, however, do not attain their full +glory until January. By the end of the month it is difficult to +find a cock that is not bravely attired from head to tail in +iridescent purple.</p> + +<p>Comparatively few birds build their nests in January. Needless +to state, doves' nests containing eggs may be found at this +season as at all other seasons. It is no exaggeration to assert +that some pairs of doves rear up seven or eight broods in the +course of the year. The consequence is that, notwithstanding the +fact that the full clutch consists of but two eggs, <a name="page9"></a>doves share +with crows, mynas, sparrows and green parrots the distinction of +being the most successful birds in India.</p> + +<p>The nest of the dove is a subject over which most ornithologists +have waxed sarcastic. One writer compares the structure to a +bundle of spillikins. Another says, "Upset a box of matches in a +bush and you will have produced a very fair imitation of a +dove's nursery!" According to a third, the best way to make an +imitation dove's nest is to take four slender twigs, lay two of +them on a branch and then place the remaining two crosswise on +top of the first pair. For all this, the dove's nest is a +wonderful structure; it is a lesson in how to make a little go a +long way. Doves seem to place their nurseries haphazard on the +first branch or ledge they come across after the spirit has +moved them to build. The nest appears to be built solely on +considerations of hygiene. Ample light and air are a <i>sine qua +non</i>; concealment appears to be a matter of no importance.</p> + +<p>In India winter is the time of year at which the larger birds of +prey, both diurnal and nocturnal, rear up their broods. +Throughout January the white-backed vultures are <a name="page10"></a>occupied in +parental duties. The breeding season of these birds begins in +October or November and ends in February or March. The nest, +which is placed high up in a lofty tree, is a large platform +composed of twigs which the birds themselves break off from the +growing tree. Much amusement may be derived from watching the +struggles of a white-backed vulture when severing a tough +branch. Its wing-flapping and its tugging cause a great +commotion in the tree. The boughs used by vultures for their +nests are mostly covered with green leaves. These last wither +soon after the branch has been plucked, so that, after the first +few days of its existence, the nest looks like a great ball of +dead leaves caught in a tree.</p> + +<p>The nurseries of birds of prey can be described neither as +picturesque nor as triumphs of architecture, but they have the +great merit of being easy to see. January is the month in which +to look for the eyries of Bonelli's eagles (<i>Hieraetus +fasciatus</i>); not that the search is likely to be successful. The +high cliffs of the Jumna and the Chambal in the Etawah district +are the only places where the nests of this fine eagle have been +recorded in the United Provinces. Mr. A. J. Currie has <a name="page11"></a>found the +nest on two occasions in a mango tree in a tope at Lahore. In +each case the eyrie was a flat platform of sticks about twice +the size of a kite's nest. The ground beneath the eyrie was +littered with fowls' feathers and pellets of skin, fur and bone. +Most of these pellets contained squirrels' skulls; and Mr. +Currie actually saw one of the parent birds fly to the nest with +a squirrel in its talons.</p> + +<p>Bonelli's eagle, when sailing through the air, may be recognised +by the long, hawk-like wings and tail, the pale body and dark +brown wings. It soars in circles, beating its pinions only +occasionally.</p> + +<p>The majority of the tawny eagles (<i>Aquila vindhiana</i>) build +their nests in December. By the middle of January many of the +eggs have yielded nestlings which are covered with white down. +In size and appearance the tawny eagle is not unlike a kite. The +shape of the tail, however, enables the observer to distinguish +between the two species at a glance. The tail of the kite is +long and forked, while that of the eagle is short and rounded at +the extremity. The Pallas's fishing-eagles (<i>Haliaetus +leucoryphus</i>) are likewise busy feeding their young. These fine +birds are readily identified by the <a name="page12"></a>broad white band in the +tail. Their loud resonant but unmelodious calls make it possible +to recognise them when they are too far off for the white tail +band to be distinguished.</p> + +<p>This species is called a fishing-eagle; but it does not indulge +much in the piscatorial art. It prefers to obtain its food by +robbing ospreys, kites, marsh-harriers and other birds weaker +than itself. So bold is it that it frequently swoops down and +carries off a dead or wounded duck shot by the sportsman. +Another raptorial bird of which the nest is likely to be found +in January is the <i>Turumti</i> or red-headed merlin (<i>Aesalon +chicquera</i>). The nesting season of this ferocious pigmy extends +from January to May, reaching its height during March in the +United Provinces and during April in the Punjab.</p> + +<p>As a general rule birds begin nesting operations in the Punjab +from fifteen to thirty days later than in the United Provinces. +Unless expressly stated the times mentioned in this calendar +relate to the United Provinces. The nest of the red-headed +merlin is a compact circular platform, about twelve inches in +diameter, placed in a fork near the top of a tree.</p> +<a name="page13"></a> +<p>The attention of the observer is often drawn to the nests of +this species, as also to those of other small birds of prey and +of the kite, by the squabbles that occur between them and the +crows. Both species of crow seem to take great delight in +teasing raptorial birds. Sometimes two or three of the <i>corvi</i> +act as if they had formed a league for the prevention of +nest-building on the part of white-eyed buzzards, kites, shikras +and other of the lesser birds of prey. The <i>modus operandi</i> of +the league is for two or more of its members to hie themselves +to the tree in which the victim is building its nest, take up +positions near that structure and begin to caw derisively. This +invariably provokes the owners of the nest to attack the black +villains, who do not resist, but take to their wings. The angry, +swearing builders follow in hot pursuit for a short distance and +then fly back to the nest. After a few minutes the crows return. +Then the performance is repeated; and so on, almost <i>ad +infinitum</i>. The result is that many pairs of birds of prey take +three weeks or longer to construct a nest which they could have +completed within a week had they been unmolested.</p> +<a name="page14"></a> +<p>Most of the larger owls are now building nests or sitting on +eggs; a few are seeking food for their offspring. As owls work +on silent wing at night, they escape the attentions of the crows +and the notice of the average human being. The nocturnal birds +of prey of which nests are likely to be found in January are the +brown fish-owl (<i>Ketupa ceylonensis</i>) and the rock and the dusky +horned-owls (<i>Bubo bengalensis</i> and <i>B. coromandus</i>). The dusky +horned-owl builds a stick nest in a tree, the rock horned-owl +lays its eggs on the bare ground or on the ledge of a cliff, +while the brown fish-owl makes a nest among the branches or in a +hollow in the trunk of a tree or on the ledge of a cliff.</p> + +<p>In the Punjab the ravens, which in many respects ape the manners +of birds of prey, are now nesting. A raven's nest is a compact +collection of twigs. It is usually placed in an isolated tree of +no great size.</p> + +<p>The Indian raven has not the austere habits of its English +brother. It is fond of the society of its fellows. The range of +this fine bird in the plains of India is confined to the +North-West Frontier Province Sind, and the Punjab.</p> + +<p>An occasional pair of kites may be seen at work nest-building +during the present month.</p> +<a name="page15"></a> +<p>Some of the sand-martins (<i>Cotyle sinensis</i>), likewise, are +engaged in family duties. The river bank in which a colony of +these birds is nesting is the scene of much animation. The bank +is riddled with holes, each of which, being the entrance to a +martin's nest, is visited a score of times an hour by the parent +birds, bringing insects captured while flying over the water.</p> + +<p>Some species of munia breed at this time of the year. The red +munia, or amadavat, or <i>lal</i> (<i>Estrelda amandava</i>) is, next to +the paroquet, the bird most commonly caged in India. This little +exquisite is considerably smaller than a sparrow. Its bill is +bright crimson, and there is some red or crimson in the +plumage—more in the cock than in the hen, and most in both sexes +at the breeding season. The remainder of the plumage is brown, +but is everywhere heavily spotted with white. In a state of +nature these birds affect long grass, for they feed largely, if +not entirely, on grass seed. The cock has a sweet voice, which, +although feeble, is sufficiently loud to be heard at some +distance and is frequently uttered.</p> + +<p>The nest of the amadavat is large for the size <a name="page16"></a>of the bird, +being a loosely-woven cup, which is egg-shaped and has a hole at +or near the narrow end. It is composed of fine grass stems and +is often lined with soft material. It is usually placed in the +middle of a bush, sometimes in a tussock of grass. From six to +fourteen eggs are laid. These are white in colour. This species +appears to breed twice in the year—from October to February and +again from June to August.</p> + +<p>The white-throated munia (<i>Uroloncha malabarica</i>) is a dull +brown bird, with a white patch above the tail. Its throat is +yellowish white. The old name for the bird—the plain brown +munia—seems more appropriate than that with which the species +has since been saddled by Blanford. The nest of this little bird +is more loosely put together and more globular than that of the +amadavat. It is usually placed low down in a thorny bush. The +number of eggs laid varies from six to fifteen. These, like +those of the red munia, are white. June seems to be the only +month in the year in which the eggs of this species have not +been found. In the United Provinces more nests containing eggs +are discovered in January than in any other month.</p> +<a name="page17"></a> +<p>Occasionally in January a pair of hoopoes (<i>Upupa indica</i>) +steals a march on its brethren by selecting a nesting site and +laying eggs. Hoopoes nest in holes in trees or buildings. The +aperture to the nest cavity is invariably small. The hen hoopoe +alone incubates, and as, when once she has begun to sit, she +rarely, if ever, leaves the nest till the eggs are hatched, the +cock has to bring food to her. But, to describe the nesting +operations of the hoopoe in January is like talking of cricket +in April. It is in February and March that the hoopoes nest in +their millions, and call softly, from morn till eve, <i>uk-uk-uk</i>.</p> + +<p>Of the other birds which nest later in the season mention must +be made in the calendar for the present month of the Indian +cliff-swallow (<i>Hirundo fluvicola</i>) and the blue rock-pigeon +(<i>Columba intermedia</i>), because their nests are sometimes seen +in January.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="page18"></a> +<h3><a name="february">FEBRUARY</a></h3> +<table width="100%" summary="february poem"> + <tr> + <td width="20%"></td> + <td width="60%"> + <small>There's perfume upon every wind,<br> + Music in every tree,<br> + Dews for the moisture-loving flowers,<br> + Sweets for the sucking-bee.</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right"> + N. P. W<small>ILLIS.</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<br> +<p>Even as January in northern India may be compared to a month +made up of English May days and March nights, so may the Indian +February be likened to a halcyon month composed of sparkling, +sun-steeped June days and cool starlit April nights.</p> + +<p>February is the most pleasant month of the whole year in both +the Punjab and the United Provinces; even November must yield +the palm to it. The climate is perfect. The nights and early +mornings are cool and invigorating; the remainder of each day is +pleasantly warm; the sun's rays, although gaining strength day +by day, do not become uncomfortably hot save in the extreme +south of the United Provinces. The night mists, so +characteristic <a name="page19"></a>of December and January, are almost unknown in +February, and the light dews that form during the hours of +darkness disappear shortly after sunrise.</p> + +<p>The Indian countryside is now good to look upon; it possesses +all the beauties of the landscape of July; save the sunsets. The +soft emerald hue of the young wheat and barley is rendered more +vivid by contrast with the deep rich green of the mango trees. +Into the earth's verdant carpet is worked a gay pattern of white +poppies, purple linseed blooms, blue and pink gram flowers, and +yellow blossoms of mimosa, mustard and <a href="#arhar"><i>arhar</i></a>. Towards the end +of the month the silk-cotton trees (<i>Bombax malabarica</i>) begin +to put forth their great red flowers, but not until March does +each look like a great scarlet nosegay.</p> + +<p>The patches of sugar-cane grow smaller day by day, and in nearly +every village the little presses are at work from morn till eve.</p> + +<p>From the guava groves issue the rattle of tin pots and the +shouts of the boys told off to protect the ripening fruit from +the attacks of crows, parrots and other feathered marauders. Nor +do these sounds terminate at night-fall; indeed they become +louder after dark, for it is <a name="page20"></a>then that the flying-foxes come +forth and work sad havoc among fruit of all descriptions.</p> + +<p>The fowls of the air are more vivacious than they were in +January. The bulbuls tinkle more blithely, the purple sunbirds +sing more lustily; the <i>kutur</i>, <i>kutur</i>, <i>kuturuk</i> of the green +barbets is uttered more vociferously; the nuthatches now put +their whole soul into their loud, sharp <i>tee-tee-tee-tee</i>, the +hoopoes call <i>uk-uk-uk</i> more vigorously.</p> + +<p>The coppersmiths (<i>Xantholaema haematocephala</i>) begin to hammer +on their anvils—<i>tonk-tonk-tonk-tonk</i>, softly and spasmodically +in the early days of the month, but with greater frequency and +intensity as the days pass. The brain-fever bird (<i>Hierococcyx +varius</i>) announces his arrival in the United Provinces by +uttering an occasional "brain-fever." As the month draws to its +close his utterances become more frequent. But his time is not +yet. He merely gives us in February a foretaste of what is to +come.</p> + +<p>The <i>tew</i> of the black-headed oriole (<i>Oriolus melanocephalus</i>), +which is the only note uttered by the bird in the colder months, +is occasionally replaced in February by the summer call of the +species—a liquid, musical <i>peeho</i>. In the <a name="page21"></a>latter half of the +month the Indian robin (<i>Thamnobia cambayensis</i>) begins to find +his voice. Although not the peer of his English cousin, he is no +mean singer. At this time of year, however, his notes are harsh. +He is merely "getting into form."</p> + +<p>The feeble, but sweet, song of the crested lark or <i>Chandul</i> is +one of the features of February. The Indian skylark likewise may +now be heard singing at Heaven's gate in places where there are +large tracts of uncultivated land. As in January so in February +the joyous "Think of me ... Never to be" of the grey-headed +flycatcher emanates from every <a href="#tope">tope</a>.</p> + +<p>By the middle of the month the pied wagtails and pied bush chats +are in full song. Their melodies, though of small volume, are +very sweet.</p> + +<p>The large grey shrikes add the clamour of their courtship to the +avian chorus.</p> + +<p>Large numbers of doves, vultures, eagles, red-headed merlins, +martins and munias—birds whose nests were described in +January—are still busy feeding their young.</p> + +<p>The majority of the brown fish-owls (<i>Ketupa ceylonensis</i>) and +rock horned-owls (<i>Bubo <a name="page22"></a>bengalensis</i>) are sitting; a few of them +are feeding young birds. The dusky horned-owls (<i>B. coromandus</i>) +have either finished breeding or are tending nestlings. In +addition to the nests of the above-mentioned owls those of the +collared scops owl (<i>Scops bakkamaena</i>) and the mottled wood-owl +(<i>Syrnium ocellatum</i>) are likely to be found at this season of +the year. The scops is a small owl with aigrettes or "horns," +the wood-owl is a large bird without aigrettes.</p> + +<p>Both nest in holes in trees and lay white eggs after the manner +of their kind. The scops owl breeds from January till April, +while February and March are the months in which to look for the +eggs of the wood-owl.</p> + +<p>In the western districts of the United Provinces the Indian +cliff-swallows (<i>Hirundo fluvicola</i>) are beginning to construct +their curious nests. Here and there a pair of blue rock-pigeons +(<i>Colombia intermedia</i>) is busy with eggs or young ones. In the +Punjab the ravens are likewise employed.</p> + +<p>The nesting season of the hoopoe has now fairly commenced. +Courtship is the order of the day. The display of this beautiful +species is not at all elaborate. The bird that "shows off" +merely runs along the ground with corona <a name="page23"></a>fully expanded. Mating +hoopoes, however, perform strange antics in the air; they twist +and turn and double, just as a flycatcher does when chasing a +fleet insect. Both the hoopoe and the roller are veritable +aerial acrobats. By the end of the month all but a few of the +hoopoes have begun to nest; most of them have eggs, while the +early birds, described in January as stealing a march on their +brethren, are feeding their offspring. The 6th February is the +earliest date on which the writer has observed a hoopoe carrying +food to the nest; that was at Ghazipur.</p> + +<p>March and April are the months in which the majority of +coppersmiths or crimson-breasted barbets rear up their families. +Some, however, are already working at their nests. The eggs are +hatched in a cavity in a tree—a cavity made by means of the +bird's bill. Both sexes take part in nest construction. A +neatly-cut circular hole, about the size of a rupee, on the +lower surface or the side of a branch is assuredly the entrance +to the nest of a coppersmith, a green barbet, or a woodpecker.</p> + +<p>As the month draws to its close many a pair of nuthatches +(<i>Sitta castaneiventris</i>) may be <a name="page24"></a>observed seeking for a hollow +in which to nestle. The site selected is usually a small hole in +the trunk of a mango tree that has weathered many monsoons. The +birds reduce the orifice of the cavity to a very small size by +plastering up the greater part of it with mud. Hence the nest of +the nuthatch, unless discovered when in course of construction, +is difficult to locate.</p> + +<p>All the cock sunbirds (<i>Arachnechthra asiatica</i>) are now in the +full glory of their nuptial plumage. Here and there an energetic +little hen is busily constructing her wonderful pendent nest. +Great is the variety of building material used by the sunbird. +Fibres, slender roots, pliable stems, pieces of decayed wood, +lichen, thorns and even paper, cotton and rags, are pressed into +service. All are held together by cobweb, which is the favourite +cement of bird masons. The general shape of the nest is that of +a pear. Its contour is often irregular, because some of the +materials hang loosely from the outer surface.</p> + +<p>The nursery is attached by means of cobweb to the beam or branch +from which it hangs. It is cosily lined with cotton or other +soft material. The hen, who alone builds the nest <a name="page25"></a>and incubates +the eggs, enters and leaves the chamber by a hole at one side. +This is protected by a little penthouse. The door serves also as +window. The hen rests her chin on the lower part of this while +she is incubating her eggs, and thus is able, as she sits, to +see what is going on in the great world without. She displays +little fear of man and takes no pains to conceal her nest, which +is often built in the verandah of an inhabited bungalow.</p> + +<p>As the month nears its end the big black crows (<i>Corvus +macrorhynchus</i>) begin to construct their nests. The site +selected is usually a forked branch of a large tree. The nest is +a clumsy platform of sticks with a slight depression, lined by +human or horse hair or other soft material, for the reception of +the eggs. Both sexes take part in incubation. From the time the +first egg is laid until the young are big enough to leave the +nest this is very rarely left unguarded. When one parent is away +the other remains sitting on the eggs, or, after the young have +hatched out, on the edge of the nest. Crows are confirmed +egg-stealers and nestling-lifters, and, knowing the guile that +is in their own hearts, keep a careful watch over their +offspring.</p> +<a name="page26"></a> +<p>The kites (<i>Milvus govinda</i>) are likewise busy at their +nurseries. At this season of the year they are noisier than +usual, which is saying a great deal. They not only utter +unceasingly their shrill <i>chee-hee-hee-hee</i>, but engage in many +a squabble with the crows.</p> + +<p>The nest of the kite, like that of the corby, is an untidy mass +of sticks and twigs placed conspicuously in a lofty tree. Dozens +of these nests are to be seen in every Indian cantonment in +February and March. Why the crows and the kites should prefer +the trees in a cantonment to those in the town or surrounding +country has yet to be discovered.</p> + +<p>Mention has already been made of the fact that January is the +month in which the majority of the tawny eagles nest; not a few, +however, defer operations till February. Hume states that, of +the 159 eggs of this species of which he has a record, 38 were +taken in December, 83 in January and 28 in February.</p> + +<p>The nesting season of the white-backed vulture is drawing to a +close. On the other hand, that of the black or Pondicherry +vulture (<i>Otogyps calvus</i>) is beginning. This species may be +readily distinguished from the other vultures, by its large +size, its white thighs and <a name="page27"></a>the red wattles that hang down from +the sides of the head like drooping ears.</p> + +<p>The nest of this bird is a massive platform of sticks, large +enough to accommodate two or three men. Hume once demolished one +of these vulturine nurseries and found that it weighed over +eight maunds, that is to say about six hundredweight. This +vulture usually builds its nest in a lofty <i>pipal</i> tree, but in +localities devoid of tall trees the platform is placed on the +top of a bush.</p> + +<p>February marks the beginning of the nesting season of the +handsome pied kingfisher (<i>Ceryle rudis</i>). This is the familiar, +black-and-white bird that fishes by hovering kestrel-like on +rapidly-vibrating wings and then dropping from a height of some +twenty feet into the water below; it is a bird greatly addicted +to goldfish and makes sad havoc of these where they are exposed +in ornamental ponds. The nest of the pied kingfisher is a +circular tunnel or burrow, more than a yard in length, excavated +in a river bank. The burrow, which is dug out by the bird, is +about three inches in diameter and terminates in a larger +chamber in which the eggs are laid.</p> + +<p>Another spotted black-and-white bird which <a name="page28"></a>now begins nesting +operations is the yellow-fronted pied woodpecker (<i>Liopicus +mahrattensis</i>)—a species only a little less common than the +beautiful golden-backed woodpecker. Like all the Picidae this +bird nests in the trunk or a branch of a tree. Selecting a part +of a tree which is decayed—sometimes a portion of the bole +quite close to the ground—the woodpecker hews out with its +chisel-like beak a neat circular tunnel leading to the cavity in +the decayed wood in which the eggs will be deposited. The tap, +tap, tap of the bill as it cuts into the wood serves to guide +the observer to the spot where the woodpecker, with legs apart +and tail adpressed to the tree, is at work. In the same way a +barbet's nest, while under construction, may be located with +ease. A woodpecker when excavating its nest will often allow a +human being to approach sufficiently dose to witness it throw +over its shoulder the chips of wood it has cut away with its +bill.</p> + +<p>In the United Provinces many of the ashy-crowned finch-larks +(<i>Pyrrhulauda grisea</i>) build their nests during February. In the +Punjab they breed later; April and May being the months in which +their eggs are most often found in that province. These curious +<a name="page29"></a>squat-figured little birds are rendered easy of recognition by +the unusual scheme of colouring displayed by the cock—his upper +parts are earthy grey and his lower plumage is black.</p> + +<p>The habit of the finch-lark is to soar to a little height and +then drop to the ground, with wings closed, singing as it +descends. It invariably affects open plains. There are very few +tracts of treeless land in India which are not tenanted by +finch-larks. The nest is a mere pad of grass and feathers placed +on the ground in a tussock of grass, beside a clod of earth, or +in a depression, such as a hoof-print. The most expeditious way +of finding nests of these birds in places where they are +abundant is to walk with a line of beaters over a tract of +fallow land and mark carefully the spots from which the birds +rise.</p> + +<p>With February the nesting season of the barn-owls (<i>Strix +flammea</i>) begins in the United Provinces, where their eggs have +been taken as early as the 17th.</p> + +<p>Towards the end of the month the white-browed fantail +flycatchers (<i>Rhipidura albifrontata</i>) begin to nest. The loud +and cheerful song of this little feathered exquisite is a tune +of <a name="page30"></a>six or seven notes that ascend and descend the musical scale. +It is one of the most familiar of the sounds that gladden the +Indian countryside. The broad white eyebrow and the manner in +which, with drooping wings and tail spread into a fan, this +flycatcher waltzes and pirouettes among the branches of a tree +render it unmistakable. The nest is a dainty little cup, covered +with cobweb, attached to one of the lower boughs of a tree. So +small is the nursery that sometimes the incubating bird looks as +though it were sitting across a branch. This species appears to +rear two broods every year. The first comes into existence in +March or late February in the United Provinces and five or six +weeks later in the Punjab; the second brood emerges during the +monsoon.</p> + +<p>The white-eyed buzzards—weakest of all the birds of prey—begin +to pair towards the end of the month. At this season they +frequently rise high above the earth and soar, emitting +plaintive cries.</p> + +<p>The handsome, but destructive, green parrots are now seeking, or +making, cavities in trees or buildings in which to deposit their +white eggs.</p> +<a name="page31"></a> +<p>The breeding season for the alexandrine (<i>Palaeornis eupatrius</i>) +and the rose-ringed paroquet (<i>P. torquatus</i>) begins at the end +of January or early in February. March is the month in which +most eggs are taken.</p> + +<p>In April and May the bird-catchers go round and collect the +nestlings in order to sell them at four annas apiece. Green +parrots are the most popular cage birds in India. Destructive +though they be and a scourge to the husbandman, one cannot but +pity the luckless captives doomed to spend practically the whole +of their existence in small iron cages, which, when exposed to +the sun in the hot weather, as they often are, must be veritable +infernos.</p> + +<p>The courtship of a pair of green parrots is as amusing to watch +as that of any 'Arry and 'Arriet. Not possessing hats the +amorous birds are unable to exchange them, but otherwise their +actions are quite coster-like. The female twists herself into +all manner of ridiculous postures and utters low twittering +notes. The cock sits at her side and admires. Every now and then +he shows his appreciation of her antics by tickling her head +with his beak or by joining his bill to hers.</p> +<a name="page32"></a> +<p>Both the grey shrike and the wood-shrike begin nesting +operations in February. As, however, most of their nests are +likely to be found later in the year they are dealt with in the +calendar for March.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="page33"></a> +<h3><a name="march">MARCH</a></h3> +<table width="100%" summary="march poem"> + <tr> + <td width="20%"></td> + <td width="60%"> + <small>And all the jungle laughed with nesting songs,<br> + And all the thickets rustled with small life<br> + Of lizard, bee, beetle, and creeping things<br> + Pleased at the spring time. In the mango sprays<br> + The sun-birds flashed; alone at his green forge<br> + Toiled the loud coppersmith; . . .</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right"> + A<small>RNOLD</small>. <i>T<small>he</small> L<small>ight of</small> A<small>sia</small></i>.</td> + <td></td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<br> +<p>In March the climate of the plains of the United Provinces +varies from place to place. In the western sub-Himalayan tracts, +as in the Punjab, the weather still leaves little to be desired. +The sun indeed is powerful; towards the end of the month the +maximum shade temperature exceeds 80°, but the nights and +early mornings are delightfully cool. In all the remaining parts +of the United Provinces, except the extreme south, temperate +weather prevails until nearly the end of the month. In the last +days the noonday heat becomes so great that many persons close +their bungalows for several hours daily to keep them cool, the +outer temperature rising to ninety in the <a name="page34"></a>shade. At night, +however, the temperature drops to 65°. In the extreme +south of the Province the hot weather sets in by the middle of +March. The sky assumes a brazen aspect and, at midday, the +country is swept by westerly winds which seem to come from a +titanic blast furnace.</p> + +<p>The spring crops grow more golden day by day. The mustard is the +first to ripen. The earlier-sown fields are harvested in March +in the eastern and southern parts of the country. The spring +cereals are cut by hand sickles, the grain is then husked by the +tramping of cattle, and, lastly, the chaff is separated from the +grain on the threshing floor, the hot burning wind often acting +as a natural winnowing fan.</p> + +<p>The air is heavily scented with the inconspicuous inflorescences +of the mangos (<i>Mangifera indica</i>). The pipals (<i>Ficus +religiosa</i>) are shedding their leaves; the <i>sheshams</i> +(<i>Dalbergia sissoo</i>) are assuming their emerald spring foliage.</p> + +<p>The garden, the jungle and the forest are beautified by the +gorgeous reds of the flowers of the silk-cotton tree (<i>Bombax +malabarica</i>), the Indian coral tree (<i>Erythrina indica</i>) and <a name="page35"></a>the +flame-of-the-forest (<i>Butea frondosa</i>). The sub-Himalayan +forests become yellow-tinted owing to the fading of the leaves +of the <i>sal</i> (<i>Shorea robusta</i>), many of which are shed in +March. The <i>sal</i>, however, is never entirely leafless; the young +foliage appears as the old drops off; while this change is +taking place the minute pale yellow flowers open out.</p> + +<p>The familiar yellow wasps, which have been hibernating during +the cold weather, emerge from their hiding-places and begin to +construct their umbrella-shaped nests or combs, which look as if +they were made of rice-paper.</p> + +<p>March is a month of great activity for the birds. Those that +constituted the avian chorus of February continue to sing, and +to their voices are now added those of many other minstrels. +Chief of these is the pied singer of Ind—the magpie-robin or +<i>dhayal</i>—whose song is as beautiful as that of the English +robin at his best. From the housetops the brown rock-chat begins +to pour forth his exceedingly sweet lay. The Indian robin is in +full song. The little golden ioras, hidden away amid dense +foliage, utter their many joyful sounds. <a name="page36"></a>The brain-fever bird +grows more vociferous day by day. The crow-pheasants, which have +been comparatively silent during the colder months of the year, +now begin to utter their low sonorous <i>whoot</i>, <i>whoot</i>, <i>whoot</i>, +which is heard chiefly at dawn.</p> + +<p>Everywhere the birds are joyful and noisy; nowhere more so than +at the silk-cotton and the coral trees. These, although +botanically very different, display many features in common. +They begin to lose their leaves soon after the monsoon is over, +and are leafless by the end of the winter. In the early spring, +while the tree is still devoid of foliage, huge scarlet, crimson +or yellow flowers emerge from every branch. Each flower is +plentifully supplied with honey; it is a flowing bowl of which +all are invited to partake, and hundreds of thousands of birds +accept the invitation with right good-will. The scene at each of +these trees, when in full flower, baffles description.</p> + +<p>Scores of birds forgather there—rosy starlings, mynas, +babblers, bulbuls, king-crows, tree-pies, green parrots, +sunbirds and crows. These all drink riotously and revel so +loudly that the sound may be heard at a distance of half a mile +or more. Even before the sun has <a name="page37"></a>risen and begun to dispel the +pleasant coolness of the night the drinking begins. It continues +throughout the hours of daylight. Towards midday, when the west +wind blows very hot, it flags somewhat, but even when the +temperature is nearer 100° than 90° some avian +brawlers are present. As soon as the first touch of the +afternoon coolness is felt the clamour acquires fresh vigour and +does not cease until the sun has set in a dusty haze, and the +spotted owlets have emerged and begun to cackle and call as is +their wont.</p> + +<p>These last are by no means the only birds that hold concert +parties during the hours of darkness. In open country the jungle +owlet and the dusky-horned owl call at intervals, and the Indian +nightjar (<i>Caprimulgus asiaticus</i>) imitates the sound of a stone +skimming over ice. In the forest tracts Franklin's and +Horsfield's nightjars make the welkin ring. Scarce has the sun +disappeared below the horizon when the former issues forth and +utters its harsh <i>tweet</i>. Horsfield's nightjar emerges a few +minutes later, and, for some hours after dusk and for several +before dawn, it utters incessantly its loud monotonous <i>chuck</i>, +<i>chuck</i>, <i>chuck</i>, <i>chuck</i>, <i>chuck</i>, which has been aptly +<a name="page38"></a>compared to the sound made by striking a plank sharply with a +hammer.</p> + +<p>March is the month in which the majority of the shrikes or +butcher-birds go a-courting. There is no false modesty about +butcher-birds. They are not ashamed to introduce their +unmelodious calls into the avian chorus. But they are mild +offenders in comparison with the king-crows (<i>Dicrurus ater</i>) +and the rollers (<i>Coracias indica</i>).</p> + +<p>The little black king-crows are at all seasons noisy and +vivacious: from the end of February until the rains have set in +they are positively uproarious. Two or three of them love to sit +on a telegraph wire, or a bare branch of a tree, and hold a +concert. The first performer draws itself up to its full height +and then gives vent to harsh cries. Before it has had time to +deliver itself of all it has to sing, an impatient neighbour +joins in and tries to shout it down. The concert may last for +half an hour or longer; the scene is shifted from time to time +as the participants become too excited to sit still. The +king-crows so engaged appear to be selecting their mates; +nevertheless nest-construction does not begin before the end of +April.</p> +<a name="page39"></a> +<p>Some human beings may fail to notice the courtship of the +king-crow, but none can be so deaf and blind as to miss the +love-making of the gorgeous roller or blue jay. Has not everyone +marvelled at the hoarse cries and rasping screams which emanate +from these birds as they fling themselves into the air and +ascend and descend as though they were being tossed about by +unseen hands?</p> + +<p>Their wonderful aerial performances go on continually in the +hours of daylight throughout the months of March and April; at +this season the birds, beautiful although they be, are a +veritable nuisance, and most people gratefully welcome the +comparative quiet that supervenes after the eggs have been laid. +The madness of the March hare is mild compared with that of the +March roller. It is difficult to realise that the harsh and +angry-sounding cries of these birds denote, not rage, but joy.</p> + +<p>The great exodus of the winter visitors from the plains of India +begins in March. It continues until mid-May, by which time the +last of the migratory birds will have reached its distant +breeding ground.</p> + +<p>This exodus is usually preceded by the gathering into flocks of +the rose-coloured <a name="page40"></a>starlings and the corn-buntings. Large noisy +congregations of these birds are a striking feature of February +in Bombay, of March in the United Provinces, and of April in the +Punjab.</p> + +<p>Rose-coloured starlings spend most of their lives in the plains +of India, going to Asia Minor for a few months each summer for +nesting purposes. In the autumn they spread themselves over the +greater part of Hindustan, most abundantly in the Deccan.</p> + +<p>In the third or fourth week of February the rosy starlings of +Bombay begin to form flocks. These make merry among the flowers +of the coral tree, which appear first in South India, and last +in the Punjab. The noisy flocks journey northwards in a +leisurely manner, timing their arrival at each place +simultaneously with the flowering of the coral trees. They feed +on the nectar provided by these flowers and those of the +silk-cotton tree. They also take toll of the ripening corn and +of the mulberries which are now in season. Thus the rosy +starlings reach Allahabad about the second week in March, and +Lahore some fifteen days later.</p> + +<p>The head, neck, breast, wings and tail of <a name="page41"></a>the rosy starling are +glossy black, and the remainder of the plumage is pale salmon in +the hen and the young cock, and faint rose-colour in the adult +cock.</p> + +<p>Rosy starlings feed chiefly in the morning and the late +afternoon. During the hottest part of the day they perch in +trees and hold a concert, if such a term may be applied to a +torrent of sibilant twitter.</p> + +<p>Buntings, like rosy starlings, are social birds, and are very +destructive to grain crops.</p> + +<p>As these last are harvested the feeding area of the buntings +becomes restricted, so that eventually every patch of standing +crop is alive with buntings. The spring cereals ripen in the +south earlier than in northern India, so that the cheerful +buntings are able to perform their migratory journey by easy +stages and find abundant food all along the route.</p> + +<p>There are two species of corn-bunting—the red-headed (<i>Emberiza +luteola</i>) and the black-headed (<i>E. melanocephala</i>). In both the +lower plumage is bright yellow.</p> + +<p>Among the earliest of the birds to forsake the plains of +Hindustan are the grey-lag goose and the pintail duck. These +leave Bengal in <a name="page42"></a>February, but tarry longer in the cooler parts +of the country. Of the other migratory species many individuals +depart in March, but the greater number remain on into April, +when they are caught up in the great migratory wave that surges +over the country. The destination of the majority of these +migrants is Tibet or Siberia, but a few are satisfied with the +cool slopes of the Himalayas as a summer resort in which to busy +themselves with the sweet cares of nesting. Examples of these +more local migrants are the grey-headed and the verditer +flycatchers, the Indian bush-chat and, to some extent, the +paradise flycatcher and the Indian oriole. The case of the +oriole is interesting. All the Indian orioles (<i>Oriolus kundoo</i>) +disappear from the Punjab and the United Provinces in winter. In +the former province no other oriole replaces <i>O. kundoo</i>, but in +the United Provinces the black-headed oriole (<i>O. +melanocephalus</i>) comes to take the place of the other from +October to March. When this last returns to the United Provinces +in March the greater number of <i>melanocephalus</i> individuals go +east, a few only remaining in the sub-Himalayan tracts of the +province.</p> + +<p>The Indian oriole is not the only species <a name="page43"></a>which finds the +climate of the United Provinces too severe for it in winter; the +koel and the paradise flycatcher likewise desert us in the +coldest months. From the less temperate Punjab several species +migrate in October which manage to maintain themselves in the +United Provinces throughout the year: these are the purple +sunbird, the little green and the blue-tailed bee-eaters, and +the yellow-throated sparrow. The return of these and the other +migrant species to the Punjab in March is as marked a phenomenon +as is the arrival of the swallow and the cuckoo in England in +spring.</p> + +<p>The behaviour of the king-crows shows the marked effect a +comparatively small difference of temperature may exert on the +habits of some birds. In the United Provinces the king-crows +appear to be as numerous in winter as in summer: in the Punjab +they are very plentiful in summer, but rare in the cold weather; +while not a single king-crow winters in the N.-W. Frontier +Province.</p> + +<p>Of the birds of which the nests were described in January and +February the Pallas's fishing eagles have sent their nestlings +into the world to fend for themselves.</p> +<a name="page44"></a> +<p>In the case of the following birds the breeding season is fast +drawing to its close:—the dusky horned-owl, the white-backed +vulture, Bonelli's eagle, the tawny eagle, the brown fish-owl, +the rock horned-owl, the raven, the amadavat and the +white-throated munia.</p> + +<p>The nesting season is at its height for all the other birds of +which the nests have been described, namely, most species of +dove, the jungle crow, the red-headed merlin, the purple +sunbird, the nuthatch, the fantail flycatcher, the finch-lark, +the pied woodpecker, the coppersmith, the alexandrine and the +rose-ringed paroquet, the white-eyed buzzard, the collared scops +and the mottled wood-owl, the kite, the black vulture and the +pied kingfisher.</p> + +<p>The sand-martins breed from October to May, consequently their +nests, containing eggs or young, are frequently taken in March. +Mention was made in January and February of the Indian +cliff-swallow (<i>Hirundo fluvicola</i>). This species is not found +in the eastern districts of the United Provinces, but it is the +common swallow of the western districts. The head is dull +chestnut. The back and shoulders are glistening steel-blue. The +remainder of the upper plumage is brown. The lower parts <a name="page45"></a>are +white with brown streaks, which are most apparent on the throat +and upper breast. These swallows normally nest at two seasons of +the year—from February till April and in July or August.</p> + +<p>They breed in colonies. The mud nests are spherical or oval with +an entrance tube from two to six inches long. The nests are +invariably attached to a cliff or building, and, although +isolated ones are built sometimes, they usually occur in +clusters, as many as two hundred have been counted in one +cluster. In such a case a section cut parallel to the surface to +which the nests are attached looks like that of a huge honeycomb +composed of cells four inches in diameter—cells of a kind that +one could expect to be built by bees that had partaken of Mr. H. +G. Wells' "food of the gods."</p> + +<p>The beautiful white-breasted kingfisher, (<i>Halcyon smyrnensis</i>) +is now busy at its nest.</p> + +<p>This species spends most of its life in shady gardens; it feeds +on insects in preference to fish. It does not invariably select +a river bank in which to nest, it is quite content with a sand +quarry, a bank, or the shaft of a <i>kachcha</i> well. The nest +consists of a passage, some two <a name="page46"></a>feet in length and three inches +in diameter, leading to a larger chamber in which from four to +seven eggs are laid.</p> + +<p>A pair of white-breasted kingfishers at work during the early +stages of nest construction affords an interesting spectacle. +Not being able to obtain a foothold on the almost perpendicular +surface of the bank, the birds literally charge this in turn +with fixed beak. By a succession of such attacks at one spot a +hole of an appreciable size is soon formed in the soft sand. +Then the birds are able to obtain a foothold and to excavate +with the bill, while clinging to the edge of the hole. Every now +and then they indulge in a short respite from their labours. +While thus resting one of the pair will sometimes spread its +wings for an instant and display the white patch; then it will +close them and make a neat bow, as if to say "Is not that nice?" +Its companion may remain motionless and unresponsive, or may +return the compliment.</p> + +<p>In the first days of March the bulbuls begin to breed. In 1912 +the writer saw a pair of bulbuls (<i>Otocompsa emeria</i>) building a +nest on the 3rd March. By the 10th the structure was <a name="page47"></a>complete +and held the full clutch of three eggs. On that date a second +nest was found containing three eggs.</p> + +<p>In 1913 the writer first saw a bulbul's nest on the 5th March. +This belonged to <i>Molpastes bengalensis</i> and contained two eggs. +On the following day the full clutch of three was in the nest.</p> + +<p>The nesting season for these birds terminates in the rains.</p> + +<p>The common bulbuls of the plains belong to two +genera—<i>Molpastes</i> and <i>Otocompsa</i>. The former is split up into +a number of local species which display only small differences +in appearance and interbreed freely at the places where they +meet. They are known as the Madras, the Bengal, the Punjab, +etc., red-vented bulbul. They are somewhat larger than sparrows. +The head, which bears a short crest, and the face are black; the +rest of the body, except a patch of bright red under the tail, +is brown, each feather having a pale margin.</p> + +<p>In <i>Otocompsa</i> the crest is long and rises to a sharp point +which curves forward a little over the beak. The breast is +white, set off by a black gorget. There is the usual red patch +<a name="page48"></a>under the tail and a patch of the same hue on each side of the +face, whence the English name for the bird—the red-whiskered +bulbul.</p> + +<p><i>Molpastes</i> and <i>Otocompsa</i> have similar habits. They are +feckless little birds that build cup-shaped nests in all manner +of queer and exposed situations. Those that live near the +habitations of Europeans nestle in low bushes in the garden, or +in pot plants in the verandah. Small crotons are often selected, +preferably those that do not bear a score of leaves. The sitting +bulbul does not appear to mind the daily shower-bath it receives +when the <i>mali</i> waters the plant. Sometimes as many as three or +four pairs of bulbuls attempt to rear up families in one +verandah. The word "attempt" is used advisedly, because, owing +to the exposed situations in which nests are built, large +numbers of eggs and young bulbuls are destroyed by boys, cats, +snakes and other predaceous creatures. The average bulbul loses +six broods for every one it succeeds in rearing. The eggs are +pink with reddish markings.</p> + +<p>March is the month in which to look for the nest of the Indian +wren-warbler (<i>Prinia inornata</i>). <i>Inornata</i> is a very +appropriate <a name="page49"></a>specific name for this tiny earth-brown bird, which +is devoid of all kind of ornamentation. Its voice is as homely +as its appearance—a harsh but plaintive <i>twee</i>, <i>twee</i>, <i>twee</i>. +It weaves a nest which looks like a ragged loofah with a hole in +the side. The nest is usually placed low down in a bush or in +long grass. Sometimes it is attached to two or more stalks of +corn. In such cases the corn is often cut before the young birds +have had time to leave the nest, and then the brood perishes. +This species brings up a second family in the rainy season.</p> + +<p>The barn-owls (<i>Strix flammea</i>) are now breeding. They lay their +eggs in cavities in trees, buildings or walls. In northern India +the nesting season lasts from February to June. Eggs are most +likely to be found in the United Provinces during the present +month.</p> + +<p>The various species of babblers or seven sisters begin to nest +in March. Unlike bulbuls these birds are careful to conceal the +nest. This is a slenderly-built, somewhat untidy cup, placed in +a bush or tree. The eggs are a beautiful rich blue, without any +markings.</p> + +<p>The hawk-cuckoo, or brain-fever bird (<i>Hierococcyx varius</i>), to +which allusion has already <a name="page50"></a>been made, deposits its eggs in the +nests of various species of babblers. The eggs of this cuckoo +are blue, but are distinguishable from those of the babbler by +their larger size. It may be noted, in passing, that this cuckoo +does not extend far into the Punjab.</p> + +<p>As stated above, most of the shrikes go a-courting in March. +Nest-building follows hard on courtship. In this month and in +April most of the shrikes lay their eggs, but nests containing +eggs or young are to be seen in May, June, July and August. +Shrikes are birds of prey in miniature. Although not much larger +than sparrows they are as fierce as falcons.</p> + +<p>Their habit is to seize the quarry on the ground, after having +pounced upon it from a bush or tree. Grasshoppers constitute +their usual food, but they are not afraid to tackle mice or +small birds.</p> + +<p>The largest shrike is the grey species (<i>Lanius lahtora</i>). This +is clothed mainly in grey; however, it has a broad black band +running through the eye—the escutcheon of the butcher-bird +clan. It begins nesting before the other species, and its eggs +are often taken in February.</p> +<a name="page51"></a> +<p>The other common species are the bay-backed (<i>L. vittatus</i>) and +the rufous-backed shrike (<i>L. erythronotus</i>). These are smaller +birds and have the back red. The former is distinguishable from +the latter by having in the wings and tail much white, which is +very conspicuous during flight.</p> + +<p>The nest of each species is a massive cup, composed of twigs, +thorns, grasses, feathers, and, usually, some pieces of rag; +these last often hang down in a most untidy manner. The nest is, +as a rule, placed in a babool or other thorny tree, close up +against the trunk.</p> + +<p>Three allies of the shrikes are likewise busy with their nests +at this season. These are the wood-shrike, the minivet and the +cuckoo-shrike. The wood-shrike (<i>Tephrodornis pondicerianus</i>) is +an ashy-brown bird of the size of a sparrow with a broad white +eyebrow. It frequently emits a characteristic soft, melancholy, +whistling note, which Eha describes as "Be thee cheery." How +impracticable are all efforts to "chain by syllables airy +sounds"! The cup-like nest of this species is always carefully +concealed in a tree.</p> + +<p>Minivets are aerial exquisites. In descriptions of them +superlative follows upon superlative. <a name="page52"></a>The cocks of most species +are arrayed in scarlet and black; the hens are not a whit less +brilliantly attired in yellow and sable. One species lives +entirely in the plains, others visit them in the cold weather; +the majority are permanent residents of the hills. The solitary +denizen of the plains—the little minivet (<i>Pericrocotus +peregrinus</i>)—is the least resplendent of them all. Its +prevailing hue is slaty grey, but the cock has a red breast and +some red on the back. The nest is a cup so small as either to be +invisible from below or to present the appearance of a knot or +thickening in the branch on which it is placed. Sometimes two +broods are reared in the course of the year—one in March, April +or May and the other during the rainy season.</p> + +<p>The cuckoo-shrike (<i>Grauculus macii</i>) is not nearly related to +the cuckoo, nor has it the parasitic habits of the latter. Its +grey plumage is barred like that of the common cuckoo, hence the +adjective. The cuckoo-shrike is nearly as big as a dove. It +utters constantly a curious harsh call. It keeps much to the +higher branches of trees in which it conceals, with great care, +its saucer-like nest.</p> + +<p>As we have seen, some coppersmiths and <a name="page53"></a>pied woodpeckers began +nesting operations in February, but the great majority do not +lay eggs until March.</p> + +<p>The green barbet (<i>Thereoceryx zeylonicus</i>) and the +golden-backed woodpecker (<i>Brachypternus aurantius</i>) are now +busy excavating their nests, which are so similar to those of +their respective cousins—the coppersmith and the pied +woodpecker—as to require no description. It is not necessary to +state that the harsh laugh, followed by the <i>kutur</i>, <i>kutur</i>, +<i>kuturuk</i>, of the green barbet and the eternal <i>tonk</i>, <i>tonk</i>, +<i>tonk</i> of the coppersmith are now more vehement than ever, and +will continue with unabated vigour until the rains have fairly +set in.</p> + +<p>By the end of the month many of the noisy rollers have found +holes in decayed trees in which the hens can lay their eggs. The +vociferous nightjars likewise have laid upon the bare ground +their salmon-pink eggs with strawberry-coloured markings.</p> + +<p>The noisy spotted owlets (<i>Athene brama</i>) and the rose-ringed +paroquets (<i>Palaeornis torquatus</i>) are already the happy +possessors of clutches of white eggs hidden away in cavities of +decayed trees or buildings.</p> +<a name="page54"></a> +<p>The swifts (<i>Cypselus indicus</i>) also are busy with their nests. +These are saucer-shaped structures, composed of feathers, straw +and other materials made to adhere together, and to the beam or +stone to which the nest is attached, by the glutinous saliva of +the swifts. Deserted buildings, outhouses and verandahs of +bungalows are the usual nesting sites of these birds. At this +season swifts are very noisy. Throughout the day and at frequent +intervals during the night they emit loud shivering screams. At +sunset they hold high carnival, playing, at breakneck speed and +to the accompaniment of much screaming, a game of "follow the +man from Cook's."</p> + +<p>The swifts are not the only birds engaged in rearing up young in +our verandahs. Sparrows and doves are so employed, as are the +wire-tailed swallows (<i>Hirundo smithii</i>). These last are +steel-blue birds with red heads and white under plumage. They +derive the name "wire-tailed" from the fact that the thin shafts +of the outer pair of tail feathers are prolonged five inches +beyond the others and look like wires. Wire-tailed swallows +occasionally build in verandahs, but they prefer to attach their +<a name="page55"></a>saucer-shaped mud nests to the arches of bridges and culverts.</p> + +<p>With a nest in such a situation the parent birds are not obliged +to go far for the mud with which the nest is made, or for the +insects, caught over the surface of water, on which the +offspring are fed.</p> + +<p>The nesting season of wire-tailed swallows is a long one. +According to Hume these beautiful birds breed chiefly in +February and March and again in July, August and September. +However, he states that he has seen eggs as early as January and +as late as November. In the Himalayas he has obtained the eggs +in April, May and June.</p> + +<p>The present writer's experience does not agree with that of +Hume. In Lahore, Saharanpur and Pilibhit, May and June are the +months in which most nests of this species are likely to be +seen. The writer has found nests with eggs or young on the +following dates in the above-mentioned places: May 13th, 15th, +16th, 17th; June 6th and 28th.</p> + +<p>The nest of June 28th was attached to a rafter of the front +verandah of a bungalow at Lahore. The owner of the house stated +that the swallows in question had already reared <a name="page56"></a>one brood that +year, and that the birds in question had nested in his verandah +for some years. There is no doubt that some wire-tailed swallows +bring up two broods. Such would seem to breed, as Hume says, in +February and March and again in July and August. But, as many +nests containing eggs are found in May, some individuals appear +to have one brood only, which hatches out in May or June.</p> + +<p>Those useful but ugly fowls, the white scavenger vultures +(<i>Neophron ginginianus</i>), depart from the ways of their brethren +in that they nidificate in March and April instead of in January +and February. The nest is an evil-smelling pile of sticks, rags +and rubbish. It is placed on some building or in a tree.</p> + +<p>The handsome brahminy kites (<i>Haliastur indicus</i>), attired in +chestnut and white, are now busily occupied, either in seeking +for sites or in actually building their nests, which resemble +those of the common kite.</p> + +<p>In the open plains the pipits (<i>Anthus rufulus</i>) and the crested +larks (<i>Galerita cristata</i>) are keeping the nesting finch-larks +company.</p> + +<p>All three species build the same kind of nest—a cup of grass or +fibres (often a deep cup in <a name="page57"></a>the case of the crested lark) placed +on the ground in a hole or a depression, or protected by a +tussock of grass or a small bush.</p> + +<p>On the churs and sand islets in the large Indian rivers the +terns are busy with their eggs, which are deposited on the bare +sand. They breed in colonies. On the same islet are to be seen +the eggs of the Indian river tern, the black-bellied tern, the +swallow-plover, the spur-winged plover and the Indian skimmer.</p> + +<p>The eggs of all the above species are of similar appearance, the +ground colour being greenish, or buff, or the hue of stone or +cream, with reddish or brownish blotches. Three is the full +complement of eggs. The bare white glittering sands on which +these eggs are deposited are often at noon so hot as to be +painful to touch; accordingly during the daytime there is no +need for the birds to sit on the eggs in order to keep them +warm. Indeed, it has always been a mystery to the writer why +terns' eggs laid in March in northern India do not get cooked. +Mr. A. J. Currie recently came across some eggs of the +black-bellied tern that had had water sprinkled over them. He is +of opinion that the incubating birds treat the eggs thus in +order to prevent <a name="page58"></a>their getting sun-baked. This theory should be +borne in mind by those who visit sandbanks in March. Whether it +be true or not, there is certainly no need for the adult birds +to keep the eggs warm in the daytime, and they spend much of +their time in wheeling gracefully overhead or in sleeping on the +sand. By nightfall all the eggs are covered by parent birds, +which are said to sit so closely that it is possible to catch +them by means of a butterfly net. The terns, although they do +not sit much on their eggs during the day, ever keep a close +watch on them, so that, when a human being lands on a nest-laden +sandbank, the parent birds fly round his head, uttering loud +screams.</p> + +<p>The swallow-plovers go farther. They become so excited that they +flutter about on the sand, with dragging wings and limping legs, +as if badly wounded. Sometimes they perform somersaults in their +intense excitement. The nearer the intruder approaches their +eggs the more vigorous do their antics become.</p> + +<p>Every lover of the winged folk should make a point of visiting, +late in March or early in April, an islet on which these birds +nest. He <a name="page59"></a>will find much to interest him there. In April many of +the young birds will be hatched out. A baby tern is an amusing +object. It is covered with soft sand-coloured down. When a human +being approaches it crouches on the sand, half burying its head +in its shoulders, and remains thus perfectly motionless. If +picked up it usually remains limply in the hand, so that, but +for its warmth, it might be deemed lifeless. After it has been +set down again on the sand, it will remain motionless until the +intruder's back is turned, when it will run to the water as fast +as its little legs can carry it. It swims as easily as a duck. +Needless to state, the parent birds make a great noise while +their young are being handled.</p> + +<p>Birds decline to be fettered by the calendar. Many of the +species which do not ordinarily nest until April or May +occasionally begin operations in March, hence nests of the +following species, which are dealt with next month, may occur in +the present one:—the tree-pie, tailor-bird, common myna, +bank-myna, brown rock-chat, brown-backed robin, pied wagtail, +red-winged bush-lark, shikra, red-wattled lapwing, +yellow-throated sparrow, bee-eater, blue rock-pigeon, green +pigeon and grey partridge.</p> +<a name="page60"></a> +<p>March the 15th marks the beginning of the close season for game +birds in all the reserved forests of Northern India. This is +none too soon, as some individuals begin breeding at the end of +the month.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="page61"></a> +<h3><a name="april">APRIL</a></h3> +<table width="100%" summary="april poem"> + <tr> + <td width="20%"></td> + <td width="60%"> + <small>The breeze moves slow with thick perfume<br> + From every mango grove;<br> + From coral tree to parrot bloom<br> + The black bees questing rove,<br> + The koil wakes the early dawn.</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right"> + W<small>ATERFIELD</small>. <i>I<small>ndian</small> B<small>allads</small></i>.</td> + <td></td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<br> +<p>The fifteenth of April marks the beginning of the "official" hot +weather in the United Provinces; but the elements decline to +conform to the rules of man. In the eastern and southern +districts hot-weather conditions are established long before +mid-April, while in the sub-Himalayan belt the temperature +remains sufficiently low throughout the month to permit human +beings to derive some physical enjoyment from existence. In that +favoured tract the nights are usually clear and cool, so that it +is very pleasant to sleep outside beneath the starry canopy of +the heavens.</p> + +<p>It requires an optimist to say good things of April days, even +in the sub-Himalayan tract. <a name="page62"></a>Fierce scorching west winds sweep +over the earth, covering everything with dust. Sometimes the +flying sand is so thick as to obscure the landscape, and often, +after the wind has dropped, the particles remain suspended for +days as a dust haze. The dust is a scourge. It is all-pervading. +It enters eyes, ears, nose and mouth. To escape it is +impossible. Closed doors and windows fail to keep it from +entering the bungalow. The only creatures which appear to be +indifferent to it are the fowls of the air. As to the heat, the +non-migratory species positively revel in it. The crows and a +few other birds certainly do gasp and pant when the sun is at +its height, but even they, save for a short siesta at midday, +are as active in April and May as schoolboys set free from a +class-room. April is the month in which the spring crops are +harvested. As soon as the <a href="#holi"><i>Holi</i></a> festival is over the +cultivators issue forth in thousands, armed with sickles, and +begin to reap. They are almost as active as the birds, but their +activity is forced and not spontaneous; like most Anglo-Indian +officials they literally earn their bread by the sweat of the +brow. Thanks to their unceasing labours the countryside becomes +transformed during the month; <a name="page63"></a>that which was a sea of smiling +golden-brown wheat and barley becomes a waste of short stubble.</p> + +<p>Nature gives some compensation for the heat and the dust in the +shape of mulberries, loquats, lichis and cool luscious papitas +and melons which ripen in March or April. The mango blossom +becomes transfigured into fruit, which, by the end of the month, +is as large as an egg, and will be ready for gathering in the +latter half of May.</p> + +<p>Many trees are in flower. The coral, the silk-cotton and the +<i>dhak</i> are resplendent with red foliage. The <i>jhaman</i>, the +<i>siris</i> and the <i>mohwa</i> are likewise in bloom and, ere the close +of the month, the <i>amaltas</i> or Indian laburnum will put forth +its bright yellow flowers in great profusion. Throughout April +the air is heavy with the scent of blossoms. The <i>shesham</i>, the +<i>sal</i>, the <i>pipal</i> and the <i>nim</i> are vivid with fresh foliage. +But notwithstanding all this galaxy of colour, notwithstanding +the brightness of the sun and the blueness of the sky, the +countryside lacks the sweetness that Englishmen associate with +springtime, because the majority of the trees, being evergreen, +do not renew their clothing completely at this season, and <a name="page64"></a>the +foliage is everywhere more or less obscured by the all-pervading +dust.</p> + +<p>The great avian emigration, which began in March, now reaches +its height. During the warm April nights millions of birds leave +the plains of India. The few geese remaining at the close of +March, depart in the first days of April.</p> + +<p>The brahminy ducks, which during the winter months were +scattered in twos and threes over the lakes and rivers of +Northern India, collect into flocks that migrate, one by one, to +cooler climes, so that, by the end of the first week in May, the +<i>a-onk</i> of these birds is no longer heard. The mallard, gadwall, +widgeon, pintail, the various species of pochard and the common +teal are rapidly disappearing. With April duck-shooting ends. Of +the migratory species only a few shovellers and garganey teal +tarry till May.</p> + +<p>The snipe and the quail are likewise flighting towards their +breeding grounds. Thus on the 1st of May the avian population of +India is less by many millions than it was at the beginning of +April. But the birds that remain behind more than compensate us, +by their great activity, for the loss of those that have +<a name="page65"></a>departed. There is more to interest the ornithologist in April +than there was in January.</p> + +<p>The bird chorus is now at its best. The magpie-robin is in full +song. At earliest dawn he takes up a position on the topmost +bough of a tree and pours forth his melody in a continuous +stream. His varied notes are bright and joyous. Its voice is of +wide compass and very powerful; were it a little softer in tone +it would rival that of the nightingale. The magpie-robin is +comparatively silent at noonday, but from sunset until dusk he +sings continuously.</p> + +<p>Throughout April the little cock sunbirds deliver themselves of +their vigorous canary-like song. The bulbuls tinkle as blithely +as ever. Ioras, pied wagtails, pied chats, and wood-shrikes +continue to contribute their not unworthy items to the +minstrelsy of the Indian countryside. The robins, having by now +found their true notes, are singing sweetly and softly. The +white-eyes are no longer content to utter their usual cheeping +call, the cocks give vent to an exquisite warble and thereby +proclaim the advent of the nesting season. The <i>towee</i>, <i>towee</i>, +<i>towee</i>, of the tailor-bird, <a name="page66"></a>more penetrating than melodious, +grows daily more vigorous, reminding us that we may now +hopefully search for his nest. Among the less pleasing sounds +that fill the welkin are the <i>tonk</i>, <i>tonk</i>, <i>tonk</i> of the +coppersmith, the <i>kutur</i>, <i>kutur</i>, <i>kuturuk</i> of the green +barbet, and the calls of the various cuckoos that summer in the +plains of Northern India. The calls of these cuckoos, although +frequently heard in April, are uttered more continuously in May, +accordingly they are described in the calendar for that month.</p> + +<p>The owls, of course, lift up their voices, particularly on +moonlight nights. The nightjars are as vociferous as they were +in March; their breeding season is now at its height.</p> + +<p>In the hills the woods resound with the cheerful double note of +the European cuckoo (<i>Cuculus canorus</i>). This bird is +occasionally heard in the plains of the Punjab in April, and +again from July to September, when it no longer calls in the +Himalayas. This fact, coupled with the records of the presence +of the European cuckoo in Central India in June and July, lends +support to the theory that the birds which enliven the Himalayas +in spring <a name="page67"></a>go south in July and winter in the Central Provinces. +Cuckoos, at seasons when they are silent, are apt to be +overlooked, or mistaken for shikras.</p> + +<p>Ornithologists stationed in Central India will render a service +to science if they keep a sharp look-out for European cuckoos +and record the results of their observations. In this way alone +can the above theory be proved or disproved.</p> + +<p>By the middle of the month most of the rollers have settled down +to domestic duties, and in consequence are less noisy than they +were when courting. Their irritating grating cries are now +largely replaced by harsh <i>tshocks</i> of delight, each <i>tshock</i> +being accompanied by a decisive movement of the tail. The cause +of these interjections expressing delight is a clutch of white +eggs or a brood of young birds, hidden in a hole in a tree or a +building.</p> + +<p>April is a month in which the pulse of bird life beats very +vigorously in India. He who, braving the heat, watches closely +the doings of the feathered folk will be rewarded by the +discovery of at least thirty different kinds of nests. Hence, it +is evident that the calendar for this month, unless it is to +attain very large <a name="page68"></a>dimensions, must be a mere catalogue of +nesting species. The compiler of the calendar has to face an +<i>embarrass de richesses</i>.</p> + +<p>Of the common species that build in March and the previous +months the following are likely to be found with eggs or +young—the jungle crows, sunbirds, doves, pied and golden-backed +woodpeckers, coppersmiths, hoopoes, common and brahminy kites, +bulbuls, shrikes, little minivets, fantail flycatchers, +wire-tailed swallows, paroquets, spotted owlets, swifts, +scavenger vultures, red-headed merlins, skylarks, crested larks, +pipits, babblers, sand-martins, cliff-swallows, nuthatches, +white-eyed buzzards, kites, black vultures, pied and +white-breasted kingfishers, finch-larks, Indian wren-warblers, +wood-shrikes, cuckoo-shrikes, green barbets, tawny eagles, and +the terns and the other birds that nest on islets in rivers. +Here and there may be seen a white-backed vulture's nest +containing a young bird nearly ready to fly.</p> + +<p>Towards the middle of the month the long-tailed tree-pies +(<i>Dendrocitta rufa</i>), which are nothing else than coloured +crows, begin nest-building. They are to be numbered among the +commonest birds in India, nevertheless their <a name="page69"></a>large open nests +are rarely seen. The explanation of this phenomenon appears to +be the fact that the nest is well concealed high up in a tree. +Moreover, the pie, possessing a powerful beak which commands +respect, is not obliged constantly to defend its home after the +manner of small or excitable birds, and thus attract attention +to it.</p> + +<p>Fortunately for the tree-pie the kites and crows do not worry +it. The shikra (<i>Astur badius</i>) and the white-eyed buzzard +(<i>Butastur teesa</i>), which are now engaged in nest-building, are +not so fortunate. The crows regard them as fair game, hence +their nest-building season is a time of <i>sturm und drang</i>. They, +in common with all diurnal birds of prey, build untidy nests in +trees—mere conglomerations of sticks, devoid of any kind of +architectural merit. The blue rock-pigeons (<i>Columba +intermedia</i>) are busily prospecting for nesting sites. In some +parts of India, especially in the Muttra and Fatehgarh +districts, these birds nest chiefly in holes in wells. More +often than not a stone thrown into a well in such a locality +causes at least one pigeon to fly out of the well. In other +places in India these birds build by preference on a ledge or a +cornice inside some <a name="page70"></a>large building. They often breed in +colonies. At Dig in Rajputana, where they are sacred in the eyes +of Hindus, thousands of them nest in the fort, and, as Hume +remarks, a gun fired in the moat towards evening raises a dense +cloud of pigeons, "obscuring utterly the waning day and +deafening one with the mighty rushing sound of countless strong +and rapidly-plied pinions." According to Hume the breeding +season for these birds in Upper India lasts from Christmas to +May day. The experience of the writer is that April, May and +June are the months in which to look for their nests. However, +in justice to Hume, it must be said that recently Mr. A. J. +Currie found a nest, containing eggs, in February.</p> + +<p>In April the green pigeons pair and build slender cradles, high +up in mango trees, in which two white eggs are laid.</p> + +<p>The songster of the house-top—the brown rock-chat (<i>Cercomela +fusca</i>)—makes sweet music throughout the month for the benefit +of his spouse, who is incubating four pretty pale-blue eggs in a +nest built on a ledge in an outhouse or on the sill of a +clerestory window. This bird, which is thought by some to be a +near relative of the sparrow of the Scriptures, <a name="page71"></a>is clothed in +plain brown and seems to suffer from St. Vitus' dance in the +tail. Doubtless it is often mistaken for a hen robin. For this +mistake there is no excuse, because the rock-chat lacks the +brick-red patch under the tail.</p> + +<p>April is the month in which to look for two exquisite little +nests—those of the white-eye (<i>Zosterops palpebrosa</i>) and the +iora (<i>Aegithina tiphia</i>). White-eyes are minute greenish-yellow +birds with a conspicuous ring of white feathers round the eye. +They go about in flocks. Each individual utters unceasingly a +plaintive cheeping note by means of which it keeps its fellows +apprised of its whereabouts. At the breeding season, that is to +say in April and May, the cock sings an exceedingly sweet, but +very soft, lay of six or seven notes. The nest is a cup, about +2½ inches in diameter and ¾ of an inch in depth. It is +usually suspended, like a hammock, from the fork of a branch; +sometimes it is attached to the end of a single bough; it then +looks like a ladle, the bough being the handle. It is composed +of cobweb, roots, hair and other soft materials. Three or four +tiny pale-blue eggs are laid.</p> +<a name="page72"></a> +<p>The iora is a feathered exquisite, about the size of a tomtit. +The cock is arrayed in green, black and gold; his mate is gowned +in green and yellow.</p> + +<p>The iora has a great variety of calls, of these a soft and +rather plaintive long-drawn-out whistle is uttered most +frequently in April and May.</p> + +<p>In shape and size the nest resembles an after-dinner coffee cup. +It is beautifully woven, and, like those of the white-eye and +fantail flycatcher, covered with cobweb; this gives it a very +neat appearance. In it are laid two or three eggs of salmon hue +with reddish-brown and purple-grey blotches.</p> + +<p>Throughout April the sprightly tailor-birds are busy with their +nests. The tailor-bird (<i>Orthotomus sutorius</i>) is a wren with a +long tail. In the breeding season the two median caudal feathers +of the cock project as bristles beyond the others. The nest is a +wonderful structure. Having selected a suitable place, which may +be a bush in a garden or a pot plant in a verandah, the hen +tailor-bird proceeds to make, with her sharp bill, a series of +punctures along the margins of one or more leaves. The punctured +edges are then drawn together, by means of <a name="page73"></a>strands of cobweb, to +form a purse or pocket. When this has been done the frail bands +of cobweb, which hold the edges of the leaves <i>in situ</i>, are +strengthened by threads of cotton. Lastly, the purse is cosily +lined with silk-cotton down or other soft material. Into the +cradle, thus formed, three or four white eggs, speckled with +red, find their way.</p> + +<p>In April cavities in trees and buildings suitable for nesting +purposes are at a premium owing to the requirements of +magpie-robins, brahminy mynas, common mynas, yellow-throated +sparrows and rollers. Not uncommonly three or four pairs of +birds nest in one weather-beaten old tree.</p> + +<p>Bank-mynas, white-breasted kingfishers, bee-eaters and a few +belated sand-martins are nesting in sandbanks in cavities which +they themselves have excavated. The nests of the kingfisher and +the sand-martin have already been described, that of the +bank-myna belongs to May rather than to April.</p> + +<p>Bee-eaters working at the nest present a pleasing spectacle. The +sexes excavate turn about. The site chosen may be a bunker on +the golf links, the butts on the rifle range, a low mud boundary +between two fields, or any kind <a name="page74"></a>of bank. The sharp claws of the +bee-eaters enable the birds to obtain a foothold on an almost +vertical surface; this foothold is strengthened by the tail +which, being stiff, acts as a third leg. In a surprisingly short +time a cavity large enough to conceal the bird completely is +formed. The bee-eater utilises the bill as pickaxe and the feet +as ejectors. The little clouds of sand that issue at short +intervals from each cavity afford evidence of the efficacy of +these implements and the industry of those that use them.</p> + +<p>Two of the most charming birds in India are now occupied with +family cares. These are both black-and-white birds—the +magpie-robin (<i>Copsychus saularis</i>) and the pied wagtail +(<i>Motacilla maderaspatensis</i>). The former has already been +noticed as the best songster in the plains of India. The pattern +of its plumage resembles that of the common magpie; this +explains its English name. The hen is grey where the cock is +black, otherwise there is no external difference between the +sexes. For some weeks the cock has been singing lustily, +especially in the early morning and late afternoon. In April he +begins his courtship. His display is a simple affair—mere +tail-play; the <a name="page75"></a>tail is expanded into a fan, so as to show the +white outer feathers, then it is either raised and lowered +alternately, or merely held depressed. Normally the tail is +carried almost vertically. The nest is invariably placed in a +cavity of a tree or a building.</p> + +<p>The pied wagtail always nests near water. If not on the ground, +the nursery rests on some structure built by man.</p> + +<p>A visit to a bridge of boats in April is sure to reveal a nest +of this charming bird. Hume records a case of a pair of pied +wagtails nesting in a ferry-boat. This, it is true, was seldom +used, but did occasionally cross the Jumna. On such occasions +the hen would continue to sit, while the cock stood on the +gunwale, pouring forth his sweet song, and made, from time to +time, little sallies over the water after a flying gnat. Mr. A. +J. Currie found at Lahore a nest of these wagtails in a +ferry-boat in daily use; so that the birds must have selected +the site and built the nest while the boat was passing to and +fro across the river!</p> + +<p>Yet another black-and-white bird nests in April. This is the +pied bush-chat (<i>Pratincola caprata</i>). The cock is black all +over, save for <a name="page76"></a>a white patch on the rump and a bar of white in +the wing. He delights to sit on a telegraph wire or a stem of +elephant grass and there make cheerful melody. The hen is a dull +reddish-grey bird. The nest is usually placed in a hole in the +ground or a bank or a wall, sometimes it is wedged into a +tussock of grass.</p> + +<p>Allied to the magpie-robin and the pied bush-chat is the +familiar Indian robin (<i>Thamnobia cambayensis</i>), which, like its +relatives, is now engaged in nesting operations. This species +constructs its cup-shaped nest in all manner of strange places. +Spaces in stacks of bricks, holes in the ground or in buildings, +and window-sills are held in high esteem as nesting sites. The +eggs are not easy to describe because they display great +variation. The commonest type has a pale green shell, speckled +with reddish-brown spots, which are most densely distributed at +the thick end of the egg.</p> + +<p>Many of the grey partridges (<i>Francolinus pondicerianus</i>) are +now nesting. This species is somewhat erratic in respect of its +breeding season. Eggs have been taken in February, March, April, +May, June, September, October, and November. The April eggs, +however, outnumber those of all the other months put <a name="page77"></a>together. +The nest is a shallow depression in the ground, lined with +grass, usually under a bush. From six to nine cream-coloured +eggs are laid.</p> + +<p>Another bird which is now incubating eggs on the ground is the +did-he-do-it or red-wattled lapwing (<i>Sarcogrammus indicus</i>). +The curious call, from which this plover derives its popular +name, is familiar to every resident in India. This species nests +between March and August. The 122 eggs in the possession of Hume +were taken, 12 in March, 46 in April, 24 in May, 26 in June, 4 +in July, and 8 in August. Generally in a slight depression on +the ground, occasionally on the ballast of a rail-road, four +pegtop-shaped eggs are laid; these are, invariably, placed in +the form of a cross, so that they touch each other at their thin +ends. They are coloured like those of the common plover. The +yellow-wattled lapwing (<i>Sarciophorus malabaricus</i>), which +resembles its cousin in manners and appearance, nests in April, +May and June.</p> + +<p>The nesting season of the various species of sand-grouse that +breed in India is now beginning. These birds, like lapwings, lay +their eggs on the ground.</p> +<a name="page78"></a> +<p>In April one may come across an occasional nest of the pied +starling, the king-crow, the paradise flycatcher, the grey +hornbill, and the oriole, but these are exceptions. The birds in +question do not as a rule begin to nest until May, and their +doings accordingly are chronicled in the calendar for that +month.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="page79"></a> +<h3><a name="may">MAY</a></h3> +<table width="100%" summary="may1 poem"> + <tr> + <td width="20%"></td> + <td width="60%"> + <small>The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year.</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right"> + <i>T<small>he</small> M<small>instrelsy of the</small> W<small>oods</small></i>.</td> + <td></td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<table width="100%" summary="may2 poem"> + <tr> + <td width="20%"></td> + <td width="60%"> + <small>Low from the brink the waters shrink;<br> + The deer all snuff for rain;<br> + The panting cattle search for drink<br> + Cracked glebe and dusty plain;<br> + The whirlwind, like a furnace blast,<br> + Sweeps clouds of darkening sand.</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right"> + W<small>ATERFIELD</small>. <i>I<small>ndian</small> B<small>allads</small></i>.</td> + <td></td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<table width="100%" summary="may3 poem"> + <tr> + <td width="20%"></td> + <td width="60%"> + <small>Now the burning summer sun<br> + Hath unchalleng'd empire won<br> + And the scorching winds blow free,<br> + Blighting every herb and tree.</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right"> + R. T. H. G<small>RIFFITH.</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<br> +<p>May in the plains of India! What unpleasant memories it recalls! +Stifling nights in which sleep comes with halting steps and +departs leaving us unrefreshed. Long, dreary days beneath the +punkah in a closed bungalow which has ceased to be enlivened by +the voices of the children and the patter of their little feet. +Hot drives to office, under a brazen sky <a name="page80"></a>from which the sun +shines with pitiless power, in the teeth of winds that scorch +the face and fill the eyes with dust.</p> + +<p>It is in this month of May that the European condemned to +existence in the plains echoes the cry of the psalmist: "Oh that +I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at +rest"—in the Himalayas. There would I lie beneath the deodars +and, soothed by the rustle of their wind-caressed branches, +drink in the pure cool air and listen to the cheerful double +note of the cuckoo. The country-side in the plains presents a +sorry spectacle. The gardens that had some beauty in the cold +weather now display the abomination of desolation—a waste of +shrivelled flowers, killed by the relentless sun. The spring +crops have all been cut and the whole earth is dusty brown save +for a few patches of young sugar-cane and the dust-covered +verdure of the mango <a href="#tope">topes</a>. It is true that the gold-mohur trees +and the Indian laburnums are in full flower and the air is +heavily laden with the strong scent of the <i>nim</i> blossoms, but +the heat is so intense that the European is able to enjoy these +gifts of nature only at dawn. Nor has the ripening jack-fruit +any attractions for him. He is <a name="page81"></a>repelled by its overpowering +scent and sickly flavour. Fortunately the tastes of all men are +not alike. In the eyes of the Indian this fruit is a dish fit to +be set before the gods. The <i>pipal</i> trees, which are covered +with tender young leaves, now offer to the birds a feast in the +form of numbers of figs, no larger than cranberries. This +generous offer is greedily accepted by green pigeons, mynas and +many other birds which partake with right goodwill and make much +noise between the courses. No matter how intense the heat be, +the patient cultivator issues forth with his cattle before +sunrise and works at his threshing floor until ten o'clock, then +he seeks the comparative coolness of the mango tope and sleeps +until the sun is well on its way to the western horizon, when he +resumes the threshing of the corn, not ceasing until the shades +of night begin to steal over the land.</p> + +<p>The birds do not object to the heat. They revel in it. It is +true that in the middle of the day even they seek some shady +tree in which to enjoy a siesta and await the abatement of the +heat of the blast furnace in which they live, move and have +their being. The long day, which begins for them before 4 a.m., +rather <a name="page82"></a>than the intense heat, appears to be the cause of this +midday sleep. Except during this period of rest at noon the +birds are more lively than they were in April.</p> + +<p>The breeding season is now at its height. In May over five +hundred species of birds nest in India. No individual is likely +to come across all these different kinds of nests, because, in +order to do so, that person would have to traverse India from +Peshawar to Tinnevelly and from Quetta to Tenasserim. +Nevertheless, the man who remains in one station, if he choose +to put forth a little energy and defy the sun, may reasonably +expect to find the nests of more than fifty kinds of birds. +Whether he be energetic or the reverse he cannot fail to hear a +great many avian sounds both by day and by night. In May the +birds are more vociferous than at any other time of year. The +fluty cries of the koel and the vigorous screams of the +brain-fever bird penetrate the closed doors of the bungalow, as +do, to a less extent, the chatter of the seven sisters, the +calls of the mynas, the <i>towee</i>, <i>towee</i>, <i>towee</i> of the +tailor-bird, the <i>whoot</i>, <i>whoot</i>, <i>whoot</i> of the crow-pheasant, +the monotonous notes of the coppersmith and the green barbet, +the <i>uk</i>, <i>uk</i>, <a name="page83"></a><i>uk</i> of the hoopoe, the cheerful music of the +fantail flycatcher, the three sweet syllables of the iora—<i>so +be ye</i>, the <i>tee</i>, <i>tee</i>, <i>tee</i>, <i>tee</i> of the nuthatch, the +liquid whistle of the oriole and, last but not least, the melody +of the magpie-robin. The calls of the hoopoe and nuthatch become +less frequent as the month draws to a close; on the other hand, +the melody of the oriole gains in strength.</p> + +<p>As likely as not a pair of blue jays has elected to rear a brood +of young hopefuls in the chimney or in a hole in the roof. When +this happens the human occupant of the bungalow is apt to be +driven nearly to distraction by the cries of the young birds, +which resemble those of some creature in distress, and are +uttered with "damnable reiteration."</p> + +<p>All these sounds, however, reach in muffled form the ear of a +human being shut up in a bungalow; hence it is the voices of the +night rather than those of the day with which May in India is +associated. Most people sleep out of doors at this season, and, +as the excessive heat makes them restless, they have ample +opportunity of listening to the nightly concert of the feathered +folk. The most notable performers are the cuckoos. These birds +are <a name="page84"></a>fully as nocturnal as the owls. The brain-fever bird +(<i>Hierococcyx varius</i>) is now in full voice, and may be heard, +both by day and by night, in all parts of Northern India, east +of Umballa. This creature has two calls. One is the eternal +"brain-fever, <i>brain-fever</i>, BRAIN-FEVER," each "brain-fever" +being louder and pitched in a higher key than the previous one, +until the bird reaches its top note. The other call consists of +a volley of descending notes, uttered as if the bird were +unwinding its voice after the screams of "brain-fever." The next +cuckoo is not one whit less vociferous than the last. It is +known as the Indian koel (<i>Eudynamis honorata</i>). This noble fowl +has three calls, and it would puzzle anyone to say which is the +most powerful. The usual cry is a crescendo <i>ku-il</i>, <i>ku-il</i>, +<i>ku-il</i>, which to Indian ears is very sweet-sounding. Most +Europeans are agreed that it is a sound of which one can have +too much. The second note is a mighty avalanche of yells and +screams, which Cunningham has syllabised as <i>Kúk</i>, <i>kuu</i>, <i>kuu</i>, +<i>kuu</i>, <i>kuu</i>, <i>kuu</i>. The third cry, which is uttered only +occasionally, is a number of shrill shrieks: <i>Hekaree</i>, <i>karee</i>, +<i>karee</i>, <i>karee</i>.</p> + +<p>The voice of the koel is heard throughout the <a name="page85"></a>hours of light and +darkness in May, so that one wonders whether this bird ever +sleeps. The second call is usually reserved for dawn, when the +bird is most vociferous. This cry is particularly exasperating +to Europeans, since it often awakens them rudely from the only +refreshing sleep they have enjoyed, namely, that obtained at the +time when the temperature is comparatively low. The koel extends +into the Punjab and is heard throughout Northern India.</p> + +<p>The third of the cuckoos which enlivens the hot weather in the +plains is the Indian cuckoo (<i>Cuculus micropterus</i>). This +species dwells chiefly in the Himalayas, but late in April or +early in May certain individuals seek the hot plains and remain +there for some months. They do not extend very far into the +peninsula, being numerous only in the sub-Himalayan tracts as +far south as Fyzabad. The call of this cuckoo is melodious and +easily recognised. Indians represent it as <i>Bouto-taku</i>, while +some Englishmen maintain that the bird says "I've lost my love." +To the writer's mind the cry is best represented by the words +<i>wherefore</i>, <i>wherefore</i>, repeated with musical cadence. This +bird does not usually call much during the day. <a name="page86"></a>It uplifts its +voice about two hours before sunset and continues calling +intermittently until some time after sunrise. The note is often +uttered while the bird is on the wing.</p> + +<p>Scarcely less vociferous than the cuckoos are the owls. Needless +to state that the tiny spotted owlets make a great noise in May. +They are loquacious throughout the year, especially on moonlight +nights. Nor do they wait for the setting of the sun until they +commence to pour forth what Eha terms a "torrent of squeak and +chatter and gibberish."</p> + +<p>Almost as abundant as the spotted owlet is the jungle owlet +(<i>Glaucidium radiatum</i>). This species, like the last-mentioned, +does not confine its vocal efforts to the hot weather. It is +vociferous throughout the year; however, special mention must be +made of it in connection with the month of May, because it is +not until a human being sleeps out of doors that he takes much +notice of the bird.</p> + +<p>The note of this owl is very striking. It may be likened to the +noise made by a motor cycle when it is being started. It +consists of a series of dissyllables, low at first with a pause +after each, but gradually growing in intensity and succeeding +one another at shorter intervals, <a name="page87"></a>until the bird seems to have +got fairly into its stride, when it pulls up with dramatic +suddenness. Tickell thus syllabises its call: <i>Turtuck</i>, +<i>turtuck</i>, <i>turtuck</i>, <i>turtuck</i>, <i>turtuck</i>, <i>tukatu</i>, +<i>chatatuck</i>, <i>atuckatuck</i>.</p> + +<p>Another sound familiar to those who sleep out of doors at this +season is a low, soft "what," repeated at intervals of about a +minute.</p> + +<p>The writer ascribes this call to the collared scops owl (<i>Scops +bakkamoena</i>). Mr. A. J. Currie, however, asserts that the note +in question is that emitted by spotted owlets (<i>Athene brama</i>) +when they have young. He states that he has been quite close to +the bird when it was calling.</p> + +<p>A little patient observation will suffice to decide the point at +issue.</p> + +<p>It is easy to distinguish between the two owls, as the scops has +aigrettes or "horns," which the spotted owlet lacks.</p> + +<p>The nightjars help to swell the nocturnal chorus. There are +seven or eight different species in India, but of these only +three are commonly heard and two of them occur mainly in forest +tracts. The call of the most widely-distributed of the Indian +goatsuckers—<a name="page88"></a><i>Caprimulgus asiaticus</i>, the common Indian +nightjar—is like unto the sound made by a stone skimming over ice. +Horsfield's goatsucker is a very vociferous bird. From March +till June it is heard wherever there are forests. As soon as the +shadows of the evening begin to steal across the sky its loud +<i>chuk</i>, <i>chuk</i>, <i>chuk</i>, <i>chuk</i>, <i>chuk</i> cleaves the air for +minutes together. This call to some extent replaces by night the +<i>tonk</i>, <i>tonk</i>, <i>tonk</i> of the coppersmith, which is uttered so +persistently in the day-time. In addition to this note +Horsfield's nightjar emits a low soft <i>chur</i>, <i>chur</i>, <i>chur</i>.</p> + +<p>The third nightjar, which also is confined chiefly to forest +tracts, is known as Franklin's nightjar (<i>C. monticolus</i>). This +utters a harsh <i>tweet</i> which at a distance might pass for the +chirp of a canary with a sore throat.</p> + +<p>Other sounds heard at night-time are the plaintive <i>did-he-do-it +pity-to-do-it</i> of the red-wattled lapwing (<i>Sarcogrammus +indicus</i>), and the shrill calls of other plovers.</p> + +<p>As has already been said, the nesting season is at its height in +May. With the exception of the paroquets, spotted owlets, +nuthatches, black vultures and pied kingfishers, which have +completed nesting operations for the year, and <a name="page89"></a>the golden-backed +woodpeckers and the cliff-swallows, which have reared up their +first broods, the great majority of the birds mentioned as +having nests or young in March or April are still busily +occupied with domestic cares.</p> + +<p>May marks the close of the usual breeding season for the jungle +crows, skylarks, crested larks, finch-larks, wood-shrikes, +yellow-throated sparrows, sand-martins, pied wagtails, green +barbets, coppersmiths, rollers, green bee-eaters, white-breasted +kingfishers, scavenger vultures, tawny eagles, kites, shikras, +spur-winged plovers, little ringed plovers, pied woodpeckers, +night herons and pied chats. In the case of the tree-pies, +cuckoo-shrikes, seven sisters, bank-mynas and blue-tailed +bee-eaters the nesting season is now at its height. All the +following birds are likely to have either eggs or nestlings in +May: the white-eyes, ioras, bulbuls, tailor-birds, shrikes, +brown rock-chats, Indian robins, magpie-robins, sunbirds, +swifts, nightjars, white-eyed buzzards, hoopoes, green pigeons, +blue rock-pigeons, doves, sparrows, the red and yellow wattled +lapwings, minivets, wire-tailed swallows, red-headed merlins, +fantail flycatchers, pipits, sand-grouse and grey <a name="page90"></a>partridges. +The nests of most of these have been described already.</p> + +<p>In the present month several species begin nesting operations. +First and foremost among these is the king-crow or black drongo +(<i>Dicrurus ater</i>). No bird, not even the roller, makes so much +ado about courtship and nesting as does the king-crow, of which +the love-making was described last month. A pair of king-crows +regards as its castle the tree in which it has elected to +construct a nest. Round this tree it establishes a sphere of +influence into which none but a favoured few birds may come. All +intruders are forthwith set upon by the pair of little furies, +and no sight is commoner at this season than that of a crow, a +kite, or a hawk being chased by two irate drongos. The nest of +the king-crow is a small cup, wedged into the fork of a branch +high up in a tree.</p> + +<p>The Indian oriole (<i>Oriolus kundoo</i>) is one of the privileged +creatures allowed to enter the dicrurian sphere of influence, +and it takes full advantage of this privilege by placing its +nest almost invariably in the same tree as that of the +king-crow. The oriole is a timid bird and is glad to rear up its +family under the ægis of so doughty a warrior as the Black +Prince of <a name="page91"></a>the Birds. The nest of the oriole is a wonderful +structure. Having selected a fork in a suitable branch, the +nesting bird tears off a long strip of soft pliable bark, +usually that of the mulberry tree. It proceeds to wind one end +of this strip round a limb of the forked branch, then the other +end is similarly bound to the other limb. A second and a third +strip of bark are thus dealt with, and in this manner a cradle +or hammock is formed. On it a slender cup-shaped nest is +superimposed. This is composed of grasses and fibres, some of +which are wound round the limbs of the forked branch, while +others are made fast to the strands of bark. The completed nest +is nearly five inches in diameter. From below it looks like a +ball of dried grass wedged into the forked branch.</p> + +<p>The oriole lays from two to four white eggs spotted with dull +red. The spots can be washed off by water; sometimes their +colour "runs" while they are in the nest, thereby imparting a +pink hue to the whole shell. Both sexes take part in nest +construction, but the hen alone appears to incubate. She is a +very shy creature, and is rarely discovered actually sitting, +because she leaves the nest with a little <a name="page92"></a>cry of alarm at the +first sound of a human footfall.</p> + +<p>May and June are the months in which to look for the nests of +that superb bird—the paradise flycatcher (<i>Terpsiphone +paradisi</i>). This is known as the rocket-bird or ribbon-bird +because of the two long fluttering tail feathers possessed by +the cock. The hen has the appearance of a kind of bulbul, being +chestnut-hued with a white breast and a metallic blue-black +crest. For the first year of their existence the young cocks +resemble the hens in appearance. Then the long tail feathers +appear. In his third year the cock turns white save for the +black-crested head. This species spends the winter in South +India. In April it migrates northwards to summer in the shady +parts of the plains of Bengal, the United Provinces and the +Punjab, and on the lower slopes of the Himalayas. The nest is a +deep, untidy-looking cup, having the shape of an inverted cone. +It is always completely covered with cocoons and cobweb. It is +usually attached to one or more of the lower branches of a tree. +Both sexes work at the nest and take part in incubation. The +long tail feathers of the sitting cock hang down from the nest +like red or white satin <a name="page93"></a>streamers according to the phase of his +plumage. In the breeding season the cock sings a sweet little +lay—an abridged version of that of the fantail flycatcher. When +alarmed both the cock and the hen utter a sharp <i>tschit</i>.</p> + +<p>May is perhaps the proper month in which to describe the nesting +of the various species of myna.</p> + +<p>According to Hume the normal breeding season of the common myna +(<i>Acridotheres tristis</i>) lasts from June to August, during which +period two broods are reared. This is not correct. The nesting +season of this species begins long before June. The writer has +repeatedly seen mynas carrying twigs and feathers in March, and +has come across nests containing eggs or young birds in both +April and May. June perhaps is the month in which the largest +numbers of nests are seen. The cradle of the common myna is +devoid of architectural merit. It is a mere conglomeration of +twigs, grass, rags, bits of paper and other oddments. The +nesting material is dropped haphazard into a hole in a tree or +building, or even on to a ledge in a verandah. Four beautiful +blue eggs are laid.</p> +<a name="page94"></a> +<p>At Peshawar Mr. A. J. Currie once found four myna's eggs in a +deserted crows' nest in a tree.</p> + +<p>As has already been stated, the nest of the bank-myna (<i>A. +ginginianus</i>) is built in a hole in a well, a sandbank, or a +cliff. The birds breed in colonies; each pair excavates its own +nest by means of beak and claw. Into the holes dug out in this +manner the miscellaneous nesting materials are dropped pell-mell +after the manner of all mynas. The breeding season of this +species lasts from April to July, May being the month in which +most eggs are laid.</p> + +<p>The black-headed or brahminy myna (<i>Temenuchus pagodarum</i>) +usually begins nesting operations about a month later than the +bank-myna; its eggs are most often taken in June. The nest, +which is an untidy, odoriferous collection of rubbish, is always +in a cavity. In Northern India a hole in a tree is usually +selected; in the South buildings are largely patronised. Some +years ago the writer observed a pair of these birds building a +nest in a hole made in the masonry for the passage of the +lightning conductor of the Church in Fort St. George, Madras.</p> + +<p>May marks the commencement of the breeding season of the pied +starlings (<i>Sturnopastor <a name="page95"></a>contra</i>). In this month they begin to +give vent with vigour to their cheerful call, which is so +pleasing as almost to merit the name of song.</p> + +<p>Throughout the rains they continue to make a joyful noise. Not +that they are silent at other seasons; they call throughout the +year, but, except at the breeding period, their voices are +comparatively subdued.</p> + +<p>The nest is a bulky, untidy mass of straw, roots, twigs, rags, +feathers and such-like things. It is placed fairly low down in a +tree.</p> + +<p>Many of these nests are to be seen in May, but the breeding +season is at its height in June and July.</p> + +<p>The grey hornbills (<i>Lophoceros birostris</i>) are now seeking out +holes in which to deposit their eggs. The hen, after having laid +the first egg, does not emerge from the nest till the young are +ready to fly. During the whole of this period she is kept a +close prisoner, the aperture to the nest cavity having been +closed by her mate and herself with their own droppings, a small +chink alone being left through which she is able to insert her +beak in order to receive the food brought to her by the cock.</p> + +<p>Mr. A. J. Currie gives an interesting account <a name="page96"></a>of a grey +hornbill's nest he discovered at Lahore in 1910. About the +middle of April he noticed a pair of paroquets nesting in a hole +in a tree. On April 28th he saw a hornbill inspecting the hole, +regardless of the noisy protests of the paroquets. On the 30th +he observed that the hole had become smaller, and suspected that +the hornbills had taken possession. On May 1st all that was left +of the hole was a slit. On May 6th Mr. Currie watched the cock +hornbill feeding the hen. First the male bird came carrying a +fig in his bill. Seeing human beings near the nest, he did not +give the fig to the hen but swallowed it and flew off. Presently +the cock reappeared with a fig which he put into the slit in the +plastering; after he had parted with the fig he began to feed +the hen by bringing up food from his crop. During the process +the beak of the hen did not appear at the slit.</p> + +<p>On May 7th Mr. Currie opened out the nest. The hole was sixteen +feet from the ground and the orifice had a diameter of three +inches; all of this except a slit, broadest at the lower part, +was filled up by plaster. This plaster was odourless and +contained embedded in it a number of fig seeds.</p> +<a name="page97"></a> +<p>The nest hole was capacious, its dimensions being roughly 1 foot +by 1 foot by 2 feet. From the bottom five handfuls of pieces of +dry bark were extracted. Three white eggs were found lying on +these pieces of bark. The sitting hen resented the +"nest-breaking," and, having pecked viciously at the intruder, +tried to escape by climbing up to the top of the nest hole. She +was dragged out of her retreat by the beak, after an attempt to +pull her out by the tail had resulted in all her tail feathers +coming away in her captor's hand!</p> + +<p>The young green parrots have all left their nests and are flying +about in noisy flocks. They may be distinguished from the adults +by the short tail and comparatively soft call.</p> + +<p>Most pairs of hoopoes are now accompanied by at least one young +bird which is almost indistinguishable from the adults. The +young birds receive, with squeaks of delight, the grubs or +caterpillars proffered by the parents. Occasionally a pair of +hoopoes may be seen going through the antics of courtship +preparatory to raising a second brood.</p> + +<p>In scrub-jungle parties of partridges, consisting of father, +mother and five or six little chicks, wander about.</p> +<a name="page98"></a> +<p>As the shades of night begin to fall family parties of spotted +owlets issue from holes in trees or buildings. The baby birds +squat on the ground in silence, while the parents make sallies +into the air after flying insects which they bring to the young +birds.</p> + +<p>The peafowl and sarus cranes are indulging in the pleasures of +courtship. The young cranes, that were hatched out in the +monsoon of last year, are now nearly as big as their parents, +and are well able to look after themselves; ere long they will +be driven away and made to do so. The display of the sarus is +not an elaborate process. The cock turns his back on the hen and +then partially opens his wings, so that the blackish primaries +droop and the grey secondary feathers are arched. In this +attitude he trumpets softly.</p> + +<p>The water-hens have already begun their uproarious courtship. +Their weird calls must be heard to be appreciated. They consist +of series of <i>kok</i>, <i>koks</i> followed by roars, hiccups, cackles +and gurgles.</p> + +<p>Black partridges, likewise, are very noisy throughout the month +of May. Their nesting season is fast approaching.</p> + +<p>Even as April showers in England bring <a name="page99"></a>forth May flowers, so +does the April sunshine in India draw forth the marriage +adornments of the birds that breed in the rains. The +pheasant-tailed jacanas are acquiring the long tail feathers +that form the wedding ornaments of both sexes.</p> + +<p>The various species of egret and the paddy bird all assume their +nuptial plumes in May.</p> + +<p>In the case of the egret these plumes are in great demand and +are known to the plumage trade as "ospreys."</p> + +<p>The plumes in question consist of long filamentous feathers that +grow from the neck of the egret and also from its breast. In +most countries those who obtain these plumes wait until the +birds are actually nesting before attempting to secure them, +taking advantage of the fact that egrets nest in colonies and of +the parental affection of the breeding birds. A few men armed +with guns are able to shoot every adult member of the colony, +because the egrets continue to feed their young until they are +shot. As the plumes of these birds are worth nearly their weight +in gold, egrets have become extinct in some parts of the world.</p> + +<p>The export of plumage from India is unlawful, but this fact does +not prevent a very <a name="page100"></a>large feather trade being carried on, since +it is not difficult to smuggle "ospreys" out of the country.</p> + +<p>Doubtless the existing Notification of the Government of India, +prohibiting the export of plumage, has the effect of checking, +to some extent, the destruction of egrets, but there is no +denying the fact that many of the larger species are still shot +for their plumes while breeding.</p> + +<p>In the case of cattle-egrets (<i>Bubulcus coromandus</i>) the custom +of shooting them when on the nest has given place to a more +humane and more sensible method of obtaining their nuchal +plumes. These, as we have seen, arise early in May, but the +birds do not begin to nest until the end of June. The +cattle-egret is gregarious; it is the large white bird that +accompanies cattle in order to secure the insects put up by the +grazing quadrupeds. Taking advantage of the social habits of +these egrets the plume-hunters issue forth early in May and +betake themselves, in parties of five or six, to the villages +where the birds roost. Their apparatus consists of two nets, +each some eight feet long and three broad. These are laid flat +on the ground in shallow water, <a name="page101"></a>parallel to one another, about a +yard apart. The inner side of each net is securely pegged to the +ground. By an ingenious arrangement of sticks and ropes a man, +taking cover at a distance of twenty or thirty yards, by giving +a sharp pull at a pliable cane, can cause the outer parts of +each net to spring up and meet to form an enclosure which is, in +shape, not unlike a sleeping-pal tent. When the nets have been +set in a pond near the trees where the cattle-egrets roost at +night and rest in the day-time, two or three decoy +birds—captured egrets with their eyes sewn up to prevent them +struggling or trying to fly away—are tethered in the space +between the two nets; these last, being laid flat under muddy +water, are invisible. Sooner or later an egret in one of the +trees near by, seeing some of its kind standing peacefully in +the water, alights near them. Almost before it has touched the +ground the cane is pulled and the egret finds itself a prisoner. +One of the bird-catchers immediately runs to the net, secures +the victim, opens out its wings, and, holding each of these +between the big and the second toe, pulls out the nuchal plumes. +This operation lasts about five seconds. The bird is then set at +liberty, <a name="page102"></a>far more astonished than hurt. It betakes itself to its +wild companions, and the net is again set. Presently another +egret is caught and divested of its plumes, and the process +continues all day.</p> + +<p>The bird-catchers spend six weeks every year in obtaining +cattle-egret plumes in this manner. They sell the plumes to +middle-men, who dispose of them to those who smuggle them out of +India.</p> + +<p>If stuffed birds were used as decoys and the plumes of the +captured birds were snipped off with scissors instead of being +pulled out, the operation could be carried on without any +cruelty, and, if legalised and supervised by the Government, it +could be made a source of considerable revenue.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="page103"></a> +<h3><a name="june">JUNE</a></h3> +<table width="100%" summary="june1 poem"> + <tr> + <td width="20%"></td> + <td width="60%"> + <small>'Tis raging noon; and, vertical, the sun<br> + Darts on the head direct his forceful rays;<br> + O'er heaven and earth, far as the ranging eye<br> + Can sweep, a dazzling deluge reigns; and all<br> + From pole to pole is undistinguish'd blaze.<br> + <br> + * + + * + + * + + * + + *<br> + <br> + All-conquering heat, oh, intermit thy wrath,<br> + And on my throbbing temples potent thus<br> + Beam not so fierce! incessant still you flow,<br> + And still another fervent flood succeeds.<br> + Pour'd on the head profuse. In vain I sigh,<br> + <br> + * + + * + + * + + * + + *<br> + <br> + Thrice happy he who on the sunless side<br> + Of a romantic mountain, forest crown'd<br> + Beneath the whole collected shade reclines.</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right"> + J. T<small>HOMSON</small>.</td> + <td></td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<table width="100%" summary="june2 poem"> + <tr> + <td width="20%"></td> + <td width="60%"> + <small>With dancing feet glad peafowl greet<br> + Bright flash and rumbling cloud;<br> + Down channels steep red torrents sweep;<br> + The frogs give welcome loud;<br> + <br> + * + + * + + * + + * + + *<br> + <br> + No stars in skies, but lantern-flies<br> + Seem stars that float to earth.</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right"> + W<small>ATERFIELD</small>. <i>I<small>ndian</small> B<small>allads</small></i>.</td> + <td></td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<br> +<p>There are two Indian Junes—the June of fiction and the June of +fact. The June of fiction is divided into two equal parts—the +<a name="page104"></a>dry half and the wet half. The former is made up of hot days, +dull with dust haze, when the shade temperature may reach 118°, +and of oppressive nights when the air is still and +stagnant and the mercury in the thermometer rarely falls below +84°. Each succeeding period of four-and-twenty hours +seems more disagreeable and unbearable than its predecessor, +until the climax is reached about the 15th June, when large +black clouds appear on the horizon and roll slowly onwards, +accompanied by vivid lightning, loud peals of thunder and +torrential rain. In the June of fact practically the whole month +is composed of hot, dry, dusty, oppressive days; for the monsoon +rarely reaches Northern India before the last week of the month +and often tarries till the middle of July, or even later.</p> + +<p>The first rain causes the temperature to fall immediately. It is +no uncommon thing for the mercury in the thermometer to sink 20 +degrees in a few minutes. While the rain is actually descending +the weather feels refreshingly cool in contrast to the previous +furnace-like heat. Small wonder then that the advent of the +creative monsoon is more heartily welcomed in India than is +spring in <a name="page105"></a>England. No sound is more pleasing to the human ear +than the drumming of the first monsoon rain.</p> + +<p>But alas! the physical relief brought by the monsoon is only +temporary. The temperature rises the moment the rain ceases to +fall, and the prolonged breaks in the rains that occur every +year render the last state of the climate worse than the first. +The air is so charged with moisture that it cannot absorb the +perspiration that emanates from the bodies of the human beings +condemned to existence in this humid Inferno. For weeks together +we live in a vapour-bath, and to the physical discomfort of +perpetual clamminess is added the irritation of prickly heat.</p> + +<p>Moreover, the rain brings with it myriads of torments in the +form of termites, beetles, stinking bugs, flies, mosquitoes and +other creeping and flying things, which bite and tease and find +their way into every article of food and drink. The rain also +awakens from their slumbers the frogs that have hibernated and +æstivated in the sun-baked beds of dried-up ditches and tanks. +These awakened amphibia fill the welkin with their croakings, +which take the place of the avian chorus at <a name="page106"></a>night. The latter +ceases with dramatic abruptness with the first fall of monsoon +rain. During the monsoon the silence of the night is broken only +by the sound of falling raindrops, or the croaking of the frogs, +the stridulation of crickets innumerable, and the owlet's feeble +call. Before the coming of the monsoon the diurnal chorus of the +day birds begins to flag because the nesting season for many +species is drawing to a close. The magpie-robin still pours +forth his splendid song, but the quality of the music in the +case of many individuals is already beginning to fall off. The +rollers, which are feeding their young, are far less noisy than +they were at the time of courtship. The barbets and +coppersmiths, although not so vociferous as formerly, cannot, +even in the monsoon, be charged with hiding their lights under a +bushel. Towards the end of June the <i>chuk</i>, <i>chuk</i>, <i>chuk</i>, +<i>chuk</i>, <i>chuk</i> of Horsfield's nightjar is not often heard, but +the bird continues to utter its soft churring note. The iora's +cheerful calls still resound through the shady mango <a href="#tope">tope</a>. The +sunbirds, the fantail flycatchers, the orioles, the +golden-backed woodpeckers, the white-breasted kingfishers and +the <a name="page107"></a>black partridges call as lustily as ever, and the bulbuls +continue to twitter to one another "stick to it!" With the first +fall of rain the tunes of the paradise flycatchers and the +king-crows change. The former now cry "Witty-ready wit," softly +and gently, while the calls of the latter suddenly become sweet +and mellow.</p> + +<p>Speaking generally, the monsoon seems to exercise a sobering, a +softening influence on the voices of the birds. The pied myna +forms the one exception; he does not come into his full voice +until the rains have set in.</p> + +<p>The monsoon transfigures the earth. The brown, dry, hard +countryside, with its dust-covered trees, becomes for the time +being a shallow lake in which are studded emerald islets +innumerable. Stimulated by the rain many trees put forth fresh +crops of leaves. At the first break in the downpour the +cultivators rush forth with their ploughs and oxen to prepare +the soil for the autumn crops with all the speed they may.</p> + +<p>There is much to interest the ornithologist in June.</p> + +<p>Of the birds whose nests have been previously described the +following are likely to <a name="page108"></a>have eggs or young: white-eyes, ioras, +tailor-birds, king-crows, robins, sparrows, tree-pies, seven +sisters, cuckoo-shrikes, Indian wren-warblers (second brood), +sunbirds (second brood), swifts, fantail flycatchers (second +brood), orioles, paradise flycatchers, grey horn-bills, and the +various mynas, bulbuls, butcher-birds, doves, pigeons and +lapwings. The following species have young which either are in +the nest or have only recently left it: roller, hoopoe, brown +rock-chat, magpie-robin, coppersmith, green barbet, nightjar, +white-eyed buzzard, pipit, wire-tailed swallow, white-breasted +kingfisher, grey partridge, kite, golden-backed woodpecker +(second brood), and the several species of bee-eater and lark.</p> + +<p>With June the breeding season for the blue rock and green +pigeons ends. In the <i>sal</i> forests the young jungle-fowl have +now mostly hatched out and are following the old hens, or +feeding independently.</p> + +<p>Some of the minivets are beginning to busy themselves with a +second brood.</p> + +<p>The breeding operations of a few species begin in June.</p> + +<p>Chief of these is that arch-villain <i>Corvus splendens</i>—the +Indian house-crow. Crows have <a name="page109"></a>no fine feathers, hence the cocks +do not "display" before the hens. To sing they know not how. +Their courtship, therefore, provides a feast for neither the eye +nor the ear of man. The lack of ornaments and voice perhaps +explains the fact that among crows there is no noisy +love-making. Crows make a virtue of necessity. Any attempt at +courtship after the style of the costermonger is resented by the +whole corvine community. The only amorous display permitted in +public is head-tickling. The cock and the hen perch side by +side, one ruffles the feathers of the neck, the other inserts +its bill between the ruffled feathers of its companion and +gently tickles its neck, to the accompaniment of soft gurgles.</p> + +<p>Crows are the most intelligent of birds. Like the other fowls of +the air in which the brain is well developed, they build rough +untidy nests—mere platforms placed in the fork of a branch of +almost any kind of tree. The usual materials used in +nest-construction are twigs, but crows do not limit themselves +to these. They seem to take a positive pride in pressing into +service materials of an uncommon nature. Cases are on record of +nests composed entirely of spectacle-frames, wires <a name="page110"></a>used for the +fixing of the corks of soda-water bottles, or pieces of tin +discarded by tinsmiths.</p> + +<p>Four, five or six eggs are laid; these are of a pale +greenish-blue hue, speckled or flaked with sepia markings. The +hen alone collects the materials for the nest, but the cock +supervises her closely, following her about and criticising her +proceedings as she picks up twigs and works them into the nest.</p> + +<p>From the time of the laying of the first egg until the moment of +the departure of the last young bird, one or other of the +parents always mounts guard over the nest, except when they are +chasing a koel. Crows are confirmed egg-lifters and +chicken-stealers; they apply their standard of morality to other +birds, and, in consequence, never leave their own offspring +unguarded. A crow's nest at which there is no adult crow +certainly contains neither eggs nor young birds.</p> + +<p>As has already been stated, crows spend, much time in teasing +and annoying other birds. Retribution overtakes them in the +nesting season. The Indian koel (<i>Eudynamis honorata</i>) cuckolds +them. The crows either are aware of this or have an instinctive +dislike <a name="page111"></a>to this cuckoo. The sight of the koel affects a crow in +much the same way as a red cloth irritates a bull. One of these +cuckoos has but to perch in a tree that contains a crow's nest +and begin calling in order to make both the owners of the nest +attack him. The koel takes full advantage of this fact. The cock +approaches the nest and begins uttering his fluty <i>kuil</i>, +<i>kuil</i>. The crows forthwith dash savagely at him. He flies off +pursued by them. He can easily outdistance his pursuers, but is +content to keep a lead of a few feet, crying <i>pip-pip</i> or +<i>kuil-kuil</i>, and thus he lures the parent crows to some +distance. No sooner are their backs turned than the hen koel +slips quietly into the nest and deposits an egg in it. If she +have time she carries off or throws out one or more of the +legitimate eggs. When the crows return to the nest, having +failed to catch the cock koel, they do not appear to notice the +trick played upon them, although the koel's egg is smaller than +theirs and of an olive-green colour. Through the greater part of +June and July the koels keep the crows busy chasing them. +Something approaching pandemonium reigns in the neighbourhood of +a colony of nesting crows: from dawn till <a name="page112"></a>nightfall the shrieks +and yells of the koels mingle with the harsh notes of the crows.</p> + +<p>Sometimes the crows return from the chase of the cock koel +before the hen is ready, and surprise her in the nest; then they +attack her. She flees in terror, and is followed by the corvi. +Her screams when being thus pursued are loud enough to awaken +the Seven Sleepers. She has cause for alarm, for, if the raging +crows catch her, they will assuredly kill her. Such a tragedy +does sometimes occur.</p> + +<p>Not infrequently it happens that more than one koel's egg is +laid in a crow's nest.</p> + +<p>The incubation period of the egg of the koel is shorter than +that of the crow, the consequence is that when, as usually +happens, there is one of the former and several of the latter in +a nest, the young koel is invariably the first to emerge. It +does not attempt to eject from the nest either the legitimate +eggs or the young crows when they appear on the scene. Indeed, +it lives on excellent terms with its foster brethren. But to say +this is to anticipate, for as a rule, neither young koels nor +baby crows hatch out until July.</p> + +<p>The crow-pheasants (<i>Centropus sinensis</i>), <a name="page113"></a>which are cuckoos +that do not lead a parasitic existence, are now busy with +nursery duties. The nest of the crow-pheasant or coucal is a +massive structure, globular in shape, with the entrance at one +side. Large as the nest is, it is not often discovered by the +naturalist because it is almost invariably situated in the midst +of an impenetrable thicket. Three or four pure-white eggs are +laid.</p> + +<p>The white-necked storks or beef-steak birds (<i>Dissura +episcopus</i>) are busy at their nests in June. These birds build +in large trees, usually at a distance from water. The nest is +rudely constructed of twigs. It is about one and a half feet in +diameter. The eggs are placed in a depression lined with straw, +grass or feathers. White-necked storks often begin nest-building +about the middle of May, but eggs are rarely laid earlier than +the second week of June. House-crows nest at the same time of +year, and they often worry the storks considerably by their +impudent attempts to commit larceny of building material.</p> + +<p>The breeding season of the paddy-birds has now fairly begun. +These birds, usually so solitary in habit, often nest in small +colonies, sometimes in company with night-herons. <a name="page114"></a>The nest is a +slender platform of sticks placed high up in a tree, often in +the vicinity of human habitations. Nesting paddy-birds, or +pond-herons as they are frequently called, utter all manner of +weird calls, the one most frequently heard being a curious +gurgle.</p> + +<p>Some of the amadavats build nests in June, but the great +majority breed during the winter months.</p> + +<p>As soon as the first rains have fallen a few of the +pheasant-tailed jacanas begin nesting operations, but the +greater number breed in August; for this reason their nests are +described in the calendar for that month.</p> + +<p>In June a very striking bird makes its appearance in Northern +India. This is the pied crested cuckoo (<i>Coccystes jacobinus</i>). +Its under parts are white, as is a bar in the wing. The +remainder of the plumage is glossy black. The head is adorned by +an elegant crest. The pied cuckoo has a peculiar metallic call, +which is as easy to recognise as it is difficult to describe. +The bird victimises, not crows, but babblers; nevertheless the +corvi seem to dislike it as intensely as they dislike koels.</p> + +<p>By the beginning of the month the great <a name="page115"></a>majority of the cock +<i>bayas</i> or weaver-birds have assumed their black-and-golden +wedding garment; nevertheless they do not as a rule begin to +nest before July.</p> + +<p>The curious excrescence on the bill of the drake <i>nukta</i> or +comb-duck is now much enlarged. This betokens the approach of +the nesting season for that species.</p> + +<p>If the monsoon happen to burst early many of the birds which +breed in the rains begin building their nests towards the end of +June, but, in nine years out of ten, July marks the beginning of +the breeding period of aquatic birds, therefore the account of +their nests properly finds place in the calendar of that month, +or of August, when the season is at its height.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="page116"></a> +<h3><a name="july">JULY</a></h3> +<table width="100%" summary="july poem"> + <tr> + <td width="20%"></td> + <td width="60%"> + <small>Alas! creative nature calls to light<br> + Myriads of winged forms in sportive flight,<br> + When gathered clouds with ceaseless fury pour<br> + A constant deluge in the rushing shower.</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right"> + <i>C<small>alcutta:</small> A P<small>oem</small></i>.</td> + <td></td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<br> +<p>In July India becomes a theatre in which Nature stages a mighty +transformation scene. The prospect changes with kaleidoscopic +rapidity. The green water-logged earth is for a time overhung by +dull leaden clouds; this sombre picture melts away into one, +even more dismal, in which the rain pours down in torrents, +enveloping everything in mist and moisture. Suddenly the sun +blazes forth with indescribable brilliance and shines through an +atmosphere, clear as crystal, from which every particle of dust +has been washed away. Fleecy clouds sail majestically across the +vaulted firmament. Then follows a gorgeous sunset in which +changing colours run riot through sky and clouds—pearly grey, +jet black, dark dun, pale lavender, deep mauve, rich <a name="page117"></a>carmine, +and brightest gold. These colours fade away into the darkness of +the night; the stars then peep forth and twinkle brightly. At +the approach of "rosy-fingered" dawn their lights go out, one by +one. Then blue tints appear in the firmament which deepen into +azure. The glory of the ultramarine sky does not remain long +without alloy: clouds soon appear. So the scene ever changes, +hour by hour and day by day. Had the human being who passes July +in the plains but one window to the soul and that the eye, the +month would be one of pure joy, a month spent in the +contemplation of splendid dawns, brilliant days, the rich green +mantle of the earth, the majesty of approaching thunderclouds, +and superb sunsets. But, alas, July is not a month of unalloyed +pleasure. The temperature is tolerably low while the rain is +actually falling; but the moment this ceases the European is +subjected to the acute physical discomforts engendered by the +hot, steamy, oppressive atmosphere, the ferocity of the sun's +rays, and the teasing of thousands of biting and buzzing insects +which the monsoon calls into being. Termites, crickets, +red-bugs, stink-bugs, horseflies, mosquitoes, <a name="page118"></a>beetles and +diptera of all shapes and sizes arise in millions as if +spontaneously generated. Many of these are creatures of the +night. Although born in darkness all seem to strive after light. +Myriads of them collect round every burning lamp in the open +air, to the great annoyance of the human being who attempts to +read out of doors after dark. The spotted owlets, the toads and +the lizards, however, take a different view of the invasion and +partake eagerly of the rich feast provided for them. +Notwithstanding the existence of <a href="#chik"><i>chiks</i></a>, or gauze doors, the +hexapods crowd into the lighted bungalow, where every +illumination soon becomes the centre of a collection of the +bodies of the insects that have been burned by the flame, or +scorched by the lamp chimney. Well is it for the rest of +creation that most of these insects are short-lived. The span of +life of many is but a day: were it much longer human beings +could hardly manage to exist during the rains. Equally +unbearable would life be were all the species of monsoon insects +to come into being simultaneously. Fortunately they appear in +relays. Every day some new forms enter on the stage of life and +several make their exit. The <a name="page119"></a>pageant of insect life, then, is an +ever-changing one. To-day one species predominates, to-morrow +another, and the day after a third. Unpleasant and irritating +though these insect hosts be to human beings, some pleasure is +to be derived from watching them. Especially is this the case +when the termites or white-ants swarm. In the damp parts of +Lower Bengal these creatures may emerge at any time of the year. +In Calcutta they swarm either towards the close of the rainy +season or in spring after an exceptionally heavy thunderstorm. +In Madras they emerge from their hiding-places in October with +the northeast monsoon. In the United Provinces the winged +termites appear after the first fall of the monsoon rain in June +or July as the case may be. These succulent creatures provide a +feast for the birds which is only equalled by that furnished by +a flight of locusts. In the case of the termites it is not only +the birds that partake. The ever-vigilant crows are of course +the first to notice a swarm of termites, and they lose no time +in setting to work. The kites are not far behind them. These +great birds sail on the outskirts of the flight, seizing +individuals with their claws and <a name="page120"></a>transferring them to the beak +while on the wing. A few king-crows and bee-eaters join them. On +the ground below magpie-robins, babblers, toads, lizards, +musk-rats and other terrestrial creatures make merry. If the +swarm comes out at dusk, as often happens, bats and spotted +owlets join those of the gourmands that are feasting while on +the wing.</p> + +<p>The earth is now green and sweet. The sugar-cane grows apace. +The rice, the various millets and the other autumn crops are +being sown. The cultivators take full advantage of every break +in the rains to conduct agricultural operations.</p> + +<p>As we have seen, the nocturnal chorus of the birds is now +replaced by the croaking of frogs and the stridulation of +crickets. In the day-time the birds still have plenty to say for +themselves. The brain-fever birds scream as lustily as they did +in May and June. The koel is, if possible, more vociferous than +ever, especially at the beginning of the month. The Indian +cuckoo does not call so frequently as formerly, but, by way of +compensation, the pied crested cuckoo uplifts his voice at short +intervals.</p> + +<p>The <i>whoot</i>, <i>whoot</i>, <i>whoot</i> of the crow-pheasant <a name="page121"></a>booms from +almost every thicket. The iora, the coppersmith, the barbet, the +golden-backed woodpecker, and the white-breasted kingfisher +continue to call merrily. The pied starlings are in full voice; +their notes form a very pleasing addition to the avian chorus. +Those magpie-robins that have not brought nesting operations to +a close are singing vigorously. The king-crows are feeding their +young ones in the greenwood tree, and crooning softly to them +<i>pitchu-wee</i>. At the <a href="#jhil"><i>jhils</i></a> the various waterfowl are nesting +and each one proclaims the fact by its allotted call. Much +strange music emanates from the well-filled tank; the +indescribable cries of the purple coots, the curious "fixed +bayonets" of the cotton teal and the weird cat-like mews of the +jacanas form the dominant notes of the aquatic symphony.</p> + +<p>In July the black-breasted or rain-quail (<i>Coturnix +coromandelica</i>) is plentiful in India. Much remains to be +discovered regarding the movements of this species. It appears +to migrate to Bengal, the United Provinces, the Punjab and Sind +shortly before the monsoon bursts, but it is said to arrive in +Nepal as early as April. It would seem <a name="page122"></a>to winter in South India. +It is a smaller bird than the ordinary grey quail and has no +pale cross-bars on the primary wing feathers. The males of this +species are held in high esteem by Indians as fighting birds. +Large numbers of them are netted in the same way as the grey +quail. Some captive birds are set down in a covered cage by a +sugar-cane field in the evening. Their calls attract a number of +wild birds, which settle down in the sugar-cane in order to +spend the day there. At dawn a net is quietly stretched across +one end of the field. A rope is then slowly dragged along over +the growing crop in the direction of the net. This sends all the +quail into the net.</p> + +<p>Very fair sport may be obtained in July by shooting rain-quail +that have been attracted by call birds.</p> + +<p>July marks the end of one breeding season and the beginning of +another. As regards the nesting season, birds fall into four +classes. There is the very large class that nests in spring and +summer. Next in importance is the not inconsiderable body that +rears up its broods in the rains when the food supply is most +abundant. Then comes the small <a name="page123"></a>company that builds nests in the +pleasant winter time. Lastly there are the perennials—such +birds as the sparrow and the dove, which nest at all seasons. In +the present month the last of the summer nesting birds close +operations for the year, and the monsoon birds begin to lay +their eggs. July is therefore a favourable month for +bird-nesting. Moreover, the sun is sometimes obscured by cloud +and, under such conditions, a human being is able to remain out +of doors throughout the day without suffering much physical +discomfort.</p> + +<p>With July ends the normal breeding season of the tree-pies, +white-eyes, ioras; king-crows, bank-mynas, paradise flycatchers, +brown rock-chats, Indian robins, dhayals, red-winged bush-larks, +sunbirds, rollers, swifts, green pigeons, lapwings and +butcher-birds.</p> + +<p>The paradise flycatchers leave Northern India and migrate +southwards a few weeks after the young birds have left the nest.</p> + +<p>Numbers of bulbuls' nests are likely to be found in July, but +the breeding time of these birds is rapidly drawing to its +close. Sparrows and doves are of course engaged in parental +<a name="page124"></a>duties; their eggs have been taken in every month of the year.</p> + +<p>The nesting season is now at its height for the white-necked +storks, the koels and their dupes—the house-crows, also for the +various babblers and their deceivers—the brain-fever birds and +the pied crested cuckoos. The tailor-birds, the ashy and the +Indian wren-warblers, the brahminy mynas, the wire-tailed +swallows, the amadavats, the sirkeer cuckoos, the pea-fowl, the +water-hens, the common and the pied mynas, the cuckoo-shrikes +and the orioles are all fully occupied with nursery duties. The +earliest of the brain-fever birds to be hatched have left the +nest. Like all its family the young hawk-cuckoo has a healthy +appetite. In order to satisfy it the unfortunate foster-parents +have to work like slaves, and often must they wonder why nature +has given them so voracious a child. When it sees a babbler +approaching with food, the cuckoo cries out and flaps its wings +vigorously. Sometimes these completely envelop the parent bird +while it is thrusting food into the yellow mouth of the cuckoo. +The breast of the newly-fledged brain-fever bird is covered with +dark brown drops, so <a name="page125"></a>that, when seen from below, it looks like a +thrush with yellow legs. Its cries, however, are not at all +thrushlike.</p> + +<p>Many of the wire-tailed swallows, minivets and white-browed +fantail flycatchers bring up a second brood during the rains. +The loud cheerful call of the last is heard very frequently in +July.</p> + +<p>Numbers of young bee-eaters are to be seen hawking at insects; +they are distinguishable from adults by the dullness of the +plumage and the fact that the median tail feathers are not +prolonged as bristles.</p> + +<p>Very few crows emerge from the egg before the 1st of July, but, +during the last week in June, numbers of baby koels are hatched +out. The period of incubation for the koel's egg is shorter than +that of the crow, hence at the outset the baby koel steals a +march on his foster-brothers. Koel nestlings, when they first +emerge from the egg, differ greatly in appearance from baby +crows. The skin of the koel is black, that of crow is pink for +the first two days of its existence, but it grows darker +rapidly. The baby crow is the bigger bird and has a larger mouth +with fleshy sides. The sides of the mouth of the young koel are +<a name="page126"></a>not fleshy. The neck of the crow nestling is long and the head +hangs down, whereas the koel's neck is short and the bird +carries its head huddled in its shoulders. Crows nest high up in +trees, these facts are therefore best observed by sending up an +expert climber with a tin half-full of sawdust to which a long +string is attached. The climber lets down the eggs or nestlings +in the tin and the observer can examine them in comfort on +<i>terra firma</i>. The parent crows do not appear to notice how +unlike the young koels are to their own nestlings, for they feed +them most assiduously and make a great uproar when the koels are +taken from the nest. Baby crows are noisy creatures; koels are +quiet and timid at first, but become noisier as they grow older.</p> + +<p>The feathers of crow nestlings are black in each sex. Young +koels fall into three classes: those of which the feathers are +all black, those of which a few feathers have white or reddish +tips, those which are speckled black and white all over because +each feather has a white tip. The two former appear to be young +cocks and the last to be hens. Baby koels, in addition to +hatching out before their foster-brethren, develop more quickly, +so that <a name="page127"></a>they leave the nest fully a week in advance of the young +corvi. After vacating the nest they squat for some days on a +branch close by; numbers of them are to be seen thus in suitable +localities towards the end of July. At first the call of the +koel is a squeak, but later it takes the form of a creditable, +if ludicrous, attempt at a caw. The young cuckoo does not seem +to be able to distinguish its foster-parents from other crows; +it clamours for food whenever any crow comes near it.</p> + +<p>Of the scenes characteristic of the rains in India none is more +pleasing than that presented by a colony of nest-building bayas +or weaver-birds (<i>Ploceus baya</i>). These birds build in company. +Sometimes more than twenty of their wonderful retort-like nests +are to be seen in one tree. This means that more than forty +birds are at work, and, as each of these indulges in much +cheerful twittering, the tree in question presents an animated +scene. Both sexes take part in nest-construction.</p> + +<p>Having selected the branch of a tree from which the nest will +hang, the birds proceed to collect material. Each completed nest +contains many yards of fibre not much thicker than stout thread. +Such material is not found <a name="page128"></a>in quantity in nature. The bayas +have, therefore, to manufacture it. This is easily done. The +building weaver-bird betakes itself to a clump of +elephant-grass, and, perching on one of the blades, makes a +notch in another near the base. Then, grasping with its beak the +edge of this blade above the notch, the baya flies away and thus +strips off a narrow strand. Sometimes the strand adheres to the +main part of the blade at the tip so firmly that the force of +the flying baya is not sufficient to sever it. The bird then +swings for a few seconds in mid-air, suspended by the strip +of leaf. Not in the least daunted the baya makes a fresh effort +and flies off, still gripping the strand firmly. At the third, +if not at the second attempt, the thin strip is completely +severed. Having secured its prize the weaver-bird proceeds to +tear off one or two more strands and then flies with these in +its bill to the nesting site, uttering cries of delight. The +fibres obtained in this manner are bound round the branch from +which the nest will hang. More strands are added to form a +stalk; when this has attained a length of several inches it is +gradually expanded in the form of an umbrella or bell. The next +step is to weave <a name="page129"></a>a band of grass across the mouth of the bell. +In this condition the nest is often left unfinished. Indians +call such incomplete nests <i>jhulas</i> or swings; they assert that +these are made in order that the cocks may sit in them and sing +to their mates while these are incubating the eggs. It may be, +as "Eha" suggests, that at this stage the birds are dissatisfied +with the balance of the nest and for this reason leave it. If +the nest, at this point of its construction, please the +weaver-birds they proceed to finish it by closing up the bell at +one side of the cross-band to form a receptacle for the eggs, +and prolonging the other half of the bell into a long tunnel or +neck. This neck forms the entrance to the nest; towards its +extremity it becomes very flimsy so that it affords no foothold +to an enemy. Nearly every baya's nest contains some lumps of +clay attached to it. Jerdon was of opinion that the function of +these is to balance the nest properly. Indians state that the +bird sticks fireflies into the lumps of clay to light up the +nest at night. This story has found its way into some +ornithological text-books. There is no truth in it. The present +writer is inclined to think that the <a name="page130"></a>object of these lumps of +clay is to prevent the light loofah-like nest swinging too +violently in a gale of wind.</p> + +<p>Both sexes take part in nest-construction. After the formation +of the cross-bar at the mouth of the bell one of the birds sits +inside and the other outside, and they pass the strands to each +other and thus the weaving proceeds rapidly. While working at +the nest the bayas, more especially the cocks, are in a most +excited state. They sing, scream, flap their wings and snap the +bill. Sometimes one cock in his excitement attacks a neighbour +by jumping on his back! This results in a fight in which the +birds flutter in the air, pecking at one another. Often the +combatants "close" for a few seconds, but neither bird seems to +get hurt in these little contests.</p> + +<p>Every bird-lover should make a point of watching a company of +weaver-birds while these are constructing their nests. The tree +or trees in which they build can easily be located by sending a +servant in July to search for them. The favourite sites for +nests in the United Provinces seem to be babul trees that grow +near borrow pits alongside the railroad.</p> +<a name="page131"></a> +<p>In the rainy season two other birds weave nests, which are +nearly as elegant as those woven by the baya. These birds, +however, do not nest in company. They usually build inside +bushes, or in long grass.</p> + +<p>For this reason they do not lend themselves to observation while +at work so readily as bayas do. The birds in question are the +Indian and the ashy wren-warbler.</p> + +<p>The former species brings up two broods in the year. One, as has +been mentioned, in March and the other in the "rains."</p> + +<p>The nest of the Indian wren-warbler (<i>Prinia inornata</i>) is, +except for its shape and its smaller size, very like that of a +weaver-bird. It is an elongated purse or pocket, closely and +compactly woven with fine strips of grass from 1/40 to 1/20 inch +in breadth. The nest is entered by a hole near the top. Both +birds work at the nest, clinging first to the neighbouring stems +of grass or twigs, and later to the nest itself when this has +attained sufficient dimensions to afford them foothold. They +push the ends of the grass in and out just as weaver-birds do. +Like the baya, the Indian wren-warbler does not line its nest. +The eggs are pale greenish-blue, richly <a name="page132"></a>marked by various shades +of deep chocolate and reddish-brown. As Hume remarks: "nothing +can exceed the beauty or variety of markings, which are a +combination of bold blotches, clouds and spots, with delicate, +intricately woven lines, recalling somewhat ... those of our +early favourite—the yellow-hammer."</p> + +<p>The ashy wren-warbler (<i>Prinia socialis</i>) builds two distinct +kinds of nest. One is just like that of the tailor-bird, being +formed by sewing or cobbling together two, three, four or five +leaves, and lining the cup thus formed with down, wool, cotton +or other soft material. The second kind of nest is a woven one. +This is a hollow ball with a hole in the side. The weaving is +not so neat as that of the baya and the Indian wren-warbler. +Moreover, several kinds of material are usually worked into the +nest, which is invariably lined.</p> + +<p>The building of two totally different types of nest is an +interesting phenomenon, and seems to indicate that under the +name <i>Prinia socialis</i> are classed two different species, which +anatomically are so like one another that systematists are +unable to separate them. <a name="page133"></a>Both kinds of nests are found in the +same locality and at the same time of the year. Against the +theory that there are two species of ashy wren-warbler is the +fact that there is no difference in appearance between the eggs +found in the two kinds of nest. All eggs are brick-red or +mahogany colour, without any spots or markings.</p> + +<p>Many of the Indian cliff-swallows, of which the nests are +described in the calendar for March, bring up a second brood in +the "rains."</p> + +<p>Needless to state that in the monsoon the tank and the <i>jhil</i> +are the happy hunting grounds of the ornithologist.</p> + +<p>In July and August not less than thirty species of waterfowl +nidificate. Floating nests are constructed by sarus cranes, +purple coots and the jacanas. The various species of egrets +breed in colonies in trees in some village not far from a tank; +in company with them spoonbills, cormorants, snake-birds, +night-herons and other birds often nest. The white-breasted +waterhen constructs its nursery in a thicket at the margin of +some village pond. The resident ducks are also busy with their +nests. These are in branches of trees, in <a name="page134"></a>holes in trees or old +buildings, or on the ground.</p> + +<p>When describing the nesting operations of waterfowl in Northern +India it is difficult to apportion these between July and +August, for the eggs of almost all such species are as likely to +be found in the one month as in the other. A few individuals +begin to lay in June, the majority commence in July, but a great +many defer operations until August. There is scarcely an aquatic +species of which it can be said: "It never lays before August." +Nor are there many of which it can be asserted: "Their eggs are +never found after July."</p> + +<p>Individuals differ in their habit. A retarded monsoon means that +the water-birds begin to nest later than usual. The first fall +of the monsoon rain seems to be the signal for the commencement +of nesting operations, but by no means every pair of birds obeys +the signal immediately.</p> + +<p>The nearest approach to a generalisation which it is possible to +make is that the egrets and paddy-birds are usually the first of +the monsoon breeders to begin nest-building, while the +spot-billed duck, the whistling teal and the bronze-winged +jacana are the last. In other <a name="page135"></a>words, the eggs of the former are +most likely to be found in July and those of the latter in +August.</p> + +<p>As the calendar for this month has already attained considerable +dimensions, a description of the nests of all these water-birds +is given in the August calendar. It is, however, necessary to +state that the eggs of the following birds are likely to be +found in July: purple coot, common coot, bronze-winged and +pheasant-tailed jacana, black ibis, white-necked stork, +cormorant, snake-bird, cotton teal, comb duck, spot-billed duck, +spoonbill, and the various herons and egrets.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="page136"></a> +<h3><a name="august">AUGUST</a></h3> +<table width="100%" summary="august poem"> + <tr> + <td width="20%"></td> + <td width="60%"> + <small>See! the flushed horizon flames intense<br> + With vivid red, in rich profusion streamed<br> + O'er heaven's pure arch. At once the clouds assume<br> + Their gayest liveries; these with silvery beams<br> + Fringed lovely; splendid those in liquid gold,<br> + And speak their sovereign's state. He comes, behold!</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right"> + M<small>ALLET.</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<br> +<p>The transformation scene described in July continues throughout +August. Torrential rain alternates with fierce sunshine. The +earth is verdant with all shades of green. Most conspicuous of +these are the yellowish verdure of the newly-transplanted rice, +the vivid emerald of the young plants that have taken root, the +deeper hue of the growing sugar-cane, and the dark green of the +mango <a href="#tope">topes</a>.</p> + +<p>Unless the monsoon has been unusually late in reaching Northern +India the autumn crops are all sown before the first week in +August. The sugar-cane is now over five feet in height. The +cultivators are busily <a name="page137"></a>transplanting the better kinds of rice, +or running the plough through fields in which the coarser +varieties are growing.</p> + +<p>The aloes are in flower. Their white spikes of drooping +tulip-like flowers are almost the only inflorescences to be seen +outside gardens at this season of the year. The mango crop is +over, but that of the pineapples takes its place.</p> + +<p>At night-time many of the trees are illumined by hundreds of +fireflies. These do not burn their lamps continuously. Each +insect lets its light shine for a few seconds and then suddenly +puts it out. It sometimes happens that all the fireflies in a +tree show their lights and extinguish them simultaneously and +thereby produce a luminous display which is strikingly +beautiful. Fireflies are to be seen during the greater part of +the year, but they are far more abundant in the "rains" than at +any other season.</p> + +<p>As in July so in August the voices of the birds are rarely heard +after dark. The nocturnal music is now the product of the +batrachian band, ably seconded by the crickets.</p> + +<p>During a prolonged break in the rains the frogs and toads are +hushed, except in <a href="#jhil"><i>jhils</i></a> <a name="page138"></a> +and low-lying paddy fields. Cessation +of the rain, however, does not silence the crickets.</p> + +<p>The first streak of dawn is the signal for the striking up of +the jungle and the spotted owlets. Hard upon them follow the +koels and the brain-fever birds. These call only for a short +time, remaining silent during the greater part of the day. Other +birds that lift up their voices at early dawn are the +crow-pheasant, the black partridge and the peacock. These also +call towards dusk. As soon as the sun has risen the green +barbets, coppersmiths, white-breasted kingfishers and king-crows +utter their familiar notes; even these birds are heard but +rarely in the middle of the day, nor have their voices the +vigour that characterised them in the hot weather. Occasionally +the brown rock-chat emits a few notes, but he does so in a +half-hearted manner. In the early days of August the +magpie-robins sing at times; their song, however, is no longer +the brilliant performance it was. By the end of the month it has +completely died away.</p> + +<p>The Indian cuckoo no more raises its voice in the plains, but +the pied crested-cuckoo continues to call lustily and the pied +starlings make a joyful noise. The oriole's liquid <a name="page139"></a><i>pee-ho</i> is +gradually replaced by the loud <i>tew</i>, which is its usual cry at +times when it is not nesting.</p> + +<p>The water-birds, being busy at their nests, are of course noisy, +but, with the exception of the loud trumpeting of the sarus +cranes, their vocal efforts are heard only at the <i>jhil</i>.</p> + +<p>The did-he-do-its, the rollers, the bee-eaters, two or three +species of warblers and the perennial singers complete the avian +chorus.</p> + +<p>Numbers of rosy starlings are returning from Asia Minor, where +they have reared up their broods. The inrush of these birds +begins in July and continues till October. They are the +forerunners of the autumn immigrants. Towards the end of the +month the garganey or blue-winged teal (<i>Querquedula circia</i>), +which are the earliest of the migratory ducks to visit India, +appear on the tanks. Along with them comes the advance-guard of +the snipe. The pintail snipe (<i>Gallinago stenura</i>) are +invariably the first to appear, but they visit only the eastern +parts of Northern India. Large numbers of them sojourn in Bengal +and Assam. Stragglers appear in the eastern portion of the +United Provinces; in the western districts and in the Punjab +this snipe <a name="page140"></a>is a <i>rara avis</i>. By the third week in August good +bags of pintail snipe are sometimes obtained in Bengal. The +fantail or full-snipe (<i>G. coelestis</i>) is at least one week +later in arriving. This species has been shot as early as the +24th August, but there is no general immigration of even the +advance-guard until quite the end of the month.</p> + +<p>The jack-snipe (<i>G. gallinula</i>) seems never to appear before +September.</p> + +<p>Most of the monsoon broods of the Indian cliff-swallow emerge +from the eggs in August. The "rains" breeding season of the +amadavats or red munias is now over, and the bird-catcher issues +forth to snare them.</p> + +<p>His stock-in-trade consists of some seed and two or three +amadavats in one of the pyramid-shaped wicker cages that can be +purchased for a few annas in any bazaar. To the base of one of +the sides of the cage a flap is attached by a hinge. The flap, +which is of the same shape and size as the side of the cage, is +composed of a frame over which a small-meshed string net is +stretched. A long string is fastened to the apex of the flap and +passed through a loop at the top of the cage. Selecting an open +space near some tall grass in which <a name="page141"></a>amadavats are feeding, the +bird-catcher sets down the cage and loosens the string so that +the flap rests on the earth. Some seed is sprinkled on the flap. +Then the trapper squats behind a bush, holding the end of the +string in his hand. The cheerful little <i>lals</i> inside the cage +soon begin to twitter and sing, and their calls attract the wild +amadavats in the vicinity. These come to the cage, alight on the +flap, and begin to eat the seed. The bird-catcher gives the +string a sharp pull and thus traps his victims between the flap +and the side of the cage. He then disentangles them, places them +in the cage, and again sets the trap.</p> + +<p>Almost all the birds that rear up their young in the spring have +finished nesting duties for the year by August. Here and there a +pair of belated rollers may be seen feeding their young. Before +the beginning of the month nearly all the young crows and koels +have emerged from the egg, and the great majority of them have +left the nest. Young house-crows are distinguished from adults +by the indistinctness of the grey on the neck. They continually +open their great red mouths to clamour for food.</p> +<a name="page142"></a> +<p>The wire-tailed swallows, swifts, pied crested-cuckoos, +crow-pheasants, butcher-birds, cuckoo-shrikes, fantail +flycatchers, babblers, white-necked storks, wren-warblers, +weaver-birds, common and pied mynas, peafowl, and almost all the +resident water-birds, waders and swimmers, except the terns and +the plovers, are likely to have eggs or young. The nesting +season of the swifts and butcher-birds is nearly over. In the +case of the others it is at its height. The wire-tailed swallows +and minivets are busy with their second broods. The nests of +most of these birds have already been described.</p> + +<p>The Indian peafowl (<i>Pavo cristatus</i>) usually lay their large +white eggs on the ground in long grass or thick undergrowth. +Sometimes they nestle on the grass-grown roofs of deserted +buildings or in other elevated situations. Egrets, night-herons, +cormorants, darters, paddy-birds, openbills, and spoonbills +build stick nests in trees. These birds often breed in large +colonies. In most cases the site chosen is a clump of trees in a +village which is situated on the border of a tank. Sometimes all +these species nest in company. Hume described a village in +Mainpuri where scores of the <a name="page143"></a>above-mentioned birds, together +with some whistling teal and comb-ducks, nested simultaneously. +After a site has been selected by a colony the birds return year +after year to the place for nesting purposes. The majority of +the eggs are laid in July, the young appearing towards the end +of that month or early in the present one.</p> + +<p>The nest of the sarus crane (<i>Grus antigone</i>) is nearly always +an islet some four feet in diameter, which either floats in +shallow water or rises from the ground and projects about a foot +above the level of the water. The nest is composed of dried +rushes. It may be placed in a <i>jhil</i>, a paddy field, or a borrow +pit by the railway line. A favourite place is the midst of paddy +cultivation in some low-lying field where the water is too deep +to admit of the growing of rice. Two very large white eggs, +rarely three, are laid. This species makes no attempt to conceal +its nest. In the course of a railway journey in August numbers +of incubating saruses may be seen by any person who takes the +trouble to look for them.</p> + +<p>"Raoul" makes the extraordinary statement that incubating sarus +cranes do not sit when <a name="page144"></a>incubating, but hatch the eggs by +standing over them, one leg on each side of the nest! Needless +to say there is no truth whatever in this statement. The legs of +the sitting sarus crane are folded under it, as are those of +incubating flamingos and other long-legged birds.</p> + +<p>Throughout the month of August two of the most interesting birds +in India are busy with their nests. They are the pheasant-tailed +and the bronze-winged jacana. These birds live, move and have +their being on the surface of lotus-covered tanks. Owing to the +great length of their toes jacanas are able to run about with +ease over the surface of the floating leaves of water-lilies and +other aquatic plants, or over tangled masses of rushes and +water-weeds.</p> + +<p>In the monsoon many tanks are so completely covered with +vegetation that almost the only water visible to a person +standing on the bank consists of the numerous drops that have +been thrown on to the flat surfaces of the leaves, where they +glisten in the sun like pearls.</p> + +<p>Two species of jacana occur in India: the bronze-winged +(<i>Motopus indicus</i>) and the pheasant-tailed jacana or the +water-pheasant <a name="page145"></a>(<i>Hydrophasianus chirurgus</i>). They are to be +found on most tanks in the well-watered parts of the United +Provinces. They occur in small flocks and are often put up by +sportsmen when shooting duck. They emit weird mewing cries. The +bronze-winged jacana is a black bird with bronze wings. It is +about the size of a pigeon, but has much longer legs. The +pheasant-tailed species is a black-and-white bird. In winter the +tail is short, but in May both sexes grow long pheasant-like +caudal feathers which give the bird its popular name. The +bronze-winged jacana does not grow these long tail feathers.</p> + +<p>The nests of jacanas are truly wonderful structures. They are +just floating pads of rushes and leaves of aquatic plants. +Sometimes practically the whole of the pad is under water, so +that the eggs appear to be resting on the surface of the tank. +The nest of the bronze-winged species is usually larger and more +massive than that of the water-pheasant. The latter's nest is +sometimes so small as hardly to be able to contain the eggs—a +little, shallow, circular cup of rushes and water-weeds or +floating lotus leaves or tufts of water-grass. The eggs of the +two species show but <a name="page146"></a>little similarity. Both, however, are very +beautiful and remarkable. The eggs of the bronze-winged jacana +have a rich brownish-bronze background, on which black lines are +scribbled in inextricable confusion, so that the egg looks as +though Arabic texts had been scrawled over it. This species +might well be called "the Arabic writing-master." The eggs of +the water-pheasant are in shape like pegtops without the peg. +They are of a dark rich green-bronze colour, and devoid of any +markings.</p> + +<p>The nest of the handsome, but noisy, purple coot (<i>Porphyrio +poliocephalus</i>) is a platform of rushes and reeds which is +sometimes placed on the ground in a rice field, but is more +often floating, and is then tethered to a tree or some other +object. From six to ten eggs are laid. These are very beautiful +objects. The ground colour is delicate pink. This is spotted and +blotched with crimson; beneath these spots there are clouds of +pale purple which have the appearance of lying beneath the +surface of the shell.</p> + +<p>The white-breasted water-hen (<i>Gallinula phoenicura</i>) is a bird +that must be familiar to all. One pair, at least, is to be found +in <a name="page147"></a>every village which boasts of a tank and a bamboo clump, no +matter how small these be. The water-hen is a black bird about +the size of the average bazaar fowl, with a white face, throat +and breast. It carries its short tail almost erect, and under +this is a patch of brick-red feathers. During most seasons of +the year it is a silent bird, but from mid-May until the end of +the monsoon it is exceedingly noisy, and, were it in the habit +of haunting our gardens and compounds, its cries would attract +as much attention as do those of the koel and the brain-fever +bird. As, however, water-hens are confined to tiny hamlets +situated far away from cities, many people are not acquainted +with their calls, which "Eha" describes as "roars, hiccups and +cackles." The nest is built in a bamboo clump or other dense +thicket. The eggs are stone-coloured, with spots of brown, red +and purple. The young birds, when first hatched, are covered +with black down, and look like little black ducklings. They can +run, swim and dive as soon as they leave the egg. Little parties +of them are to be seen at the edge of most village tanks in +August.</p> + +<p>The resident ducks are all busy with their <a name="page148"></a>nests. The majority +of them lay their eggs in July, so that in August they are +occupied with their young.</p> + +<p>The cotton-teal (<i>Nettopus coromandelianus</i>) usually lays its +eggs in a hole in a mango or other tree. The hollow is sometimes +lined with feathers and twigs. It is not very high up as a rule, +from six to twelve feet above the ground being the usual level. +The tree selected for the nesting site is not necessarily close +to water. Thirteen or fourteen eggs seem to be the usual clutch, +but as many as twenty-two have been taken from one nest. Young +teal, when they emerge from the egg, can swim and walk, but they +are unable to fly. No European seems to have actually observed +the process whereby they get from the nest to the ground or the +water. It is generally believed that the parent birds carry +them. Mr. Stuart Baker writes that a very intelligent native +once told him that, early one morning, before it was light, he +was fishing in a tank, when he saw a bird flutter heavily into +the water from a tree in front of him and some twenty paces +distant. The bird returned to the tree, and again, with much +beating of the wings, fluttered down to the surface of the tank; +<a name="page149"></a>this performance was repeated again and again at intervals of +some minutes. At first the native could only make out that the +cause of the commotion was a bird of some kind, but after a few +minutes, he, remaining crouched among the reeds and bushes, saw +distinctly that it was a cotton-teal, and that each time it +flopped into the water and rose again it left a gosling behind +it. The young ones were carried somehow in the feet, but the +parent bird seemed to find the carriage of its offspring no easy +matter; it flew with difficulty, and fell into the water with +considerable force.</p> + +<p>August is the month in which some fortunate observer will one +year be able to confirm or refute this story.</p> + +<p>The comb-duck or <i>nukta</i> (<i>Sarcidiornis melanotus</i>), which looks +more like a freak of some domesticated breed than one of +nature's own creatures, makes, in July or August, a nest of +grass and sticks in a hole in a tree or in the fork of a stout +branch. Sometimes disused nests of other species are utilised. +About a dozen eggs is the usual number of the clutch, but +Anderson once found a nest containing no fewer than forty eggs.</p> +<a name="page150"></a> +<p>The lesser whistling-teal (<i>Dendrocygna javanica</i>) usually +builds its nest in a hollow in a tree. Sometimes it makes use of +the deserted nursery of another species, and there are many +cases on record of the nest being on the ground, a <i>bund</i>, or a +piece of high ground in a <i>jhil</i>. Eight or ten eggs are laid.</p> + +<p>The little grebe or dabchick (<i>Podiceps albipennis</i>) is another +species that lays in July or August. This bird, which looks like +a miniature greyish-brown duck without a tail, must be familiar +to Anglo-Indians, since at least one pair are to be seen on +almost every pond or tank in Northern India. Although permanent +residents in this country, little grebes leave, in the "rains," +those tanks that do not afford plenty of cover, and betake +themselves to a <i>jhil</i> where vegetation is luxuriant. The nest, +like that of other species that build floating cradles, is a +tangle of weeds and rushes. When the incubating bird leaves the +nest she invariably covers the white eggs with wet weeds, and, +as Hume remarks, it is almost impossible to catch the old bird +on the nest or to take her so much by surprise as not to allow +her time to cover up the eggs. As a matter of fact, these birds +<a name="page151"></a>spend very little time upon the nest in the day-time. The sun's +rays are powerful enough not only to supply the heat necessary +for incubation but to bake the eggs. This <i>contretemps</i>, +however, is avoided by placing wet weeds on the eggs and by the +general moisture of the nest. No better idea of the heat of +India during the monsoon can be furnished than that afforded by +the case of some cattle-egrets' eggs taken by a friend of the +writer's in August, 1913. He found a clutch of four eggs; not +having leisure at the time to blow them, he placed them in a +bowl on the drawing-room mantelshelf. On the evening of the +following day he heard some squeaks, but, thinking that these +sounds emanated from a musk-rat or one of the other numerous +rent-free tenants of every Indian bungalow, paid little heed to +them. When, however, the same sounds were heard some hours later +and appeared to emanate from the mantelpiece, he went to the +bowl, and, lo and behold, two young egrets had emerged! These +were at once fed. They lived for three days and appeared to be +in good health, when they suddenly gave up the ghost.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="page152"></a> +<h3><a name="september">SEPTEMBER</a></h3> +<table width="100%" summary="september poem"> + <tr> + <td width="20%"></td> + <td width="60%"> + <small>And sweet it is by lonely meres<br> + To sit, with heart and soul awake,<br> + Where water-lilies lie afloat,<br> + Each anchored like a fairy boat<br> + Amid some fabled elfin lake:<br> + To see the birds flit to and fro<br> + Along the dark-green reedy edge.</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right"> + M<small>ARY</small> H<small>OWITT.</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<br> +<p>September is a much-abused month. Many people assert that it is +the most unpleasant and unhealthy season of the year.</p> + +<p>Malarial and muggy though it is, September scarcely merits all +the evil epithets that are applied to it. The truth is that, +after the torrid days of the hot weather and the humid heat of +the rainy season, the European is thoroughly weary of his +tropical surroundings, his vitality is at a low ebb, he is +languid and irritable, thus he complains bitterly of the climate +of September, notwithstanding the fact that it is a distinct +improvement on that of the two preceding months.</p> +<a name="page153"></a> +<p>In the early part of the month the weather differs little from +that of July and August. The days are somewhat shorter and the +sun's rays somewhat less powerful, in consequence the average +temperature is slightly lower. Normally the rains cease in the +second half of the month. Then the sky resumes the fleckless +blueness which characterises it during the greater part of the +year. The blue of the sky is more pure and more intense in +September than at other times, except during breaks in the +monsoon, because the rain has washed from the atmosphere the +myriads of specks of dust that are usually suspended in it.</p> + +<p>The cessation of the rains is followed by a period of steamy +heat. As the moisture of the air gradually diminishes the +temperature rises. But each September day is shorter than the +one before it, and, hour by hour, the rays of the sun part with +some of their power. Towards the end of the month the nights are +cooler than they have been for some time. At sunset the village +smoke begins to hang low in a diaphanous cloud—a sure sign of +the approaching cold weather. The night dews are heavy. In the +morning the blades of grass and the webs of the spiders are +<a name="page154"></a>bespangled with pearly dewdrops. Cool zephyrs greet the rising +sun. At dawn there is, in the last days of the month, a touch of +cold in the air.</p> + +<p>The Indian countryside displays a greenness which is almost +spring-like; not quite spring-like, because the fierce greens +induced by the monsoon rains are not of the same hues as those +of the young leaves of spring. The foliage is almost entirely +free from dust. This fact adds to the vernal appearance of the +landscape. The <a href="#jhil"><i>jhils</i></a> and tanks are filled with water, and, +being overgrown with luxuriant vegetation, enhance the beauty of +the scene. But, almost immediately after the cessation of the +rains, the country begins to assume its usual look. Day by day +the grass loses a little of its greenness. The earth dries up +gradually, and its surface once more becomes dusty. The dust is +carried to the foliage, on which it settles, subduing the +natural greenery of the leaves. No sooner do the rains cease +than the rivers begin to fall. By November most of them will be +sandy wastes in which the insignificant stream is almost lost to +view.</p> + +<p>The mimosas flower in September. Their <a name="page155"></a>yellow spherical blossoms +are rendered pale by contrast with the deep gold hue of the +blooms of the <i>san</i> (hemp) which now form a conspicuous feature +of the landscape in many districts. The cork trees +(<i>Millingtonia hortensis</i>) become bespangled with hanging +clusters of white, long-tubed, star-like flowers that give out +fragrant perfume at night.</p> + +<p>The first-fruits of the autumn harvest are being gathered in. +Acre upon acre of the early-sown rice falls before the sickle. +The threshing-floors once again become the scene of animation. +The fallow fields are being prepared for the spring crops and +the sowing of the grain is beginning.</p> + +<p>Throughout the month insect life is as rich and varied as it was +in July and August.</p> + +<p>The brain-fever bird and the koel call so seldom in September +that their cries, when heard, cause surprise. The voice of the +pied crested-cuckoo no longer falls upon the ear, nor does the +song of the magpie-robin. The green barbets lift up their voices +fairly frequently, but it is only on rare occasions that their +cousins—the coppersmiths—hammer on their anvils. The pied +mynas are far less vociferous than they were in July and August.</p> +<a name="page156"></a> +<p>By the end of September the bird chorus has assumed its winter +form, except that the grey-headed flycatchers have not joined it +in numbers.</p> + +<p>Apart from the sharp notes of the warblers, the cooing of the +doves, the hooting of the crow-pheasants, the wailing of the +kites, the cawing of the crows, the screaming of the green +parrots, the chattering of the mynas and the seven sisters, the +trumpeting of the sarus cranes and the clamouring of the +lapwings, almost the only bird voices commonly heard are those +of the fantail flycatcher, the amadavat, the wagtail, the +oriole, the roller and the sunbird.</p> + +<p>The cock sunbirds are singing brilliantly although they are +still wearing their workaday garments, which are quaker brown +save for one purple streak along the median line of the breast +and abdomen.</p> + +<p>Many birds are beginning to moult. They are casting off worn +feathers and assuming the new ones that will keep them warm +during the cool winter months. With most birds the new feathers +grow as fast as the old ones fall out. In a few, however, the +process of renewal does not keep pace with that of shedding; the +result <a name="page157"></a>is that the moulting bird presents a mangy appearance. +The mynas afford conspicuous examples of this; when moulting +their necks often become almost nude, so that the birds bear +some resemblance to miniature vultures.</p> + +<p>Great changes in the avifauna take place in September.</p> + +<p>The yellow-throated sparrows, the koels, the sunbirds, the +bee-eaters, the red turtle-doves and the majority of the +king-crows leave the Punjab. From the United Provinces there is +a large exodus of brain-fever birds, koels, pied +crested-cuckoos, paradise flycatchers and Indian orioles. These +last are replaced by black-headed orioles in the United +Provinces, but not in the Punjab.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, the great autumnal immigration takes place +throughout the month. Before September is half over the +migratory wagtails begin to appear. Like most birds they travel +by night when migrating. They arrive in silence, but on the +morning of their coming the observer cannot fail to notice their +cheerful little notes, which, like the hanging of the village +smoke, are to be numbered among the signs of the approach of +winter. The three species that visit India in the largest +numbers <a name="page158"></a>are the white (<i>Motacilla alba</i>), the masked (<i>M. +personata</i>) and the grey wagtail (<i>M. melanope</i>). In Bengal the +first two are largely replaced by the white-faced wagtail (<i>M. +leucopsis</i>). The names "white" and "grey" are not very happy +ones. The white species is a grey bird with a white face and +some black on the head and breast; the masked wagtail is very +difficult to distinguish from the white species, differing in +having less white and more black on the head and face, the white +constituting the "mask"; the grey wagtail has the upper plumage +greenish-grey and the lower parts sulphur-yellow. The three +species arrive almost simultaneously, but the experience of the +writer is that the grey bird usually comes a day or two before +his cousins.</p> + +<p>On one of the last ten days of September the first batch of +Indian redstarts (<i>Ruticilla frontalis</i>) reaches India. Within +twenty days of the coming of these welcome little birds it is +possible to dispense with punkas.</p> + +<p>Like the redstarts the rose-finches and minivets begin to pour +into India towards the end of September. The snipe arrive daily +throughout the month.</p> + +<p>With the first full moon of September <a name="page159"></a>come the grey quail +(<i>Coturnix communis</i>). These, like the rain-quail, afford good +sport with the gun if attracted by call birds set down +overnight. When the stream of immigrating quail has ceased to +flow, these birds spread themselves over the well-cropped +country. It then becomes difficult to obtain a good bag of quail +until the time of the spring harvest, when they collect in the +crops that are still standing.</p> + +<p>Thousands of blue-winged teal invade India in September, but +most of the other species of non-resident duck do not arrive +until October or even November.</p> + +<p>Not the least important of the September arrivals are the +migratory birds of prey. None of the owls seem to migrate. Nor +do the vultures, but a large proportion of the diurnal raptores +leaves the plains of India in the spring.</p> + +<p>To every migratory species of raptorial bird, that captures +living quarry, there is a non-migratory counterpart or near +relative. It would almost seem as if each species were broken up +into two clans—a migratory and a stationary one. Thus, of each +of the following pairs of birds the first-named is migratory and +<a name="page160"></a>the other non-migratory: the steppe-eagle and the tawny eagle, +the large Indian and the common kite, the long-legged and the +white-eyed buzzard, the sparrow-hawk and the shikra, the +peregrine and the lugger falcon, the common and the red-headed +merlin, the kestrel and the black-winged kite.</p> + +<p>It is tempting to formulate the theory that the raptores are +migratory or the reverse according or not as they prey on birds +of passage, and that the former migrate merely in order to +follow their quarry. Certain facts seem to bear out this theory. +The peregrine falcon, which feeds largely on ducks, is +migratory, while the lugger falcon—a bird not particularly +addicted to waterfowl—remains in India throughout the year.</p> + +<p>The necessity of following their favourite quarry may account +for the migratory habits of some birds of prey, but it does not +apply to all. Thus, the osprey, which feeds almost exclusively +on fish, is merely a winter visitor to India. Again, there is +the kestrel. This preys on non-migratory rats and mice, +nevertheless it leaves the plains in the hot weather and goes to +the Himalayas to breed. All the species of birds of prey cited +above as <a name="page161"></a>migratory begin to arrive in the plains of India in +September. The merlins come only into the Punjab, but most of +the other raptores spread over the whole of India.</p> + +<p>The various species of harrier make their appearance in +September. These are birds that cannot fail to attract +attention. They usually fly slowly a few feet above the surface +of the earth so that they can drop suddenly on their quarry. +They squat on the ground when resting, but their wings are long +and their bodies light, so that they do not need much rest. +Those who shoot duck have occasion often to say hard things of +the marsh-harrier and the peregrine falcon, because these birds +are apt to come as unbidden guests to the shoot and carry off +wounded duck and teal before the <a href="#shikari"><i>shikari</i></a> has time to retrieve +them.</p> + +<p>Of the migratory birds of prey the kestrel is perhaps the first +to arrive; the osprey and the peregrine falcon are among the +last.</p> + +<p>Very few observations of the comings and the goings of the +various raptorial birds have been recorded; in the present state +of our knowledge it is not possible to compile an accurate table +showing the usual order in which the various species appear. +This is a <a name="page162"></a>subject to which those persons who dwell permanently +in one place might with advantage direct their attention.</p> + +<p>As regards nesting operations September is not a month of +activity.</p> + +<p>On the 15th the close season for game birds ends in the +Government forests; and by that date the great majority of them +have reared up their broods. Grey partridge's eggs, it is true, +have been taken in September; but as we have seen, grey +partridges, like doves and kites, can scarcely be said to have a +breeding season; they lay eggs whenever it seemeth good to them.</p> + +<p>A few belated peafowl may still be found with eggs, but these +are exceptions. Most of the hens are strutting about proudly, +accompanied by their chicks, while the cocks are shedding their +trains. Other species of which the eggs may be found in the +present month are the white-throated munia, the common and the +large grey babblers, and, of course, the various species of +dove.</p> + +<p>Before the last day of August all the young mynas have emerged +from the egg, and throughout the first half of September numbers +of them are to be seen following their parents <a name="page163"></a>and clamouring +for food. Most of the koels have departed, but some individuals +belonging to the rising generation remind us that they are still +with us by emitting sounds which are very fair imitations of the +"sqwaking" of young crows.</p> + +<p>Baby koels are as importunate as professional beggars and +solicit food of every crow that passes by, to the great disgust +of all but their foster-parents.</p> + +<p>The majority of the seven sisters have done with nursery duties +for a season. Some flocks, however, are still accompanied by +impedimenta in the shape of young babblers or pied +crested-cuckoos. The impedimenta make far more noise than the +adult birds. They are always hungry, or at any rate always +demanding food in squeaky tones. With each squeak the wings are +flapped violently, as if to emphasise the demand. Every member +of a flock appears to help to feed the young birds irrespective +of whose nests these have been reared in.</p> + +<p>Throughout September bayas are to be seen at their nests, but, +before the month draws to its close, nearly all the broods have +come out into the great world. The nests will remain <a name="page164"></a>until next +monsoon, or even longer, as monuments of sound workmanship.</p> + +<p>In September numbers of curious brown birds, heavily barred with +black, make their appearance. These are crow-pheasants that have +emerged from nests hidden away in dense thickets. In a few weeks +these birds will lose their barred feathers and assume the black +plumage and red wings of the adult. By the end of August most of +the night-herons and those of the various species of egrets that +have not been killed by the plume-hunters are able to +congratulate themselves on having successfully reared up their +broods. In September they lose their nuptial plumes.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="page165"></a> +<h3><a name="october">OCTOBER</a></h3> +<table width="100%" summary="october poem"> + <tr> + <td width="20%"></td> + <td width="60%"> + <small>Ye strangers, banished from your native glades,<br> + Where tyrant frost with famine leag'd proclaims<br> + "Who lingers dies"; with many a risk ye win<br> + The privilege to breathe our softer air<br> + And glean our sylvan berries.</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right"> + G<small>ISBORNE'S</small> <i>W<small>alks in a</small> F<small>orest</small></i>.</td> + <td></td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<br> +<p>October in India differs from the English month in almost every +respect. The one point of resemblance is that both are periods +of falling temperature.</p> + +<p>In England autumn is the season for the departure of the +migratory birds; in India it is the time of their arrival.</p> + +<p>The chief feature of the English October—the falling of the +leaves—is altogether wanting in the Indian autumn.</p> + +<p>Spring is the season in which the pulse of life beats most +vigorously both in Europe and in Asia; it is therefore at that +time of year that the trees renew their garments.</p> + +<p>In England leaves are short-lived. After an existence of about +six months they "curl up, become brown, and flutter from their +<a name="page166"></a>sprays." In India they enjoy longer lives, and retain their +greenness for the greater part of a year. A few Indian trees, +as, for example, the shesham, lose their foliage in autumn; the +silk-cotton and the coral trees part with their leaves gradually +during the early months of the winter, but these are the +exceptions; nearly all the trees retain their old leaves until +the new ones appear in spring, so that, in this country, March, +April and May are the months in which the dead leaves lie thick +upon the ground.</p> + +<p>In many ways the autumn season in Northern India resembles the +English spring. The Indian October may be likened to April in +England. Both are months of hope, heralds of the most pleasant +period of the year. In both the countryside is fresh and green. +In both millions of avian visitors arrive.</p> + +<p>Like the English April, October in Northern India is welcome +chiefly for that to which it leads. But it has merits of its +own. Is not each of its days cooler than the preceding one? Does +it not produce the joyous morn on which human beings awake to +find that the hot weather is a thing of the past?</p> + +<p>Throughout October the sun's rays are hot, <a name="page167"></a>but, for an hour or +two after dawn, especially in the latter half of the month, the +climate leaves little to be desired. An outing in the early +morning is a thing of joy, if it be taken while yet the air +retains the freshness imparted to it by the night, and before +the grass has yielded up the sparkling jewels acquired during +the hours of darkness. It is good to ride forth on an October +morn with the object of renewing acquaintance with nimble +wagtails, sprightly redstarts, stately demoiselle cranes and +other newly-returned migrants. In addition to meeting many +winter visitors, the rider may, if he be fortunate, come upon a +colony of sand-martins that has begun nesting operations.</p> + +<p>The husbandman enjoys very little leisure at this season of the +year. From dawn till sunset he ploughs, or sows, or reaps, or +threshes, or winnows.</p> + +<p>The early-sown rice yields the first-fruits of the <a href="#kharif"><i>kharif</i></a> +harvest. By the end of the month it has disappeared before the +sickle and many of the fields occupied by it have been sown with +gram. The hemp (<i>san</i>) is the next crop to mature. In some parts +of Northern India its vivid yellow flowers are <a name="page168"></a>the most +conspicuous feature of the autumn landscape. They are as +brilliantly coloured as broom. The <i>san</i> plant is not allowed to +display its gilded blooms for long, it is cut down in the prime +of life and cast into a village pond, there to soak. The +harvesting of the various millets, the picking of the cotton, +and the sowing of the wheat, barley, gram and poppy begin before +the close of the month. The sugar-cane, the <a href="#arhar"><i>arhar</i></a> and the +late-sown rice are not yet ready for the sickle. Those crops +will be cut in November and December.</p> + +<p>As in September so in October the birds are less vociferous than +they were in the spring and the hot weather. During the earlier +part of the month the notes of the koel and the brain-fever bird +are heard on rare occasions; before October has given place to +November, these noisy birds cease to trouble. The pied starlings +have become comparatively subdued, their joyful melody is no +longer a notable feature of the avian chorus. In the first half +of the month the green barbets utter their familiar cries at +frequent intervals; as the weather grows colder they call less +often, but at no season of the year do they cease <a name="page169"></a>altogether to +raise their voices. The <i>tonk</i>, <i>tonk</i>, <i>tonk</i> of the +coppersmith is rarely heard in October; during the greater part +of the cold weather this barbet is a silent creature, reminding +us of its presence now and then by calling out <i>wow</i> softly, as +if half ashamed at the sound of its voice. The oriole now utters +its winter note <i>tew</i>, and that sound is heard only +occasionally.</p> + +<p>It is unnecessary to state that the perennials—the crows, +kites, doves, bee-eaters, tree-pies, tailor-birds, +cuckoo-shrikes, green parrots, jungle and spotted owlets—are +noisy throughout the month.</p> + +<p>The king-crows no longer utter the soft notes which they seem to +keep for the rainy season; but, before settling down to the +sober delights of the winter, some individuals become almost as +lively and vociferous as they were in the nesting season. +Likewise some pairs of "blue jays" behave, in September and +October, as though they were about to recommence courtship; they +perform strange evolutions in the air and emit harsh cries, but +these lead to nothing; after a few days of noisy behaviour the +birds resume their more normal habits.</p> +<a name="page170"></a> +<p>The hoopoes have been silent for some time, but in October a few +of them take up their refrain—<i>uk-uk-uk-uk</i>, and utter it with +almost as much vigour as they did in March.</p> + +<p>It would thus seem that the change of season, the approach of +winter, has a stimulating influence on king-crows, rollers and +hoopoes, causing the energy latent within them suddenly to +become active and to manifest itself in the form of song or +dance.</p> + +<p>In October the pied chat and the wood-shrike frequently make +sweet melody. Throughout the month the cock sunbirds sing as +lustily and almost as brilliantly as canaries; many of them are +beginning to reassume the iridescent purple plumage which they +doffed some time ago. From every mango <a href="#tope">tope</a> emanates the +cheerful lay of the fantail flycatcher and the lively "Think of +me ... Never to be" of the grey-headed flycatcher. Amadavats +sing sweet little songs without words as they flit about among +the tall grasses.</p> + +<p>In the early morning and at eventide, the crow-pheasants give +vent to their owl-like hoot, preceded by a curious guttural +<i>kok-kok-kok</i>. The young ones, that left the nest some <a name="page171"></a>weeks +ago, are rapidly losing their barred plumage and are assuming +the appearance of the adult. By the middle of November very few +immature crow-pheasants are seen.</p> + +<p>Migration and moulting are the chief events in the feathered +world at the present season. The flood of autumn immigration, +which arose as a tiny stream in August, and increased in volume +nightly throughout September, becomes, in October, a mighty +river on the bosom of which millions of birds are borne.</p> + +<p>Day by day the avian population of the <a href="#jhil"><i>jhils</i></a> increases. At the +beginning of the month the garganey teal are almost the only +migratory ducks to be seen on them. By the first of November +brahminy duck, gadwall, common teal, widgeon, shovellers and the +various species of pochard abound. With the duck come demoiselle +cranes, curlews, storks, and sandpipers of various species. The +geese and the pintail ducks, however, do not return to India +until November. These are the last of the regular winter +visitors to come and the first to go.</p> + +<p>The various kinds of birds of prey which began to appear in +September continue to arrive throughout the present month.</p> +<a name="page172"></a> +<p>Grey-headed and red-breasted flycatchers, minivets, bush-chats, +rose-finches and swallows pour into the plains from the +Himalayas, while from beyond those mountains come redstarts, +wagtails, starlings, buntings, blue-throats, quail and snipe. +Along with the other migrants come numbers of rooks and +jackdaws. These do not venture far into India; they confine +themselves to the North-West Frontier Province and the Punjab, +where they remain during the greater part of the winter. The +exodus, from the above-mentioned Provinces, of the bee-eaters, +sunbirds, yellow-throated sparrows, orioles, red turtle-doves +and paradise flycatchers is complete by the end of October. The +above are by no means the only birds that undergo local +migration. The great majority of species probably move about in +a methodical manner in the course of the year; a great deal of +local migration is overlooked, because the birds that move away +from a locality are replaced by others of their kind that come +from other places.</p> + +<p>During a spell of exceptionally cold weather a great many +Himalayan birds are driven by the snow into the plains of India, +where they remain for a few days or weeks. Some of these +<a name="page173"></a>migrants are noticed in the calendar for December.</p> + +<p>In October the annual moult of the birds is completed, so that, +clothed in their warm new feathers, they are ready for winter +some time before it comes. In the case of the redstart, the +bush-chat, most of the wagtails, and some other species, the +moult completely changes the colouring of the bird. The reason +of this is that the edges of the new feathers are not of the +same colour as the inner parts. Only the margins show, because +the feathers of a bird overlap like slates on a roof, or the +scales of a fish. After a time the edges of the new feathers +become worn away, and then the differently-hued deeper parts +begin to show, so that the bird gradually resumes the appearance +it had before the moult. When the redstarts reach India in +September most of the cocks are grey birds, because of the grey +margins to their feathers; by the middle of April, when they +begin to depart, many of them are black, the grey margins of the +feathers having completely disappeared; other individuals are +still grey because the margins of the feathers are broader or +have not worn so much.</p> + +<p>October is the month in which the falconer <a name="page174"></a>sallies forth to +secure the hawks which will be employed in "the sport of kings" +during the cold weather. There are several methods of catching +birds of prey, as indeed there are of capturing almost every +bird and beast. The amount of poaching that goes on in this +country is appalling, and, unless determined efforts are made to +check it, there is every prospect of the splendid fauna of India +being ruined. The sportsman is bound by all manner of +restrictions, but the poacher is allowed to work his wicked will +on the birds and beasts of the country, almost without let or +hindrance.</p> + +<p>The apparatus usually employed for the capture of the peregrine, +the shahin and other falcons is a well-limed piece of cane, +about the length of the expanse of a falcon's wings. To the +middle of this a dove, of which the eyelids have been sewn up, +is tied. When a wild falcon appears on the scene the +bird-catcher throws into the air the cane with the luckless dove +attached to it. The dove flies about aimlessly, being unable to +see, and is promptly pounced upon by the falcon, whose wings +strike the limed cane and become stuck to it; then falcon and +dove fall together to the <a name="page175"></a>ground, where they are secured by the +bird-catcher.</p> + +<p>Another method largely resorted to is to tether a myna, or other +small bird, to a peg driven into the ground, and to stretch +before this a net, about three feet broad and six long, kept +upright by means of two sticks inserted in the ground. Sooner or +later a bird of prey will catch sight of the tethered bird, +stoop to it, and become entangled in the net.</p> + +<p>A third device is to catch a buzzard and tie together some of +the flight feathers of the wing, so that it can fly only with +difficulty and cannot go far before it falls exhausted to the +ground. To the feet of the bird of which the powers of flight +have been thus curtailed a bundle of feathers is tied. Among the +feathers several horsehair nooses are set. When a bird of prey, +of the kind on which the falconer has designs, is seen the +buzzard is thrown into the air. It flaps along heavily, and is +immediately observed by the falcon, which thinks that the +buzzard is carrying some heavy quarry in its talons. Now, the +buzzard is a weakling among the raptores and all the other birds +of prey despise it. Accordingly, the falcon, unmindful of the +proverb <a name="page176"></a>which says that honesty is the best policy, swoops down +on the buzzard with intent to commit larceny, and becomes +entangled in the nooses. Then both buzzard and falcon fall to +the ground, struggling violently. All that the bird-catcher has +to do now is to walk up and secure his prize.</p> + +<p>October marks the beginning of a lull in the nesting activities +of birds, a lull that lasts until February. As we have seen, the +nesting season of the birds that breed in the rains ends in +September, nevertheless a few belated crow-pheasants, sarus +cranes and weaver-birds are often to be found in October still +busy with nestlings, or even with eggs; the latter usually prove +to be addled, and this explains the late sitting of the parent. +October, however, is the month in which the nesting season of +the black-necked storks (<i>Xenorhynchus asiaticus</i>) begins, if +the monsoon has been a normal one and the rains have continued +until after the middle of September. This bird begins to nest +shortly after the monsoon rains have ceased. Hard-set eggs have +been taken in the beginning of September and as late as 27th +December. Most eggs are laid during the month of October. The +nest is a large <a name="page177"></a>saucer-shaped platform of twigs and sticks. Hume +once found one "fully six feet long and three broad." The nest +is usually lined with grass or some soft material and is built +high up in a tree. The normal number of eggs is four, these are +of a dirty white hue.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="page178"></a> +<h3><a name="november">NOVEMBER</a></h3> +<table width="100%" summary="november poem"> + <tr> + <td width="20%"></td> + <td width="60%"> + <small>It is the very carnival of nature,<br> + The loveliest season that the year can show!<br> + <br> + * + + * + + * + + * + + *<br> + <br> + The gently sighing breezes, as they blow,<br> + Have more than vernal softness. . . .</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right"> + B<small>ERNARD</small> B<small>ARTON</small>.</td> + <td></td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<br> +<p>The climate of Northern India is one of extremes. Six months ago +European residents were seeking in vain suitable epithets of +disapprobation to apply to the weather; to-day they are trying +to discover appropriate words to describe the charm of November. +It is indeed strange that no poet has yet sung the praises of +the perfect climate of the present month.</p> + +<p>The cold weather of Northern India is not like any of the +English seasons. Expressed in terms of the British climate it is +a dry summer, warmest at the beginning and the end, in which the +birds have forgotten to nest.</p> + +<p>The delights of the Indian winter are enhanced <a name="page179"></a>for the +Englishman by the knowledge that, while he lives beneath a +cloudless sky and enjoys genial sunshine, his fellow-men in +England dwell under leaden clouds and endure days of fog, and +mist, and rain, and sleet, and snow. In England the fields are +bare and the trees devoid of leaves; in India the countryside +wears a summer aspect.</p> + +<p>The sowings of the spring cereals are complete by the fifteenth +of November; those of the tobacco, poppy and potato continue +throughout the month. By the beginning of December most of the +fields are covered by an emerald carpet.</p> + +<p>The picking of the cotton begins in the latter part of October, +with the result that November is a month of hard toil for the +ponies that have to carry the heavy loads of cotton from the +fields into the larger towns. By the middle of the month all the +<i>san</i> has been cut and the water-nuts have been gathered in. +Then the pressing of the sugar-cane begins in earnest. The +little presses that for eight months have been idle are once +again brought into use, and, from mid-November until the end of +January, the patient village oxen work them, tramping <a name="page180"></a>in circles +almost without interruption throughout the short hours of +daylight.</p> + +<p>The custard-apples are ripening; the cork trees are white with +pendent jasmine-like flowers, and the loquat trees—the happy +hunting ground of flocks of blithe little white-eyes—put forth +their inconspicuous but strongly scented blossoms. Gay +chrysanthemums are the most conspicuous feature of the garden. +The shesham and the silk-cotton trees are fast losing their +leaves, but all the other trees are covered with foliage.</p> + +<p>The birds revel, like man, in the perfect conditions afforded by +the Indian winter; indeed, the fowls of the air are affected by +climate to a greater extent than man is.</p> + +<p>Those that winter in England suffer considerable hardship and +privation, while those that spend the cold weather in India +enjoy life to the uttermost.</p> + +<p>Consider the birds, how they fare on a winter's day in England +when there is a foot of snow lying on the ground and the keen +east wind whistles through the branches of the trees. In the lee +of brick walls, hayricks and thick hedges groups of disconsolate +birds stand, seeking some shelter from the piercing <a name="page181"></a>wind. The +hawthorn berries have all been eaten. Insect food there is none; +it is only in the summer time that the comfortable hum of +insects is heard in England. Thus the ordinary food supply of +the fowls of the air is greatly restricted, and scores of +field-fares and other birds die of starvation. The snow-covered +lawn in front of every house, of which the inmates are in the +habit of feeding the birds, is the resort of many feathered +things. Along with the robins and sparrows—habitual recipients +of the alms of man—are blackbirds, thrushes, tits, starlings, +chaffinches, rooks, jackdaws and others, which in fair weather +avoid, or scorn to notice, man. These have become tamed by the +cold, and, they stand on the snow, cold, forlorn and +half-starved—a miserable company of supplicants for food. +Throughout the short cold winter days scarcely a bird note is +heard; the fowls of the air are in no mood for song.</p> + +<p>Contrast the behaviour of the birds on a winter's day in India. +In every garden scores of them lead a joyful existence. Little +flocks of minivets display their painted wings as they flit +hither and thither, hunting insects on the leaves of trees. Amid +the foliage warblers, <a name="page182"></a>wood-shrikes, bulbuls, tree-pies, orioles +and white-eyes busily seek for food. Pied and golden-backed +woodpeckers, companies of nuthatches, and, here and there, a +wryneck move about on the trunks and branches, looking into +every cranny for insects. King-crows, bee-eaters, fantail and +grey-headed flycatchers seek their quarry on the wing, making +frequent sallies into the open from their leafy bowers. +Butcher-birds, rollers and white-breasted kingfishers secure +their victims on the ground, dropping on to them silently from +their watchtowers. Magpie-robins, Indian robins, redstarts and +tailor-birds likewise capture their prey on the ground, but, +instead of waiting patiently for it to come to them, they hop +about fussily in quest of it. Bright sunbirds flit from bloom to +bloom, now hovering in the air on rapidly-vibrating wings, now +dipping their slender curved bills into the calyces.</p> + +<p>On the lawn wagtails run nimbly in search of tiny insects, +hoopoes probe the earth for grubs, mynas strut about, in company +with king-crows and starlings, seeking for grasshoppers.</p> + +<p>Overhead, swifts and swallows dash joyously to and fro, feasting +on the minute <a name="page183"></a>flying things that are found in the air even on +the coolest days. Above them, kites wheel and utter plaintive +cries. Higher still, vultures soar in grim silence. Flocks of +emerald paroquets fly past—as swift as arrows shot from +bows—seeking grain or fruit.</p> + +<p>In the shady parts of the garden crow-pheasants look for snakes +and other crawling things, seven sisters rummage among the +fallen leaves for insects, and rose-finches pick from off the +ground the tiny seeds on which they feed.</p> + +<p>The fields and open plains swarm with larks, pipits, +finch-larks, lapwings, plovers, quail, buntings, mynas, crows, +harriers, buzzards, kestrels, and a score of other birds.</p> + +<p>But it is at the <a href="#jhil"><i>jhils</i></a> that bird life seems most abundant. On +some tanks as many as sixty different kinds of winged things may +be counted. There are the birds that swim in the deep water—the +ducks, teal, dabchicks, cormorants and snake-birds; the birds +that run about on the floating leaves of water-lilies and other +aquatic plants—the jacanas, water-pheasants and wagtails; the +birds that wade in the shallow water and feed on frogs or +creatures that lurk hidden in the mud—the <a name="page184"></a>herons, paddy-birds, +storks, cranes, pelicans, whimbrels, curlews, ibises and +spoonbills; the birds that live among sedges and reeds—the +snipe, reed-warblers, purple coots and water-rails. Then there +are the birds that fly overhead—the great kite-like ospreys +that frequently check their flight to drop into the water with a +big splash, in order to secure a fish; the kingfishers that dive +so neatly as barely to disturb the smooth surface of the lake +when they enter and leave it; the graceful terns that pick their +food off the face of the <i>jhil</i>; the swifts and swallows that +feed on the insects which always hover over still water.</p> + +<p>Go where we will, be it to the sun-steeped garden, the shady +mango grove, the dusty road, the grassy plain, the fallow field, +or among the growing crops, there do we find bird life in +abundance and food in plenty to support it.</p> + +<p>This is not the breeding season, therefore the bird choir is not +at its best, nevertheless the feathered folk everywhere proclaim +the pleasure of existence by making a joyful noise. From the +crowded <i>jhil</i> emanate the sweet twittering of the wagtails, the +clanging <a name="page185"></a>call of the geese, the sibilant note of the whistling +teal, the curious <i>a-onk</i> of the brahminy ducks, the mewing of +the jacanas and the quacking of many kinds of ducks. Everywhere +in the fields and the groves are heard the cawing of the crows, +the wailing of the kites, the cooing of the doves, the +twittering of the sparrows, the crooning of the white-eyes, the +fluting of the wood-shrikes, the tinkling of the bulbuls, the +chattering of the mynas, the screaming of the green parrots, the +golden-backed woodpeckers and the white-breasted kingfishers, +the mingled harmony and discord of the tree-pies, the sharp +monosyllabic notes of the various warblers, the melody of the +sunbirds and the flycatchers. The green barbets also call +spasmodically throughout the month, chiefly in the early morning +and the late afternoon, but the only note uttered by the +coppersmith is a soft <i>wow</i>. The hoopoe emits occasionally a +spasmodic <i>uk-uk-uk</i>.</p> + +<p>The migrating birds continue to pour into India during the +earlier part of November. The geese are the last to arrive, they +begin to come before the close of October, and, from the second +week of November onwards, <a name="page186"></a>V-shaped flocks of these fine birds +may be seen or heard overhead at any hour of the day or night.</p> + +<p>The nesting activities of the fowls of the air are at their +lowest ebb in November. Some thirty species are known to rear up +young in the present month as opposed to five hundred in May. In +the United Provinces the only nest which the ornithologist can +be sure of finding is that of the white-backed vulture.</p> + +<p>Some of the amadavats are still nesting. Most of the eggs laid +by these birds in the rains yielded young ones in September, but +it often happens that the brood does not emerge from the eggs +until the end of October, with the result that in the earlier +part of the present month parties of baby amadavats are to be +seen enjoying the first days of their aerial existence. A few +black-necked storks do not lay until November; thus there is +always the chance of coming upon an incubating stork in the +present month. Here and there a grey partridge's nest containing +eggs may be found. As has been said, the nesting season of this +species is not well-defined.</p> + +<p>The quaint little thick-billed mites known as white-throated +munias (<i>Munia malabarica</i>) <a name="page187"></a>are also very irregular as to their +nesting habits. Their eggs have been taken in every month of the +year except June.</p> + +<p>In some places Indian sand-martins are busy at their nests, but +the breeding season of the majority of these birds does not +begin until January.</p> + +<p>Pallas's fishing-eagle is another species of which the eggs are +likely to be found in the present month. If a pair of these +birds have a nest they betray the fact to the world by the +unmusical clamour they make from sunrise to sunset.</p> + +<p>The nesting season of the tawny eagle or wokab (<i>Aquila +vindhiana</i>) begins in November. The nest is a typical raptorial +one, being a large platform of sticks. It may attain a length of +three feet and it is usually as broad as it is long; it is about +six inches in depth. It is generally lined with leaves, +sometimes with straw or grass and a few feathers. It is placed +at the summit of a tree. Two eggs are usually laid. These are +dirty white, more or less speckled with brown. The young ones +are at first covered with white down; in this respect they +resemble baby birds of prey of other species. The man who +attempts to take the <a name="page188"></a>eggs or young of this eagle must be +prepared to ward off the attack of the female, who, as is usual +among birds of prey, is larger, bolder and more powerful than +the male. At Lahore the writer saw a tawny eagle stoop at a man +who had climbed a tree and secured the eagle's eggs. She seized +his turban and flew off with it, having inflicted a scratch on +his head. For the recovery of his turban the egg-lifter had to +thank a pair of kites that attacked the eagle and caused her to +drop that article while defending herself from their onslaught.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="page189"></a> +<h3><a name="december">DECEMBER</a></h3> +<table width="100%" summary="december poem"> + <tr> + <td width="20%"></td> + <td width="60%"> + <small>Striped squirrels raced; the mynas perked and pricked,<br> + The seven sisters chattered in the thorn,<br> + The pied fish-tiger hung above the pool,<br> + The egrets stalked among the buffaloes,<br> + The kites sailed circles in the golden air;<br> + About the painted temple peacocks flew.</small></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right"> + A<small>RNOLD</small>. <i>T<small>he</small> L<small>ight of</small> A<small>sia</small></i>.</td> + <td></td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<br> +<p>In the eyes of the Englishman December in Northern India is a +month of halcyon days, of days dedicated to sport under perfect +climatic conditions, of bright sparkling days spent at the duck +tank, at the snipe <a href="#jhil"><i>jhil</i></a>, in the <i>sal</i> forest, or among the +Siwaliks, days on which office files rest in peace, and the gun, +the rifle and the rod are made to justify their existence. Most +Indians, unfortunately, hold a different opinion of December. +These love not the cool wind that sweeps across the plains. To +them the rapid fall of temperature at sunset is apt to spell +pneumonia.</p> + +<p>The average villager is a hot-weather organism. He is content +with thin cotton <a name="page190"></a>clothing which he wears year in year out, +whether the mercury in the thermometer stand at 115° or +32°. However, many of the better-educated Indians have +learned from Englishmen how to protect themselves against cold; +we may therefore look forward to the time when even the poorest +Indian will be able to enjoy the health-bringing, bracing +climate of the present month.</p> + +<p>By the 1st December the last of the spring crops has been sown, +most of the cotton has been picked, and the husbandmen are busy +cutting and pressing the sugar-cane and irrigating the poppy and +the <a href="#rabi"><i>rabi</i></a> cereals.</p> + +<p>The crop-sown area is covered with a garment that, seen from a +little distance, appears to be made of emerald velvet. Its +greenness is intensified by contrast with the dried-up grass on +the grazing lands. In many places the mustard crop has begun to +flower; the bright yellow blooms serve to enliven the somewhat +monotonous landscape. In the garden the chrysanthemums and the +loquat trees are still in flower; the poinsettias put forth +their showy scarlet bracts and the roses and violets begin to +produce their fragrant flowers.</p> +<a name="page191"></a> +<p>The bird choir is composed of comparatively few voices. Of the +seasonal choristers the grey-headed flycatchers are most often +heard. The fantail flycatchers occasionally sing their cheerful +lay, but at this season they more often emit a plaintive call, +as if they were complaining of the cold.</p> + +<p>Some of the sunbirds are still in undress plumage; a few have +not yet come into song, these give vent only to harsh scolding +notes. From the thicket emanate sharp sounds—<i>tick-tick</i>, +<i>chee-chee</i>, <i>chuck-chuck</i>, <i>chiff-chaff</i>; these are the calls +of the various warblers that winter with us. Above the open +grass-land the Indian skylarks are singing at Heaven's gate; +these birds avoid towns and groves and gardens, in consequence +their song is apt to be overlooked by human beings. Very +occasionally the oriole utters a disconsolate-sounding <i>tew</i>; he +is a truly tropical bird; it is only when the sun flames +overhead out of a brazen sky that he emits his liquid notes. +Here and there a hoopoe, more vigorous than his fellows, croons +softly—<i>uk</i>, <i>uk</i>, <i>uk</i>. The coppersmith now and then gives +forth his winter note—a subdued <i>wow</i>; this is heard chiefly at +the sunset hour.</p> +<a name="page192"></a> +<p>The green barbet calls spasmodically throughout December, but, +as a rule, only in the afternoon. Towards the end of the month +some of the nuthatches and the robins begin to tune up. On +cloudy days the king-crows utter the soft calls that are usually +associated with the rainy season.</p> + +<p>December, like November, although climatically very pleasant, is +a month in which the activities of the feathered folk are at a +comparatively low ebb. The cold, however, sends to India +thousands of immigrants. Most of these spend the whole winter in +the plains of India. Of such are the redstart, the grey-headed +flycatcher, the snipe and the majority of the game birds. +Besides these regular migrants there are many species which +spend a few days or weeks in the plains, leaving the Himalayas +when the weather there becomes very inclement. Thus the +ornithologist in the plains of Northern India lives in a state +of expectancy from November to January. Every time he walks in +the fields he hopes to see some uncommon winter visitor. It may +be a small-billed mountain thrush, a blue rock-thrush, a +wall-creeper, a black bulbul, a flycatcher-warbler, a +green-backed tit, a <a name="page193"></a>verditer flycatcher, a black-throated or a +grey-winged ouzel, a dark-grey bush-chat, a pine-bunting, a +Himalayan whistling thrush, or even a white-capped redstart. +Indeed, there is scarcely a species which inhabits the lower +ranges of the Himalayas that may not be driven to the plains by +a heavy fall of snow on the mountains. Naturally it is in the +districts nearest the hills that most of these rare birds are +seen—but there is no part of Northern India in which they may +not occur.</p> + +<p>The nesting activity of birds in Upper India attains its zenith +in May, and then declines until it reaches its nadir in +November. With December it begins again to increase.</p> + +<p>Of those birds whose nests were described last month the +white-backed vulture, Pallas's fishing-eagle, the tawny eagle, +the sand-martin and the black-necked stork are likely to be +found with eggs or young in the present month.</p> + +<p>December marks the beginning of the nesting season for three +large owls—the brown fish-owl, the rock horned-owl and the +dusky horned-owl. The brown fish-owl (<i>Ketupa ceylonensis</i>) is a +bird almost as large as a kite. <a name="page194"></a>It has bright orange orbs and +long, pointed aigrettes. Its legs are devoid of feathers. +According to Blanford it has a dismal cry like <i>haw</i>, <i>haw</i>, +<i>haw</i>, <i>ho</i>. "Eha" describes the call as a ghostly hoot—a <i>hoo +hoo hoo</i>, far-reaching, but coming from nowhere in particular. +These two descriptions do not seem to agree. There is nothing +unusual in this.</p> + +<p>The descriptions of the calls of the nocturnal birds of prey +given by India ornithologists are notoriously unsatisfactory. +This is perhaps not surprising when we consider the wealth of +bird life in this country. It is no easy matter to ascertain the +perpetrators of the various sounds of the night, and, when the +naturalist has succeeded in fixing the author of any call, he +finds himself confronted with the difficult task of describing +the sound in question. Bearing in mind the way in which human +interjections baffle the average writer, we cannot be surprised +at the poor success that crowns the endeavours of the naturalist +to syllabise bird notes.</p> + +<p>As regards the call of the brown fish-owl the writer has been +trying for the past three or four years to determine by +observation which of the many nocturnal noises are to be +<a name="page195"></a>ascribed to this species. With this object he kept one of these +owls captive for several weeks; the bird steadfastly refused to +utter a sound. One hoot would have purchased its liberty; but +the bird would not pay the price: it sulked and hissed. The bird +in question, although called a fish-owl, does not live chiefly +on fish. Like others of its kind it feeds on birds, rats and +mice. Hume found in the nest of this species two quails, a +pigeon, a dove and a myna, each with the head, neck and breast +eaten away, but with the wings, back, feet and tail remaining +almost intact. "Eha" has seen the bird stoop on a hare. The +individual kept by the writer throve on raw meat. This owl is +probably called the fish-owl because it lives near rivers and +tanks and invariably nests in the vicinity of water. The nest +may be in a tree or on a ledge in a cliff. Sometimes the bird +utilises the deserted cradle of a fishing-eagle or vulture. The +structure which the bird itself builds is composed of sticks and +feathers and, occasionally, a few dead leaves. Two white eggs +are laid. The breeding season lasts from December to March.</p> + +<p>The rock horned-owl (<i>Bubo bengalensis</i>) is of <a name="page196"></a>the same size as +the fish-owl, and, like the latter, has aigrettes and +orange-yellow orbs, but its legs are feathered to the toes. This +owl feeds on snakes, rats, mice, birds, lizards, crabs, and even +large insects. "A loud dissyllabic hoot" is perhaps as good a +description of its call as can be given in words. This species +breeds from December to April. March is the month in which the +eggs are most likely to be found. The nesting site is usually a +ledge on some cliff overhanging water. A hollow is scooped out +in the ledge, and, on the bare earth, four white eggs are laid.</p> + +<p>The dusky horned-owl (<i>Bubo coromandus</i>) may be distinguished +from the rock-horned species by the paler, greyer plumage, and +by the fact that its eyes are deep yellow, rather than orange. +Its cry has been described as <i>wo</i>, <i>wo</i>, <i>wo</i>, <i>wo-o-o</i>. The +writer would rather represent it as <i>ur-r-r</i>, <i>ur-r-r</i>, +<i>ur-r-r-r-r</i>—a low grunting sound not unlike the call of the +red turtle-dove. This owl is very partial to crows. Mr. Cripps +once found fifteen heads of young crows in a nest belonging to +one of these birds. December and January are the months in which +to look for the nest, which is a platform <a name="page197"></a>of sticks placed in a +fork of a large tree. Two eggs are laid.</p> + +<p>The breeding season for Bonelli's eagle (<i>Hieraetus fasciatus</i>) +begins in December. The eyrie of this fine bird is described in +the calendar for January.</p> + +<p>In the Punjab many ravens build their nests during the present +month.</p> + +<p>Throughout January, February and the early part of March ravens' +nests containing eggs or young are likely to be seen.</p> + +<p>Ordinarily the nesting season of the common kite (<i>Milvus +govinda</i>) does not begin until February, but as the eggs of this +bird have been taken as early as the 29th December, mention of +it must be made in the calendar for the present month. A similar +remark applies to the hoopoe (<i>Upupa indica</i>).</p> + +<p>Doves nest in December, as they do in every other month.</p> + +<p>Occasionally a colony of cliff-swallows (<i>Hirundo flavicolla</i>) +takes time by the forelock and begins to build one of its +honeycomb-like congeries of nests in December. This species was +dealt with in the calendar for February.</p> + +<p>Blue rock-pigeons mostly nest at the beginning of the hot +weather. Hume, however, <a name="page198"></a>states that some of these birds breed as +early as Christmas Day. Mr. P. G. S. O'Connor records the +finding of a nest even earlier than that. The nest in question +was in a weir of a canal. The weir was pierced by five round +holes, each about nine inches in diameter. Through four of these +the water was rushing, but the fifth was blocked by debris, and +on this a pair of pigeons had placed their nest.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="page199"></a> +<h3><a name="glossary">GLOSSARY</a></h3> +<br> +<table width="100%" summary="glossary of hindi words"> + <tr> + <td valign="top"> + <a name="arhar"><i>Arhar</i></a>. + </td> + <td valign="top"> + A leguminous crop plant which attains a height of four + feet or more.<br><br> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top"> + <a name="chik"><i>Chik</i></a>. + </td> + <td valign="top"> + A curtain composed of a number of very thin strips of + wood. Chiks are hung in front of doors and windows in India with + the object of keeping out insects, but not air.<br><br> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top"> + <a name="holi"><i>Holi</i></a>. + </td> + <td valign="top"> + A Hindu festival.<br><br> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top"> + <a name="jhil"><i>Jhil</i></a>. + </td> + <td valign="top"> + A lake or any natural depression which is filled with + rain-water at all or in certain seasons.<br><br> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top"> + <a name="kharif"><i>Kharif</i></a>. + </td> + <td valign="top"> + Autumn. Rice and other crops which are reaped in + autumn are called <i>kharif</i> crops. Crops such as wheat which are + cut in spring are called <i>rabi</i> crops. Two crops (sometimes + three) are raised in India annually.<br><br> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top"> + <a name="megas"><i>Megas</i></a>. + </td> + <td valign="top"> + Sugar-cane from which the juice has been extracted.<br><br> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top"> + <a name="rabi"><i>Rabi</i></a>. + </td> + <td valign="top"> + Spring. See <a href="#kharif"><i>Kharif</i></a>.<br><br> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top"> + <a name="shikari"><i>Shikari</i></a>. + </td> + <td valign="top"> + One who goes hunting or shooting.<br><br> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top"> + <a name="tope"><i>Tope</i></a>. + </td> + <td valign="top"> + A term applied to a grove of mango trees, artificially + planted. Thousands of such topes exist in Northern India. In + some places they are quite a feature of the landscape.<br><br> + </td> + </tr> +</table> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h3><a name="index">INDEX</a></h3> +<br> +Amadavat. <i>See</i> <a href="#munia">Red munia</a><br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="babbler"></a> +Babbler, common (<i>Crateropus canorus</i>), +<a href="#page36">36,</a> +<a href="#page49">49,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page82">82,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page120">120,</a> +<a href="#page124">124,</a> +<a href="#page142">142,</a> +<a href="#page156">156,</a> +<a href="#page162">162,</a> +<a href="#page163">163,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +—large grey (<i>Argya malcomi</i>), +<a href="#page162">162</a><br> +<br> +Barbet, green (<i>Thereiceryx zeylonicus</i>), +<a href="#page7">7,</a> +<a href="#page20">20,</a> +<a href="#page53">53,</a> +<a href="#page66">66,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page82">82,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page106">106,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page121">121,</a> +<a href="#page138">138,</a> +<a href="#page155">155,</a> +<a href="#page168">168,</a> +<a href="#page185">185,</a> +<a href="#page192">192</a><br> +<br> +Baya. <i>See</i> <a href="#weaverbird">Weaver-bird</a><br> +<br> +Bee-eater, +<a href="#page3">3,</a> +<a href="#page73">73,</a> +<a href="#page74">74,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page120">120,</a> +<a href="#page125">125,</a> +<a href="#page139">139,</a> +<a href="#page157">157,</a> +<a href="#page169">169,</a> +<a href="#page172">172,</a> +<a href="#page182">182</a><br> +—blue-tailed (<i>Merops philippinus</i>), +<a href="#page43">43,</a> +<a href="#page89">89</a><br> +—little green (<i>M. viridis</i>), +<a href="#page43">43,</a> +<a href="#page89">89</a><br> +<br> +Blue Jay. <i>See</i> <a href="#roller">Roller</a><br> +<br> +Blue-throat, +<a href="#page172">172</a><br> +<br> +Brain-fever bird. <i>See</i> <a href="#cuckoo">Hawk-cuckoo</a><br> +<br> +Bulbul, +<a href="#page5">5,</a> +<a href="#page20">20,</a> +<a href="#page36">36,</a> +<a href="#page65">65,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page107">107,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page123">123,</a> +<a href="#page182">182,</a> +<a href="#page185">185</a><br> +—Bengal (<i>Molpastes bengalensis</i>), +<a href="#page47">47</a><br> +—black (<i>Hypsipetes psaroides</i>), +<a href="#page192">192</a><br> +—red-whiskered (<i>Otocompsa emeria</i>), +<a href="#page46">46</a><br> +<br> +Bunting, +<a href="#page40">40,</a> +<a href="#page41">41,</a> +<a href="#page172">172,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +—black-headed (<i>Emberiza melanocephala</i>), +<a href="#page41">41</a><br> +—pine (<i>Emberiza leucocephala</i>), +<a href="#page193">193</a><br> +—red-headed (<i>Emberiza luteola</i>), +<a href="#page41">41</a><br> +<br> +Buzzard, +<a href="#page175">175,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +—long-legged (<i>Buteo ferox</i>), +<a href="#page160">160</a><br> +—white-eyed (<i>Butastur teesa</i>), +<a href="#page30">30,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page69">69,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page160">160</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Chat, +<a href="#page3">3</a><br> +—brown-rock (<i>Cercomela fuscus</i>), +<a href="#page59">59,</a> +<a href="#page70">70,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page123">123,</a> +<a href="#page138">138</a><br> +—dark grey bush (<i>Oreicola ferrea</i>), +<a href="#page193">193</a><br> +—Indian bush (<i>Pratincola maura</i>), +<a href="#page42">42,</a> +<a href="#page172">172,</a> +<a href="#page173">173</a><br> +—pied bush (<i>Pratincola caprata</i>), +<a href="#page21">21,</a> +<a href="#page65">65,</a> +<a href="#page74">74,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page170">170</a><br> +<br> +Coot, common (<i>Fulica atra</i>), +<a href="#page135">135</a><br> +—purple (<i>Porphyrio poliocephalus</i>), +<a href="#page121">121,</a> +<a href="#page133">133,</a> +<a href="#page135">135,</a> +<a href="#page146">146,</a> +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +<br> +Coppersmith or crimson-breasted barbet (<i>Xantholaema +haematocephala</i>), +<a href="#page7">7,</a> +<a href="#page20">20,</a> +<a href="#page23">23,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page53">53,</a> +<a href="#page66">66,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page82">82,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page106">106,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page121">121,</a> +<a href="#page138">138,</a> +<a href="#page169">169,</a> +<a href="#page185">185,</a> +<a href="#page191">191</a><br> +<br> +Cormorant, +<a href="#page3">3,</a> +<a href="#page133">133,</a> +<a href="#page135">135,</a> +<a href="#page142">142,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +<br> +Crane, +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +—demoiselle (<i>Anthropoides virgo</i>), +<a href="#page167">167,</a> +<a href="#page171">171</a><br> +—sarus (<i>Grus antigone</i>), +<a href="#page5">5,</a> +<a href="#page98">98,</a> +<a href="#page133">133,</a> +<a href="#page143">143,</a> +<a href="#page156">156,</a> +<a href="#page176">176</a><br> +<br> +Creeper, wall, +<a href="#page192">192</a><br> +<br> +Crow, +<a href="#page13">13,</a> +<a href="#page36">36,</a> +<a href="#page69">69,</a> +<a href="#page119">119,</a> +<a href="#page156">156,</a> +<a href="#page169">169,</a> +<a href="#page183">183,</a> +<a href="#page185">185</a><br> +—black, or jungle crow or corby (<i>Corvus macrorhynchus</i>), +<a href="#page5">5,</a> +<a href="#page25">25,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89</a><br> +—house (<i>Corvus splendens</i>), +<a href="#page5">5,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page113">113,</a> +<a href="#page124">124,</a> +<a href="#page125">125,</a> +<a href="#page141">141,</a> +<a href="#page162">162</a><br> +<br> +Crow-pheasant or coucal (<i>Centropus sinensis</i>), +<a href="#page36">36,</a> +<a href="#page82">82,</a> +<a href="#page112">112,</a> +<a href="#page120">120,</a> +<a href="#page138">138,</a> +<a href="#page142">142,</a> +<a href="#page156">156,</a> +<a href="#page164">164,</a> +<a href="#page170">170,</a> +<a href="#page176">176,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +<br> +<a name="cuckoo"></a> +Cuckoo, European (<i>Cuculus canorus</i>), +<a href="#page66">66,</a> +<a href="#page80">80</a><br> +—hawk (<i>Hierococcyx varius</i>), +<a href="#page20">20,</a> +<a href="#page36">36,</a> +<a href="#page49">49,</a> +<a href="#page82">82,</a> +<a href="#page84">84,</a> +<a href="#page120">120,</a> +<a href="#page124">124,</a> +<a href="#page138">138,</a> +<a href="#page155">155,</a> +<a href="#page157">157,</a> +<a href="#page168">168</a><br> +—Indian (<i>Cuculus micropterus</i>), +<a href="#page85">85,</a> +<a href="#page120">120,</a> +<a href="#page138">138</a><br> +—pied crested (<i>Coccystes jacobinus</i>), +<a href="#page114">114,</a> +<a href="#page120">120,</a> +<a href="#page124">124,</a> +<a href="#page138">138,</a> +<a href="#page142">142,</a> +<a href="#page155">155,</a> +<a href="#page157">157,</a> +<a href="#page163">163</a><br> +—sirkeer (<i>Taccocua leschenaulti</i>), +<a href="#page124">124</a><br> +<br> +Cuckoo-shrike (<i>Grauculus macii</i>), +<a href="#page5">5,</a> +<a href="#page51">51,</a> +<a href="#page52">52,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page124">124,</a> +<a href="#page142">142,</a> +<a href="#page169">169</a><br> +<br> +Curlew, +<a href="#page171">171,</a> +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="dabchick"></a> +Dabchick, or little grebe (<i>Podiceps albipennis</i>), +<a href="#page150">150,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +<br> +Darter. <i>See</i> <a href="#snakebird">Snake-bird</a><br> +<br> +Dhayal. <i>See</i> <a href="#robin">Magpie-robin</a><br> +<br> +Did-he-do-it. <i>See</i> <a href="#lapwing">Red-wattled lapwing</a><br> +<br> +Dove, +<a href="#page8">8,</a> +<a href="#page9">9,</a> +<a href="#page21">21,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page54">54,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page123">123,</a> +<a href="#page156">156,</a> +<a href="#page162">162,</a> +<a href="#page169">169,</a> +<a href="#page174">174,</a> +<a href="#page185">185</a><br> +—little brown (<i>Turtur cambayensis</i>), +<a href="#page5">5</a><br> +—red turtle (<i>Oenopopelia tranquebarica</i>), +<a href="#page157">157,</a> +<a href="#page172">172</a><br> +—ring (<i>Turtur risorius</i>), +<a href="#page5">5</a><br> +—spotted (<i>Turtur suratensis</i>), +<a href="#page5">5</a><br> +<br> +<a name="drongo"></a> +Drongo or king-crow (<i>Dicrurus ater</i>), +<a href="#page3">3,</a> +<a href="#page36">36,</a> +<a href="#page38">38,</a> +<a href="#page43">43,</a> +<a href="#page77">77,</a> +<a href="#page90">90,</a> +<a href="#page107">107,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page120">120,</a> +<a href="#page121">121,</a> +<a href="#page138">138,</a> +<a href="#page157">157,</a> +<a href="#page169">169,</a> +<a href="#page170">170,</a> +<a href="#page182">182,</a> +<a href="#page192">192</a><br> +<br> +<a name="duck"></a> +Duck, +<a href="#page3">3,</a> +<a href="#page133">133,</a> +<a href="#page146">146,</a> +<a href="#page183">183,</a> +<a href="#page185">185</a><br> +—brahminy (<i>Casarca rutila</i>), +<a href="#page64">64,</a> +<a href="#page185">185</a><br> +—comb or nukta (<i>Sarcidiornis melanotus</i>), +<a href="#page115">115,</a> +<a href="#page135">135,</a> +<a href="#page143">143,</a> +<a href="#page149">149</a><br> +—gadwall (<i>Chaulelasmus streperus</i>), +<a href="#page64">64,</a> +<a href="#page171">171</a><br> +—mallard (<i>Anas boscas</i>), +<a href="#page64">64</a><br> +—pintail (<i>Dafila acuta</i>), +<a href="#page41">41,</a> +<a href="#page64">64,</a> +<a href="#page171">171</a><br> +—pochard (<i>Netta ferina</i>), +<a href="#page64">64,</a> +<a href="#page171">171</a><br> +—shoveller (<i>Spatula clypeata</i>), +<a href="#page171">171</a><br> +—spot-billed (<i>Anas poecilorhyncha</i>), +<a href="#page134">134,</a> +<a href="#page135">135</a><br> +—widgeon (<i>Mareca penelope</i>), +<a href="#page64">64,</a> +<a href="#page171">171</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Eagle, +<a href="#page21">21</a><br> +—Bonelli's (<i>Hieraetus fasciatus</i>), +<a href="#page10">10,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page197">197</a><br> +—Pallas's fishing (<i>Haliaetus leucoryphus</i>), +<a href="#page11">11,</a> +<a href="#page43">43,</a> +<a href="#page187">187,</a> +<a href="#page193">193</a><br> +—steppe (<i>Aquila bifasciata</i>), +<a href="#page160">160</a><br> +—tawny (<i>Aquila vindhiana</i>), +<a href="#page11">11,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page160">160,</a> +<a href="#page187">187,</a> +<a href="#page193">193</a><br> +<br> +Egret, +<a href="#page99">99,</a> +<a href="#page133">133,</a> +<a href="#page134">134,</a> +<a href="#page135">135,</a> +<a href="#page142">142</a><br> +—cattle (<i>Bubulcus coromandus</i>), +<a href="#page100">100,</a> +<a href="#page151">151</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Falcon, lugger (<i>Falco jugger</i>), +<a href="#page160">160</a><br> +—peregrine (<i>Falco peregrinus</i>), +<a href="#page160">160,</a> +<a href="#page161">161,</a> +<a href="#page174">174</a><br> +—shahin (<i>Falco peregrinator</i>), +<a href="#page174">174</a><br> +<br> +Finch, rose (<i>Carpodacus erythrinus</i>), +<a href="#page158">158,</a> +<a href="#page172">172,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +<br> +Finch-lark, ashy-crowned (<i>Pyrrhulauda grisea</i>), +<a href="#page28">28,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page56">56,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +<br> +Flycatcher, +<a href="#page3">3,</a> +<a href="#page185">185</a><br> +—fantail (<i>Rhipidura albifrontata</i>), +<a href="#page5">5,</a> +<a href="#page29">29,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page83">83,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page106">106,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page125">125,</a> +<a href="#page142">142,</a> +<a href="#page156">156,</a> +<a href="#page170">170,</a> +<a href="#page182">182,</a> +<a href="#page191">191</a><br> +—grey-headed (<i>Culicicapa ceylonensis</i>), +<a href="#page6">6,</a> +<a href="#page21">21,</a> +<a href="#page42">42,</a> +<a href="#page156">156,</a> +<a href="#page170">170,</a> +<a href="#page172">172,</a> +<a href="#page182">182,</a> +<a href="#page191">191,</a> +<a href="#page192">192</a><br> +—paradise (<i>Terpsiphone paradisi</i>), +<a href="#page42">42,</a> +<a href="#page43">43,</a> +<a href="#page77">77,</a> +<a href="#page92">92,</a> +<a href="#page107">107,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page123">123,</a> +<a href="#page157">157,</a> +<a href="#page172">172</a><br> +—red-breasted (<i>Siphia albicilla</i>), +<a href="#page172">172</a><br> +—verditer (<i>Stoparola melanops</i>), +<a href="#page42">42,</a> +<a href="#page193">193</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Gadwall. <i>See</i> <a href="#duck">Duck</a><br> +<br> +Goatsucker. <i>See</i> <a href="#nightjar">Nightjar</a><br> +<br> +Goose, +<a href="#page3">3,</a> +<a href="#page64">64,</a> +<a href="#page171">171,</a> +<a href="#page185">185</a><br> +—grey-lag (<i>Anser ferus</i>), +<a href="#page41">41</a><br> +<br> +Grebe. <i>See</i> <a href="#dabchick">Dabchick</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Harrier, +<a href="#page161">161,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +<br> +Hawk, sparrow, +<a href="#page160">160</a><br> +<br> +<a name="heron"></a> +Heron, +<a href="#page135">135,</a> +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +—night (<i>Nycticorax griseus</i>), +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page113">113,</a> +<a href="#page133">133,</a> +<a href="#page142">142</a><br> +—pond, or paddy-bird (<i>Ardeola grayii</i>), +<a href="#page99">99,</a> +<a href="#page113">113,</a> +<a href="#page134">134,</a> +<a href="#page142">142,</a> +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +<br> +Honeysucker. <i>See</i> <a href="#sunbird">Sunbird</a><br> +<br> +Hoopoe (<i>Upupa indica</i>), +<a href="#page7">7,</a> +<a href="#page17">17,</a> +<a href="#page20">20,</a> +<a href="#page23">23,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page83">83,</a> +<a href="#page97">97,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page170">170,</a> +<a href="#page182">182,</a> +<a href="#page185">185,</a> +<a href="#page191">191,</a> +<a href="#page197">197</a><br> +<br> +Hornbill, grey (<i>Lophoceros birostris</i>), +<a href="#page78">78,</a> +<a href="#page95">95,</a> +<a href="#page108">108</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Ibis, +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +—black (<i>Inocotis papillosus</i>), +<a href="#page135">135</a><br> +<br> +Iora (<i>Aegithina tiphia</i>), +<a href="#page35">35,</a> +<a href="#page65">65,</a> +<a href="#page71">71,</a> +<a href="#page72">72,</a> +<a href="#page83">83,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page106">106,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page121">121,</a> +<a href="#page123">123</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Jacana, +<a href="#page121">121,</a> +<a href="#page133">133,</a> +<a href="#page185">185</a><br> +—bronze-winged (<i>Metopus indicus</i>), +<a href="#page134">134,</a> +<a href="#page135">135,</a> +<a href="#page144">144,</a> +<a href="#page145">145,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +—pheasant-tailed (<i>Hydrophasianus chirurgus</i>), +<a href="#page114">114,</a> +<a href="#page135">135,</a> +<a href="#page144">144,</a> +<a href="#page145">145,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +<br> +Jackdaw, +<a href="#page3">3,</a> +<a href="#page172">172</a><br> +<br> +Jungle-fowl (<i>Gallus ferrugineus</i>), +<a href="#page108">108</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Kestrel, +<a href="#page160">160,</a> +<a href="#page161">161,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +<br> +King-crow. <i>See</i> <a href="#drongo">Drongo</a><br> +<br> +Kingfisher, +<a href="#page184">184,</a> +<a href="#page185">185</a><br> +—pied (<i>Ceryle rudis</i>), +<a href="#page27">27,</a> +<a href="#page44">44</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page88">88</a><br> +—white-breasted (<i>Halcyon smyrnensis</i>), +<a href="#page5">5,</a> +<a href="#page45">45,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page73">73,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page106">106,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page121">121,</a> +<a href="#page138">138,</a> +<a href="#page182">182</a><br> +<br> +Kite (<i>Milvus govinda</i>), +<a href="#page5">5,</a> +<a href="#page14">14,</a> +<a href="#page26">26,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page119">119,</a> +<a href="#page156">156,</a> +<a href="#page160">160,</a> +<a href="#page169">169,</a> +<a href="#page183">183,</a> +<a href="#page185">185,</a> +<a href="#page191">191</a><br> +—black-winged (<i>Elanus caeruleus</i>), +<a href="#page160">160</a><br> +—brahminy (<i>Haliastur indicus</i>), +<a href="#page56">56,</a> +<a href="#page68">68</a><br> +—large Indian (<i>Milvus melanotis</i>), +<a href="#page160">160</a><br> +<br> +Koel (<i>Eudynamis honorata</i>), +<a href="#page8">8,</a> +<a href="#page43">43,</a> +<a href="#page82">82,</a> +<a href="#page84">84,</a> +<a href="#page110">110,</a> +<a href="#page120">120,</a> +<a href="#page124">124,</a> +<a href="#page125">125,</a> +<a href="#page138">138,</a> +<a href="#page141">141,</a> +<a href="#page155">155,</a> +<a href="#page157">157,</a> +<a href="#page163">163,</a> +<a href="#page168">168</a><br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="lapwing"></a> +Lapwing, +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page123">123,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +—red-wattled (<i>Sarcogrammus indicus</i>), +<a href="#page5">5,</a> +<a href="#page77">77,</a> +<a href="#page88">88,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page139">139</a><br> +—yellow-wattled (<i>Sarciophorus malabaricus</i>), +<a href="#page77">77,</a> +<a href="#page89">89</a><br> +<br> +<a name="lark"></a> +Lark, crested (<i>Galerita cristata</i>), +<a href="#page21">21,</a> +<a href="#page56">56,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108</a><br> +—red-winged bush (<i>Mirafra erythroptera</i>), +<a href="#page123">123</a><br> +—sky (<i>Alauda gulgula</i>), +<a href="#page21">21,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page183">183,</a> +<a href="#page191">191</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Mallard. <i>See</i> <a href="#duck">Duck</a><br> +<br> +Martin, sand (<i>Cotyle sinensis</i>), +<a href="#page14">14,</a> +<a href="#page21">21,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page73">73,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page167">167,</a> +<a href="#page187">187,</a> +<a href="#page193">193</a><br> +<br> +Merlin, common (<i>Aesalon regulus</i>), +<a href="#page160">160,</a> +<a href="#page161">161</a><br> +—red-headed (<i>Aesalon chicquera</i>), +<a href="#page12">12,</a> +<a href="#page21">21,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page160">160</a><br> +<br> +Minivet, +<a href="#page51">51,</a> +<a href="#page158">158,</a> +<a href="#page172">172,</a> +<a href="#page181">181</a><br> +—little (<i>Pericrocotus peregrinus</i>), +<a href="#page52">52,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page125">125,</a> +<a href="#page142">142</a><br> +<br> +<a name="munia"></a> +Munia, +<a href="#page21">21</a><br> +—red or amadavat (<i>Estrelda amandava</i>), +<a href="#page15">15,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page124">124,</a> +<a href="#page140">140,</a> +<a href="#page156">156,</a> +<a href="#page186">186</a><br> +—white-throated (<i>Uroloncha malabarica</i>), +<a href="#page16">16,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page162">162,</a> +<a href="#page186">186</a><br> +<br> +Myna, +<a href="#page5">5,</a> +<a href="#page82">82,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page156">156,</a> +<a href="#page157">157,</a> +<a href="#page175">175,</a> +<a href="#page182">182,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +—bank (<i>Acridotheres ginginianus</i>), +<a href="#page59">59,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page94">94,</a> +<a href="#page123">123</a><br> +—brahminy (<i>Temenuchus pagodarum</i>), +<a href="#page73">73,</a> +<a href="#page94">94,</a> +<a href="#page124">124</a><br> +—common (<i>Acridotheres tristis</i>), +<a href="#page59">59,</a> +<a href="#page73">73,</a> +<a href="#page93">93,</a> +<a href="#page124">124,</a> +<a href="#page142">142,</a> +<a href="#page162">162,</a> +<a href="#page185">185</a><br> +—pied. <i>See</i> <a href="#starling">Pied Starling</a><br> +<br> +<br> +<a name="nightjar"></a> +Nightjar, +<a href="#page53">53,</a> +<a href="#page66">66,</a> +<a href="#page87">87,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108</a><br> +—Franklin's (<i>Caprimulgus monticolus</i>), +<a href="#page37">37,</a> +<a href="#page88">88</a><br> +—Horsfield's (<i>Caprimulgus horsfieldi</i>), +<a href="#page37">37,</a> +<a href="#page88">88,</a> +<a href="#page106">106</a><br> +—Indian (<i>Caprimulgus asiaticus</i>), +<a href="#page37">37,</a> +<a href="#page88">88</a><br> +<br> +Nuthatch (<i>Sitta castaneiventris</i>), +<a href="#page7">7,</a> +<a href="#page20">20,</a> +<a href="#page23">23,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page83">83,</a> +<a href="#page88">88,</a> +<a href="#page182">182,</a> +<a href="#page192">192</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Openbill (<i>Anastomus oscitans</i>), +<a href="#page142">142</a><br> +<br> +Oriole, +<a href="#page78">78,</a> +<a href="#page83">83,</a> +<a href="#page106">106,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page124">124,</a> +<a href="#page138">138,</a> +<a href="#page156">156,</a> +<a href="#page157">157,</a> +<a href="#page169">169,</a> +<a href="#page172">172,</a> +<a href="#page182">182,</a> +<a href="#page191">191</a><br> +—black-headed (<i>Oriolus melanocephalus</i>), +<a href="#page20">20,</a> +<a href="#page42">42</a><br> +—Indian (<i>Oriolus kundoo</i>), +<a href="#page42">42,</a> +<a href="#page90">90</a><br> +<br> +Osprey, +<a href="#page3">3,</a> +<a href="#page160">160,</a> +<a href="#page161">161,</a> +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +<br> +Ouzel, black-throated (<i>Merula atrigularis</i>), +<a href="#page193">193</a><br> +—grey-winged (<i>Merula boulboul</i>), +<a href="#page193">193</a><br> +<br> +Owl, +<a href="#page66">66,</a> +<a href="#page159">159</a><br> +—barn (<i>Strix flammea</i>), +<a href="#page29">29,</a> +<a href="#page49">49</a><br> +—brown fish (<i>Ketupa ceylonensis</i>), +<a href="#page14">14,</a> +<a href="#page21">21,</a> +<a href="#page44">44</a> +<a href="#page193">193,</a> +<a href="#page194">194,</a> +<a href="#page195">195</a><br> +—collared scops (<i>Scops bakkamaena</i>), +<a href="#page22">22,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page87">87</a><br> +—dusky horned (<i>Bubo coromandus</i>), +<a href="#page6">6,</a> +<a href="#page14">14,</a> +<a href="#page22">22,</a> +<a href="#page193">193,</a> +<a href="#page196">196</a><br> +—mottled wood (<i>Syrnium ocellatum</i>), +<a href="#page22">22,</a> +<a href="#page44">44</a><br> +—rock horned (<i>Bubo bengalensis</i>), +<a href="#page14">14,</a> +<a href="#page21">21,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page193">193,</a> +<a href="#page195">195</a><br> +<br> +Owlet, jungle (<i>Glaucidium radiatum</i>), +<a href="#page6">6,</a> +<a href="#page86">86,</a> +<a href="#page138">138,</a> +<a href="#page169">169</a><br> +—spotted (<i>Athene brama</i>), +<a href="#page6">6,</a> +<a href="#page53">53,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page86">86,</a> +<a href="#page88">88,</a> +<a href="#page98">98,</a> +<a href="#page118">118,</a> +<a href="#page138">138,</a> +<a href="#page169">169</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Paddy-bird. <i>See</i> <a href="#heron">Pond-heron</a><br> +<br> +<a name="paroquet"></a> +Paroquet or green parrot, +<a href="#page5">5,</a> +<a href="#page30">30,</a> +<a href="#page36">36,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page88">88,</a> +<a href="#page97">97,</a> +<a href="#page156">156,</a> +<a href="#page169">169,</a> +<a href="#page183">183,</a> +<a href="#page185">185</a><br> +—alexandrine (<i>Palaeornis eupatrius</i>), +<a href="#page31">31,</a> +<a href="#page44">44</a><br> +—rose-winged (<i>Palaeornis torquatus</i>), +<a href="#page31">31,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page53">53</a><br> +<br> +Parrot, green <i>See</i> <a href="#paroquet">Paroquet</a><br> +<br> +Partridge, black (<i>Francolinus vulgaris</i>), +<a href="#page98">98,</a> +<a href="#page107">107,</a> +<a href="#page138">138</a><br> +—grey (<i>Francolinus pondicerianus</i>), +<a href="#page76">76,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page97">97,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page162">162,</a> +<a href="#page186">186</a><br> +<br> +Pea-fowl (<i>Pavo cristatus</i>), +<a href="#page98">98,</a> +<a href="#page124">124,</a> +<a href="#page138">138,</a> +<a href="#page142">142,</a> +<a href="#page162">162</a><br> +<br> +Pelican, +<a href="#page3">3,</a> +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +<br> +Pie, tree (<i>Dendrocitta rufa</i>), +<a href="#page5">5,</a> +<a href="#page36">36,</a> +<a href="#page59">59,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page123">123,</a> +<a href="#page169">169,</a> +<a href="#page185">185</a><br> +<br> +Pigeon, blue rock (<i>Columba intermedia</i>), +<a href="#page17">17,</a> +<a href="#page22">22,</a> +<a href="#page69">69,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page197">197</a><br> +—green (<i>Crocopus phoenicopterus</i>), +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page123">123</a><br> +<br> +Pipit (<i>Anthus rufulus</i>), +<a href="#page56">56,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108</a><br> +<br> +Plover, +<a href="#page142">142,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +—little ringed (<i>Aegialitis dubia</i>), +<a href="#page89">89</a><br> +—spur-winged (<i>Hoplopterus ventralis</i>), +<a href="#page57">57,</a> +<a href="#page89">89</a><br> +—swallow (<i>Glareola lactea</i>), +<a href="#page57">57</a><br> +<br> +Pochard. <i>See</i> <a href="#duck">Duck</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Quail, +<a href="#page64">64,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +—grey (<i>Coturnix communis</i>), +<a href="#page159">159,</a> +<a href="#page172">172</a><br> +—rain (<i>Coturnix coromandelica</i>), +<a href="#page121">121</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Rail, water (<i>Rallus indicus</i>), +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +<br> +Raven, +<a href="#page3">3,</a> +<a href="#page14">14,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page197">197</a><br> +<br> +Redstart, Indian (<i>Ruticilla frontalis</i>), +<a href="#page158">158,</a> +<a href="#page167">167,</a> +<a href="#page172">172,</a> +<a href="#page173">173,</a> +<a href="#page182">182,</a> +<a href="#page192">192</a><br> +—white-capped (<i>Chimarrhornis leucocephalus</i>), +<a href="#page193">193</a><br> +<br> +<a name="robin"></a> +Robin, Indian (<i>Thamnobia cambayensis</i>), +<a href="#page21">21,</a> +<a href="#page35">35,</a> +<a href="#page59">59,</a> +<a href="#page65">65,</a> +<a href="#page76">76,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page123">123,</a> +<a href="#page182">182,</a> +<a href="#page191">191</a><br> +—magpie (<i>Copsychus saularis</i>), +<a href="#page8">8,</a> +<a href="#page35">35,</a> +<a href="#page65">65,</a> +<a href="#page73">73,</a> +<a href="#page74">74,</a> +<a href="#page83">83,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page106">106,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page120">120,</a> +<a href="#page121">121,</a> +<a href="#page123">123,</a> +<a href="#page138">138,</a> +<a href="#page155">155,</a> +<a href="#page182">182</a><br> +<br> +<a name="roller"></a> +Roller or "blue jay" (<i>Coracias indica</i>), +<a href="#page38">38,</a> +<a href="#page39">39,</a> +<a href="#page53">53,</a> +<a href="#page67">67,</a> +<a href="#page73">73,</a> +<a href="#page83">83,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page106">106,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page123">123,</a> +<a href="#page139">139,</a> +<a href="#page141">141,</a> +<a href="#page156">156,</a> +<a href="#page169">169,</a> +<a href="#page170">170,</a> +<a href="#page182">182</a><br> +<br> +Rook, +<a href="#page3">3,</a> +<a href="#page172">172</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Sand-grouse, +<a href="#page77">77,</a> +<a href="#page89">89</a><br> +<br> +Sandpiper, +<a href="#page171">171</a><br> +<br> +Seven Sisters. <i>See</i> <a href="#babbler">Babbler</a><br> +<br> +Shikra (<i>Astur badius</i>), +<a href="#page69">69,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page160">160</a><br> +<br> +Shoveller. <i>See</i> <a href="#duck">Duck</a><br> +<br> +Shrike, +<a href="#page38">38,</a> +<a href="#page50">50,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page123">123,</a> +<a href="#page142">142,</a> +<a href="#page182">182</a><br> +—bay-backed (<i>Lanius vittatus</i>), +<a href="#page51">51</a><br> +—large grey (<i>Lanius lahtora</i>), +<a href="#page21">21,</a> +<a href="#page32">32,</a> +<a href="#page50">50</a><br> +—rufous-backed (<i>Lanius erythronotus</i>), +<a href="#page51">51</a><br> +<br> +Skimmer, Indian (<i>Rhynchops albicollis</i>), +<a href="#page57">57</a><br> +<br> +Skylark. <i>See</i> <a href="#lark">Lark</a><br> +<br> +<a name="snakebird"></a> +Snake-bird (<i>Plotus melanogaster</i>), +<a href="#page3">3,</a> +<a href="#page133">133,</a> +<a href="#page135">135,</a> +<a href="#page142">142,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +<br> +Snipe, +<a href="#page3">3,</a> +<a href="#page64">64,</a> +<a href="#page139">139,</a> +<a href="#page158">158,</a> +<a href="#page172">172,</a> +<a href="#page184">184,</a> +<a href="#page192">192</a><br> +—fantail or full (<i>Gallinago coelestis</i>), +<a href="#page140">140</a><br> +—jack (<i>Gallinago gallinula</i>), +<a href="#page140">140</a><br> +—pintail (<i>Gallinago stenura</i>), +<a href="#page139">139</a><br> +<br> +Sparrow (<i>Passer domesticus</i>), +<a href="#page54">54,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page123">123,</a> +<a href="#page185">185</a><br> +—yellow-throated (<i>Gymnorhis flavicollis</i>), +<a href="#page43">43,</a> +<a href="#page73">73,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page157">157,</a> +<a href="#page172">172</a><br> +<br> +Spoonbill, +<a href="#page135">135,</a> +<a href="#page142">142</a><br> +<br> +<a name="starling"></a> +Starling, +<a href="#page3">3,</a> +<a href="#page172">172,</a> +<a href="#page182">182</a><br> +—pied (<i>Sternopastor contra</i>), +<a href="#page77">77,</a> +<a href="#page94">94,</a> +<a href="#page107">107,</a> +<a href="#page124">124,</a> +<a href="#page138">138,</a> +<a href="#page142">142,</a> +<a href="#page155">155,</a> +<a href="#page168">168</a><br> +—rosy (<i>Pastor roseus</i>), +<a href="#page36">36,</a> +<a href="#page40">40,</a> +<a href="#page139">139</a><br> +<br> +Stork, +<a href="#page171">171,</a> +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +—black-necked (<i>Xenorhynchus asiaticus</i>), +<a href="#page176">176,</a> +<a href="#page186">186,</a> +<a href="#page193">193</a><br> +—white-necked (<i>Dissura episcopus</i>), +<a href="#page113">113,</a> +<a href="#page124">124,</a> +<a href="#page135">135,</a> +<a href="#page142">142</a><br> +<br> +<a name="sunbird"></a> +Sunbird, purple (<i>Arachnechthra asiatica</i>), +<a href="#page3">3,</a> +<a href="#page6">6,</a> +<a href="#page8">8,</a> +<a href="#page20">20,</a> +<a href="#page24">24,</a> +<a href="#page36">36,</a> +<a href="#page43">43,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page65">65,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page106">106,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page123">123,</a> +<a href="#page156">156,</a> +<a href="#page157">157,</a> +<a href="#page170">170,</a> +<a href="#page172">172,</a> +<a href="#page182">182,</a> +<a href="#page185">185,</a> +<a href="#page191">191</a><br> +<br> +Swallow, +<a href="#page172">172,</a> +<a href="#page182">182,</a> +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +—Indian cliff (<i>Hirundo fluvicola</i>), +<a href="#page17">17,</a> +<a href="#page22">22,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page133">133,</a> +<a href="#page140">140,</a> +<a href="#page197">197</a><br> +—wire-tailed (<i>Hirundo smithii</i>), +<a href="#page54">54,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page124">124,</a> +<a href="#page125">125,</a> +<a href="#page142">142</a><br> +<br> +Swift (<i>Cypselus indicus</i>), +<a href="#page54">54,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page123">123,</a> +<a href="#page142">142,</a> +<a href="#page182">182,</a> +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Tailor-bird (<i>Orthotomus sutorius</i>), +<a href="#page5">5,</a> +<a href="#page59">59,</a> +<a href="#page65">65,</a> +<a href="#page72">72,</a> +<a href="#page82">82,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page124">124,</a> +<a href="#page169">169,</a> +<a href="#page182">182</a><br> +<br> +Teal, +<a href="#page3">3,</a> +<a href="#page64">64,</a> +<a href="#page143">143,</a> +<a href="#page171">171,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +—cotton (<i>Nettopus coromandelianus</i>), +<a href="#page121">121,</a> +<a href="#page135">135,</a> +<a href="#page148">148</a><br> +—garganey or blue-winged (<i>Querquedula circia</i>), +<a href="#page139">139,</a> +<a href="#page159">159,</a> +<a href="#page171">171</a><br> +—whistling (<i>Dendocygna javanica</i>), +<a href="#page185">185</a><br> +<br> +Tern, +<a href="#page57">57,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page142">142,</a> +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +—black-bellied (<i>Sterna melanogaster</i>), +<a href="#page57">57</a><br> +—river, (<i>Sterna seena</i>), +<a href="#page57">57</a><br> +<br> +Thrush, blue rock (<i>Petrophila cyanus</i>), +<a href="#page192">192</a><br> +—Himalayan whistling (<i>Myophoneus temmincki</i>), +<a href="#page193">193</a><br> +—small-billed mountain (<i>Oreocincla dauma</i>), +<a href="#page192">192</a><br> +<br> +Tit, green-backed (<i>Parus monticola</i>), +<a href="#page192">192</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Vulture, +<a href="#page21">21,</a> +<a href="#page159">159,</a> +<a href="#page183">183</a><br> +—Pondicherry or black (<i>Otogyps calvus</i>), +<a href="#page26">26,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page88">88</a><br> +—scavenger (<i>Neophron ginginianus</i>), +<a href="#page56">56,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89</a><br> +—white-backed (<i>Pseudogyps bengalensis</i>), +<a href="#page9">9,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page186">186,</a> +<a href="#page193">193</a><br> +<br> +<br> +Wagtail, +<a href="#page156">156,</a> +<a href="#page157">157,</a> +<a href="#page167">167,</a> +<a href="#page172">172,</a> +<a href="#page173">173,</a> +<a href="#page182">182,</a> +<a href="#page183">183,</a> +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +—grey (<i>Motacilla melanope</i>), +<a href="#page158">158</a><br> +—masked (<i>Motacilla personata</i>), +<a href="#page158">158</a><br> +—pied (<i>Motacilla maderaspatensis</i>), +<a href="#page59">59,</a> +<a href="#page65">65,</a> +<a href="#page74">74,</a> +<a href="#page89">89</a><br> +—white (<i>Motacilla alba</i>), +<a href="#page158">158</a><br> +—white-faced (<i>Motacilla leucopsis</i>), +<a href="#page158">158</a><br> +<br> +Warbler, +<a href="#page139">139,</a> +<a href="#page156">156,</a> +<a href="#page181">181,</a> +<a href="#page185">185,</a> +<a href="#page191">191</a><br> +—ashy wren (<i>Prinia socialis</i>), +<a href="#page124">124,</a> +<a href="#page132">132,</a> +<a href="#page142">142</a><br> +—flycatcher (<i>Cryptolopha xanthoschista</i>), +<a href="#page192">192</a><br> +—Indian wren (<i>Prinia inornata</i>), +<a href="#page48">48,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page124">124,</a> +<a href="#page131">131,</a> +<a href="#page142">142</a><br> +—reed (<i>Acrocephalus stentoreus</i>), +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +<br> +Water-hen, white-breasted (<i>Gallinula phoenicura</i>), +<a href="#page98">98,</a> +<a href="#page124">124,</a> +<a href="#page133">133,</a> +<a href="#page146">146</a><br> +<br> +<a name="weaverbird"></a> +Weaver-bird or baya (<i>Ploceus baya</i>), +<a href="#page114">114,</a> +<a href="#page127">127,</a> +<a href="#page142">142,</a> +<a href="#page163">163,</a> +<a href="#page176">176</a><br> +<br> +Whimbrel, +<a href="#page184">184</a><br> +<br> +White-eye (<i>Zosterops palpebrosa</i>), +<a href="#page5">5,</a> +<a href="#page65">65,</a> +<a href="#page71">71,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page123">123,</a> +<a href="#page180">180,</a> +<a href="#page182">182,</a> +<a href="#page185">185</a><br> +<br> +Widgeon. <i>See</i> <a href="#duck">Duck</a><br> +<br> +Woodpecker, golden-backed (<i>Brachypternus aurantius</i>), +<a href="#page5">5,</a> +<a href="#page53">53,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page106">106,</a> +<a href="#page108">108,</a> +<a href="#page121">121,</a> +<a href="#page182">182</a><br> +—pied (<i>Liopicus mahrattensis</i>), +<a href="#page28">28,</a> +<a href="#page44">44,</a> +<a href="#page53">53,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89,</a> +<a href="#page182">182</a><br> +<br> +Wood-shrike (<i>Tephrodornis pondicerianus</i>), +<a href="#page7">7,</a> +<a href="#page32">32,</a> +<a href="#page51">51,</a> +<a href="#page65">65,</a> +<a href="#page68">68,</a> +<a href="#page89">89</a> +<a href="#page170">170,</a> +<a href="#page182">182,</a> +<a href="#page185">185</a><br> +<br> +Wryneck, +<a href="#page182">182</a><br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h3>ANIMALS OF NO IMPORTANCE</h3> +<center>B<small>Y</small> DOUGLAS DEWAR</center> +<br> +<br> +<center>PRESS OPINIONS</center> + +<p><small><i>Nature</i>.—"We may commend the book as an excellent example of +'Nature teaching.'"</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Literary World</i>.—"Mr. Dewar makes us laugh while he teaches +us.... These twenty essays are in all ways delightful."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Saturday Review</i>.—"A number of excellent books on Natural +History ... proceed from Anglo-Indian authors; and certainly +this ... is worthy of its predecessors."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Academy</i>.—"A chatty anecdote book ... showing a sense of +humour and kindly insight ... many amusing stories."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Indian Daily News</i>.—"Brightly and cleverly written ... +pleasant and amusing reading."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Morning Post</i> (Delhi).—"A treasure-trove of literary art."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Madras Mail</i>.—"Mr. Dewar ... displays quite remarkable +knowledge and insight as well as a pretty wit.... Mr. Dewar's +volume is calculated to give delight to all who are interested +in the creatures of God's earth. Its humours will raise many a +smile, while its keenness and accuracy of observation should +induce many readers to study more closely the ... life ... +around them."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Civil and Military Gazette</i>.—"Shows the faculty of observation +as well as a pleasant style."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Englishman</i>.—"The reader will easily fall under the sway of +the writer's charms.... Mr. Dewar's book is as interesting as it +is entertaining."</small></p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h3>BOMBAY DUCKS</h3> +<center>AN ACCOUNT OF SOME OF THE EVERYDAY BIRDS AND BEASTS FOUND IN A +NATURALIST'S EL DORADO</center> +<br> +<center>B<small>Y</small> DOUGLAS DEWAR</center> +<center>I<small>LLUSTRATED BY</small> M<small>AJOR</small> F. D. S. FAYRER</center> +<br> +<br> +<center>PRESS OPINIONS</center> + +<p><small><i>Standard</i>.—"The book is entertaining, even to a reader who is +not a naturalist first and a reader afterwards.... The +illustrations cannot be too highly praised."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Daily News</i>.—"A charming introduction to a great many +interesting birds."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Scotsman</i>.—"Like a good curry, it is richly and agreeably +seasoned with a pungent humour."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Manchester Guardian</i>.—"A series of clever and accurate essays +on Indian Natural History written by a man who really knows the +birds and beasts."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Daily Chronicle</i>.—"A series of informing and often diverting +chapters."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Tribune</i>.—"Those who know India ... will find themselves +smiling again and again at the vivid recollection called up by +these descriptions."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Times</i>.—"A collection of bright popular papers by an observant +naturalist."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Pall Mall Gazette</i>.—"Most entertaining dissertations on the +tricks and manners of many birds and beasts in India."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Yorkshire Daily Observer</i>.—"This handsome and charming +book ... the author has many interesting observations to record, +and he does so in a very racy manner."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Spectator</i>.—"Mr. Douglas Dewar's book is excellent ... the +photographs of birds by Captain Fayrer ... are most remarkable."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Graphic</i>.—"Light and easy, yet full of information."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>County Gentleman</i>.—"Thoroughly interesting."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Illustrated London News</i>.—"Mr. Dewar ... has collected a +series of essays on bird life which for sprightliness and charm +are equal to anything written since that classic 'The Tribes on +my Frontier' was published."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Shooting Times</i>.—"... a more delightful work ... has not +passed through our hands for many a long day.... There is not a +dull line in the book, which is beautifully illustrated."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Truth</i>.—"... a naturalist with a happy gift for writing in a +bright and entertaining way, yet without any sacrifice of +scientific accuracy."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Outlook</i>.—"... the essays make pleasant reading.... We doubt +if anything better has been done in bird photography."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Pioneer</i>.—"... not only is the book very fascinating to read, +but most instructive."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Indian Daily News</i>.—"Mr. Dewar's excellent book ... +beautifully illustrated."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Indian Daily Telegraph</i>.—"Mr. Dewar's book is of the kind of +delightful volume which is always to be kept at hand and dipped +into."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Madras Mail</i>.—"Phil Robinson delighted a generation that knew +not 'Eha,' and now Mr. Dewar will complete a trio which, for +some time to come at least, will stand for all that is best in +that branch of literature which they have made their own."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Civil and Military Gazette</i>.—"A volume which is far the best +of its kind since the immortal works of Phil Robinson and +'Eha.'"</small></p> + +<p><small><i>The Indian Field</i>.—"... these charming chapters.... There is +not a dull paragraph in the whole book."</small></p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h3>BIRDS OF THE PLAINS</h3> +<center>B<small>Y</small> DOUGLAS DEWAR</center> +<br> +<br> +<center>PRESS OPINIONS</center> + +<p><small><i>Daily Chronicle</i>.—"Here is a work worthy of all commendation +to those who love birds."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Daily Graphic</i>.—"... a work which all bird lovers will +welcome ... beautifully illustrated."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Daily Express</i>.—"... light, sprightly and thoroughly +entertaining."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Globe</i>.—"Mr. Dewar ... is gifted with the descriptive art in a +high degree, and his vivacious style communicates the characters +and habits of the birds with unerring fidelity and infinite +spirit."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Sportsman</i>.—"Mr. Dewar has a delightfully simple and quaintly +humorous way of expressing himself, and his clever word-pictures +of bird-life make charming reading."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Manchester Guardian</i>.—"His breezy style is pleasant and easy +reading. The photographs deserve the highest praise."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Manchester Courier</i>.—"Mr. Dewar has produced a book that will +delight not only ornithologists, but all who have the good +fortune to light on this humorously instructive volume."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Western Morning News</i>.—"The book is enjoyable from the playful +preface to the last chapter."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Spectator</i>.—"... the contents are excellent."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Field</i>.—"... it may well stand on the same bookshelf with the +entertaining and instructive writings of 'Eha.'"</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Madame</i>.—"... accounts of many birds written in the author's +inimitable style."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Outlook</i>.—"... as charming a volume—avowedly ornithological— +as it has been our good fortune to encounter."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Sunday Times</i>.—"Mr. Dewar, like Goldsmith, has a delightful +style."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Pall Mall Gazette</i>.—"Mr. Dewar's volume is one of the best +recent examples of sound information conveyed in attractive +literary form."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Literary World</i>.—"Upon every page ... there is a merit to +justify the existence of the page."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Dundee Advertiser</i>.—"... just as good reading as ... 'Bombay +Ducks,' and to say so much is to bestow high praise."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Birmingham Post</i>.—"There is a gladness in his aspect, a +pleasing inquisitiveness concerning bird mystery, and a simple, +candid style of self-revelation in his essays full of +fascination, with touches now and again that remind one of the +descriptive qualities of Francis A. Knight. The wood-joy that +inspired the felicitous phrases and delightful reflections of +John Burroughs in the Western Hemisphere finds its counterpart +in these Indian bird-pictures."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Indian Field</i>.—"... not a volume that will grow dusty and +uncared for on a neglected shelf."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Times of India</i>.—"The book has a charm all its own, and is +written with rare humour, a humour that in no way detracts from +its scientific utility."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Englishman</i>.—"One of the most interesting books on bird-life +we have seen."</small></p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h3>INDIAN BIRDS</h3> +<center>A KEY TO THE COMMON BIRDS OF THE PLAINS OF INDIA</center> +<br> +<center>B<small>Y</small> DOUGLAS DEWAR</center> +<br> +<br> +<center>PRESS OPINIONS</center> + +<p><small><i>Pall Mall Gazette</i>.—"This practical and useful work ... is a +key to the everyday birds of the Indian plains, in which birds +are classified according to their habits and outward +differences ... and familiarity with these pages would enable +the average man in a few weeks to know all the birds he meets in +an Indian station."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Daily Mail</i>.—"The plan of this clever little volume ... is as +simple as it is ingenious.... It is a safe and thorough guide."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Athenæum</i>.—"Mr. Dewar is a capable guide."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Manchester Guardian</i>.—"... new, original and invaluable to the +beginner ... it is a small book, but it represents a wonderful +amount of thoughtful ingenuity and patient work."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Daily News</i>.—"We feel inclined to defy any Indian bird to hide +its identity from an enquirer armed with this volume."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Truth</i>.—"An admirable practical handbook of Indian +ornithology."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Scotsman</i>.—"Mr. Dewar's compact, clearly classified, concise +and comprehensive manual ... cannot but prove eminently +serviceable."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Spectator</i>.—"The book is most carefully compiled and much +ingenuity is displayed in framing this artificial analysis."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Western Daily Mercury</i>.—"A very interesting volume."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Manchester Courier</i>.—"All ornithologists in India ... will +appreciate and value 'Indian Birds.'"</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Literary Post</i>.—"... a model of all that such a book should +be."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Pioneer</i>.—"The plan of the book is unique.... It can be +heartily recommended."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Indian Field</i>.—"We can thoroughly recommend this book to all +not versed in ornithology and who wish to know our birds without +having to kill them."</small></p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h3>JUNGLE FOLK</h3> +<center>ACCOUNTS OF SOME OF THE SMALLER FRY OF THE INDIAN JUNGLE</center> +<br> +<center>B<small>Y</small> DOUGLAS DEWAR</center> +<br> +<br> +<center>PRESS OPINIONS</center> + +<p><small><i>Westminster Gazette</i>.—"Mr. Dewar writes brightly and cleverly +about these lesser jungle folk."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Scotsman</i>.—"... interesting and delightful."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Evening Standard</i>.—"The author ... writes not only out of the +fulness of his knowledge, but in a pleasant unpedantic style."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Liverpool Daily Post</i>.—"... most readable and enjoyable."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Sunday Times</i>.—"We give his book the highest praise possible +when we say that it will serve as a matter-of-fact commentary to +Mr. Kipling's 'Jungle Books.'"</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Irish Independent</i>.—"... a work of the most captivating +charm."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Outlook</i>.—"... pleasant little essays."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Literary World</i>.—"This lively book ... abounds in +word-pictures and happy humour."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Glasgow Evening News</i>.—"Mr. Douglas Dewar writes with +accustomed grace and sympathetic knowledge."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Academy</i>.—"... with Mr. Dewar there is a smile on every page, +and his touch is so light that one only realises, when the +process is at an end, that a large amount of information has +been imparted in an amusing form."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Western Morning News</i>.—"Every page makes for easy reading and +ready attention."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Shooting Times</i>.—"... delightful reading."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Catholic Herald</i>.—"Quite the most interesting natural history +work we have seen for a long time."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Manchester Courier</i>.—"Mr. Dewar's ... shrewd observation, his +quaint humour and his wide knowledge of Indian bird-life make +his every page interesting."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>The World</i>.—"We have read and enjoyed much of his work before, +but we think that 'Jungle Folk' makes even more delightful +reading than anything that has come from its author's pen."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Birmingham Daily Post</i>.—"... entertaining sketches ... and +light dissertations."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Times of India</i>.—"Mr. Dewar's bright and pleasant pages."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Madras Mail</i>.—"The reader who has perused Mr. Dewar's books +merely for amusement will find that he has incidentally added a +good deal to his knowledge of Indian natural history."</small></p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h3>GLIMPSES OF INDIAN BIRDS</h3> +<center>B<small>Y</small> DOUGLAS DEWAR</center> +<br> +<br> +<center>PRESS OPINIONS</center> + +<p><small><i>Globe</i>.—"Mr. Dewar gives us something more than 'glimpses' of +Indian bird-life in his very interesting volume."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Standard</i>.—"Not the least merit of the book is the author's +unwillingness to take anything for granted."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Spectator</i>.—"We know nothing better to recommend to an amateur +ornithologist who finds himself in India for the first time."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Guardian</i>.—"... vivid and delightful."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Observer</i>.—"... full of special knowledge."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Scotsman</i>.—"... a lively and interesting series of short +studies."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Daily Graphic</i>.—"The book is full of the right sort of +information about birds."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Field</i>.—"... chatty and graphically written."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Daily Citizen</i>.—"... very pleasant and very instructive +reading."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>The World</i>.—"We have read and enjoyed his earlier efforts, but +we think that his latest will be found the most valuable and +enduring of all his work."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Pall Mall Gazette</i>.—"... much first-hand observation and +experience."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Birmingham Daily Post</i>.—"These ... 'glimpses' ... so full of +alert observation and racy description, are delightful and +informing reading."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Newcastle Daily Chronicle</i>.—"... his accounts ... make us feel +that we have been with him in something more than the spirit."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Pioneer</i>.—"The charm of the volume ... lies in the evidence of +the immense amount of observation carried out by the writer."</small></p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h3>BIRDS OF INDIAN HILLS</h3> +<center>A GUIDE TO THE COMMON BIRDS OF THE INDIAN HILL STATIONS</center> +<br> +<center>B<small>Y</small> DOUGLAS DEWAR</center> +<br> +<br> +<center>PRESS OPINIONS</center> + +<p><small><i>Sunday Times</i>.—"Excellent is hardly good enough a term for +this volume."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Times</i>.—"Mr. Dewar writes accurately and vividly of his +selected group of birds in the Himalayas and Nilgiris, and adds +a list of those to be found in the Palni Hills."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Field</i>.—"Mr. Dewar gives short descriptions of the most +notable species, not in wearisome detail as affected by some +writers, but in a few sentences which carry enough to enable the +reader to recognise a bird when he sees it."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Aviatic Review</i>.—"... a very useful, compact little volume."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Pall Mall Gazette</i>.—"The book will appeal most of all to those +who have occasion to visit Indian hill stations."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Morning Post</i>.—"Now and again he gives us little pictures of +bird-life, which are pleasant proofs that he is, like M. Fabre, +a master of the new science that will not select the facts or +distort them to suit some splendid generalisation."</small></p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h3>THE MAKING OF SPECIES</h3> +<center>B<small>Y</small> DOUGLAS DEWAR <small>AND</small> FRANK FINN</center> +<br> +<center><i>WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS</i></center> +<br> +<center>A BOOK THAT BRINGS DARWINISM UP TO DATE</center> +<br> +<br> +PRESS OPINIONS + +<p><small><i>Truth</i>.—"'The Making of Species' will do much to arrest the +fossilisation of biological science in England."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Outlook</i>.—"... a book of knowledge and originality. Messrs. +Dewar and Finn are capable investigators. This work is +thoroughly characteristic of our day. A long volume full of +interest and very clearly written."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Literary World</i>.—"The book is certainly to be welcomed for the +concise way in which it deals with the greatest problem of +zoology."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Aberdeen Free Press</i>.—"The book is well written. We do not +doubt that the work will produce good fruit and attract +considerable attention."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Daily Telegraph</i>.—"Interesting and suggestive. It should +receive wide attention."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Dublin Daily Express</i>.—"The merits of the book are undoubtedly +great. We recommend it to the attentive study of all who are +interested in the subject of evolution."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Manchester Courier</i>.—"The amateur entering this perplexing +field could hardly have a better guide."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Nation</i>.—"An exceptionally interesting book."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Scotsman</i>.—"Impartial and awakening."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Bristol Mercury</i>.—"The authors ... handle a subject which has +an obvious controversial side with strength, and there are +convincing qualities as well as lucidity in the views so +admirably set forth."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Times</i>.—"The two authors ... deal suggestively with the +difficulties of natural selection ... and their arguments are +supported by a goodly array of facts."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Liverpool Courier</i>.—"Contains a great deal of well-marshalled +observation."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Lancet</i>.—"A very interesting book ... simply and clearly +written."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Dundee Advertiser</i>.—"... a book which is at the same time one +of the most interesting and readable on the controversial +aspects of natural history published in recent years."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>The Christian World</i>.—"This very interesting work."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Bristol Times</i>.—"A work of value, which will give occasion to +many to think, and an admirable presentation of facts."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Westminster Review</i>.—"... written in popular language and +contains many original observations."</small></p> + +<p><small><i>Daily Chronicle</i>.—"An interesting and suggestive book."</small></p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Bird Calendar for Northern India, by +Douglas Dewar + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A BIRD CALENDAR FOR NORTHERN INDIA *** + +***** This file should be named 18237-h.htm or 18237-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/2/3/18237/ + +Produced by Ron Swanson + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Bird Calendar for Northern India + +Author: Douglas Dewar + +Release Date: April 23, 2006 [EBook #18237] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A BIRD CALENDAR FOR NORTHERN INDIA *** + + + + +Produced by Ron Swanson + + + + + +_BY THE SAME AUTHOR_ +ANIMALS OF NO IMPORTANCE +THE INDIAN CROW: HIS BOOK +BOMBAY DUCKS +BIRDS OF THE PLAINS +INDIAN BIRDS +JUNGLE FOLK +GLIMPSES OF INDIAN BIRDS +BIRDS OF THE INDIAN HILLS + + +_IN COLLABORATION WITH FRANK FINN_ +THE MAKING OF SPECIES + + + + +A BIRD CALENDAR FOR NORTHERN INDIA + +BY DOUGLAS DEWAR + + + + +LONDON: W. THACKER & CO., CREED LANE, E.C. +CALCUTTA AND SIMLA: THACKER, SPINK & CO. +1916 + + + + +WM. BRENDON AND SON, LTD., PRINTERS, PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND. + + + + +I am indebted to the editor of _The Pioneer_ for permission to +republish the sketches that form this calendar, and to Mr. A. J. +Currie for placing at my disposal his unpublished notes on the birds +of the Punjab. + +Full descriptions of all the Indian birds of which the doings are +chronicled in this calendar are to be found in the four volumes of the +_Fauna of British India_ devoted to birds; popular descriptions of the +majority are given in my _Indian Birds_. + +D. D. + +HARROW, +_January 1916_. + + + + +CONTENTS + PAGE +JANUARY . . . . . . 1 +FEBRUARY . . . . . 18 +MARCH . . . . . . . 33 +APRIL . . . . . . . 61 +MAY . . . . . . . . 79 +JUNE . . . . . . . 103 +JULY . . . . . . . 116 +AUGUST . . . . . . 136 +SEPTEMBER . . . . . 152 +OCTOBER . . . . . . 165 +NOVEMBER . . . . . 178 +DECEMBER . . . . . 189 +GLOSSARY . . . . . 199 +INDEX . . . . . . . 201 + + + + +JANUARY + + Up--let us to the fields away, + And breathe the fresh and balmy air. + MARY HOWITT. + + +Take nine-and-twenty sunny, bracing English May days, steal from March +as many still, starry nights, to these add two rainy mornings and +evenings, and the product will resemble a typical Indian January. This +is the coolest month in the year, a month when the climate is +invigorating and the sunshine temperate. But even in January the sun's +rays have sufficient power to cause the thermometer to register 70 +degrees in the shade at noon, save on an occasional cloudy day. + +Sunset is marked by a sudden fall of temperature. The village smoke +then hangs a few feet above the earth like a blue-grey diaphanous +cloud. + +The cold increases throughout the hours of darkness. In the Punjab +hoar-frosts form daily; and in the milder United Provinces the +temperature often falls sufficiently to allow of the formation of thin +sheets of ice. Towards dawn mists collect which are not dispersed +until the sun has shone upon them for several hours. The vultures +await the dissipation of these vapours before they ascend to the upper +air, there to soar on outstretched wings and scan the earth for food. + +On New Year's Day the wheat, the barley, the gram, and the other +Spring crops are well above the ground, and, ere January has given +place to February, the emerald shoots of the corn attain a height of +fully sixteen inches. On these the geese levy toll. + +Light showers usually fall in January. These are very welcome to the +agriculturalist because they impart vigour to the young crops. In the +seasons when the earth is not blessed with the refreshing winter rain +men and oxen are kept busy irrigating the fields. The cutting and the +pressing of the sugar-cane employ thousands of husbandmen and their +cattle. In almost every village little sugar-cane presses are being +worked by oxen from sunrise to sunset. At night-time the country-side +is illumined by the flames of the _megas_ burned by the rustic +sugar-boilers. + +January is the month in which the avian population attains its +maximum. Geese, ducks, teal, pelicans, cormorants, snake-birds and +ospreys abound in the rivers and _jhils_; the marshes and swamps are +the resort of millions of snipe and other waders; the fields and +groves swarm with flycatchers, chats, starlings, warblers, finches, +birds of prey and the other migrants which in winter visit the plains +from the Himalayas and the country beyond. + +The bracing climate of the Punjab attracts some cold-loving species +for which the milder United Provinces have no charms. Conspicuous +among these are rooks, ravens and jackdaws. On the other hand, frosts +drive away from the Land of the Five Rivers certain of the feathered +folk which do not leave the United Provinces or Bengal: to wit, the +purple sunbird, the bee-eater and, to a large extent, the king-crow. + +The activity of the feathered folk is not at its height in January. +Birds are warm-blooded creatures and they love not the cold. +Comparatively few of them are in song, and still fewer nest, at this +season. + +Song and sound are expressions of energy. Birds have more vitality, +more life in them than has any other class of organism. They are, +therefore, the most noisy of beings. + +Many of the calls of birds are purposeful, being used to express +pleasure or anger, or to apprise members of a flock of one another's +presence. Others appear to serve no useful end. These are simply the +outpourings of superfluous energy, the expressions of the supreme +happiness that perfect health engenders. Since the vigour of birds is +greatest at the nesting season, it follows that that is the time when +they are most vociferous. Some birds sing only at the breeding season, +while others emit their cries at all times. Hence the avian choir in +India, as in all other countries, is composed of two sets of +vocalists--those who perform throughout the year, "the musicians of +all times and places," and those who join the chorus only for a few +weeks or months. The calls of the former class go far to create for +India its characteristic atmosphere. To enumerate all such bird calls +would be wearisome. For the purposes of this calendar it is necessary +to describe only the common daily cries--the sounds that at all times +and all seasons form the basis of the avian chorus. + +From early dawn till nightfall the welkin rings with the harsh caw of +the house-crow, the deeper note of the black crow or corby, the +tinkling music of the bulbuls, the cheery _keky_, _keky_, _kek_, +_kek_ ... _chur_, _chur_, _kok_, _kok_, _kok_ of the myna, the +monotonous _cuckoo-coo-coo_ of the spotted dove (_Turtur suratensis_), +the soft subdued _cuk-cuk-coo-coo-coo_ of the little brown dove (_T. +cambayensis_), the mechanical _ku-ku--ku_ of the ring-dove (_T. +risorius_), the loud penetrating shrieks of the green parrot, the +trumpet-like calls of the saras crane, the high-pitched _did-he-do-it_ +of the red-wattled lapwing, the wailing trill _chee-hee-hee-hee_ +_hee--hee_ of the kite, the hard grating notes and the metallic +_coch-lee_, _coch-lee_ of the tree-pie; the sharp _towee_, _towee_, +_towee_ of the tailor-bird, the soft melodious cheeping calls of the +flocks of little white-eyes, the _chit_, _chit_, _chitter_ of the +sparrow, the screaming cries of the golden-backed woodpecker, the +screams and the trills of the white-breasted kingfisher, the curious +harsh clamour of the cuckoo-shrike, and, last but by no means least, +the sweet and cheerful whistling refrain of the fan-tail flycatcher, +which at frequent intervals emanates from a tree in the garden or the +mango tope. Nor is the bird choir altogether hushed during the hours +of darkness. Throughout the year, more especially on moonlit nights, +the shrieking _kucha_, _kwachee_, _kwachee_, _kwachee_, _kwachee_ of +the little spotted owlet disturbs the silences of the moon. Few nights +pass on which the dusky horned owl fails to utter his grunting +hoot, or the jungle owlet to emit his curious but not unpleasant +_turtuck_, _turtuck_, _turtuck_, _turtuck_, _turtuck_, _tukatu_, +_chatuckatuckatuck_. + +The above are the commonest of the bird calls heard throughout the +year. They form the basis of the avian melody in India. This melody is +reinforced from time to time by the songs of those birds that may be +termed the seasonal choristers. It is the presence or absence of the +voices of these latter which imparts distinctive features to the +minstrelsy of every month of the year. + +In January the sprightly little metallic purple sunbird pours forth, +from almost every tree or bush, his powerful song, which, were it a +little less sharp, might easily be mistaken for that of a canary. + +From every mango tope emanates a loud "Think of me ... Never to be." +This is the call of the grey-headed flycatcher (_Culicicapa +ceylonensis_), a bird that visits the plains of northern India every +winter. In summer it retires to the Himalayas for nesting purposes. +Still more melodious is the call of the wood-shrike, which is +frequently heard at this season, and indeed during the greater part of +the year. + +Every now and again the green barbet emits his curious chuckling +laugh, followed by a monotonous _kutur_, _kutur_, _kuturuk_. At rare +intervals his cousin, the coppersmith, utters a soft _wow_ and thereby +reminds us that he is in the land of the living. These two species, +more especially the latter, seem to dislike the cold weather. They +revel in the heat; it is when the thermometer stands at something over +100 degrees in the shade that they feel like giants refreshed, and +repeat their loud calls with wearying insistence throughout the hours +of daylight. + +The nuthatches begin to tune up in January. They sing with more cheer +than harmony, their love-song being a sharp penetrating +_tee-tee-tee-tee-tee_. + +The hoopoe reminds us of his presence by an occasional soft +_uk-uk-uk_. His breeding season, like that of the nuthatch, is about +to begin. + +The magpie-robin or _dhayal_, who for months past has uttered no +sound, save a scolding note when occasion demanded, now begins to make +melody. His January song, however, is harsh and crude, and not such as +to lead one to expect the rich deep-toned music that will compel +admiration in April, May and June. + +Towards the end of the month the fluty call of the koel, another +hot-weather chorister, may be heard in the eastern portions of +northern India. + +Most of the cock sunbirds cast off their workaday plumage and assumed +their splendid metallic purple wedding garment in November and +December, a few, however, do not attain their full glory until +January. By the end of the month it is difficult to find a cock that +is not bravely attired from head to tail in iridescent purple. + +Comparatively few birds build their nests in January. Needless to +state, doves' nests containing eggs may be found at this season as at +all other seasons. It is no exaggeration to assert that some pairs of +doves rear up seven or eight broods in the course of the year. The +consequence is that, notwithstanding the fact that the full clutch +consists of but two eggs, doves share with crows, mynas, sparrows and +green parrots the distinction of being the most successful birds in +India. + +The nest of the dove is a subject over which most ornithologists have +waxed sarcastic. One writer compares the structure to a bundle of +spillikins. Another says, "Upset a box of matches in a bush and you +will have produced a very fair imitation of a dove's nursery!" +According to a third, the best way to make an imitation dove's nest is +to take four slender twigs, lay two of them on a branch and then place +the remaining two crosswise on top of the first pair. For all this, +the dove's nest is a wonderful structure; it is a lesson in how to +make a little go a long way. Doves seem to place their nurseries +haphazard on the first branch or ledge they come across after the +spirit has moved them to build. The nest appears to be built solely on +considerations of hygiene. Ample light and air are a _sine qua non_; +concealment appears to be a matter of no importance. + +In India winter is the time of year at which the larger birds of prey, +both diurnal and nocturnal, rear up their broods. Throughout January +the white-backed vultures are occupied in parental duties. The +breeding season of these birds begins in October or November and ends +in February or March. The nest, which is placed high up in a lofty +tree, is a large platform composed of twigs which the birds themselves +break off from the growing tree. Much amusement may be derived from +watching the struggles of a white-backed vulture when severing a tough +branch. Its wing-flapping and its tugging cause a great commotion in +the tree. The boughs used by vultures for their nests are mostly +covered with green leaves. These last wither soon after the branch has +been plucked, so that, after the first few days of its existence, the +nest looks like a great ball of dead leaves caught in a tree. + +The nurseries of birds of prey can be described neither as picturesque +nor as triumphs of architecture, but they have the great merit of +being easy to see. January is the month in which to look for the +eyries of Bonelli's eagles (_Hieraetus fasciatus_); not that the +search is likely to be successful. The high cliffs of the Jumna and +the Chambal in the Etawah district are the only places where the nests +of this fine eagle have been recorded in the United Provinces. Mr. A. +J. Currie has found the nest on two occasions in a mango tree in a +tope at Lahore. In each case the eyrie was a flat platform of sticks +about twice the size of a kite's nest. The ground beneath the eyrie +was littered with fowls' feathers and pellets of skin, fur and bone. +Most of these pellets contained squirrels' skulls; and Mr. Currie +actually saw one of the parent birds fly to the nest with a squirrel +in its talons. + +Bonelli's eagle, when sailing through the air, may be recognised by +the long, hawk-like wings and tail, the pale body and dark brown +wings. It soars in circles, beating its pinions only occasionally. + +The majority of the tawny eagles (_Aquila vindhiana_) build their +nests in December. By the middle of January many of the eggs have +yielded nestlings which are covered with white down. In size and +appearance the tawny eagle is not unlike a kite. The shape of the +tail, however, enables the observer to distinguish between the two +species at a glance. The tail of the kite is long and forked, while +that of the eagle is short and rounded at the extremity. The Pallas's +fishing-eagles (_Haliaetus leucoryphus_) are likewise busy feeding +their young. These fine birds are readily identified by the broad +white band in the tail. Their loud resonant but unmelodious calls make +it possible to recognise them when they are too far off for the white +tail band to be distinguished. + +This species is called a fishing-eagle; but it does not indulge much +in the piscatorial art. It prefers to obtain its food by robbing +ospreys, kites, marsh-harriers and other birds weaker than itself. So +bold is it that it frequently swoops down and carries off a dead or +wounded duck shot by the sportsman. Another raptorial bird of which +the nest is likely to be found in January is the _Turumti_ or +red-headed merlin (_Aesalon chicquera_). The nesting season of this +ferocious pigmy extends from January to May, reaching its height +during March in the United Provinces and during April in the Punjab. + +As a general rule birds begin nesting operations in the Punjab from +fifteen to thirty days later than in the United Provinces. Unless +expressly stated the times mentioned in this calendar relate to the +United Provinces. The nest of the red-headed merlin is a compact +circular platform, about twelve inches in diameter, placed in a fork +near the top of a tree. + +The attention of the observer is often drawn to the nests of this +species, as also to those of other small birds of prey and of the +kite, by the squabbles that occur between them and the crows. Both +species of crow seem to take great delight in teasing raptorial birds. +Sometimes two or three of the _corvi_ act as if they had formed a +league for the prevention of nest-building on the part of white-eyed +buzzards, kites, shikras and other of the lesser birds of prey. The +_modus operandi_ of the league is for two or more of its members to +hie themselves to the tree in which the victim is building its nest, +take up positions near that structure and begin to caw derisively. +This invariably provokes the owners of the nest to attack the black +villains, who do not resist, but take to their wings. The angry, +swearing builders follow in hot pursuit for a short distance and then +fly back to the nest. After a few minutes the crows return. Then the +performance is repeated; and so on, almost _ad infinitum_. The result +is that many pairs of birds of prey take three weeks or longer to +construct a nest which they could have completed within a week had +they been unmolested. + +Most of the larger owls are now building nests or sitting on eggs; a +few are seeking food for their offspring. As owls work on silent wing +at night, they escape the attentions of the crows and the notice of +the average human being. The nocturnal birds of prey of which nests +are likely to be found in January are the brown fish-owl (_Ketupa +ceylonensis_) and the rock and the dusky horned-owls (_Bubo +bengalensis_ and _B. coromandus_). The dusky horned-owl builds a stick +nest in a tree, the rock horned-owl lays its eggs on the bare ground +or on the ledge of a cliff, while the brown fish-owl makes a nest +among the branches or in a hollow in the trunk of a tree or on the +ledge of a cliff. + +In the Punjab the ravens, which in many respects ape the manners of +birds of prey, are now nesting. A raven's nest is a compact collection +of twigs. It is usually placed in an isolated tree of no great size. + +The Indian raven has not the austere habits of its English brother. It +is fond of the society of its fellows. The range of this fine bird in +the plains of India is confined to the North-West Frontier Province +Sind, and the Punjab. + +An occasional pair of kites may be seen at work nest-building during +the present month. + +Some of the sand-martins (_Cotyle sinensis_), likewise, are engaged in +family duties. The river bank in which a colony of these birds is +nesting is the scene of much animation. The bank is riddled with +holes, each of which, being the entrance to a martin's nest, is +visited a score of times an hour by the parent birds, bringing insects +captured while flying over the water. + +Some species of munia breed at this time of the year. The red munia, +or amadavat, or _lal_ (_Estrelda amandava_) is, next to the paroquet, +the bird most commonly caged in India. This little exquisite is +considerably smaller than a sparrow. Its bill is bright crimson, and +there is some red or crimson in the plumage--more in the cock than in +the hen, and most in both sexes at the breeding season. The remainder +of the plumage is brown, but is everywhere heavily spotted with white. +In a state of nature these birds affect long grass, for they feed +largely, if not entirely, on grass seed. The cock has a sweet voice, +which, although feeble, is sufficiently loud to be heard at some +distance and is frequently uttered. + +The nest of the amadavat is large for the size of the bird, being a +loosely-woven cup, which is egg-shaped and has a hole at or near the +narrow end. It is composed of fine grass stems and is often lined with +soft material. It is usually placed in the middle of a bush, sometimes +in a tussock of grass. From six to fourteen eggs are laid. These are +white in colour. This species appears to breed twice in the year--from +October to February and again from June to August. + +The white-throated munia (_Uroloncha malabarica_) is a dull brown +bird, with a white patch above the tail. Its throat is yellowish +white. The old name for the bird--the plain brown munia--seems more +appropriate than that with which the species has since been saddled by +Blanford. The nest of this little bird is more loosely put together +and more globular than that of the amadavat. It is usually placed low +down in a thorny bush. The number of eggs laid varies from six to +fifteen. These, like those of the red munia, are white. June seems to +be the only month in the year in which the eggs of this species have +not been found. In the United Provinces more nests containing eggs are +discovered in January than in any other month. + +Occasionally in January a pair of hoopoes (_Upupa indica_) steals a +march on its brethren by selecting a nesting site and laying eggs. +Hoopoes nest in holes in trees or buildings. The aperture to the nest +cavity is invariably small. The hen hoopoe alone incubates, and as, +when once she has begun to sit, she rarely, if ever, leaves the nest +till the eggs are hatched, the cock has to bring food to her. But, to +describe the nesting operations of the hoopoe in January is like +talking of cricket in April. It is in February and March that the +hoopoes nest in their millions, and call softly, from morn till eve, +_uk-uk-uk_. + +Of the other birds which nest later in the season mention must be made +in the calendar for the present month of the Indian cliff-swallow +(_Hirundo fluvicola_) and the blue rock-pigeon (_Columba intermedia_), +because their nests are sometimes seen in January. + + + + +FEBRUARY + + There's perfume upon every wind, + Music in every tree, + Dews for the moisture-loving flowers, + Sweets for the sucking-bee. + N. P. WILLIS. + + +Even as January in northern India may be compared to a month made up +of English May days and March nights, so may the Indian February be +likened to a halcyon month composed of sparkling, sun-steeped June +days and cool starlit April nights. + +February is the most pleasant month of the whole year in both the +Punjab and the United Provinces; even November must yield the palm to +it. The climate is perfect. The nights and early mornings are cool and +invigorating; the remainder of each day is pleasantly warm; the sun's +rays, although gaining strength day by day, do not become +uncomfortably hot save in the extreme south of the United Provinces. +The night mists, so characteristic of December and January, are almost +unknown in February, and the light dews that form during the hours of +darkness disappear shortly after sunrise. + +The Indian countryside is now good to look upon; it possesses all the +beauties of the landscape of July; save the sunsets. The soft emerald +hue of the young wheat and barley is rendered more vivid by contrast +with the deep rich green of the mango trees. Into the earth's verdant +carpet is worked a gay pattern of white poppies, purple linseed +blooms, blue and pink gram flowers, and yellow blossoms of mimosa, +mustard and _arhar_. Towards the end of the month the silk-cotton +trees (_Bombax malabarica_) begin to put forth their great red +flowers, but not until March does each look like a great scarlet +nosegay. + +The patches of sugar-cane grow smaller day by day, and in nearly every +village the little presses are at work from morn till eve. + +From the guava groves issue the rattle of tin pots and the shouts of +the boys told off to protect the ripening fruit from the attacks of +crows, parrots and other feathered marauders. Nor do these sounds +terminate at night-fall; indeed they become louder after dark, for it +is then that the flying-foxes come forth and work sad havoc among +fruit of all descriptions. + +The fowls of the air are more vivacious than they were in January. The +bulbuls tinkle more blithely, the purple sunbirds sing more lustily; +the _kutur_, _kutur_, _kuturuk_ of the green barbets is uttered more +vociferously; the nuthatches now put their whole soul into their loud, +sharp _tee-tee-tee-tee_, the hoopoes call _uk-uk-uk_ more vigorously. + +The coppersmiths (_Xantholaema haematocephala_) begin to hammer on +their anvils--_tonk-tonk-tonk-tonk_, softly and spasmodically in the +early days of the month, but with greater frequency and intensity as +the days pass. The brain-fever bird (_Hierococcyx varius_) announces +his arrival in the United Provinces by uttering an occasional +"brain-fever." As the month draws to its close his utterances become +more frequent. But his time is not yet. He merely gives us in February +a foretaste of what is to come. + +The _tew_ of the black-headed oriole (_Oriolus melanocephalus_), which +is the only note uttered by the bird in the colder months, is +occasionally replaced in February by the summer call of the species--a +liquid, musical _peeho_. In the latter half of the month the Indian +robin (_Thamnobia cambayensis_) begins to find his voice. Although not +the peer of his English cousin, he is no mean singer. At this time of +year, however, his notes are harsh. He is merely "getting into form." + +The feeble, but sweet, song of the crested lark or _Chandul_ is one of +the features of February. The Indian skylark likewise may now be heard +singing at Heaven's gate in places where there are large tracts of +uncultivated land. As in January so in February the joyous "Think of +me ... Never to be" of the grey-headed flycatcher emanates from every +tope. + +By the middle of the month the pied wagtails and pied bush chats are +in full song. Their melodies, though of small volume, are very sweet. + +The large grey shrikes add the clamour of their courtship to the avian +chorus. + +Large numbers of doves, vultures, eagles, red-headed merlins, martins +and munias--birds whose nests were described in January--are still +busy feeding their young. + +The majority of the brown fish-owls (_Ketupa ceylonensis_) and rock +horned-owls (_Bubo bengalensis_) are sitting; a few of them are +feeding young birds. The dusky horned-owls (_B. coromandus_) have +either finished breeding or are tending nestlings. In addition to the +nests of the above-mentioned owls those of the collared scops owl +(_Scops bakkamaena_) and the mottled wood-owl (_Syrnium ocellatum_) +are likely to be found at this season of the year. The scops is a +small owl with aigrettes or "horns," the wood-owl is a large bird +without aigrettes. + +Both nest in holes in trees and lay white eggs after the manner of +their kind. The scops owl breeds from January till April, while +February and March are the months in which to look for the eggs of the +wood-owl. + +In the western districts of the United Provinces the Indian +cliff-swallows (_Hirundo fluvicola_) are beginning to construct their +curious nests. Here and there a pair of blue rock-pigeons (_Colombia +intermedia_) is busy with eggs or young ones. In the Punjab the ravens +are likewise employed. + +The nesting season of the hoopoe has now fairly commenced. Courtship +is the order of the day. The display of this beautiful species is not +at all elaborate. The bird that "shows off" merely runs along the +ground with corona fully expanded. Mating hoopoes, however, perform +strange antics in the air; they twist and turn and double, just as a +flycatcher does when chasing a fleet insect. Both the hoopoe and the +roller are veritable aerial acrobats. By the end of the month all but +a few of the hoopoes have begun to nest; most of them have eggs, while +the early birds, described in January as stealing a march on their +brethren, are feeding their offspring. The 6th February is the +earliest date on which the writer has observed a hoopoe carrying food +to the nest; that was at Ghazipur. + +March and April are the months in which the majority of coppersmiths +or crimson-breasted barbets rear up their families. Some, however, are +already working at their nests. The eggs are hatched in a cavity in a +tree--a cavity made by means of the bird's bill. Both sexes take part +in nest construction. A neatly-cut circular hole, about the size of a +rupee, on the lower surface or the side of a branch is assuredly the +entrance to the nest of a coppersmith, a green barbet, or a +woodpecker. + +As the month draws to its close many a pair of nuthatches (_Sitta +castaneiventris_) may be observed seeking for a hollow in which to +nestle. The site selected is usually a small hole in the trunk of a +mango tree that has weathered many monsoons. The birds reduce the +orifice of the cavity to a very small size by plastering up the +greater part of it with mud. Hence the nest of the nuthatch, unless +discovered when in course of construction, is difficult to locate. + +All the cock sunbirds (_Arachnechthra asiatica_) are now in the full +glory of their nuptial plumage. Here and there an energetic little hen +is busily constructing her wonderful pendent nest. Great is the +variety of building material used by the sunbird. Fibres, slender +roots, pliable stems, pieces of decayed wood, lichen, thorns and even +paper, cotton and rags, are pressed into service. All are held +together by cobweb, which is the favourite cement of bird masons. The +general shape of the nest is that of a pear. Its contour is often +irregular, because some of the materials hang loosely from the outer +surface. + +The nursery is attached by means of cobweb to the beam or branch from +which it hangs. It is cosily lined with cotton or other soft material. +The hen, who alone builds the nest and incubates the eggs, enters and +leaves the chamber by a hole at one side. This is protected by a +little penthouse. The door serves also as window. The hen rests her +chin on the lower part of this while she is incubating her eggs, and +thus is able, as she sits, to see what is going on in the great world +without. She displays little fear of man and takes no pains to conceal +her nest, which is often built in the verandah of an inhabited +bungalow. + +As the month nears its end the big black crows (_Corvus +macrorhynchus_) begin to construct their nests. The site selected is +usually a forked branch of a large tree. The nest is a clumsy platform +of sticks with a slight depression, lined by human or horse hair or +other soft material, for the reception of the eggs. Both sexes take +part in incubation. From the time the first egg is laid until the +young are big enough to leave the nest this is very rarely left +unguarded. When one parent is away the other remains sitting on the +eggs, or, after the young have hatched out, on the edge of the nest. +Crows are confirmed egg-stealers and nestling-lifters, and, knowing +the guile that is in their own hearts, keep a careful watch over their +offspring. + +The kites (_Milvus govinda_) are likewise busy at their nurseries. At +this season of the year they are noisier than usual, which is saying a +great deal. They not only utter unceasingly their shrill +_chee-hee-hee-hee_, but engage in many a squabble with the crows. + +The nest of the kite, like that of the corby, is an untidy mass of +sticks and twigs placed conspicuously in a lofty tree. Dozens of these +nests are to be seen in every Indian cantonment in February and March. +Why the crows and the kites should prefer the trees in a cantonment to +those in the town or surrounding country has yet to be discovered. + +Mention has already been made of the fact that January is the month in +which the majority of the tawny eagles nest; not a few, however, defer +operations till February. Hume states that, of the 159 eggs of this +species of which he has a record, 38 were taken in December, 83 in +January and 28 in February. + +The nesting season of the white-backed vulture is drawing to a close. +On the other hand, that of the black or Pondicherry vulture (_Otogyps +calvus_) is beginning. This species may be readily distinguished from +the other vultures, by its large size, its white thighs and the red +wattles that hang down from the sides of the head like drooping ears. + +The nest of this bird is a massive platform of sticks, large enough to +accommodate two or three men. Hume once demolished one of these +vulturine nurseries and found that it weighed over eight maunds, that +is to say about six hundredweight. This vulture usually builds its +nest in a lofty _pipal_ tree, but in localities devoid of tall trees +the platform is placed on the top of a bush. + +February marks the beginning of the nesting season of the handsome +pied kingfisher (_Ceryle rudis_). This is the familiar, +black-and-white bird that fishes by hovering kestrel-like on +rapidly-vibrating wings and then dropping from a height of some twenty +feet into the water below; it is a bird greatly addicted to goldfish +and makes sad havoc of these where they are exposed in ornamental +ponds. The nest of the pied kingfisher is a circular tunnel or burrow, +more than a yard in length, excavated in a river bank. The burrow, +which is dug out by the bird, is about three inches in diameter and +terminates in a larger chamber in which the eggs are laid. + +Another spotted black-and-white bird which now begins nesting +operations is the yellow-fronted pied woodpecker (_Liopicus +mahrattensis_)--a species only a little less common than the beautiful +golden-backed woodpecker. Like all the Picidae this bird nests in the +trunk or a branch of a tree. Selecting a part of a tree which is +decayed--sometimes a portion of the bole quite close to the +ground--the woodpecker hews out with its chisel-like beak a neat +circular tunnel leading to the cavity in the decayed wood in which the +eggs will be deposited. The tap, tap, tap of the bill as it cuts into +the wood serves to guide the observer to the spot where the +woodpecker, with legs apart and tail adpressed to the tree, is at +work. In the same way a barbet's nest, while under construction, may +be located with ease. A woodpecker when excavating its nest will often +allow a human being to approach sufficiently dose to witness it throw +over its shoulder the chips of wood it has cut away with its bill. + +In the United Provinces many of the ashy-crowned finch-larks +(_Pyrrhulauda grisea_) build their nests during February. In the +Punjab they breed later; April and May being the months in which their +eggs are most often found in that province. These curious +squat-figured little birds are rendered easy of recognition by the +unusual scheme of colouring displayed by the cock--his upper parts are +earthy grey and his lower plumage is black. + +The habit of the finch-lark is to soar to a little height and then +drop to the ground, with wings closed, singing as it descends. It +invariably affects open plains. There are very few tracts of treeless +land in India which are not tenanted by finch-larks. The nest is a +mere pad of grass and feathers placed on the ground in a tussock of +grass, beside a clod of earth, or in a depression, such as a +hoof-print. The most expeditious way of finding nests of these birds +in places where they are abundant is to walk with a line of beaters +over a tract of fallow land and mark carefully the spots from which +the birds rise. + +With February the nesting season of the barn-owls (_Strix flammea_) +begins in the United Provinces, where their eggs have been taken as +early as the 17th. + +Towards the end of the month the white-browed fantail flycatchers +(_Rhipidura albifrontata_) begin to nest. The loud and cheerful song +of this little feathered exquisite is a tune of six or seven notes +that ascend and descend the musical scale. It is one of the most +familiar of the sounds that gladden the Indian countryside. The broad +white eyebrow and the manner in which, with drooping wings and tail +spread into a fan, this flycatcher waltzes and pirouettes among the +branches of a tree render it unmistakable. The nest is a dainty little +cup, covered with cobweb, attached to one of the lower boughs of a +tree. So small is the nursery that sometimes the incubating bird looks +as though it were sitting across a branch. This species appears to +rear two broods every year. The first comes into existence in March or +late February in the United Provinces and five or six weeks later in +the Punjab; the second brood emerges during the monsoon. + +The white-eyed buzzards--weakest of all the birds of prey--begin to +pair towards the end of the month. At this season they frequently rise +high above the earth and soar, emitting plaintive cries. + +The handsome, but destructive, green parrots are now seeking, or +making, cavities in trees or buildings in which to deposit their white +eggs. + +The breeding season for the alexandrine (_Palaeornis eupatrius_) and +the rose-ringed paroquet (_P. torquatus_) begins at the end of January +or early in February. March is the month in which most eggs are taken. + +In April and May the bird-catchers go round and collect the nestlings +in order to sell them at four annas apiece. Green parrots are the most +popular cage birds in India. Destructive though they be and a scourge +to the husbandman, one cannot but pity the luckless captives doomed to +spend practically the whole of their existence in small iron cages, +which, when exposed to the sun in the hot weather, as they often are, +must be veritable infernos. + +The courtship of a pair of green parrots is as amusing to watch as +that of any 'Arry and 'Arriet. Not possessing hats the amorous birds +are unable to exchange them, but otherwise their actions are quite +coster-like. The female twists herself into all manner of ridiculous +postures and utters low twittering notes. The cock sits at her side +and admires. Every now and then he shows his appreciation of her +antics by tickling her head with his beak or by joining his bill to +hers. + +Both the grey shrike and the wood-shrike begin nesting operations in +February. As, however, most of their nests are likely to be found +later in the year they are dealt with in the calendar for March. + + + + +MARCH + + And all the jungle laughed with nesting songs, + And all the thickets rustled with small life + Of lizard, bee, beetle, and creeping things + Pleased at the spring time. In the mango sprays + The sun-birds flashed; alone at his green forge + Toiled the loud coppersmith;... + ARNOLD, _The Light of Asia_. + + +In March the climate of the plains of the United Provinces varies from +place to place. In the western sub-Himalayan tracts, as in the Punjab, +the weather still leaves little to be desired. The sun indeed is +powerful; towards the end of the month the maximum shade temperature +exceeds 80 degrees, but the nights and early mornings are delightfully +cool. In all the remaining parts of the United Provinces, except the +extreme south, temperate weather prevails until nearly the end of the +month. In the last days the noonday heat becomes so great that many +persons close their bungalows for several hours daily to keep them +cool, the outer temperature rising to ninety in the shade. At night, +however, the temperature drops to 65 degrees. In the extreme south of +the Province the hot weather sets in by the middle of March. The sky +assumes a brazen aspect and, at midday, the country is swept by +westerly winds which seem to come from a titanic blast furnace. + +The spring crops grow more golden day by day. The mustard is the first +to ripen. The earlier-sown fields are harvested in March in the +eastern and southern parts of the country. The spring cereals are cut +by hand sickles, the grain is then husked by the tramping of cattle, +and, lastly, the chaff is separated from the grain on the threshing +floor, the hot burning wind often acting as a natural winnowing fan. + +The air is heavily scented with the inconspicuous inflorescences of +the mangos (_Mangifera indica_). The pipals (_Ficus religiosa_) are +shedding their leaves; the _sheshams_ (_Dalbergia sissoo_) are +assuming their emerald spring foliage. + +The garden, the jungle and the forest are beautified by the gorgeous +reds of the flowers of the silk-cotton tree (_Bombax malabarica_), the +Indian coral tree (_Erythrina indica_) and the flame-of-the-forest +(_Butea frondosa_). The sub-Himalayan forests become yellow-tinted +owing to the fading of the leaves of the _sal_ (_Shorea robusta_), +many of which are shed in March. The _sal_, however, is never entirely +leafless; the young foliage appears as the old drops off; while this +change is taking place the minute pale yellow flowers open out. + +The familiar yellow wasps, which have been hibernating during the cold +weather, emerge from their hiding-places and begin to construct their +umbrella-shaped nests or combs, which look as if they were made of +rice-paper. + +March is a month of great activity for the birds. Those that +constituted the avian chorus of February continue to sing, and to +their voices are now added those of many other minstrels. Chief of +these is the pied singer of Ind--the magpie-robin or _dhayal_--whose +song is as beautiful as that of the English robin at his best. From +the housetops the brown rock-chat begins to pour forth his exceedingly +sweet lay. The Indian robin is in full song. The little golden ioras, +hidden away amid dense foliage, utter their many joyful sounds. The +brain-fever bird grows more vociferous day by day. The crow-pheasants, +which have been comparatively silent during the colder months of the +year, now begin to utter their low sonorous _whoot_, _whoot_, _whoot_, +which is heard chiefly at dawn. + +Everywhere the birds are joyful and noisy; nowhere more so than at the +silk-cotton and the coral trees. These, although botanically very +different, display many features in common. They begin to lose their +leaves soon after the monsoon is over, and are leafless by the end of +the winter. In the early spring, while the tree is still devoid of +foliage, huge scarlet, crimson or yellow flowers emerge from every +branch. Each flower is plentifully supplied with honey; it is a +flowing bowl of which all are invited to partake, and hundreds of +thousands of birds accept the invitation with right good-will. The +scene at each of these trees, when in full flower, baffles +description. + +Scores of birds forgather there--rosy starlings, mynas, babblers, +bulbuls, king-crows, tree-pies, green parrots, sunbirds and crows. +These all drink riotously and revel so loudly that the sound may be +heard at a distance of half a mile or more. Even before the sun has +risen and begun to dispel the pleasant coolness of the night the +drinking begins. It continues throughout the hours of daylight. +Towards midday, when the west wind blows very hot, it flags somewhat, +but even when the temperature is nearer 100 degrees than 90 degrees +some avian brawlers are present. As soon as the first touch of the +afternoon coolness is felt the clamour acquires fresh vigour and does +not cease until the sun has set in a dusty haze, and the spotted +owlets have emerged and begun to cackle and call as is their wont. + +These last are by no means the only birds that hold concert parties +during the hours of darkness. In open country the jungle owlet and the +dusky-horned owl call at intervals, and the Indian nightjar +(_Caprimulgus asiaticus_) imitates the sound of a stone skimming over +ice. In the forest tracts Franklin's and Horsfield's nightjars make +the welkin ring. Scarce has the sun disappeared below the horizon when +the former issues forth and utters its harsh _tweet_. Horsfield's +nightjar emerges a few minutes later, and, for some hours after dusk +and for several before dawn, it utters incessantly its loud monotonous +_chuck_, _chuck_, _chuck_, _chuck_, _chuck_, which has been aptly +compared to the sound made by striking a plank sharply with a hammer. + +March is the month in which the majority of the shrikes or +butcher-birds go a-courting. There is no false modesty about +butcher-birds. They are not ashamed to introduce their unmelodious +calls into the avian chorus. But they are mild offenders in comparison +with the king-crows (_Dicrurus ater_) and the rollers (_Coracias +indica_). + +The little black king-crows are at all seasons noisy and vivacious: +from the end of February until the rains have set in they are +positively uproarious. Two or three of them love to sit on a telegraph +wire, or a bare branch of a tree, and hold a concert. The first +performer draws itself up to its full height and then gives vent to +harsh cries. Before it has had time to deliver itself of all it has to +sing, an impatient neighbour joins in and tries to shout it down. The +concert may last for half an hour or longer; the scene is shifted from +time to time as the participants become too excited to sit still. The +king-crows so engaged appear to be selecting their mates; nevertheless +nest-construction does not begin before the end of April. + +Some human beings may fail to notice the courtship of the king-crow, +but none can be so deaf and blind as to miss the love-making of the +gorgeous roller or blue jay. Has not everyone marvelled at the hoarse +cries and rasping screams which emanate from these birds as they fling +themselves into the air and ascend and descend as though they were +being tossed about by unseen hands? + +Their wonderful aerial performances go on continually in the hours of +daylight throughout the months of March and April; at this season the +birds, beautiful although they be, are a veritable nuisance, and most +people gratefully welcome the comparative quiet that supervenes after +the eggs have been laid. The madness of the March hare is mild +compared with that of the March roller. It is difficult to realise +that the harsh and angry-sounding cries of these birds denote, not +rage, but joy. + +The great exodus of the winter visitors from the plains of India +begins in March. It continues until mid-May, by which time the last of +the migratory birds will have reached its distant breeding ground. + +This exodus is usually preceded by the gathering into flocks of the +rose-coloured starlings and the corn-buntings. Large noisy +congregations of these birds are a striking feature of February in +Bombay, of March in the United Provinces, and of April in the Punjab. + +Rose-coloured starlings spend most of their lives in the plains of +India, going to Asia Minor for a few months each summer for nesting +purposes. In the autumn they spread themselves over the greater part +of Hindustan, most abundantly in the Deccan. + +In the third or fourth week of February the rosy starlings of Bombay +begin to form flocks. These make merry among the flowers of the coral +tree, which appear first in South India, and last in the Punjab. The +noisy flocks journey northwards in a leisurely manner, timing their +arrival at each place simultaneously with the flowering of the coral +trees. They feed on the nectar provided by these flowers and those of +the silk-cotton tree. They also take toll of the ripening corn and of +the mulberries which are now in season. Thus the rosy starlings reach +Allahabad about the second week in March, and Lahore some fifteen days +later. + +The head, neck, breast, wings and tail of the rosy starling are glossy +black, and the remainder of the plumage is pale salmon in the hen and +the young cock, and faint rose-colour in the adult cock. + +Rosy starlings feed chiefly in the morning and the late afternoon. +During the hottest part of the day they perch in trees and hold a +concert, if such a term may be applied to a torrent of sibilant +twitter. + +Buntings, like rosy starlings, are social birds, and are very +destructive to grain crops. + +As these last are harvested the feeding area of the buntings becomes +restricted, so that eventually every patch of standing crop is alive +with buntings. The spring cereals ripen in the south earlier than in +northern India, so that the cheerful buntings are able to perform +their migratory journey by easy stages and find abundant food all +along the route. + +There are two species of corn-bunting--the red-headed (_Emberiza +luteola_) and the black-headed (_E. melanocephala_). In both the lower +plumage is bright yellow. + +Among the earliest of the birds to forsake the plains of Hindustan are +the grey-lag goose and the pintail duck. These leave Bengal in +February, but tarry longer in the cooler parts of the country. Of the +other migratory species many individuals depart in March, but the +greater number remain on into April, when they are caught up in the +great migratory wave that surges over the country. The destination of +the majority of these migrants is Tibet or Siberia, but a few are +satisfied with the cool slopes of the Himalayas as a summer resort in +which to busy themselves with the sweet cares of nesting. Examples of +these more local migrants are the grey-headed and the verditer +flycatchers, the Indian bush-chat and, to some extent, the paradise +flycatcher and the Indian oriole. The case of the oriole is +interesting. All the Indian orioles (_Oriolus kundoo_) disappear from +the Punjab and the United Provinces in winter. In the former province +no other oriole replaces _O. kundoo_, but in the United Provinces the +black-headed oriole (_O. melanocephalus_) comes to take the place of +the other from October to March. When this last returns to the United +Provinces in March the greater number of _melanocephalus_ individuals +go east, a few only remaining in the sub-Himalayan tracts of the +province. + +The Indian oriole is not the only species which finds the climate of +the United Provinces too severe for it in winter; the koel and the +paradise flycatcher likewise desert us in the coldest months. From the +less temperate Punjab several species migrate in October which manage +to maintain themselves in the United Provinces throughout the year: +these are the purple sunbird, the little green and the blue-tailed +bee-eaters, and the yellow-throated sparrow. The return of these and +the other migrant species to the Punjab in March is as marked a +phenomenon as is the arrival of the swallow and the cuckoo in England +in spring. + +The behaviour of the king-crows shows the marked effect a +comparatively small difference of temperature may exert on the habits +of some birds. In the United Provinces the king-crows appear to be as +numerous in winter as in summer: in the Punjab they are very plentiful +in summer, but rare in the cold weather; while not a single king-crow +winters in the N.-W. Frontier Province. + +Of the birds of which the nests were described in January and February +the Pallas's fishing eagles have sent their nestlings into the world +to fend for themselves. + +In the case of the following birds the breeding season is fast drawing +to its close:--the dusky horned-owl, the white-backed vulture, +Bonelli's eagle, the tawny eagle, the brown fish-owl, the rock +horned-owl, the raven, the amadavat and the white-throated munia. + +The nesting season is at its height for all the other birds of which +the nests have been described, namely, most species of dove, the +jungle crow, the red-headed merlin, the purple sunbird, the nuthatch, +the fantail flycatcher, the finch-lark, the pied woodpecker, the +coppersmith, the alexandrine and the rose-ringed paroquet, the +white-eyed buzzard, the collared scops and the mottled wood-owl, the +kite, the black vulture and the pied kingfisher. + +The sand-martins breed from October to May, consequently their nests, +containing eggs or young, are frequently taken in March. Mention was +made in January and February of the Indian cliff-swallow (_Hirundo +fluvicola_). This species is not found in the eastern districts of the +United Provinces, but it is the common swallow of the western +districts. The head is dull chestnut. The back and shoulders are +glistening steel-blue. The remainder of the upper plumage is brown. +The lower parts are white with brown streaks, which are most apparent +on the throat and upper breast. These swallows normally nest at two +seasons of the year--from February till April and in July or August. + +They breed in colonies. The mud nests are spherical or oval with an +entrance tube from two to six inches long. The nests are invariably +attached to a cliff or building, and, although isolated ones are built +sometimes, they usually occur in clusters, as many as two hundred have +been counted in one cluster. In such a case a section cut parallel to +the surface to which the nests are attached looks like that of a huge +honeycomb composed of cells four inches in diameter--cells of a kind +that one could expect to be built by bees that had partaken of Mr. H. +G. Wells' "food of the gods." + +The beautiful white-breasted kingfisher, (_Halcyon smyrnensis_) is now +busy at its nest. + +This species spends most of its life in shady gardens; it feeds on +insects in preference to fish. It does not invariably select a river +bank in which to nest, it is quite content with a sand quarry, a bank, +or the shaft of a _kachcha_ well. The nest consists of a passage, some +two feet in length and three inches in diameter, leading to a larger +chamber in which from four to seven eggs are laid. + +A pair of white-breasted kingfishers at work during the early stages +of nest construction affords an interesting spectacle. Not being able +to obtain a foothold on the almost perpendicular surface of the bank, +the birds literally charge this in turn with fixed beak. By a +succession of such attacks at one spot a hole of an appreciable size +is soon formed in the soft sand. Then the birds are able to obtain a +foothold and to excavate with the bill, while clinging to the edge of +the hole. Every now and then they indulge in a short respite from +their labours. While thus resting one of the pair will sometimes +spread its wings for an instant and display the white patch; then it +will close them and make a neat bow, as if to say "Is not that nice?" +Its companion may remain motionless and unresponsive, or may return +the compliment. + +In the first days of March the bulbuls begin to breed. In 1912 the +writer saw a pair of bulbuls (_Otocompsa emeria_) building a nest on +the 3rd March. By the 10th the structure was complete and held the +full clutch of three eggs. On that date a second nest was found +containing three eggs. + +In 1913 the writer first saw a bulbul's nest on the 5th March. This +belonged to _Molpastes bengalensis_ and contained two eggs. On the +following day the full clutch of three was in the nest. + +The nesting season for these birds terminates in the rains. + +The common bulbuls of the plains belong to two genera--_Molpastes_ and +_Otocompsa_. The former is split up into a number of local species +which display only small differences in appearance and interbreed +freely at the places where they meet. They are known as the Madras, +the Bengal, the Punjab, etc., red-vented bulbul. They are somewhat +larger than sparrows. The head, which bears a short crest, and the +face are black; the rest of the body, except a patch of bright red +under the tail, is brown, each feather having a pale margin. + +In _Otocompsa_ the crest is long and rises to a sharp point which +curves forward a little over the beak. The breast is white, set off by +a black gorget. There is the usual red patch under the tail and a +patch of the same hue on each side of the face, whence the English +name for the bird--the red-whiskered bulbul. + +_Molpastes_ and _Otocompsa_ have similar habits. They are feckless +little birds that build cup-shaped nests in all manner of queer and +exposed situations. Those that live near the habitations of Europeans +nestle in low bushes in the garden, or in pot plants in the verandah. +Small crotons are often selected, preferably those that do not bear a +score of leaves. The sitting bulbul does not appear to mind the daily +shower-bath it receives when the _mali_ waters the plant. Sometimes as +many as three or four pairs of bulbuls attempt to rear up families in +one verandah. The word "attempt" is used advisedly, because, owing to +the exposed situations in which nests are built, large numbers of eggs +and young bulbuls are destroyed by boys, cats, snakes and other +predaceous creatures. The average bulbul loses six broods for every +one it succeeds in rearing. The eggs are pink with reddish markings. + +March is the month in which to look for the nest of the Indian +wren-warbler (_Prinia inornata_). _Inornata_ is a very appropriate +specific name for this tiny earth-brown bird, which is devoid of all +kind of ornamentation. Its voice is as homely as its appearance--a +harsh but plaintive _twee_, _twee_, _twee_. It weaves a nest which +looks like a ragged loofah with a hole in the side. The nest is +usually placed low down in a bush or in long grass. Sometimes it is +attached to two or more stalks of corn. In such cases the corn is +often cut before the young birds have had time to leave the nest, and +then the brood perishes. This species brings up a second family in the +rainy season. + +The barn-owls (_Strix flammea_) are now breeding. They lay their eggs +in cavities in trees, buildings or walls. In northern India the +nesting season lasts from February to June. Eggs are most likely to be +found in the United Provinces during the present month. + +The various species of babblers or seven sisters begin to nest in +March. Unlike bulbuls these birds are careful to conceal the nest. +This is a slenderly-built, somewhat untidy cup, placed in a bush or +tree. The eggs are a beautiful rich blue, without any markings. + +The hawk-cuckoo, or brain-fever bird (_Hierococcyx varius_), to which +allusion has already been made, deposits its eggs in the nests of +various species of babblers. The eggs of this cuckoo are blue, but are +distinguishable from those of the babbler by their larger size. It may +be noted, in passing, that this cuckoo does not extend far into the +Punjab. + +As stated above, most of the shrikes go a-courting in March. +Nest-building follows hard on courtship. In this month and in April +most of the shrikes lay their eggs, but nests containing eggs or young +are to be seen in May, June, July and August. Shrikes are birds of +prey in miniature. Although not much larger than sparrows they are as +fierce as falcons. + +Their habit is to seize the quarry on the ground, after having pounced +upon it from a bush or tree. Grasshoppers constitute their usual food, +but they are not afraid to tackle mice or small birds. + +The largest shrike is the grey species (_Lanius lahtora_). This is +clothed mainly in grey; however, it has a broad black band running +through the eye--the escutcheon of the butcher-bird clan. It begins +nesting before the other species, and its eggs are often taken in +February. + +The other common species are the bay-backed (_L. vittatus_) and the +rufous-backed shrike (_L. erythronotus_). These are smaller birds and +have the back red. The former is distinguishable from the latter by +having in the wings and tail much white, which is very conspicuous +during flight. + +The nest of each species is a massive cup, composed of twigs, thorns, +grasses, feathers, and, usually, some pieces of rag; these last often +hang down in a most untidy manner. The nest is, as a rule, placed in a +babool or other thorny tree, close up against the trunk. + +Three allies of the shrikes are likewise busy with their nests at this +season. These are the wood-shrike, the minivet and the cuckoo-shrike. +The wood-shrike (_Tephrodornis pondicerianus_) is an ashy-brown bird +of the size of a sparrow with a broad white eyebrow. It frequently +emits a characteristic soft, melancholy, whistling note, which Eha +describes as "Be thee cheery." How impracticable are all efforts to +"chain by syllables airy sounds"! The cup-like nest of this species is +always carefully concealed in a tree. + +Minivets are aerial exquisites. In descriptions of them superlative +follows upon superlative. The cocks of most species are arrayed in +scarlet and black; the hens are not a whit less brilliantly attired in +yellow and sable. One species lives entirely in the plains, others +visit them in the cold weather; the majority are permanent residents +of the hills. The solitary denizen of the plains--the little minivet +(_Pericrocotus peregrinus_)--is the least resplendent of them all. Its +prevailing hue is slaty grey, but the cock has a red breast and some +red on the back. The nest is a cup so small as either to be invisible +from below or to present the appearance of a knot or thickening in the +branch on which it is placed. Sometimes two broods are reared in the +course of the year--one in March, April or May and the other during +the rainy season. + +The cuckoo-shrike (_Grauculus macii_) is not nearly related to the +cuckoo, nor has it the parasitic habits of the latter. Its grey +plumage is barred like that of the common cuckoo, hence the adjective. +The cuckoo-shrike is nearly as big as a dove. It utters constantly a +curious harsh call. It keeps much to the higher branches of trees in +which it conceals, with great care, its saucer-like nest. + +As we have seen, some coppersmiths and pied woodpeckers began nesting +operations in February, but the great majority do not lay eggs until +March. + +The green barbet (_Thereoceryx zeylonicus_) and the golden-backed +woodpecker (_Brachypternus aurantius_) are now busy excavating their +nests, which are so similar to those of their respective cousins--the +coppersmith and the pied woodpecker--as to require no description. It +is not necessary to state that the harsh laugh, followed by the +_kutur_, _kutur_, _kuturuk_, of the green barbet and the eternal +_tonk_, _tonk_, _tonk_ of the coppersmith are now more vehement than +ever, and will continue with unabated vigour until the rains have +fairly set in. + +By the end of the month many of the noisy rollers have found holes in +decayed trees in which the hens can lay their eggs. The vociferous +nightjars likewise have laid upon the bare ground their salmon-pink +eggs with strawberry-coloured markings. + +The noisy spotted owlets (_Athene brama_) and the rose-ringed +paroquets (_Palaeornis torquatus_) are already the happy possessors of +clutches of white eggs hidden away in cavities of decayed trees or +buildings. + +The swifts (_Cypselus indicus_) also are busy with their nests. These +are saucer-shaped structures, composed of feathers, straw and other +materials made to adhere together, and to the beam or stone to which +the nest is attached, by the glutinous saliva of the swifts. Deserted +buildings, outhouses and verandahs of bungalows are the usual nesting +sites of these birds. At this season swifts are very noisy. Throughout +the day and at frequent intervals during the night they emit loud +shivering screams. At sunset they hold high carnival, playing, at +breakneck speed and to the accompaniment of much screaming, a game of +"follow the man from Cook's." + +The swifts are not the only birds engaged in rearing up young in our +verandahs. Sparrows and doves are so employed, as are the wire-tailed +swallows (_Hirundo smithii_). These last are steel-blue birds with red +heads and white under plumage. They derive the name "wire-tailed" from +the fact that the thin shafts of the outer pair of tail feathers are +prolonged five inches beyond the others and look like wires. +Wire-tailed swallows occasionally build in verandahs, but they prefer +to attach their saucer-shaped mud nests to the arches of bridges and +culverts. + +With a nest in such a situation the parent birds are not obliged to go +far for the mud with which the nest is made, or for the insects, +caught over the surface of water, on which the offspring are fed. + +The nesting season of wire-tailed swallows is a long one. According to +Hume these beautiful birds breed chiefly in February and March and +again in July, August and September. However, he states that he has +seen eggs as early as January and as late as November. In the +Himalayas he has obtained the eggs in April, May and June. + +The present writer's experience does not agree with that of Hume. In +Lahore, Saharanpur and Pilibhit, May and June are the months in which +most nests of this species are likely to be seen. The writer has found +nests with eggs or young on the following dates in the above-mentioned +places: May 13th, 15th, 16th, 17th; June 6th and 28th. + +The nest of June 28th was attached to a rafter of the front verandah +of a bungalow at Lahore. The owner of the house stated that the +swallows in question had already reared one brood that year, and that +the birds in question had nested in his verandah for some years. There +is no doubt that some wire-tailed swallows bring up two broods. Such +would seem to breed, as Hume says, in February and March and again in +July and August. But, as many nests containing eggs are found in May, +some individuals appear to have one brood only, which hatches out in +May or June. + +Those useful but ugly fowls, the white scavenger vultures (_Neophron +ginginianus_), depart from the ways of their brethren in that they +nidificate in March and April instead of in January and February. The +nest is an evil-smelling pile of sticks, rags and rubbish. It is +placed on some building or in a tree. + +The handsome brahminy kites (_Haliastur indicus_), attired in chestnut +and white, are now busily occupied, either in seeking for sites or in +actually building their nests, which resemble those of the common +kite. + +In the open plains the pipits (_Anthus rufulus_) and the crested larks +(_Galerita cristata_) are keeping the nesting finch-larks company. + +All three species build the same kind of nest--a cup of grass or +fibres (often a deep cup in the case of the crested lark) placed on +the ground in a hole or a depression, or protected by a tussock of +grass or a small bush. + +On the churs and sand islets in the large Indian rivers the terns are +busy with their eggs, which are deposited on the bare sand. They breed +in colonies. On the same islet are to be seen the eggs of the Indian +river tern, the black-bellied tern, the swallow-plover, the +spur-winged plover and the Indian skimmer. + +The eggs of all the above species are of similar appearance, the +ground colour being greenish, or buff, or the hue of stone or cream, +with reddish or brownish blotches. Three is the full complement of +eggs. The bare white glittering sands on which these eggs are +deposited are often at noon so hot as to be painful to touch; +accordingly during the daytime there is no need for the birds to sit +on the eggs in order to keep them warm. Indeed, it has always been a +mystery to the writer why terns' eggs laid in March in northern India +do not get cooked. Mr. A. J. Currie recently came across some eggs of +the black-bellied tern that had had water sprinkled over them. He is +of opinion that the incubating birds treat the eggs thus in order to +prevent their getting sun-baked. This theory should be borne in mind +by those who visit sandbanks in March. Whether it be true or not, +there is certainly no need for the adult birds to keep the eggs warm +in the daytime, and they spend much of their time in wheeling +gracefully overhead or in sleeping on the sand. By nightfall all the +eggs are covered by parent birds, which are said to sit so closely +that it is possible to catch them by means of a butterfly net. The +terns, although they do not sit much on their eggs during the day, +ever keep a close watch on them, so that, when a human being lands on +a nest-laden sandbank, the parent birds fly round his head, uttering +loud screams. + +The swallow-plovers go farther. They become so excited that they +flutter about on the sand, with dragging wings and limping legs, as if +badly wounded. Sometimes they perform somersaults in their intense +excitement. The nearer the intruder approaches their eggs the more +vigorous do their antics become. + +Every lover of the winged folk should make a point of visiting, late +in March or early in April, an islet on which these birds nest. He +will find much to interest him there. In April many of the young birds +will be hatched out. A baby tern is an amusing object. It is covered +with soft sand-coloured down. When a human being approaches it +crouches on the sand, half burying its head in its shoulders, and +remains thus perfectly motionless. If picked up it usually remains +limply in the hand, so that, but for its warmth, it might be deemed +lifeless. After it has been set down again on the sand, it will remain +motionless until the intruder's back is turned, when it will run to +the water as fast as its little legs can carry it. It swims as easily +as a duck. Needless to state, the parent birds make a great noise +while their young are being handled. + +Birds decline to be fettered by the calendar. Many of the species +which do not ordinarily nest until April or May occasionally begin +operations in March, hence nests of the following species, which are +dealt with next month, may occur in the present one:--the tree-pie, +tailor-bird, common myna, bank-myna, brown rock-chat, brown-backed +robin, pied wagtail, red-winged bush-lark, shikra, red-wattled +lapwing, yellow-throated sparrow, bee-eater, blue rock-pigeon, green +pigeon and grey partridge. + +March the 15th marks the beginning of the close season for game birds +in all the reserved forests of Northern India. This is none too soon, +as some individuals begin breeding at the end of the month. + + + + +APRIL + + The breeze moves slow with thick perfume + From every mango grove; + From coral tree to parrot bloom + The black bees questing rove, + The koil wakes the early dawn. + WATERFIELD, _Indian Ballads_. + + +The fifteenth of April marks the beginning of the "official" hot +weather in the United Provinces; but the elements decline to conform +to the rules of man. In the eastern and southern districts hot-weather +conditions are established long before mid-April, while in the +sub-Himalayan belt the temperature remains sufficiently low throughout +the month to permit human beings to derive some physical enjoyment +from existence. In that favoured tract the nights are usually clear +and cool, so that it is very pleasant to sleep outside beneath the +starry canopy of the heavens. + +It requires an optimist to say good things of April days, even in the +sub-Himalayan tract. Fierce scorching west winds sweep over the earth, +covering everything with dust. Sometimes the flying sand is so thick +as to obscure the landscape, and often, after the wind has dropped, +the particles remain suspended for days as a dust haze. The dust is a +scourge. It is all-pervading. It enters eyes, ears, nose and mouth. To +escape it is impossible. Closed doors and windows fail to keep it from +entering the bungalow. The only creatures which appear to be +indifferent to it are the fowls of the air. As to the heat, the +non-migratory species positively revel in it. The crows and a few +other birds certainly do gasp and pant when the sun is at its height, +but even they, save for a short siesta at midday, are as active in +April and May as schoolboys set free from a class-room. April is the +month in which the spring crops are harvested. As soon as the _Holi_ +festival is over the cultivators issue forth in thousands, armed with +sickles, and begin to reap. They are almost as active as the birds, +but their activity is forced and not spontaneous; like most +Anglo-Indian officials they literally earn their bread by the sweat of +the brow. Thanks to their unceasing labours the countryside becomes +transformed during the month; that which was a sea of smiling +golden-brown wheat and barley becomes a waste of short stubble. + +Nature gives some compensation for the heat and the dust in the shape +of mulberries, loquats, lichis and cool luscious papitas and melons +which ripen in March or April. The mango blossom becomes transfigured +into fruit, which, by the end of the month, is as large as an egg, and +will be ready for gathering in the latter half of May. + +Many trees are in flower. The coral, the silk-cotton and the _dhak_ +are resplendent with red foliage. The _jhaman_, the _siris_ and the +_mohwa_ are likewise in bloom and, ere the close of the month, the +_amaltas_ or Indian laburnum will put forth its bright yellow flowers +in great profusion. Throughout April the air is heavy with the scent +of blossoms. The _shesham_, the _sal_, the _pipal_ and the _nim_ are +vivid with fresh foliage. But notwithstanding all this galaxy of +colour, notwithstanding the brightness of the sun and the blueness of +the sky, the countryside lacks the sweetness that Englishmen associate +with springtime, because the majority of the trees, being evergreen, +do not renew their clothing completely at this season, and the foliage +is everywhere more or less obscured by the all-pervading dust. + +The great avian emigration, which began in March, now reaches its +height. During the warm April nights millions of birds leave the +plains of India. The few geese remaining at the close of March, depart +in the first days of April. + +The brahminy ducks, which during the winter months were scattered in +twos and threes over the lakes and rivers of Northern India, collect +into flocks that migrate, one by one, to cooler climes, so that, by +the end of the first week in May, the _a-onk_ of these birds is no +longer heard. The mallard, gadwall, widgeon, pintail, the various +species of pochard and the common teal are rapidly disappearing. With +April duck-shooting ends. Of the migratory species only a few +shovellers and garganey teal tarry till May. + +The snipe and the quail are likewise flighting towards their breeding +grounds. Thus on the 1st of May the avian population of India is less +by many millions than it was at the beginning of April. But the birds +that remain behind more than compensate us, by their great activity, +for the loss of those that have departed. There is more to interest +the ornithologist in April than there was in January. + +The bird chorus is now at its best. The magpie-robin is in full song. +At earliest dawn he takes up a position on the topmost bough of a tree +and pours forth his melody in a continuous stream. His varied notes +are bright and joyous. Its voice is of wide compass and very powerful; +were it a little softer in tone it would rival that of the +nightingale. The magpie-robin is comparatively silent at noonday, but +from sunset until dusk he sings continuously. + +Throughout April the little cock sunbirds deliver themselves of their +vigorous canary-like song. The bulbuls tinkle as blithely as ever. +Ioras, pied wagtails, pied chats, and wood-shrikes continue to +contribute their not unworthy items to the minstrelsy of the Indian +countryside. The robins, having by now found their true notes, are +singing sweetly and softly. The white-eyes are no longer content to +utter their usual cheeping call, the cocks give vent to an exquisite +warble and thereby proclaim the advent of the nesting season. The +_towee_, _towee_, _towee_, of the tailor-bird, more penetrating than +melodious, grows daily more vigorous, reminding us that we may now +hopefully search for his nest. Among the less pleasing sounds that +fill the welkin are the _tonk_, _tonk_, _tonk_ of the coppersmith, the +_kutur_, _kutur_, _kuturuk_ of the green barbet, and the calls of the +various cuckoos that summer in the plains of Northern India. The calls +of these cuckoos, although frequently heard in April, are uttered more +continuously in May, accordingly they are described in the calendar +for that month. + +The owls, of course, lift up their voices, particularly on moonlight +nights. The nightjars are as vociferous as they were in March; their +breeding season is now at its height. + +In the hills the woods resound with the cheerful double note of the +European cuckoo (_Cuculus canorus_). This bird is occasionally heard +in the plains of the Punjab in April, and again from July to +September, when it no longer calls in the Himalayas. This fact, +coupled with the records of the presence of the European cuckoo in +Central India in June and July, lends support to the theory that the +birds which enliven the Himalayas in spring go south in July and +winter in the Central Provinces. Cuckoos, at seasons when they are +silent, are apt to be overlooked, or mistaken for shikras. + +Ornithologists stationed in Central India will render a service to +science if they keep a sharp look-out for European cuckoos and record +the results of their observations. In this way alone can the above +theory be proved or disproved. + +By the middle of the month most of the rollers have settled down to +domestic duties, and in consequence are less noisy than they were when +courting. Their irritating grating cries are now largely replaced by +harsh _tshocks_ of delight, each _tshock_ being accompanied by a +decisive movement of the tail. The cause of these interjections +expressing delight is a clutch of white eggs or a brood of young +birds, hidden in a hole in a tree or a building. + +April is a month in which the pulse of bird life beats very vigorously +in India. He who, braving the heat, watches closely the doings of the +feathered folk will be rewarded by the discovery of at least thirty +different kinds of nests. Hence, it is evident that the calendar for +this month, unless it is to attain very large dimensions, must be a +mere catalogue of nesting species. The compiler of the calendar has to +face an _embarrass de richesses_. + +Of the common species that build in March and the previous months the +following are likely to be found with eggs or young--the jungle crows, +sunbirds, doves, pied and golden-backed woodpeckers, coppersmiths, +hoopoes, common and brahminy kites, bulbuls, shrikes, little minivets, +fantail flycatchers, wire-tailed swallows, paroquets, spotted owlets, +swifts, scavenger vultures, red-headed merlins, skylarks, crested +larks, pipits, babblers, sand-martins, cliff-swallows, nuthatches, +white-eyed buzzards, kites, black vultures, pied and white-breasted +kingfishers, finch-larks, Indian wren-warblers, wood-shrikes, +cuckoo-shrikes, green barbets, tawny eagles, and the terns and the +other birds that nest on islets in rivers. Here and there may be seen +a white-backed vulture's nest containing a young bird nearly ready to +fly. + +Towards the middle of the month the long-tailed tree-pies +(_Dendrocitta rufa_), which are nothing else than coloured crows, +begin nest-building. They are to be numbered among the commonest birds +in India, nevertheless their large open nests are rarely seen. The +explanation of this phenomenon appears to be the fact that the nest is +well concealed high up in a tree. Moreover, the pie, possessing a +powerful beak which commands respect, is not obliged constantly to +defend its home after the manner of small or excitable birds, and thus +attract attention to it. + +Fortunately for the tree-pie the kites and crows do not worry it. The +shikra (_Astur badius_) and the white-eyed buzzard (_Butastur teesa_), +which are now engaged in nest-building, are not so fortunate. The +crows regard them as fair game, hence their nest-building season is a +time of _sturm und drang_. They, in common with all diurnal birds of +prey, build untidy nests in trees--mere conglomerations of sticks, +devoid of any kind of architectural merit. The blue rock-pigeons +(_Columba intermedia_) are busily prospecting for nesting sites. In +some parts of India, especially in the Muttra and Fatehgarh districts, +these birds nest chiefly in holes in wells. More often than not a +stone thrown into a well in such a locality causes at least one pigeon +to fly out of the well. In other places in India these birds build by +preference on a ledge or a cornice inside some large building. They +often breed in colonies. At Dig in Rajputana, where they are sacred in +the eyes of Hindus, thousands of them nest in the fort, and, as Hume +remarks, a gun fired in the moat towards evening raises a dense cloud +of pigeons, "obscuring utterly the waning day and deafening one with +the mighty rushing sound of countless strong and rapidly-plied +pinions." According to Hume the breeding season for these birds in +Upper India lasts from Christmas to May day. The experience of the +writer is that April, May and June are the months in which to look for +their nests. However, in justice to Hume, it must be said that +recently Mr. A. J. Currie found a nest, containing eggs, in February. + +In April the green pigeons pair and build slender cradles, high up in +mango trees, in which two white eggs are laid. + +The songster of the house-top--the brown rock-chat (_Cercomela +fusca_)--makes sweet music throughout the month for the benefit of his +spouse, who is incubating four pretty pale-blue eggs in a nest built +on a ledge in an outhouse or on the sill of a clerestory window. This +bird, which is thought by some to be a near relative of the sparrow of +the Scriptures, is clothed in plain brown and seems to suffer from St. +Vitus' dance in the tail. Doubtless it is often mistaken for a hen +robin. For this mistake there is no excuse, because the rock-chat +lacks the brick-red patch under the tail. + +April is the month in which to look for two exquisite little +nests--those of the white-eye (_Zosterops palpebrosa_) and the iora +(_Aegithina tiphia_). White-eyes are minute greenish-yellow birds with +a conspicuous ring of white feathers round the eye. They go about in +flocks. Each individual utters unceasingly a plaintive cheeping note +by means of which it keeps its fellows apprised of its whereabouts. At +the breeding season, that is to say in April and May, the cock sings +an exceedingly sweet, but very soft, lay of six or seven notes. The +nest is a cup, about 2-1/2 inches in diameter and 3/4 of an inch in +depth. It is usually suspended, like a hammock, from the fork of a +branch; sometimes it is attached to the end of a single bough; it then +looks like a ladle, the bough being the handle. It is composed of +cobweb, roots, hair and other soft materials. Three or four tiny +pale-blue eggs are laid. + +The iora is a feathered exquisite, about the size of a tomtit. The +cock is arrayed in green, black and gold; his mate is gowned in green +and yellow. + +The iora has a great variety of calls, of these a soft and rather +plaintive long-drawn-out whistle is uttered most frequently in April +and May. + +In shape and size the nest resembles an after-dinner coffee cup. It is +beautifully woven, and, like those of the white-eye and fantail +flycatcher, covered with cobweb; this gives it a very neat appearance. +In it are laid two or three eggs of salmon hue with reddish-brown and +purple-grey blotches. + +Throughout April the sprightly tailor-birds are busy with their nests. +The tailor-bird (_Orthotomus sutorius_) is a wren with a long tail. In +the breeding season the two median caudal feathers of the cock project +as bristles beyond the others. The nest is a wonderful structure. +Having selected a suitable place, which may be a bush in a garden or a +pot plant in a verandah, the hen tailor-bird proceeds to make, with +her sharp bill, a series of punctures along the margins of one or more +leaves. The punctured edges are then drawn together, by means of +strands of cobweb, to form a purse or pocket. When this has been done +the frail bands of cobweb, which hold the edges of the leaves _in +situ_, are strengthened by threads of cotton. Lastly, the purse is +cosily lined with silk-cotton down or other soft material. Into the +cradle, thus formed, three or four white eggs, speckled with red, find +their way. + +In April cavities in trees and buildings suitable for nesting purposes +are at a premium owing to the requirements of magpie-robins, brahminy +mynas, common mynas, yellow-throated sparrows and rollers. Not +uncommonly three or four pairs of birds nest in one weather-beaten old +tree. + +Bank-mynas, white-breasted kingfishers, bee-eaters and a few belated +sand-martins are nesting in sandbanks in cavities which they +themselves have excavated. The nests of the kingfisher and the +sand-martin have already been described, that of the bank-myna belongs +to May rather than to April. + +Bee-eaters working at the nest present a pleasing spectacle. The sexes +excavate turn about. The site chosen may be a bunker on the golf +links, the butts on the rifle range, a low mud boundary between two +fields, or any kind of bank. The sharp claws of the bee-eaters enable +the birds to obtain a foothold on an almost vertical surface; this +foothold is strengthened by the tail which, being stiff, acts as a +third leg. In a surprisingly short time a cavity large enough to +conceal the bird completely is formed. The bee-eater utilises the bill +as pickaxe and the feet as ejectors. The little clouds of sand that +issue at short intervals from each cavity afford evidence of the +efficacy of these implements and the industry of those that use them. + +Two of the most charming birds in India are now occupied with family +cares. These are both black-and-white birds--the magpie-robin +(_Copsychus saularis_) and the pied wagtail (_Motacilla +maderaspatensis_). The former has already been noticed as the best +songster in the plains of India. The pattern of its plumage resembles +that of the common magpie; this explains its English name. The hen is +grey where the cock is black, otherwise there is no external +difference between the sexes. For some weeks the cock has been singing +lustily, especially in the early morning and late afternoon. In April +he begins his courtship. His display is a simple affair--mere +tail-play; the tail is expanded into a fan, so as to show the white +outer feathers, then it is either raised and lowered alternately, or +merely held depressed. Normally the tail is carried almost vertically. +The nest is invariably placed in a cavity of a tree or a building. + +The pied wagtail always nests near water. If not on the ground, the +nursery rests on some structure built by man. + +A visit to a bridge of boats in April is sure to reveal a nest of this +charming bird. Hume records a case of a pair of pied wagtails nesting +in a ferry-boat. This, it is true, was seldom used, but did +occasionally cross the Jumna. On such occasions the hen would continue +to sit, while the cock stood on the gunwale, pouring forth his sweet +song, and made, from time to time, little sallies over the water after +a flying gnat. Mr. A. J. Currie found at Lahore a nest of these +wagtails in a ferry-boat in daily use; so that the birds must have +selected the site and built the nest while the boat was passing to and +fro across the river! + +Yet another black-and-white bird nests in April. This is the pied +bush-chat (_Pratincola caprata_). The cock is black all over, save for +a white patch on the rump and a bar of white in the wing. He delights +to sit on a telegraph wire or a stem of elephant grass and there make +cheerful melody. The hen is a dull reddish-grey bird. The nest is +usually placed in a hole in the ground or a bank or a wall, sometimes +it is wedged into a tussock of grass. + +Allied to the magpie-robin and the pied bush-chat is the familiar +Indian robin (_Thamnobia cambayensis_), which, like its relatives, is +now engaged in nesting operations. This species constructs its +cup-shaped nest in all manner of strange places. Spaces in stacks of +bricks, holes in the ground or in buildings, and window-sills are held +in high esteem as nesting sites. The eggs are not easy to describe +because they display great variation. The commonest type has a pale +green shell, speckled with reddish-brown spots, which are most densely +distributed at the thick end of the egg. + +Many of the grey partridges (_Francolinus pondicerianus_) are now +nesting. This species is somewhat erratic in respect of its breeding +season. Eggs have been taken in February, March, April, May, June, +September, October, and November. The April eggs, however, outnumber +those of all the other months put together. The nest is a shallow +depression in the ground, lined with grass, usually under a bush. From +six to nine cream-coloured eggs are laid. + +Another bird which is now incubating eggs on the ground is the +did-he-do-it or red-wattled lapwing (_Sarcogrammus indicus_). The +curious call, from which this plover derives its popular name, is +familiar to every resident in India. This species nests between March +and August. The 122 eggs in the possession of Hume were taken, 12 in +March, 46 in April, 24 in May, 26 in June, 4 in July, and 8 in August. +Generally in a slight depression on the ground, occasionally on the +ballast of a rail-road, four pegtop-shaped eggs are laid; these are, +invariably, placed in the form of a cross, so that they touch each +other at their thin ends. They are coloured like those of the common +plover. The yellow-wattled lapwing (_Sarciophorus malabaricus_), which +resembles its cousin in manners and appearance, nests in April, May +and June. + +The nesting season of the various species of sand-grouse that breed in +India is now beginning. These birds, like lapwings, lay their eggs on +the ground. + +In April one may come across an occasional nest of the pied starling, +the king-crow, the paradise flycatcher, the grey hornbill, and the +oriole, but these are exceptions. The birds in question do not as a +rule begin to nest until May, and their doings accordingly are +chronicled in the calendar for that month. + + + + +MAY + + The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year. + _The Minstrelsy of the Woods_. + + Low from the brink the waters shrink; + The deer all snuff for rain; + The panting cattle search for drink + Cracked glebe and dusty plain; + The whirlwind, like a furnace blast, + Sweeps clouds of darkening sand. + WATERFIELD, _Indian Ballads_. + + Now the burning summer sun + Hath unchalleng'd empire won + And the scorching winds blow free, + Blighting every herb and tree. + R. T. H. GRIFFITH. + + +May in the plains of India! What unpleasant memories it recalls! +Stifling nights in which sleep comes with halting steps and departs +leaving us unrefreshed. Long, dreary days beneath the punkah in a +closed bungalow which has ceased to be enlivened by the voices of the +children and the patter of their little feet. Hot drives to office, +under a brazen sky from which the sun shines with pitiless power, in +the teeth of winds that scorch the face and fill the eyes with dust. + +It is in this month of May that the European condemned to existence in +the plains echoes the cry of the psalmist: "Oh that I had wings like a +dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest"--in the Himalayas. +There would I lie beneath the deodars and, soothed by the rustle of +their wind-caressed branches, drink in the pure cool air and listen to +the cheerful double note of the cuckoo. The country-side in the plains +presents a sorry spectacle. The gardens that had some beauty in the +cold weather now display the abomination of desolation--a waste of +shrivelled flowers, killed by the relentless sun. The spring crops +have all been cut and the whole earth is dusty brown save for a few +patches of young sugar-cane and the dust-covered verdure of the mango +topes. It is true that the gold-mohur trees and the Indian laburnums +are in full flower and the air is heavily laden with the strong scent +of the _nim_ blossoms, but the heat is so intense that the European is +able to enjoy these gifts of nature only at dawn. Nor has the ripening +jack-fruit any attractions for him. He is repelled by its overpowering +scent and sickly flavour. Fortunately the tastes of all men are not +alike. In the eyes of the Indian this fruit is a dish fit to be set +before the gods. The _pipal_ trees, which are covered with tender +young leaves, now offer to the birds a feast in the form of numbers of +figs, no larger than cranberries. This generous offer is greedily +accepted by green pigeons, mynas and many other birds which partake +with right goodwill and make much noise between the courses. No matter +how intense the heat be, the patient cultivator issues forth with his +cattle before sunrise and works at his threshing floor until ten +o'clock, then he seeks the comparative coolness of the mango tope and +sleeps until the sun is well on its way to the western horizon, when +he resumes the threshing of the corn, not ceasing until the shades of +night begin to steal over the land. + +The birds do not object to the heat. They revel in it. It is true that +in the middle of the day even they seek some shady tree in which to +enjoy a siesta and await the abatement of the heat of the blast +furnace in which they live, move and have their being. The long day, +which begins for them before 4 a.m., rather than the intense heat, +appears to be the cause of this midday sleep. Except during this +period of rest at noon the birds are more lively than they were in +April. + +The breeding season is now at its height. In May over five hundred +species of birds nest in India. No individual is likely to come across +all these different kinds of nests, because, in order to do so, that +person would have to traverse India from Peshawar to Tinnevelly and +from Quetta to Tenasserim. Nevertheless, the man who remains in one +station, if he choose to put forth a little energy and defy the sun, +may reasonably expect to find the nests of more than fifty kinds of +birds. Whether he be energetic or the reverse he cannot fail to hear a +great many avian sounds both by day and by night. In May the birds are +more vociferous than at any other time of year. The fluty cries of the +koel and the vigorous screams of the brain-fever bird penetrate the +closed doors of the bungalow, as do, to a less extent, the chatter of +the seven sisters, the calls of the mynas, the _towee_, _towee_, +_towee_ of the tailor-bird, the _whoot_, _whoot_, _whoot_ of the +crow-pheasant, the monotonous notes of the coppersmith and the green +barbet, the _uk_, _uk_, _uk_ of the hoopoe, the cheerful music of the +fantail flycatcher, the three sweet syllables of the iora--_so be ye_, +the _tee_, _tee_, _tee_, _tee_ of the nuthatch, the liquid whistle of +the oriole and, last but not least, the melody of the magpie-robin. +The calls of the hoopoe and nuthatch become less frequent as the month +draws to a close; on the other hand, the melody of the oriole gains in +strength. + +As likely as not a pair of blue jays has elected to rear a brood of +young hopefuls in the chimney or in a hole in the roof. When this +happens the human occupant of the bungalow is apt to be driven nearly +to distraction by the cries of the young birds, which resemble those +of some creature in distress, and are uttered with "damnable +reiteration." + +All these sounds, however, reach in muffled form the ear of a human +being shut up in a bungalow; hence it is the voices of the night +rather than those of the day with which May in India is associated. +Most people sleep out of doors at this season, and, as the excessive +heat makes them restless, they have ample opportunity of listening to +the nightly concert of the feathered folk. The most notable performers +are the cuckoos. These birds are fully as nocturnal as the owls. The +brain-fever bird (_Hierococcyx varius_) is now in full voice, and may +be heard, both by day and by night, in all parts of Northern India, +east of Umballa. This creature has two calls. One is the eternal +"brain-fever, _brain-fever_, BRAIN-FEVER," each "brain-fever" being +louder and pitched in a higher key than the previous one, until the +bird reaches its top note. The other call consists of a volley of +descending notes, uttered as if the bird were unwinding its voice +after the screams of "brain-fever." The next cuckoo is not one whit +less vociferous than the last. It is known as the Indian koel +(_Eudynamis honorata_). This noble fowl has three calls, and it would +puzzle anyone to say which is the most powerful. The usual cry is a +crescendo _ku-il_, _ku-il_, _ku-il_, which to Indian ears is very +sweet-sounding. Most Europeans are agreed that it is a sound of which +one can have too much. The second note is a mighty avalanche of yells +and screams, which Cunningham has syllabised as _Kuk_, _kuu_, _kuu_, +_kuu_, _kuu_, _kuu_. The third cry, which is uttered only +occasionally, is a number of shrill shrieks: _Hekaree_, _karee_, +_karee_, _karee_. + +The voice of the koel is heard throughout the hours of light and +darkness in May, so that one wonders whether this bird ever sleeps. +The second call is usually reserved for dawn, when the bird is most +vociferous. This cry is particularly exasperating to Europeans, since +it often awakens them rudely from the only refreshing sleep they have +enjoyed, namely, that obtained at the time when the temperature is +comparatively low. The koel extends into the Punjab and is heard +throughout Northern India. + +The third of the cuckoos which enlivens the hot weather in the plains +is the Indian cuckoo (_Cuculus micropterus_). This species dwells +chiefly in the Himalayas, but late in April or early in May certain +individuals seek the hot plains and remain there for some months. They +do not extend very far into the peninsula, being numerous only in the +sub-Himalayan tracts as far south as Fyzabad. The call of this cuckoo +is melodious and easily recognised. Indians represent it as +_Bouto-taku_, while some Englishmen maintain that the bird says "I've +lost my love." To the writer's mind the cry is best represented by the +words _wherefore_, _wherefore_, repeated with musical cadence. This +bird does not usually call much during the day. It uplifts its voice +about two hours before sunset and continues calling intermittently +until some time after sunrise. The note is often uttered while the +bird is on the wing. + +Scarcely less vociferous than the cuckoos are the owls. Needless to +state that the tiny spotted owlets make a great noise in May. They are +loquacious throughout the year, especially on moonlight nights. Nor do +they wait for the setting of the sun until they commence to pour forth +what Eha terms a "torrent of squeak and chatter and gibberish." + +Almost as abundant as the spotted owlet is the jungle owlet +(_Glaucidium radiatum_). This species, like the last-mentioned, does +not confine its vocal efforts to the hot weather. It is vociferous +throughout the year; however, special mention must be made of it in +connection with the month of May, because it is not until a human +being sleeps out of doors that he takes much notice of the bird. + +The note of this owl is very striking. It may be likened to the noise +made by a motor cycle when it is being started. It consists of a +series of dissyllables, low at first with a pause after each, but +gradually growing in intensity and succeeding one another at shorter +intervals, until the bird seems to have got fairly into its stride, +when it pulls up with dramatic suddenness. Tickell thus syllabises its +call: _Turtuck_, _turtuck_, _turtuck_, _turtuck_, _turtuck_, _tukatu_, +_chatatuck_, _atuckatuck_. + +Another sound familiar to those who sleep out of doors at this season +is a low, soft "what," repeated at intervals of about a minute. + +The writer ascribes this call to the collared scops owl (_Scops +bakkamoena_). Mr. A. J. Currie, however, asserts that the note in +question is that emitted by spotted owlets (_Athene brama_) when they +have young. He states that he has been quite close to the bird when it +was calling. + +A little patient observation will suffice to decide the point at +issue. + +It is easy to distinguish between the two owls, as the scops has +aigrettes or "horns," which the spotted owlet lacks. + +The nightjars help to swell the nocturnal chorus. There are seven or +eight different species in India, but of these only three are commonly +heard and two of them occur mainly in forest tracts. The call of the +most widely-distributed of the Indian goatsuckers--_Caprimulgus +asiaticus_, the common Indian nightjar--is like unto the sound made by +a stone skimming over ice. Horsfield's goatsucker is a very vociferous +bird. From March till June it is heard wherever there are forests. As +soon as the shadows of the evening begin to steal across the sky its +loud _chuk_, _chuk_, _chuk_, _chuk_, _chuk_ cleaves the air for +minutes together. This call to some extent replaces by night the +_tonk_, _tonk_, _tonk_ of the coppersmith, which is uttered so +persistently in the day-time. In addition to this note Horsfield's +nightjar emits a low soft _chur_, _chur_, _chur_. + +The third nightjar, which also is confined chiefly to forest tracts, +is known as Franklin's nightjar (_C. monticolus_). This utters a harsh +_tweet_ which at a distance might pass for the chirp of a canary with +a sore throat. + +Other sounds heard at night-time are the plaintive _did-he-do-it +pity-to-do-it_ of the red-wattled lapwing (_Sarcogrammus indicus_), +and the shrill calls of other plovers. + +As has already been said, the nesting season is at its height in May. +With the exception of the paroquets, spotted owlets, nuthatches, black +vultures and pied kingfishers, which have completed nesting operations +for the year, and the golden-backed woodpeckers and the +cliff-swallows, which have reared up their first broods, the great +majority of the birds mentioned as having nests or young in March or +April are still busily occupied with domestic cares. + +May marks the close of the usual breeding season for the jungle crows, +skylarks, crested larks, finch-larks, wood-shrikes, yellow-throated +sparrows, sand-martins, pied wagtails, green barbets, coppersmiths, +rollers, green bee-eaters, white-breasted kingfishers, scavenger +vultures, tawny eagles, kites, shikras, spur-winged plovers, little +ringed plovers, pied woodpeckers, night herons and pied chats. In the +case of the tree-pies, cuckoo-shrikes, seven sisters, bank-mynas and +blue-tailed bee-eaters the nesting season is now at its height. All +the following birds are likely to have either eggs or nestlings in +May: the white-eyes, ioras, bulbuls, tailor-birds, shrikes, brown +rock-chats, Indian robins, magpie-robins, sunbirds, swifts, nightjars, +white-eyed buzzards, hoopoes, green pigeons, blue rock-pigeons, doves, +sparrows, the red and yellow wattled lapwings, minivets, wire-tailed +swallows, red-headed merlins, fantail flycatchers, pipits, sand-grouse +and grey partridges. The nests of most of these have been described +already. + +In the present month several species begin nesting operations. First +and foremost among these is the king-crow or black drongo (_Dicrurus +ater_). No bird, not even the roller, makes so much ado about +courtship and nesting as does the king-crow, of which the love-making +was described last month. A pair of king-crows regards as its castle +the tree in which it has elected to construct a nest. Round this tree +it establishes a sphere of influence into which none but a favoured +few birds may come. All intruders are forthwith set upon by the pair +of little furies, and no sight is commoner at this season than that of +a crow, a kite, or a hawk being chased by two irate drongos. The nest +of the king-crow is a small cup, wedged into the fork of a branch high +up in a tree. + +The Indian oriole (_Oriolus kundoo_) is one of the privileged +creatures allowed to enter the dicrurian sphere of influence, and it +takes full advantage of this privilege by placing its nest almost +invariably in the same tree as that of the king-crow. The oriole is a +timid bird and is glad to rear up its family under the aegis of so +doughty a warrior as the Black Prince of the Birds. The nest of the +oriole is a wonderful structure. Having selected a fork in a suitable +branch, the nesting bird tears off a long strip of soft pliable bark, +usually that of the mulberry tree. It proceeds to wind one end of this +strip round a limb of the forked branch, then the other end is +similarly bound to the other limb. A second and a third strip of bark +are thus dealt with, and in this manner a cradle or hammock is formed. +On it a slender cup-shaped nest is superimposed. This is composed of +grasses and fibres, some of which are wound round the limbs of the +forked branch, while others are made fast to the strands of bark. The +completed nest is nearly five inches in diameter. From below it looks +like a ball of dried grass wedged into the forked branch. + +The oriole lays from two to four white eggs spotted with dull red. The +spots can be washed off by water; sometimes their colour "runs" while +they are in the nest, thereby imparting a pink hue to the whole shell. +Both sexes take part in nest construction, but the hen alone appears +to incubate. She is a very shy creature, and is rarely discovered +actually sitting, because she leaves the nest with a little cry of +alarm at the first sound of a human footfall. + +May and June are the months in which to look for the nests of that +superb bird--the paradise flycatcher (_Terpsiphone paradisi_). This is +known as the rocket-bird or ribbon-bird because of the two long +fluttering tail feathers possessed by the cock. The hen has the +appearance of a kind of bulbul, being chestnut-hued with a white +breast and a metallic blue-black crest. For the first year of their +existence the young cocks resemble the hens in appearance. Then the +long tail feathers appear. In his third year the cock turns white save +for the black-crested head. This species spends the winter in South +India. In April it migrates northwards to summer in the shady parts of +the plains of Bengal, the United Provinces and the Punjab, and on the +lower slopes of the Himalayas. The nest is a deep, untidy-looking cup, +having the shape of an inverted cone. It is always completely covered +with cocoons and cobweb. It is usually attached to one or more of the +lower branches of a tree. Both sexes work at the nest and take part in +incubation. The long tail feathers of the sitting cock hang down from +the nest like red or white satin streamers according to the phase of +his plumage. In the breeding season the cock sings a sweet little +lay--an abridged version of that of the fantail flycatcher. When +alarmed both the cock and the hen utter a sharp _tschit_. + +May is perhaps the proper month in which to describe the nesting of +the various species of myna. + +According to Hume the normal breeding season of the common myna +(_Acridotheres tristis_) lasts from June to August, during which +period two broods are reared. This is not correct. The nesting season +of this species begins long before June. The writer has repeatedly +seen mynas carrying twigs and feathers in March, and has come across +nests containing eggs or young birds in both April and May. June +perhaps is the month in which the largest numbers of nests are seen. +The cradle of the common myna is devoid of architectural merit. It is +a mere conglomeration of twigs, grass, rags, bits of paper and other +oddments. The nesting material is dropped haphazard into a hole in a +tree or building, or even on to a ledge in a verandah. Four beautiful +blue eggs are laid. + +At Peshawar Mr. A. J. Currie once found four myna's eggs in a deserted +crows' nest in a tree. + +As has already been stated, the nest of the bank-myna (_A. +ginginianus_) is built in a hole in a well, a sandbank, or a cliff. +The birds breed in colonies; each pair excavates its own nest by means +of beak and claw. Into the holes dug out in this manner the +miscellaneous nesting materials are dropped pell-mell after the manner +of all mynas. The breeding season of this species lasts from April to +July, May being the month in which most eggs are laid. + +The black-headed or brahminy myna (_Temenuchus pagodarum_) usually +begins nesting operations about a month later than the bank-myna; its +eggs are most often taken in June. The nest, which is an untidy, +odoriferous collection of rubbish, is always in a cavity. In Northern +India a hole in a tree is usually selected; in the South buildings are +largely patronised. Some years ago the writer observed a pair of these +birds building a nest in a hole made in the masonry for the passage of +the lightning conductor of the Church in Fort St. George, Madras. + +May marks the commencement of the breeding season of the pied +starlings (_Sturnopastor contra_). In this month they begin to give +vent with vigour to their cheerful call, which is so pleasing as +almost to merit the name of song. + +Throughout the rains they continue to make a joyful noise. Not that +they are silent at other seasons; they call throughout the year, but, +except at the breeding period, their voices are comparatively subdued. + +The nest is a bulky, untidy mass of straw, roots, twigs, rags, +feathers and such-like things. It is placed fairly low down in a tree. + +Many of these nests are to be seen in May, but the breeding season is +at its height in June and July. + +The grey hornbills (_Lophoceros birostris_) are now seeking out holes +in which to deposit their eggs. The hen, after having laid the first +egg, does not emerge from the nest till the young are ready to fly. +During the whole of this period she is kept a close prisoner, the +aperture to the nest cavity having been closed by her mate and herself +with their own droppings, a small chink alone being left through which +she is able to insert her beak in order to receive the food brought to +her by the cock. + +Mr. A. J. Currie gives an interesting account of a grey hornbill's +nest he discovered at Lahore in 1910. About the middle of April he +noticed a pair of paroquets nesting in a hole in a tree. On April 28th +he saw a hornbill inspecting the hole, regardless of the noisy +protests of the paroquets. On the 30th he observed that the hole had +become smaller, and suspected that the hornbills had taken possession. +On May 1st all that was left of the hole was a slit. On May 6th Mr. +Currie watched the cock hornbill feeding the hen. First the male bird +came carrying a fig in his bill. Seeing human beings near the nest, he +did not give the fig to the hen but swallowed it and flew off. +Presently the cock reappeared with a fig which he put into the slit in +the plastering; after he had parted with the fig he began to feed the +hen by bringing up food from his crop. During the process the beak of +the hen did not appear at the slit. + +On May 7th Mr. Currie opened out the nest. The hole was sixteen feet +from the ground and the orifice had a diameter of three inches; all of +this except a slit, broadest at the lower part, was filled up by +plaster. This plaster was odourless and contained embedded in it a +number of fig seeds. + +The nest hole was capacious, its dimensions being roughly 1 foot by 1 +foot by 2 feet. From the bottom five handfuls of pieces of dry bark +were extracted. Three white eggs were found lying on these pieces of +bark. The sitting hen resented the "nest-breaking," and, having pecked +viciously at the intruder, tried to escape by climbing up to the top +of the nest hole. She was dragged out of her retreat by the beak, +after an attempt to pull her out by the tail had resulted in all her +tail feathers coming away in her captor's hand! + +The young green parrots have all left their nests and are flying about +in noisy flocks. They may be distinguished from the adults by the +short tail and comparatively soft call. + +Most pairs of hoopoes are now accompanied by at least one young bird +which is almost indistinguishable from the adults. The young birds +receive, with squeaks of delight, the grubs or caterpillars proffered +by the parents. Occasionally a pair of hoopoes may be seen going +through the antics of courtship preparatory to raising a second brood. + +In scrub-jungle parties of partridges, consisting of father, mother +and five or six little chicks, wander about. + +As the shades of night begin to fall family parties of spotted owlets +issue from holes in trees or buildings. The baby birds squat on the +ground in silence, while the parents make sallies into the air after +flying insects which they bring to the young birds. + +The peafowl and sarus cranes are indulging in the pleasures of +courtship. The young cranes, that were hatched out in the monsoon of +last year, are now nearly as big as their parents, and are well able +to look after themselves; ere long they will be driven away and made +to do so. The display of the sarus is not an elaborate process. The +cock turns his back on the hen and then partially opens his wings, so +that the blackish primaries droop and the grey secondary feathers are +arched. In this attitude he trumpets softly. + +The water-hens have already begun their uproarious courtship. Their +weird calls must be heard to be appreciated. They consist of series of +_kok_, _koks_ followed by roars, hiccups, cackles and gurgles. + +Black partridges, likewise, are very noisy throughout the month of +May. Their nesting season is fast approaching. + +Even as April showers in England bring forth May flowers, so does the +April sunshine in India draw forth the marriage adornments of the +birds that breed in the rains. The pheasant-tailed jacanas are +acquiring the long tail feathers that form the wedding ornaments of +both sexes. + +The various species of egret and the paddy bird all assume their +nuptial plumes in May. + +In the case of the egret these plumes are in great demand and are +known to the plumage trade as "ospreys." + +The plumes in question consist of long filamentous feathers that grow +from the neck of the egret and also from its breast. In most countries +those who obtain these plumes wait until the birds are actually +nesting before attempting to secure them, taking advantage of the fact +that egrets nest in colonies and of the parental affection of the +breeding birds. A few men armed with guns are able to shoot every +adult member of the colony, because the egrets continue to feed their +young until they are shot. As the plumes of these birds are worth +nearly their weight in gold, egrets have become extinct in some parts +of the world. + +The export of plumage from India is unlawful, but this fact does not +prevent a very large feather trade being carried on, since it is not +difficult to smuggle "ospreys" out of the country. + +Doubtless the existing Notification of the Government of India, +prohibiting the export of plumage, has the effect of checking, to some +extent, the destruction of egrets, but there is no denying the fact +that many of the larger species are still shot for their plumes while +breeding. + +In the case of cattle-egrets (_Bubulcus coromandus_) the custom of +shooting them when on the nest has given place to a more humane and +more sensible method of obtaining their nuchal plumes. These, as we +have seen, arise early in May, but the birds do not begin to nest +until the end of June. The cattle-egret is gregarious; it is the large +white bird that accompanies cattle in order to secure the insects put +up by the grazing quadrupeds. Taking advantage of the social habits of +these egrets the plume-hunters issue forth early in May and betake +themselves, in parties of five or six, to the villages where the birds +roost. Their apparatus consists of two nets, each some eight feet long +and three broad. These are laid flat on the ground in shallow water, +parallel to one another, about a yard apart. The inner side of each +net is securely pegged to the ground. By an ingenious arrangement of +sticks and ropes a man, taking cover at a distance of twenty or thirty +yards, by giving a sharp pull at a pliable cane, can cause the outer +parts of each net to spring up and meet to form an enclosure which is, +in shape, not unlike a sleeping-pal tent. When the nets have been set +in a pond near the trees where the cattle-egrets roost at night and +rest in the day-time, two or three decoy birds--captured egrets with +their eyes sewn up to prevent them struggling or trying to fly +away--are tethered in the space between the two nets; these last, +being laid flat under muddy water, are invisible. Sooner or later an +egret in one of the trees near by, seeing some of its kind standing +peacefully in the water, alights near them. Almost before it has +touched the ground the cane is pulled and the egret finds itself a +prisoner. One of the bird-catchers immediately runs to the net, +secures the victim, opens out its wings, and, holding each of these +between the big and the second toe, pulls out the nuchal plumes. This +operation lasts about five seconds. The bird is then set at liberty, +far more astonished than hurt. It betakes itself to its wild +companions, and the net is again set. Presently another egret is +caught and divested of its plumes, and the process continues all day. + +The bird-catchers spend six weeks every year in obtaining cattle-egret +plumes in this manner. They sell the plumes to middle-men, who dispose +of them to those who smuggle them out of India. + +If stuffed birds were used as decoys and the plumes of the captured +birds were snipped off with scissors instead of being pulled out, the +operation could be carried on without any cruelty, and, if legalised +and supervised by the Government, it could be made a source of +considerable revenue. + + + + +JUNE + + 'Tis raging noon; and, vertical, the sun + Darts on the head direct his forceful rays; + O'er heaven and earth, far as the ranging eye + Can sweep, a dazzling deluge reigns; and all + From pole to pole is undistinguish'd blaze. + + * * * * * + + All-conquering heat, oh, intermit thy wrath, + And on my throbbing temples potent thus + Beam not so fierce! incessant still you flow, + And still another fervent flood succeeds. + Pour'd on the head profuse. In vain I sigh, + + * * * * * + + Thrice happy he who on the sunless side + Of a romantic mountain, forest crown'd + Beneath the whole collected shade reclines. + J. THOMSON. + + With dancing feet glad peafowl greet + Bright flash and rumbling cloud; + Down channels steep red torrents sweep; + The frogs give welcome loud; + + * * * * * + + No stars in skies, but lantern-flies + Seem stars that float to earth. + WATERFIELD, _Indian Ballads_. + + +There are two Indian Junes--the June of fiction and the June of fact. +The June of fiction is divided into two equal parts--the dry half and +the wet half. The former is made up of hot days, dull with dust haze, +when the shade temperature may reach 118 degrees, and of oppressive +nights when the air is still and stagnant and the mercury in the +thermometer rarely falls below 84 degrees. Each succeeding period of +four-and-twenty hours seems more disagreeable and unbearable than its +predecessor, until the climax is reached about the 15th June, when +large black clouds appear on the horizon and roll slowly onwards, +accompanied by vivid lightning, loud peals of thunder and torrential +rain. In the June of fact practically the whole month is composed of +hot, dry, dusty, oppressive days; for the monsoon rarely reaches +Northern India before the last week of the month and often tarries +till the middle of July, or even later. + +The first rain causes the temperature to fall immediately. It is no +uncommon thing for the mercury in the thermometer to sink 20 degrees +in a few minutes. While the rain is actually descending the weather +feels refreshingly cool in contrast to the previous furnace-like heat. +Small wonder then that the advent of the creative monsoon is more +heartily welcomed in India than is spring in England. No sound is more +pleasing to the human ear than the drumming of the first monsoon rain. + +But alas! the physical relief brought by the monsoon is only +temporary. The temperature rises the moment the rain ceases to fall, +and the prolonged breaks in the rains that occur every year render the +last state of the climate worse than the first. The air is so charged +with moisture that it cannot absorb the perspiration that emanates +from the bodies of the human beings condemned to existence in this +humid Inferno. For weeks together we live in a vapour-bath, and to the +physical discomfort of perpetual clamminess is added the irritation of +prickly heat. + +Moreover, the rain brings with it myriads of torments in the form of +termites, beetles, stinking bugs, flies, mosquitoes and other creeping +and flying things, which bite and tease and find their way into every +article of food and drink. The rain also awakens from their slumbers +the frogs that have hibernated and aestivated in the sun-baked beds of +dried-up ditches and tanks. These awakened amphibia fill the welkin +with their croakings, which take the place of the avian chorus at +night. The latter ceases with dramatic abruptness with the first fall +of monsoon rain. During the monsoon the silence of the night is broken +only by the sound of falling raindrops, or the croaking of the frogs, +the stridulation of crickets innumerable, and the owlet's feeble call. +Before the coming of the monsoon the diurnal chorus of the day birds +begins to flag because the nesting season for many species is drawing +to a close. The magpie-robin still pours forth his splendid song, but +the quality of the music in the case of many individuals is already +beginning to fall off. The rollers, which are feeding their young, are +far less noisy than they were at the time of courtship. The barbets +and coppersmiths, although not so vociferous as formerly, cannot, even +in the monsoon, be charged with hiding their lights under a bushel. +Towards the end of June the _chuk_, _chuk_, _chuk_, _chuk_, _chuk_ of +Horsfield's nightjar is not often heard, but the bird continues to +utter its soft churring note. The iora's cheerful calls still resound +through the shady mango tope. The sunbirds, the fantail flycatchers, +the orioles, the golden-backed woodpeckers, the white-breasted +kingfishers and the black partridges call as lustily as ever, and the +bulbuls continue to twitter to one another "stick to it!" With the +first fall of rain the tunes of the paradise flycatchers and the +king-crows change. The former now cry "Witty-ready wit," softly and +gently, while the calls of the latter suddenly become sweet and +mellow. + +Speaking generally, the monsoon seems to exercise a sobering, a +softening influence on the voices of the birds. The pied myna forms +the one exception; he does not come into his full voice until the +rains have set in. + +The monsoon transfigures the earth. The brown, dry, hard countryside, +with its dust-covered trees, becomes for the time being a shallow lake +in which are studded emerald islets innumerable. Stimulated by the +rain many trees put forth fresh crops of leaves. At the first break in +the downpour the cultivators rush forth with their ploughs and oxen to +prepare the soil for the autumn crops with all the speed they may. + +There is much to interest the ornithologist in June. + +Of the birds whose nests have been previously described the following +are likely to have eggs or young: white-eyes, ioras, tailor-birds, +king-crows, robins, sparrows, tree-pies, seven sisters, +cuckoo-shrikes, Indian wren-warblers (second brood), sunbirds (second +brood), swifts, fantail flycatchers (second brood), orioles, paradise +flycatchers, grey horn-bills, and the various mynas, bulbuls, +butcher-birds, doves, pigeons and lapwings. The following species have +young which either are in the nest or have only recently left it: +roller, hoopoe, brown rock-chat, magpie-robin, coppersmith, green +barbet, nightjar, white-eyed buzzard, pipit, wire-tailed swallow, +white-breasted kingfisher, grey partridge, kite, golden-backed +woodpecker (second brood), and the several species of bee-eater and +lark. + +With June the breeding season for the blue rock and green pigeons +ends. In the _sal_ forests the young jungle-fowl have now mostly +hatched out and are following the old hens, or feeding independently. + +Some of the minivets are beginning to busy themselves with a second +brood. + +The breeding operations of a few species begin in June. + +Chief of these is that arch-villain _Corvus splendens_--the Indian +house-crow. Crows have no fine feathers, hence the cocks do not +"display" before the hens. To sing they know not how. Their courtship, +therefore, provides a feast for neither the eye nor the ear of man. +The lack of ornaments and voice perhaps explains the fact that among +crows there is no noisy love-making. Crows make a virtue of necessity. +Any attempt at courtship after the style of the costermonger is +resented by the whole corvine community. The only amorous display +permitted in public is head-tickling. The cock and the hen perch side +by side, one ruffles the feathers of the neck, the other inserts its +bill between the ruffled feathers of its companion and gently tickles +its neck, to the accompaniment of soft gurgles. + +Crows are the most intelligent of birds. Like the other fowls of the +air in which the brain is well developed, they build rough untidy +nests--mere platforms placed in the fork of a branch of almost any +kind of tree. The usual materials used in nest-construction are twigs, +but crows do not limit themselves to these. They seem to take a +positive pride in pressing into service materials of an uncommon +nature. Cases are on record of nests composed entirely of +spectacle-frames, wires used for the fixing of the corks of soda-water +bottles, or pieces of tin discarded by tinsmiths. + +Four, five or six eggs are laid; these are of a pale greenish-blue +hue, speckled or flaked with sepia markings. The hen alone collects +the materials for the nest, but the cock supervises her closely, +following her about and criticising her proceedings as she picks up +twigs and works them into the nest. + +From the time of the laying of the first egg until the moment of the +departure of the last young bird, one or other of the parents always +mounts guard over the nest, except when they are chasing a koel. Crows +are confirmed egg-lifters and chicken-stealers; they apply their +standard of morality to other birds, and, in consequence, never leave +their own offspring unguarded. A crow's nest at which there is no +adult crow certainly contains neither eggs nor young birds. + +As has already been stated, crows spend, much time in teasing and +annoying other birds. Retribution overtakes them in the nesting +season. The Indian koel (_Eudynamis honorata_) cuckolds them. The +crows either are aware of this or have an instinctive dislike to this +cuckoo. The sight of the koel affects a crow in much the same way as a +red cloth irritates a bull. One of these cuckoos has but to perch in a +tree that contains a crow's nest and begin calling in order to make +both the owners of the nest attack him. The koel takes full advantage +of this fact. The cock approaches the nest and begins uttering his +fluty _kuil_, _kuil_. The crows forthwith dash savagely at him. He +flies off pursued by them. He can easily outdistance his pursuers, but +is content to keep a lead of a few feet, crying _pip-pip_ or +_kuil-kuil_, and thus he lures the parent crows to some distance. No +sooner are their backs turned than the hen koel slips quietly into the +nest and deposits an egg in it. If she have time she carries off or +throws out one or more of the legitimate eggs. When the crows return +to the nest, having failed to catch the cock koel, they do not appear +to notice the trick played upon them, although the koel's egg is +smaller than theirs and of an olive-green colour. Through the greater +part of June and July the koels keep the crows busy chasing them. +Something approaching pandemonium reigns in the neighbourhood of a +colony of nesting crows: from dawn till nightfall the shrieks and +yells of the koels mingle with the harsh notes of the crows. + +Sometimes the crows return from the chase of the cock koel before the +hen is ready, and surprise her in the nest; then they attack her. She +flees in terror, and is followed by the corvi. Her screams when being +thus pursued are loud enough to awaken the Seven Sleepers. She has +cause for alarm, for, if the raging crows catch her, they will +assuredly kill her. Such a tragedy does sometimes occur. + +Not infrequently it happens that more than one koel's egg is laid in a +crow's nest. + +The incubation period of the egg of the koel is shorter than that of +the crow, the consequence is that when, as usually happens, there is +one of the former and several of the latter in a nest, the young koel +is invariably the first to emerge. It does not attempt to eject from +the nest either the legitimate eggs or the young crows when they +appear on the scene. Indeed, it lives on excellent terms with its +foster brethren. But to say this is to anticipate, for as a rule, +neither young koels nor baby crows hatch out until July. + +The crow-pheasants (_Centropus sinensis_), which are cuckoos that do +not lead a parasitic existence, are now busy with nursery duties. The +nest of the crow-pheasant or coucal is a massive structure, globular +in shape, with the entrance at one side. Large as the nest is, it is +not often discovered by the naturalist because it is almost invariably +situated in the midst of an impenetrable thicket. Three or four +pure-white eggs are laid. + +The white-necked storks or beef-steak birds (_Dissura episcopus_) are +busy at their nests in June. These birds build in large trees, usually +at a distance from water. The nest is rudely constructed of twigs. It +is about one and a half feet in diameter. The eggs are placed in a +depression lined with straw, grass or feathers. White-necked storks +often begin nest-building about the middle of May, but eggs are rarely +laid earlier than the second week of June. House-crows nest at the +same time of year, and they often worry the storks considerably by +their impudent attempts to commit larceny of building material. + +The breeding season of the paddy-birds has now fairly begun. These +birds, usually so solitary in habit, often nest in small colonies, +sometimes in company with night-herons. The nest is a slender platform +of sticks placed high up in a tree, often in the vicinity of human +habitations. Nesting paddy-birds, or pond-herons as they are +frequently called, utter all manner of weird calls, the one most +frequently heard being a curious gurgle. + +Some of the amadavats build nests in June, but the great majority +breed during the winter months. + +As soon as the first rains have fallen a few of the pheasant-tailed +jacanas begin nesting operations, but the greater number breed in +August; for this reason their nests are described in the calendar for +that month. + +In June a very striking bird makes its appearance in Northern India. +This is the pied crested cuckoo (_Coccystes jacobinus_). Its under +parts are white, as is a bar in the wing. The remainder of the plumage +is glossy black. The head is adorned by an elegant crest. The pied +cuckoo has a peculiar metallic call, which is as easy to recognise as +it is difficult to describe. The bird victimises, not crows, but +babblers; nevertheless the corvi seem to dislike it as intensely as +they dislike koels. + +By the beginning of the month the great majority of the cock _bayas_ +or weaver-birds have assumed their black-and-golden wedding garment; +nevertheless they do not as a rule begin to nest before July. + +The curious excrescence on the bill of the drake _nukta_ or comb-duck +is now much enlarged. This betokens the approach of the nesting season +for that species. + +If the monsoon happen to burst early many of the birds which breed in +the rains begin building their nests towards the end of June, but, in +nine years out of ten, July marks the beginning of the breeding period +of aquatic birds, therefore the account of their nests properly finds +place in the calendar of that month, or of August, when the season is +at its height. + + + + +JULY + + Alas! creative nature calls to light + Myriads of winged forms in sportive flight, + When gathered clouds with ceaseless fury pour + A constant deluge in the rushing shower. + _Calcutta: A Poem_. + + +In July India becomes a theatre in which Nature stages a mighty +transformation scene. The prospect changes with kaleidoscopic +rapidity. The green water-logged earth is for a time overhung by dull +leaden clouds; this sombre picture melts away into one, even more +dismal, in which the rain pours down in torrents, enveloping +everything in mist and moisture. Suddenly the sun blazes forth with +indescribable brilliance and shines through an atmosphere, clear as +crystal, from which every particle of dust has been washed away. +Fleecy clouds sail majestically across the vaulted firmament. Then +follows a gorgeous sunset in which changing colours run riot through +sky and clouds--pearly grey, jet black, dark dun, pale lavender, deep +mauve, rich carmine, and brightest gold. These colours fade away into +the darkness of the night; the stars then peep forth and twinkle +brightly. At the approach of "rosy-fingered" dawn their lights go out, +one by one. Then blue tints appear in the firmament which deepen into +azure. The glory of the ultramarine sky does not remain long without +alloy: clouds soon appear. So the scene ever changes, hour by hour and +day by day. Had the human being who passes July in the plains but one +window to the soul and that the eye, the month would be one of pure +joy, a month spent in the contemplation of splendid dawns, brilliant +days, the rich green mantle of the earth, the majesty of approaching +thunderclouds, and superb sunsets. But, alas, July is not a month of +unalloyed pleasure. The temperature is tolerably low while the rain is +actually falling; but the moment this ceases the European is subjected +to the acute physical discomforts engendered by the hot, steamy, +oppressive atmosphere, the ferocity of the sun's rays, and the teasing +of thousands of biting and buzzing insects which the monsoon calls +into being. Termites, crickets, red-bugs, stink-bugs, horseflies, +mosquitoes, beetles and diptera of all shapes and sizes arise in +millions as if spontaneously generated. Many of these are creatures of +the night. Although born in darkness all seem to strive after light. +Myriads of them collect round every burning lamp in the open air, to +the great annoyance of the human being who attempts to read out of +doors after dark. The spotted owlets, the toads and the lizards, +however, take a different view of the invasion and partake eagerly of +the rich feast provided for them. Notwithstanding the existence of +_chiks_, or gauze doors, the hexapods crowd into the lighted bungalow, +where every illumination soon becomes the centre of a collection of +the bodies of the insects that have been burned by the flame, or +scorched by the lamp chimney. Well is it for the rest of creation that +most of these insects are short-lived. The span of life of many is but +a day: were it much longer human beings could hardly manage to exist +during the rains. Equally unbearable would life be were all the +species of monsoon insects to come into being simultaneously. +Fortunately they appear in relays. Every day some new forms enter on +the stage of life and several make their exit. The pageant of insect +life, then, is an ever-changing one. To-day one species predominates, +to-morrow another, and the day after a third. Unpleasant and +irritating though these insect hosts be to human beings, some pleasure +is to be derived from watching them. Especially is this the case when +the termites or white-ants swarm. In the damp parts of Lower Bengal +these creatures may emerge at any time of the year. In Calcutta they +swarm either towards the close of the rainy season or in spring after +an exceptionally heavy thunderstorm. In Madras they emerge from their +hiding-places in October with the northeast monsoon. In the United +Provinces the winged termites appear after the first fall of the +monsoon rain in June or July as the case may be. These succulent +creatures provide a feast for the birds which is only equalled by that +furnished by a flight of locusts. In the case of the termites it is +not only the birds that partake. The ever-vigilant crows are of course +the first to notice a swarm of termites, and they lose no time in +setting to work. The kites are not far behind them. These great birds +sail on the outskirts of the flight, seizing individuals with their +claws and transferring them to the beak while on the wing. A few +king-crows and bee-eaters join them. On the ground below +magpie-robins, babblers, toads, lizards, musk-rats and other +terrestrial creatures make merry. If the swarm comes out at dusk, as +often happens, bats and spotted owlets join those of the gourmands +that are feasting while on the wing. + +The earth is now green and sweet. The sugar-cane grows apace. The +rice, the various millets and the other autumn crops are being sown. +The cultivators take full advantage of every break in the rains to +conduct agricultural operations. + +As we have seen, the nocturnal chorus of the birds is now replaced by +the croaking of frogs and the stridulation of crickets. In the +day-time the birds still have plenty to say for themselves. The +brain-fever birds scream as lustily as they did in May and June. The +koel is, if possible, more vociferous than ever, especially at the +beginning of the month. The Indian cuckoo does not call so frequently +as formerly, but, by way of compensation, the pied crested cuckoo +uplifts his voice at short intervals. + +The _whoot_, _whoot_, _whoot_ of the crow-pheasant booms from almost +every thicket. The iora, the coppersmith, the barbet, the +golden-backed woodpecker, and the white-breasted kingfisher continue +to call merrily. The pied starlings are in full voice; their notes +form a very pleasing addition to the avian chorus. Those magpie-robins +that have not brought nesting operations to a close are singing +vigorously. The king-crows are feeding their young ones in the +greenwood tree, and crooning softly to them _pitchu-wee_. At the +_jhils_ the various waterfowl are nesting and each one proclaims the +fact by its allotted call. Much strange music emanates from the +well-filled tank; the indescribable cries of the purple coots, the +curious "fixed bayonets" of the cotton teal and the weird cat-like +mews of the jacanas form the dominant notes of the aquatic symphony. + +In July the black-breasted or rain-quail (_Coturnix coromandelica_) is +plentiful in India. Much remains to be discovered regarding the +movements of this species. It appears to migrate to Bengal, the United +Provinces, the Punjab and Sind shortly before the monsoon bursts, but +it is said to arrive in Nepal as early as April. It would seem to +winter in South India. It is a smaller bird than the ordinary grey +quail and has no pale cross-bars on the primary wing feathers. The +males of this species are held in high esteem by Indians as fighting +birds. Large numbers of them are netted in the same way as the grey +quail. Some captive birds are set down in a covered cage by a +sugar-cane field in the evening. Their calls attract a number of wild +birds, which settle down in the sugar-cane in order to spend the day +there. At dawn a net is quietly stretched across one end of the field. +A rope is then slowly dragged along over the growing crop in the +direction of the net. This sends all the quail into the net. + +Very fair sport may be obtained in July by shooting rain-quail that +have been attracted by call birds. + +July marks the end of one breeding season and the beginning of +another. As regards the nesting season, birds fall into four classes. +There is the very large class that nests in spring and summer. Next in +importance is the not inconsiderable body that rears up its broods in +the rains when the food supply is most abundant. Then comes the small +company that builds nests in the pleasant winter time. Lastly there +are the perennials--such birds as the sparrow and the dove, which nest +at all seasons. In the present month the last of the summer nesting +birds close operations for the year, and the monsoon birds begin to +lay their eggs. July is therefore a favourable month for bird-nesting. +Moreover, the sun is sometimes obscured by cloud and, under such +conditions, a human being is able to remain out of doors throughout +the day without suffering much physical discomfort. + +With July ends the normal breeding season of the tree-pies, +white-eyes, ioras; king-crows, bank-mynas, paradise flycatchers, brown +rock-chats, Indian robins, dhayals, red-winged bush-larks, sunbirds, +rollers, swifts, green pigeons, lapwings and butcher-birds. + +The paradise flycatchers leave Northern India and migrate southwards a +few weeks after the young birds have left the nest. + +Numbers of bulbuls' nests are likely to be found in July, but the +breeding time of these birds is rapidly drawing to its close. Sparrows +and doves are of course engaged in parental duties; their eggs have +been taken in every month of the year. + +The nesting season is now at its height for the white-necked storks, +the koels and their dupes--the house-crows, also for the various +babblers and their deceivers--the brain-fever birds and the pied +crested cuckoos. The tailor-birds, the ashy and the Indian +wren-warblers, the brahminy mynas, the wire-tailed swallows, the +amadavats, the sirkeer cuckoos, the pea-fowl, the water-hens, the +common and the pied mynas, the cuckoo-shrikes and the orioles are all +fully occupied with nursery duties. The earliest of the brain-fever +birds to be hatched have left the nest. Like all its family the young +hawk-cuckoo has a healthy appetite. In order to satisfy it the +unfortunate foster-parents have to work like slaves, and often must +they wonder why nature has given them so voracious a child. When it +sees a babbler approaching with food, the cuckoo cries out and flaps +its wings vigorously. Sometimes these completely envelop the parent +bird while it is thrusting food into the yellow mouth of the cuckoo. +The breast of the newly-fledged brain-fever bird is covered with dark +brown drops, so that, when seen from below, it looks like a thrush +with yellow legs. Its cries, however, are not at all thrushlike. + +Many of the wire-tailed swallows, minivets and white-browed fantail +flycatchers bring up a second brood during the rains. The loud +cheerful call of the last is heard very frequently in July. + +Numbers of young bee-eaters are to be seen hawking at insects; they +are distinguishable from adults by the dullness of the plumage and the +fact that the median tail feathers are not prolonged as bristles. + +Very few crows emerge from the egg before the 1st of July, but, during +the last week in June, numbers of baby koels are hatched out. The +period of incubation for the koel's egg is shorter than that of the +crow, hence at the outset the baby koel steals a march on his +foster-brothers. Koel nestlings, when they first emerge from the egg, +differ greatly in appearance from baby crows. The skin of the koel is +black, that of crow is pink for the first two days of its existence, +but it grows darker rapidly. The baby crow is the bigger bird and has +a larger mouth with fleshy sides. The sides of the mouth of the young +koel are not fleshy. The neck of the crow nestling is long and the +head hangs down, whereas the koel's neck is short and the bird carries +its head huddled in its shoulders. Crows nest high up in trees, these +facts are therefore best observed by sending up an expert climber with +a tin half-full of sawdust to which a long string is attached. The +climber lets down the eggs or nestlings in the tin and the observer +can examine them in comfort on _terra firma_. The parent crows do not +appear to notice how unlike the young koels are to their own +nestlings, for they feed them most assiduously and make a great uproar +when the koels are taken from the nest. Baby crows are noisy +creatures; koels are quiet and timid at first, but become noisier as +they grow older. + +The feathers of crow nestlings are black in each sex. Young koels fall +into three classes: those of which the feathers are all black, those +of which a few feathers have white or reddish tips, those which are +speckled black and white all over because each feather has a white +tip. The two former appear to be young cocks and the last to be hens. +Baby koels, in addition to hatching out before their foster-brethren, +develop more quickly, so that they leave the nest fully a week in +advance of the young corvi. After vacating the nest they squat for +some days on a branch close by; numbers of them are to be seen thus in +suitable localities towards the end of July. At first the call of the +koel is a squeak, but later it takes the form of a creditable, if +ludicrous, attempt at a caw. The young cuckoo does not seem to be able +to distinguish its foster-parents from other crows; it clamours for +food whenever any crow comes near it. + +Of the scenes characteristic of the rains in India none is more +pleasing than that presented by a colony of nest-building bayas or +weaver-birds (_Ploceus baya_). These birds build in company. Sometimes +more than twenty of their wonderful retort-like nests are to be seen +in one tree. This means that more than forty birds are at work, and, +as each of these indulges in much cheerful twittering, the tree in +question presents an animated scene. Both sexes take part in +nest-construction. + +Having selected the branch of a tree from which the nest will hang, +the birds proceed to collect material. Each completed nest contains +many yards of fibre not much thicker than stout thread. Such material +is not found in quantity in nature. The bayas have, therefore, to +manufacture it. This is easily done. The building weaver-bird betakes +itself to a clump of elephant-grass, and, perching on one of the +blades, makes a notch in another near the base. Then, grasping with +its beak the edge of this blade above the notch, the baya flies away +and thus strips off a narrow strand. Sometimes the strand adheres to +the main part of the blade at the tip so firmly that the force of the +flying baya is not sufficient to sever it. The bird then swings for a +few seconds in mid-air, suspended by the strip of leaf. Not in the +least daunted the baya makes a fresh effort and flies off, still +gripping the strand firmly. At the third, if not at the second +attempt, the thin strip is completely severed. Having secured its +prize the weaver-bird proceeds to tear off one or two more strands and +then flies with these in its bill to the nesting site, uttering cries +of delight. The fibres obtained in this manner are bound round the +branch from which the nest will hang. More strands are added to form a +stalk; when this has attained a length of several inches it is +gradually expanded in the form of an umbrella or bell. The next step +is to weave a band of grass across the mouth of the bell. In this +condition the nest is often left unfinished. Indians call such +incomplete nests _jhulas_ or swings; they assert that these are made +in order that the cocks may sit in them and sing to their mates while +these are incubating the eggs. It may be, as "Eha" suggests, that at +this stage the birds are dissatisfied with the balance of the nest and +for this reason leave it. If the nest, at this point of its +construction, please the weaver-birds they proceed to finish it by +closing up the bell at one side of the cross-band to form a receptacle +for the eggs, and prolonging the other half of the bell into a long +tunnel or neck. This neck forms the entrance to the nest; towards its +extremity it becomes very flimsy so that it affords no foothold to an +enemy. Nearly every baya's nest contains some lumps of clay attached +to it. Jerdon was of opinion that the function of these is to balance +the nest properly. Indians state that the bird sticks fireflies into +the lumps of clay to light up the nest at night. This story has found +its way into some ornithological text-books. There is no truth in it. +The present writer is inclined to think that the object of these lumps +of clay is to prevent the light loofah-like nest swinging too +violently in a gale of wind. + +Both sexes take part in nest-construction. After the formation of the +cross-bar at the mouth of the bell one of the birds sits inside and +the other outside, and they pass the strands to each other and thus +the weaving proceeds rapidly. While working at the nest the bayas, +more especially the cocks, are in a most excited state. They sing, +scream, flap their wings and snap the bill. Sometimes one cock in his +excitement attacks a neighbour by jumping on his back! This results in +a fight in which the birds flutter in the air, pecking at one another. +Often the combatants "close" for a few seconds, but neither bird seems +to get hurt in these little contests. + +Every bird-lover should make a point of watching a company of +weaver-birds while these are constructing their nests. The tree or +trees in which they build can easily be located by sending a servant +in July to search for them. The favourite sites for nests in the +United Provinces seem to be babul trees that grow near borrow pits +alongside the railroad. + +In the rainy season two other birds weave nests, which are nearly as +elegant as those woven by the baya. These birds, however, do not nest +in company. They usually build inside bushes, or in long grass. + +For this reason they do not lend themselves to observation while at +work so readily as bayas do. The birds in question are the Indian and +the ashy wren-warbler. + +The former species brings up two broods in the year. One, as has been +mentioned, in March and the other in the "rains." + +The nest of the Indian wren-warbler (_Prinia inornata_) is, except for +its shape and its smaller size, very like that of a weaver-bird. It is +an elongated purse or pocket, closely and compactly woven with fine +strips of grass from 1/40 to 1/20 inch in breadth. The nest is entered +by a hole near the top. Both birds work at the nest, clinging first to +the neighbouring stems of grass or twigs, and later to the nest itself +when this has attained sufficient dimensions to afford them foothold. +They push the ends of the grass in and out just as weaver-birds do. +Like the baya, the Indian wren-warbler does not line its nest. The +eggs are pale greenish-blue, richly marked by various shades of deep +chocolate and reddish-brown. As Hume remarks: "nothing can exceed the +beauty or variety of markings, which are a combination of bold +blotches, clouds and spots, with delicate, intricately woven lines, +recalling somewhat ... those of our early favourite--the +yellow-hammer." + +The ashy wren-warbler (_Prinia socialis_) builds two distinct kinds of +nest. One is just like that of the tailor-bird, being formed by sewing +or cobbling together two, three, four or five leaves, and lining the +cup thus formed with down, wool, cotton or other soft material. The +second kind of nest is a woven one. This is a hollow ball with a hole +in the side. The weaving is not so neat as that of the baya and the +Indian wren-warbler. Moreover, several kinds of material are usually +worked into the nest, which is invariably lined. + +The building of two totally different types of nest is an interesting +phenomenon, and seems to indicate that under the name _Prinia +socialis_ are classed two different species, which anatomically are so +like one another that systematists are unable to separate them. Both +kinds of nests are found in the same locality and at the same time of +the year. Against the theory that there are two species of ashy +wren-warbler is the fact that there is no difference in appearance +between the eggs found in the two kinds of nest. All eggs are +brick-red or mahogany colour, without any spots or markings. + +Many of the Indian cliff-swallows, of which the nests are described in +the calendar for March, bring up a second brood in the "rains." + +Needless to state that in the monsoon the tank and the _jhil_ are the +happy hunting grounds of the ornithologist. + +In July and August not less than thirty species of waterfowl +nidificate. Floating nests are constructed by sarus cranes, purple +coots and the jacanas. The various species of egrets breed in colonies +in trees in some village not far from a tank; in company with them +spoonbills, cormorants, snake-birds, night-herons and other birds +often nest. The white-breasted waterhen constructs its nursery in a +thicket at the margin of some village pond. The resident ducks are +also busy with their nests. These are in branches of trees, in holes +in trees or old buildings, or on the ground. + +When describing the nesting operations of waterfowl in Northern India +it is difficult to apportion these between July and August, for the +eggs of almost all such species are as likely to be found in the one +month as in the other. A few individuals begin to lay in June, the +majority commence in July, but a great many defer operations until +August. There is scarcely an aquatic species of which it can be said: +"It never lays before August." Nor are there many of which it can be +asserted: "Their eggs are never found after July." + +Individuals differ in their habit. A retarded monsoon means that the +water-birds begin to nest later than usual. The first fall of the +monsoon rain seems to be the signal for the commencement of nesting +operations, but by no means every pair of birds obeys the signal +immediately. + +The nearest approach to a generalisation which it is possible to make +is that the egrets and paddy-birds are usually the first of the +monsoon breeders to begin nest-building, while the spot-billed duck, +the whistling teal and the bronze-winged jacana are the last. In other +words, the eggs of the former are most likely to be found in July and +those of the latter in August. + +As the calendar for this month has already attained considerable +dimensions, a description of the nests of all these water-birds is +given in the August calendar. It is, however, necessary to state that +the eggs of the following birds are likely to be found in July: purple +coot, common coot, bronze-winged and pheasant-tailed jacana, black +ibis, white-necked stork, cormorant, snake-bird, cotton teal, comb +duck, spot-billed duck, spoonbill, and the various herons and egrets. + + + + +AUGUST + + See! the flushed horizon flames intense + With vivid red, in rich profusion streamed + O'er heaven's pure arch. At once the clouds assume + Their gayest liveries; these with silvery beams + Fringed lovely; splendid those in liquid gold, + And speak their sovereign's state. He comes, behold! + MALLET. + + +The transformation scene described in July continues throughout +August. Torrential rain alternates with fierce sunshine. The earth is +verdant with all shades of green. Most conspicuous of these are the +yellowish verdure of the newly-transplanted rice, the vivid emerald of +the young plants that have taken root, the deeper hue of the growing +sugar-cane, and the dark green of the mango topes. + +Unless the monsoon has been unusually late in reaching Northern India +the autumn crops are all sown before the first week in August. The +sugar-cane is now over five feet in height. The cultivators are busily +transplanting the better kinds of rice, or running the plough through +fields in which the coarser varieties are growing. + +The aloes are in flower. Their white spikes of drooping tulip-like +flowers are almost the only inflorescences to be seen outside gardens +at this season of the year. The mango crop is over, but that of the +pineapples takes its place. + +At night-time many of the trees are illumined by hundreds of +fireflies. These do not burn their lamps continuously. Each insect +lets its light shine for a few seconds and then suddenly puts it out. +It sometimes happens that all the fireflies in a tree show their +lights and extinguish them simultaneously and thereby produce a +luminous display which is strikingly beautiful. Fireflies are to be +seen during the greater part of the year, but they are far more +abundant in the "rains" than at any other season. + +As in July so in August the voices of the birds are rarely heard after +dark. The nocturnal music is now the product of the batrachian band, +ably seconded by the crickets. + +During a prolonged break in the rains the frogs and toads are hushed, +except in _jhils_ and low-lying paddy fields. Cessation of the rain, +however, does not silence the crickets. + +The first streak of dawn is the signal for the striking up of the +jungle and the spotted owlets. Hard upon them follow the koels and the +brain-fever birds. These call only for a short time, remaining silent +during the greater part of the day. Other birds that lift up their +voices at early dawn are the crow-pheasant, the black partridge and +the peacock. These also call towards dusk. As soon as the sun has +risen the green barbets, coppersmiths, white-breasted kingfishers and +king-crows utter their familiar notes; even these birds are heard but +rarely in the middle of the day, nor have their voices the vigour that +characterised them in the hot weather. Occasionally the brown +rock-chat emits a few notes, but he does so in a half-hearted manner. +In the early days of August the magpie-robins sing at times; their +song, however, is no longer the brilliant performance it was. By the +end of the month it has completely died away. + +The Indian cuckoo no more raises its voice in the plains, but the pied +crested-cuckoo continues to call lustily and the pied starlings make a +joyful noise. The oriole's liquid _pee-ho_ is gradually replaced by +the loud _tew_, which is its usual cry at times when it is not +nesting. + +The water-birds, being busy at their nests, are of course noisy, but, +with the exception of the loud trumpeting of the sarus cranes, their +vocal efforts are heard only at the _jhil_. + +The did-he-do-its, the rollers, the bee-eaters, two or three species +of warblers and the perennial singers complete the avian chorus. + +Numbers of rosy starlings are returning from Asia Minor, where they +have reared up their broods. The inrush of these birds begins in July +and continues till October. They are the forerunners of the autumn +immigrants. Towards the end of the month the garganey or blue-winged +teal (_Querquedula circia_), which are the earliest of the migratory +ducks to visit India, appear on the tanks. Along with them comes the +advance-guard of the snipe. The pintail snipe (_Gallinago stenura_) +are invariably the first to appear, but they visit only the eastern +parts of Northern India. Large numbers of them sojourn in Bengal and +Assam. Stragglers appear in the eastern portion of the United +Provinces; in the western districts and in the Punjab this snipe is a +_rara avis_. By the third week in August good bags of pintail snipe +are sometimes obtained in Bengal. The fantail or full-snipe (_G. +coelestis_) is at least one week later in arriving. This species has +been shot as early as the 24th August, but there is no general +immigration of even the advance-guard until quite the end of the +month. + +The jack-snipe (_G. gallinula_) seems never to appear before +September. + +Most of the monsoon broods of the Indian cliff-swallow emerge from the +eggs in August. The "rains" breeding season of the amadavats or red +munias is now over, and the bird-catcher issues forth to snare them. + +His stock-in-trade consists of some seed and two or three amadavats in +one of the pyramid-shaped wicker cages that can be purchased for a few +annas in any bazaar. To the base of one of the sides of the cage a +flap is attached by a hinge. The flap, which is of the same shape and +size as the side of the cage, is composed of a frame over which a +small-meshed string net is stretched. A long string is fastened to the +apex of the flap and passed through a loop at the top of the cage. +Selecting an open space near some tall grass in which amadavats are +feeding, the bird-catcher sets down the cage and loosens the string so +that the flap rests on the earth. Some seed is sprinkled on the flap. +Then the trapper squats behind a bush, holding the end of the string +in his hand. The cheerful little _lals_ inside the cage soon begin to +twitter and sing, and their calls attract the wild amadavats in the +vicinity. These come to the cage, alight on the flap, and begin to eat +the seed. The bird-catcher gives the string a sharp pull and thus +traps his victims between the flap and the side of the cage. He then +disentangles them, places them in the cage, and again sets the trap. + +Almost all the birds that rear up their young in the spring have +finished nesting duties for the year by August. Here and there a pair +of belated rollers may be seen feeding their young. Before the +beginning of the month nearly all the young crows and koels have +emerged from the egg, and the great majority of them have left the +nest. Young house-crows are distinguished from adults by the +indistinctness of the grey on the neck. They continually open their +great red mouths to clamour for food. + +The wire-tailed swallows, swifts, pied crested-cuckoos, +crow-pheasants, butcher-birds, cuckoo-shrikes, fantail flycatchers, +babblers, white-necked storks, wren-warblers, weaver-birds, common and +pied mynas, peafowl, and almost all the resident water-birds, waders +and swimmers, except the terns and the plovers, are likely to have +eggs or young. The nesting season of the swifts and butcher-birds is +nearly over. In the case of the others it is at its height. The +wire-tailed swallows and minivets are busy with their second broods. +The nests of most of these birds have already been described. + +The Indian peafowl (_Pavo cristatus_) usually lay their large white +eggs on the ground in long grass or thick undergrowth. Sometimes they +nestle on the grass-grown roofs of deserted buildings or in other +elevated situations. Egrets, night-herons, cormorants, darters, +paddy-birds, openbills, and spoonbills build stick nests in trees. +These birds often breed in large colonies. In most cases the site +chosen is a clump of trees in a village which is situated on the +border of a tank. Sometimes all these species nest in company. Hume +described a village in Mainpuri where scores of the above-mentioned +birds, together with some whistling teal and comb-ducks, nested +simultaneously. After a site has been selected by a colony the birds +return year after year to the place for nesting purposes. The majority +of the eggs are laid in July, the young appearing towards the end of +that month or early in the present one. + +The nest of the sarus crane (_Grus antigone_) is nearly always an +islet some four feet in diameter, which either floats in shallow water +or rises from the ground and projects about a foot above the level of +the water. The nest is composed of dried rushes. It may be placed in a +_jhil_, a paddy field, or a borrow pit by the railway line. A +favourite place is the midst of paddy cultivation in some low-lying +field where the water is too deep to admit of the growing of rice. Two +very large white eggs, rarely three, are laid. This species makes no +attempt to conceal its nest. In the course of a railway journey in +August numbers of incubating saruses may be seen by any person who +takes the trouble to look for them. + +"Raoul" makes the extraordinary statement that incubating sarus cranes +do not sit when incubating, but hatch the eggs by standing over them, +one leg on each side of the nest! Needless to say there is no truth +whatever in this statement. The legs of the sitting sarus crane are +folded under it, as are those of incubating flamingos and other +long-legged birds. + +Throughout the month of August two of the most interesting birds in +India are busy with their nests. They are the pheasant-tailed and the +bronze-winged jacana. These birds live, move and have their being on +the surface of lotus-covered tanks. Owing to the great length of their +toes jacanas are able to run about with ease over the surface of the +floating leaves of water-lilies and other aquatic plants, or over +tangled masses of rushes and water-weeds. + +In the monsoon many tanks are so completely covered with vegetation +that almost the only water visible to a person standing on the bank +consists of the numerous drops that have been thrown on to the flat +surfaces of the leaves, where they glisten in the sun like pearls. + +Two species of jacana occur in India: the bronze-winged (_Motopus +indicus_) and the pheasant-tailed jacana or the water-pheasant +(_Hydrophasianus chirurgus_). They are to be found on most tanks in +the well-watered parts of the United Provinces. They occur in small +flocks and are often put up by sportsmen when shooting duck. They emit +weird mewing cries. The bronze-winged jacana is a black bird with +bronze wings. It is about the size of a pigeon, but has much longer +legs. The pheasant-tailed species is a black-and-white bird. In winter +the tail is short, but in May both sexes grow long pheasant-like +caudal feathers which give the bird its popular name. The +bronze-winged jacana does not grow these long tail feathers. + +The nests of jacanas are truly wonderful structures. They are just +floating pads of rushes and leaves of aquatic plants. Sometimes +practically the whole of the pad is under water, so that the eggs +appear to be resting on the surface of the tank. The nest of the +bronze-winged species is usually larger and more massive than that of +the water-pheasant. The latter's nest is sometimes so small as hardly +to be able to contain the eggs--a little, shallow, circular cup of +rushes and water-weeds or floating lotus leaves or tufts of +water-grass. The eggs of the two species show but little similarity. +Both, however, are very beautiful and remarkable. The eggs of the +bronze-winged jacana have a rich brownish-bronze background, on which +black lines are scribbled in inextricable confusion, so that the egg +looks as though Arabic texts had been scrawled over it. This species +might well be called "the Arabic writing-master." The eggs of the +water-pheasant are in shape like pegtops without the peg. They are of +a dark rich green-bronze colour, and devoid of any markings. + +The nest of the handsome, but noisy, purple coot (_Porphyrio +poliocephalus_) is a platform of rushes and reeds which is sometimes +placed on the ground in a rice field, but is more often floating, and +is then tethered to a tree or some other object. From six to ten eggs +are laid. These are very beautiful objects. The ground colour is +delicate pink. This is spotted and blotched with crimson; beneath +these spots there are clouds of pale purple which have the appearance +of lying beneath the surface of the shell. + +The white-breasted water-hen (_Gallinula phoenicura_) is a bird that +must be familiar to all. One pair, at least, is to be found in every +village which boasts of a tank and a bamboo clump, no matter how small +these be. The water-hen is a black bird about the size of the average +bazaar fowl, with a white face, throat and breast. It carries its +short tail almost erect, and under this is a patch of brick-red +feathers. During most seasons of the year it is a silent bird, but +from mid-May until the end of the monsoon it is exceedingly noisy, +and, were it in the habit of haunting our gardens and compounds, its +cries would attract as much attention as do those of the koel and the +brain-fever bird. As, however, water-hens are confined to tiny hamlets +situated far away from cities, many people are not acquainted with +their calls, which "Eha" describes as "roars, hiccups and cackles." +The nest is built in a bamboo clump or other dense thicket. The eggs +are stone-coloured, with spots of brown, red and purple. The young +birds, when first hatched, are covered with black down, and look like +little black ducklings. They can run, swim and dive as soon as they +leave the egg. Little parties of them are to be seen at the edge of +most village tanks in August. + +The resident ducks are all busy with their nests. The majority of them +lay their eggs in July, so that in August they are occupied with their +young. + +The cotton-teal (_Nettopus coromandelianus_) usually lays its eggs in +a hole in a mango or other tree. The hollow is sometimes lined with +feathers and twigs. It is not very high up as a rule, from six to +twelve feet above the ground being the usual level. The tree selected +for the nesting site is not necessarily close to water. Thirteen or +fourteen eggs seem to be the usual clutch, but as many as twenty-two +have been taken from one nest. Young teal, when they emerge from the +egg, can swim and walk, but they are unable to fly. No European seems +to have actually observed the process whereby they get from the nest +to the ground or the water. It is generally believed that the parent +birds carry them. Mr. Stuart Baker writes that a very intelligent +native once told him that, early one morning, before it was light, he +was fishing in a tank, when he saw a bird flutter heavily into the +water from a tree in front of him and some twenty paces distant. The +bird returned to the tree, and again, with much beating of the wings, +fluttered down to the surface of the tank; this performance was +repeated again and again at intervals of some minutes. At first the +native could only make out that the cause of the commotion was a bird +of some kind, but after a few minutes, he, remaining crouched among +the reeds and bushes, saw distinctly that it was a cotton-teal, and +that each time it flopped into the water and rose again it left a +gosling behind it. The young ones were carried somehow in the feet, +but the parent bird seemed to find the carriage of its offspring no +easy matter; it flew with difficulty, and fell into the water with +considerable force. + +August is the month in which some fortunate observer will one year be +able to confirm or refute this story. + +The comb-duck or _nukta_ (_Sarcidiornis melanotus_), which looks more +like a freak of some domesticated breed than one of nature's own +creatures, makes, in July or August, a nest of grass and sticks in a +hole in a tree or in the fork of a stout branch. Sometimes disused +nests of other species are utilised. About a dozen eggs is the usual +number of the clutch, but Anderson once found a nest containing no +fewer than forty eggs. + +The lesser whistling-teal (_Dendrocygna javanica_) usually builds its +nest in a hollow in a tree. Sometimes it makes use of the deserted +nursery of another species, and there are many cases on record of the +nest being on the ground, a _bund_, or a piece of high ground in a +_jhil_. Eight or ten eggs are laid. + +The little grebe or dabchick (_Podiceps albipennis_) is another +species that lays in July or August. This bird, which looks like a +miniature greyish-brown duck without a tail, must be familiar to +Anglo-Indians, since at least one pair are to be seen on almost every +pond or tank in Northern India. Although permanent residents in this +country, little grebes leave, in the "rains," those tanks that do not +afford plenty of cover, and betake themselves to a _jhil_ where +vegetation is luxuriant. The nest, like that of other species that +build floating cradles, is a tangle of weeds and rushes. When the +incubating bird leaves the nest she invariably covers the white eggs +with wet weeds, and, as Hume remarks, it is almost impossible to catch +the old bird on the nest or to take her so much by surprise as not to +allow her time to cover up the eggs. As a matter of fact, these birds +spend very little time upon the nest in the day-time. The sun's rays +are powerful enough not only to supply the heat necessary for +incubation but to bake the eggs. This _contretemps_, however, is +avoided by placing wet weeds on the eggs and by the general moisture +of the nest. No better idea of the heat of India during the monsoon +can be furnished than that afforded by the case of some cattle-egrets' +eggs taken by a friend of the writer's in August, 1913. He found a +clutch of four eggs; not having leisure at the time to blow them, he +placed them in a bowl on the drawing-room mantelshelf. On the evening +of the following day he heard some squeaks, but, thinking that these +sounds emanated from a musk-rat or one of the other numerous rent-free +tenants of every Indian bungalow, paid little heed to them. When, +however, the same sounds were heard some hours later and appeared to +emanate from the mantelpiece, he went to the bowl, and, lo and behold, +two young egrets had emerged! These were at once fed. They lived for +three days and appeared to be in good health, when they suddenly gave +up the ghost. + + + + +SEPTEMBER + + And sweet it is by lonely meres + To sit, with heart and soul awake, + Where water-lilies lie afloat, + Each anchored like a fairy boat + Amid some fabled elfin lake: + To see the birds flit to and fro + Along the dark-green reedy edge. + MARY HOWITT. + + +September is a much-abused month. Many people assert that it is the +most unpleasant and unhealthy season of the year. + +Malarial and muggy though it is, September scarcely merits all the +evil epithets that are applied to it. The truth is that, after the +torrid days of the hot weather and the humid heat of the rainy season, +the European is thoroughly weary of his tropical surroundings, his +vitality is at a low ebb, he is languid and irritable, thus he +complains bitterly of the climate of September, notwithstanding the +fact that it is a distinct improvement on that of the two preceding +months. + +In the early part of the month the weather differs little from that of +July and August. The days are somewhat shorter and the sun's rays +somewhat less powerful, in consequence the average temperature is +slightly lower. Normally the rains cease in the second half of the +month. Then the sky resumes the fleckless blueness which characterises +it during the greater part of the year. The blue of the sky is more +pure and more intense in September than at other times, except during +breaks in the monsoon, because the rain has washed from the atmosphere +the myriads of specks of dust that are usually suspended in it. + +The cessation of the rains is followed by a period of steamy heat. As +the moisture of the air gradually diminishes the temperature rises. +But each September day is shorter than the one before it, and, hour by +hour, the rays of the sun part with some of their power. Towards the +end of the month the nights are cooler than they have been for some +time. At sunset the village smoke begins to hang low in a diaphanous +cloud--a sure sign of the approaching cold weather. The night dews are +heavy. In the morning the blades of grass and the webs of the spiders +are bespangled with pearly dewdrops. Cool zephyrs greet the rising +sun. At dawn there is, in the last days of the month, a touch of cold +in the air. + +The Indian countryside displays a greenness which is almost +spring-like; not quite spring-like, because the fierce greens induced +by the monsoon rains are not of the same hues as those of the young +leaves of spring. The foliage is almost entirely free from dust. This +fact adds to the vernal appearance of the landscape. The _jhils_ and +tanks are filled with water, and, being overgrown with luxuriant +vegetation, enhance the beauty of the scene. But, almost immediately +after the cessation of the rains, the country begins to assume its +usual look. Day by day the grass loses a little of its greenness. The +earth dries up gradually, and its surface once more becomes dusty. The +dust is carried to the foliage, on which it settles, subduing the +natural greenery of the leaves. No sooner do the rains cease than the +rivers begin to fall. By November most of them will be sandy wastes in +which the insignificant stream is almost lost to view. + +The mimosas flower in September. Their yellow spherical blossoms are +rendered pale by contrast with the deep gold hue of the blooms of the +_san_ (hemp) which now form a conspicuous feature of the landscape in +many districts. The cork trees (_Millingtonia hortensis_) become +bespangled with hanging clusters of white, long-tubed, star-like +flowers that give out fragrant perfume at night. + +The first-fruits of the autumn harvest are being gathered in. Acre +upon acre of the early-sown rice falls before the sickle. The +threshing-floors once again become the scene of animation. The fallow +fields are being prepared for the spring crops and the sowing of the +grain is beginning. + +Throughout the month insect life is as rich and varied as it was in +July and August. + +The brain-fever bird and the koel call so seldom in September that +their cries, when heard, cause surprise. The voice of the pied +crested-cuckoo no longer falls upon the ear, nor does the song of the +magpie-robin. The green barbets lift up their voices fairly +frequently, but it is only on rare occasions that their cousins--the +coppersmiths--hammer on their anvils. The pied mynas are far less +vociferous than they were in July and August. + +By the end of September the bird chorus has assumed its winter form, +except that the grey-headed flycatchers have not joined it in numbers. + +Apart from the sharp notes of the warblers, the cooing of the doves, +the hooting of the crow-pheasants, the wailing of the kites, the +cawing of the crows, the screaming of the green parrots, the +chattering of the mynas and the seven sisters, the trumpeting of the +sarus cranes and the clamouring of the lapwings, almost the only bird +voices commonly heard are those of the fantail flycatcher, the +amadavat, the wagtail, the oriole, the roller and the sunbird. + +The cock sunbirds are singing brilliantly although they are still +wearing their workaday garments, which are quaker brown save for one +purple streak along the median line of the breast and abdomen. + +Many birds are beginning to moult. They are casting off worn feathers +and assuming the new ones that will keep them warm during the cool +winter months. With most birds the new feathers grow as fast as the +old ones fall out. In a few, however, the process of renewal does not +keep pace with that of shedding; the result is that the moulting bird +presents a mangy appearance. The mynas afford conspicuous examples of +this; when moulting their necks often become almost nude, so that the +birds bear some resemblance to miniature vultures. + +Great changes in the avifauna take place in September. + +The yellow-throated sparrows, the koels, the sunbirds, the bee-eaters, +the red turtle-doves and the majority of the king-crows leave the +Punjab. From the United Provinces there is a large exodus of +brain-fever birds, koels, pied crested-cuckoos, paradise flycatchers +and Indian orioles. These last are replaced by black-headed orioles in +the United Provinces, but not in the Punjab. + +On the other hand, the great autumnal immigration takes place +throughout the month. Before September is half over the migratory +wagtails begin to appear. Like most birds they travel by night when +migrating. They arrive in silence, but on the morning of their coming +the observer cannot fail to notice their cheerful little notes, which, +like the hanging of the village smoke, are to be numbered among the +signs of the approach of winter. The three species that visit India in +the largest numbers are the white (_Motacilla alba_), the masked (_M. +personata_) and the grey wagtail (_M. melanope_). In Bengal the first +two are largely replaced by the white-faced wagtail (_M. leucopsis_). +The names "white" and "grey" are not very happy ones. The white +species is a grey bird with a white face and some black on the head +and breast; the masked wagtail is very difficult to distinguish from +the white species, differing in having less white and more black on +the head and face, the white constituting the "mask"; the grey wagtail +has the upper plumage greenish-grey and the lower parts +sulphur-yellow. The three species arrive almost simultaneously, but +the experience of the writer is that the grey bird usually comes a day +or two before his cousins. + +On one of the last ten days of September the first batch of Indian +redstarts (_Ruticilla frontalis_) reaches India. Within twenty days of +the coming of these welcome little birds it is possible to dispense +with punkas. + +Like the redstarts the rose-finches and minivets begin to pour into +India towards the end of September. The snipe arrive daily throughout +the month. + +With the first full moon of September come the grey quail (_Coturnix +communis_). These, like the rain-quail, afford good sport with the gun +if attracted by call birds set down overnight. When the stream of +immigrating quail has ceased to flow, these birds spread themselves +over the well-cropped country. It then becomes difficult to obtain a +good bag of quail until the time of the spring harvest, when they +collect in the crops that are still standing. + +Thousands of blue-winged teal invade India in September, but most of +the other species of non-resident duck do not arrive until October or +even November. + +Not the least important of the September arrivals are the migratory +birds of prey. None of the owls seem to migrate. Nor do the vultures, +but a large proportion of the diurnal raptores leaves the plains of +India in the spring. + +To every migratory species of raptorial bird, that captures living +quarry, there is a non-migratory counterpart or near relative. It +would almost seem as if each species were broken up into two clans--a +migratory and a stationary one. Thus, of each of the following pairs +of birds the first-named is migratory and the other non-migratory: the +steppe-eagle and the tawny eagle, the large Indian and the common +kite, the long-legged and the white-eyed buzzard, the sparrow-hawk and +the shikra, the peregrine and the lugger falcon, the common and the +red-headed merlin, the kestrel and the black-winged kite. + +It is tempting to formulate the theory that the raptores are migratory +or the reverse according or not as they prey on birds of passage, and +that the former migrate merely in order to follow their quarry. +Certain facts seem to bear out this theory. The peregrine falcon, +which feeds largely on ducks, is migratory, while the lugger falcon--a +bird not particularly addicted to waterfowl--remains in India +throughout the year. + +The necessity of following their favourite quarry may account for the +migratory habits of some birds of prey, but it does not apply to all. +Thus, the osprey, which feeds almost exclusively on fish, is merely a +winter visitor to India. Again, there is the kestrel. This preys on +non-migratory rats and mice, nevertheless it leaves the plains in the +hot weather and goes to the Himalayas to breed. All the species of +birds of prey cited above as migratory begin to arrive in the plains +of India in September. The merlins come only into the Punjab, but most +of the other raptores spread over the whole of India. + +The various species of harrier make their appearance in September. +These are birds that cannot fail to attract attention. They usually +fly slowly a few feet above the surface of the earth so that they can +drop suddenly on their quarry. They squat on the ground when resting, +but their wings are long and their bodies light, so that they do not +need much rest. Those who shoot duck have occasion often to say hard +things of the marsh-harrier and the peregrine falcon, because these +birds are apt to come as unbidden guests to the shoot and carry off +wounded duck and teal before the _shikari_ has time to retrieve them. + +Of the migratory birds of prey the kestrel is perhaps the first to +arrive; the osprey and the peregrine falcon are among the last. + +Very few observations of the comings and the goings of the various +raptorial birds have been recorded; in the present state of our +knowledge it is not possible to compile an accurate table showing the +usual order in which the various species appear. This is a subject to +which those persons who dwell permanently in one place might with +advantage direct their attention. + +As regards nesting operations September is not a month of activity. + +On the 15th the close season for game birds ends in the Government +forests; and by that date the great majority of them have reared up +their broods. Grey partridge's eggs, it is true, have been taken in +September; but as we have seen, grey partridges, like doves and kites, +can scarcely be said to have a breeding season; they lay eggs whenever +it seemeth good to them. + +A few belated peafowl may still be found with eggs, but these are +exceptions. Most of the hens are strutting about proudly, accompanied +by their chicks, while the cocks are shedding their trains. Other +species of which the eggs may be found in the present month are the +white-throated munia, the common and the large grey babblers, and, of +course, the various species of dove. + +Before the last day of August all the young mynas have emerged from +the egg, and throughout the first half of September numbers of them +are to be seen following their parents and clamouring for food. Most +of the koels have departed, but some individuals belonging to the +rising generation remind us that they are still with us by emitting +sounds which are very fair imitations of the "sqwaking" of young +crows. + +Baby koels are as importunate as professional beggars and solicit food +of every crow that passes by, to the great disgust of all but their +foster-parents. + +The majority of the seven sisters have done with nursery duties for a +season. Some flocks, however, are still accompanied by impedimenta in +the shape of young babblers or pied crested-cuckoos. The impedimenta +make far more noise than the adult birds. They are always hungry, or +at any rate always demanding food in squeaky tones. With each squeak +the wings are flapped violently, as if to emphasise the demand. Every +member of a flock appears to help to feed the young birds irrespective +of whose nests these have been reared in. + +Throughout September bayas are to be seen at their nests, but, before +the month draws to its close, nearly all the broods have come out into +the great world. The nests will remain until next monsoon, or even +longer, as monuments of sound workmanship. + +In September numbers of curious brown birds, heavily barred with +black, make their appearance. These are crow-pheasants that have +emerged from nests hidden away in dense thickets. In a few weeks these +birds will lose their barred feathers and assume the black plumage and +red wings of the adult. By the end of August most of the night-herons +and those of the various species of egrets that have not been killed +by the plume-hunters are able to congratulate themselves on having +successfully reared up their broods. In September they lose their +nuptial plumes. + + + + +OCTOBER + + Ye strangers, banished from your native glades, + Where tyrant frost with famine leag'd proclaims + "Who lingers dies"; with many a risk ye win + The privilege to breathe our softer air + And glean our sylvan berries. + GISBORNE'S _Walks in a Forest_. + + +October in India differs from the English month in almost every +respect. The one point of resemblance is that both are periods of +falling temperature. + +In England autumn is the season for the departure of the migratory +birds; in India it is the time of their arrival. + +The chief feature of the English October--the falling of the +leaves--is altogether wanting in the Indian autumn. + +Spring is the season in which the pulse of life beats most vigorously +both in Europe and in Asia; it is therefore at that time of year that +the trees renew their garments. + +In England leaves are short-lived. After an existence of about six +months they "curl up, become brown, and flutter from their sprays." In +India they enjoy longer lives, and retain their greenness for the +greater part of a year. A few Indian trees, as, for example, the +shesham, lose their foliage in autumn; the silk-cotton and the coral +trees part with their leaves gradually during the early months of the +winter, but these are the exceptions; nearly all the trees retain +their old leaves until the new ones appear in spring, so that, in this +country, March, April and May are the months in which the dead leaves +lie thick upon the ground. + +In many ways the autumn season in Northern India resembles the English +spring. The Indian October may be likened to April in England. Both +are months of hope, heralds of the most pleasant period of the year. +In both the countryside is fresh and green. In both millions of avian +visitors arrive. + +Like the English April, October in Northern India is welcome chiefly +for that to which it leads. But it has merits of its own. Is not each +of its days cooler than the preceding one? Does it not produce the +joyous morn on which human beings awake to find that the hot weather +is a thing of the past? + +Throughout October the sun's rays are hot, but, for an hour or two +after dawn, especially in the latter half of the month, the climate +leaves little to be desired. An outing in the early morning is a thing +of joy, if it be taken while yet the air retains the freshness +imparted to it by the night, and before the grass has yielded up the +sparkling jewels acquired during the hours of darkness. It is good to +ride forth on an October morn with the object of renewing acquaintance +with nimble wagtails, sprightly redstarts, stately demoiselle cranes +and other newly-returned migrants. In addition to meeting many winter +visitors, the rider may, if he be fortunate, come upon a colony of +sand-martins that has begun nesting operations. + +The husbandman enjoys very little leisure at this season of the year. +From dawn till sunset he ploughs, or sows, or reaps, or threshes, or +winnows. + +The early-sown rice yields the first-fruits of the _kharif_ harvest. +By the end of the month it has disappeared before the sickle and many +of the fields occupied by it have been sown with gram. The hemp +(_san_) is the next crop to mature. In some parts of Northern India +its vivid yellow flowers are the most conspicuous feature of the +autumn landscape. They are as brilliantly coloured as broom. The _san_ +plant is not allowed to display its gilded blooms for long, it is cut +down in the prime of life and cast into a village pond, there to soak. +The harvesting of the various millets, the picking of the cotton, and +the sowing of the wheat, barley, gram and poppy begin before the close +of the month. The sugar-cane, the _arhar_ and the late-sown rice are +not yet ready for the sickle. Those crops will be cut in November and +December. + +As in September so in October the birds are less vociferous than they +were in the spring and the hot weather. During the earlier part of the +month the notes of the koel and the brain-fever bird are heard on rare +occasions; before October has given place to November, these noisy +birds cease to trouble. The pied starlings have become comparatively +subdued, their joyful melody is no longer a notable feature of the +avian chorus. In the first half of the month the green barbets utter +their familiar cries at frequent intervals; as the weather grows +colder they call less often, but at no season of the year do they +cease altogether to raise their voices. The _tonk_, _tonk_, _tonk_ of +the coppersmith is rarely heard in October; during the greater part of +the cold weather this barbet is a silent creature, reminding us of its +presence now and then by calling out _wow_ softly, as if half ashamed +at the sound of its voice. The oriole now utters its winter note +_tew_, and that sound is heard only occasionally. + +It is unnecessary to state that the perennials--the crows, kites, +doves, bee-eaters, tree-pies, tailor-birds, cuckoo-shrikes, green +parrots, jungle and spotted owlets--are noisy throughout the month. + +The king-crows no longer utter the soft notes which they seem to keep +for the rainy season; but, before settling down to the sober delights +of the winter, some individuals become almost as lively and vociferous +as they were in the nesting season. Likewise some pairs of "blue jays" +behave, in September and October, as though they were about to +recommence courtship; they perform strange evolutions in the air and +emit harsh cries, but these lead to nothing; after a few days of noisy +behaviour the birds resume their more normal habits. + +The hoopoes have been silent for some time, but in October a few of +them take up their refrain--_uk-uk-uk-uk_, and utter it with almost as +much vigour as they did in March. + +It would thus seem that the change of season, the approach of winter, +has a stimulating influence on king-crows, rollers and hoopoes, +causing the energy latent within them suddenly to become active and to +manifest itself in the form of song or dance. + +In October the pied chat and the wood-shrike frequently make sweet +melody. Throughout the month the cock sunbirds sing as lustily and +almost as brilliantly as canaries; many of them are beginning to +reassume the iridescent purple plumage which they doffed some time +ago. From every mango tope emanates the cheerful lay of the fantail +flycatcher and the lively "Think of me ... Never to be" of the +grey-headed flycatcher. Amadavats sing sweet little songs without +words as they flit about among the tall grasses. + +In the early morning and at eventide, the crow-pheasants give vent to +their owl-like hoot, preceded by a curious guttural _kok-kok-kok_. The +young ones, that left the nest some weeks ago, are rapidly losing +their barred plumage and are assuming the appearance of the adult. By +the middle of November very few immature crow-pheasants are seen. + +Migration and moulting are the chief events in the feathered world at +the present season. The flood of autumn immigration, which arose as a +tiny stream in August, and increased in volume nightly throughout +September, becomes, in October, a mighty river on the bosom of which +millions of birds are borne. + +Day by day the avian population of the _jhils_ increases. At the +beginning of the month the garganey teal are almost the only migratory +ducks to be seen on them. By the first of November brahminy duck, +gadwall, common teal, widgeon, shovellers and the various species of +pochard abound. With the duck come demoiselle cranes, curlews, storks, +and sandpipers of various species. The geese and the pintail ducks, +however, do not return to India until November. These are the last of +the regular winter visitors to come and the first to go. + +The various kinds of birds of prey which began to appear in September +continue to arrive throughout the present month. + +Grey-headed and red-breasted flycatchers, minivets, bush-chats, +rose-finches and swallows pour into the plains from the Himalayas, +while from beyond those mountains come redstarts, wagtails, starlings, +buntings, blue-throats, quail and snipe. Along with the other migrants +come numbers of rooks and jackdaws. These do not venture far into +India; they confine themselves to the North-West Frontier Province and +the Punjab, where they remain during the greater part of the winter. +The exodus, from the above-mentioned Provinces, of the bee-eaters, +sunbirds, yellow-throated sparrows, orioles, red turtle-doves and +paradise flycatchers is complete by the end of October. The above are +by no means the only birds that undergo local migration. The great +majority of species probably move about in a methodical manner in the +course of the year; a great deal of local migration is overlooked, +because the birds that move away from a locality are replaced by +others of their kind that come from other places. + +During a spell of exceptionally cold weather a great many Himalayan +birds are driven by the snow into the plains of India, where they +remain for a few days or weeks. Some of these migrants are noticed in +the calendar for December. + +In October the annual moult of the birds is completed, so that, +clothed in their warm new feathers, they are ready for winter some +time before it comes. In the case of the redstart, the bush-chat, most +of the wagtails, and some other species, the moult completely changes +the colouring of the bird. The reason of this is that the edges of the +new feathers are not of the same colour as the inner parts. Only the +margins show, because the feathers of a bird overlap like slates on a +roof, or the scales of a fish. After a time the edges of the new +feathers become worn away, and then the differently-hued deeper parts +begin to show, so that the bird gradually resumes the appearance it +had before the moult. When the redstarts reach India in September most +of the cocks are grey birds, because of the grey margins to their +feathers; by the middle of April, when they begin to depart, many of +them are black, the grey margins of the feathers having completely +disappeared; other individuals are still grey because the margins of +the feathers are broader or have not worn so much. + +October is the month in which the falconer sallies forth to secure the +hawks which will be employed in "the sport of kings" during the cold +weather. There are several methods of catching birds of prey, as +indeed there are of capturing almost every bird and beast. The amount +of poaching that goes on in this country is appalling, and, unless +determined efforts are made to check it, there is every prospect of +the splendid fauna of India being ruined. The sportsman is bound by +all manner of restrictions, but the poacher is allowed to work his +wicked will on the birds and beasts of the country, almost without let +or hindrance. + +The apparatus usually employed for the capture of the peregrine, the +shahin and other falcons is a well-limed piece of cane, about the +length of the expanse of a falcon's wings. To the middle of this a +dove, of which the eyelids have been sewn up, is tied. When a wild +falcon appears on the scene the bird-catcher throws into the air the +cane with the luckless dove attached to it. The dove flies about +aimlessly, being unable to see, and is promptly pounced upon by the +falcon, whose wings strike the limed cane and become stuck to it; then +falcon and dove fall together to the ground, where they are secured by +the bird-catcher. + +Another method largely resorted to is to tether a myna, or other small +bird, to a peg driven into the ground, and to stretch before this a +net, about three feet broad and six long, kept upright by means of two +sticks inserted in the ground. Sooner or later a bird of prey will +catch sight of the tethered bird, stoop to it, and become entangled in +the net. + +A third device is to catch a buzzard and tie together some of the +flight feathers of the wing, so that it can fly only with difficulty +and cannot go far before it falls exhausted to the ground. To the feet +of the bird of which the powers of flight have been thus curtailed a +bundle of feathers is tied. Among the feathers several horsehair +nooses are set. When a bird of prey, of the kind on which the falconer +has designs, is seen the buzzard is thrown into the air. It flaps +along heavily, and is immediately observed by the falcon, which thinks +that the buzzard is carrying some heavy quarry in its talons. Now, the +buzzard is a weakling among the raptores and all the other birds of +prey despise it. Accordingly, the falcon, unmindful of the proverb +which says that honesty is the best policy, swoops down on the buzzard +with intent to commit larceny, and becomes entangled in the nooses. +Then both buzzard and falcon fall to the ground, struggling violently. +All that the bird-catcher has to do now is to walk up and secure his +prize. + +October marks the beginning of a lull in the nesting activities of +birds, a lull that lasts until February. As we have seen, the nesting +season of the birds that breed in the rains ends in September, +nevertheless a few belated crow-pheasants, sarus cranes and +weaver-birds are often to be found in October still busy with +nestlings, or even with eggs; the latter usually prove to be addled, +and this explains the late sitting of the parent. October, however, is +the month in which the nesting season of the black-necked storks +(_Xenorhynchus asiaticus_) begins, if the monsoon has been a normal +one and the rains have continued until after the middle of September. +This bird begins to nest shortly after the monsoon rains have ceased. +Hard-set eggs have been taken in the beginning of September and as +late as 27th December. Most eggs are laid during the month of October. +The nest is a large saucer-shaped platform of twigs and sticks. Hume +once found one "fully six feet long and three broad." The nest is +usually lined with grass or some soft material and is built high up in +a tree. The normal number of eggs is four, these are of a dirty white +hue. + + + + +NOVEMBER + + It is the very carnival of nature, + The loveliest season that the year can show! + + * * * * * + + The gently sighing breezes, as they blow, + Have more than vernal softness.... + BERNARD BARTON. + + +The climate of Northern India is one of extremes. Six months ago +European residents were seeking in vain suitable epithets of +disapprobation to apply to the weather; to-day they are trying to +discover appropriate words to describe the charm of November. It is +indeed strange that no poet has yet sung the praises of the perfect +climate of the present month. + +The cold weather of Northern India is not like any of the English +seasons. Expressed in terms of the British climate it is a dry summer, +warmest at the beginning and the end, in which the birds have +forgotten to nest. + +The delights of the Indian winter are enhanced for the Englishman by +the knowledge that, while he lives beneath a cloudless sky and enjoys +genial sunshine, his fellow-men in England dwell under leaden clouds +and endure days of fog, and mist, and rain, and sleet, and snow. In +England the fields are bare and the trees devoid of leaves; in India +the countryside wears a summer aspect. + +The sowings of the spring cereals are complete by the fifteenth of +November; those of the tobacco, poppy and potato continue throughout +the month. By the beginning of December most of the fields are covered +by an emerald carpet. + +The picking of the cotton begins in the latter part of October, with +the result that November is a month of hard toil for the ponies that +have to carry the heavy loads of cotton from the fields into the +larger towns. By the middle of the month all the _san_ has been cut +and the water-nuts have been gathered in. Then the pressing of the +sugar-cane begins in earnest. The little presses that for eight months +have been idle are once again brought into use, and, from mid-November +until the end of January, the patient village oxen work them, tramping +in circles almost without interruption throughout the short hours of +daylight. + +The custard-apples are ripening; the cork trees are white with pendent +jasmine-like flowers, and the loquat trees--the happy hunting ground +of flocks of blithe little white-eyes--put forth their inconspicuous +but strongly scented blossoms. Gay chrysanthemums are the most +conspicuous feature of the garden. The shesham and the silk-cotton +trees are fast losing their leaves, but all the other trees are +covered with foliage. + +The birds revel, like man, in the perfect conditions afforded by the +Indian winter; indeed, the fowls of the air are affected by climate to +a greater extent than man is. + +Those that winter in England suffer considerable hardship and +privation, while those that spend the cold weather in India enjoy life +to the uttermost. + +Consider the birds, how they fare on a winter's day in England when +there is a foot of snow lying on the ground and the keen east wind +whistles through the branches of the trees. In the lee of brick walls, +hayricks and thick hedges groups of disconsolate birds stand, seeking +some shelter from the piercing wind. The hawthorn berries have all +been eaten. Insect food there is none; it is only in the summer time +that the comfortable hum of insects is heard in England. Thus the +ordinary food supply of the fowls of the air is greatly restricted, +and scores of field-fares and other birds die of starvation. The +snow-covered lawn in front of every house, of which the inmates are in +the habit of feeding the birds, is the resort of many feathered +things. Along with the robins and sparrows--habitual recipients of the +alms of man--are blackbirds, thrushes, tits, starlings, chaffinches, +rooks, jackdaws and others, which in fair weather avoid, or scorn to +notice, man. These have become tamed by the cold, and, they stand on +the snow, cold, forlorn and half-starved--a miserable company of +supplicants for food. Throughout the short cold winter days scarcely a +bird note is heard; the fowls of the air are in no mood for song. + +Contrast the behaviour of the birds on a winter's day in India. In +every garden scores of them lead a joyful existence. Little flocks of +minivets display their painted wings as they flit hither and thither, +hunting insects on the leaves of trees. Amid the foliage warblers, +wood-shrikes, bulbuls, tree-pies, orioles and white-eyes busily seek +for food. Pied and golden-backed woodpeckers, companies of nuthatches, +and, here and there, a wryneck move about on the trunks and branches, +looking into every cranny for insects. King-crows, bee-eaters, fantail +and grey-headed flycatchers seek their quarry on the wing, making +frequent sallies into the open from their leafy bowers. Butcher-birds, +rollers and white-breasted kingfishers secure their victims on the +ground, dropping on to them silently from their watchtowers. +Magpie-robins, Indian robins, redstarts and tailor-birds likewise +capture their prey on the ground, but, instead of waiting patiently +for it to come to them, they hop about fussily in quest of it. Bright +sunbirds flit from bloom to bloom, now hovering in the air on +rapidly-vibrating wings, now dipping their slender curved bills into +the calyces. + +On the lawn wagtails run nimbly in search of tiny insects, hoopoes +probe the earth for grubs, mynas strut about, in company with +king-crows and starlings, seeking for grasshoppers. + +Overhead, swifts and swallows dash joyously to and fro, feasting on +the minute flying things that are found in the air even on the coolest +days. Above them, kites wheel and utter plaintive cries. Higher still, +vultures soar in grim silence. Flocks of emerald paroquets fly +past--as swift as arrows shot from bows--seeking grain or fruit. + +In the shady parts of the garden crow-pheasants look for snakes and +other crawling things, seven sisters rummage among the fallen leaves +for insects, and rose-finches pick from off the ground the tiny seeds +on which they feed. + +The fields and open plains swarm with larks, pipits, finch-larks, +lapwings, plovers, quail, buntings, mynas, crows, harriers, buzzards, +kestrels, and a score of other birds. + +But it is at the _jhils_ that bird life seems most abundant. On some +tanks as many as sixty different kinds of winged things may be +counted. There are the birds that swim in the deep water--the ducks, +teal, dabchicks, cormorants and snake-birds; the birds that run about +on the floating leaves of water-lilies and other aquatic plants--the +jacanas, water-pheasants and wagtails; the birds that wade in the +shallow water and feed on frogs or creatures that lurk hidden in the +mud--the herons, paddy-birds, storks, cranes, pelicans, whimbrels, +curlews, ibises and spoonbills; the birds that live among sedges and +reeds--the snipe, reed-warblers, purple coots and water-rails. Then +there are the birds that fly overhead--the great kite-like ospreys +that frequently check their flight to drop into the water with a big +splash, in order to secure a fish; the kingfishers that dive so neatly +as barely to disturb the smooth surface of the lake when they enter +and leave it; the graceful terns that pick their food off the face of +the _jhil_; the swifts and swallows that feed on the insects which +always hover over still water. + +Go where we will, be it to the sun-steeped garden, the shady mango +grove, the dusty road, the grassy plain, the fallow field, or among +the growing crops, there do we find bird life in abundance and food in +plenty to support it. + +This is not the breeding season, therefore the bird choir is not at +its best, nevertheless the feathered folk everywhere proclaim the +pleasure of existence by making a joyful noise. From the crowded +_jhil_ emanate the sweet twittering of the wagtails, the clanging call +of the geese, the sibilant note of the whistling teal, the curious +_a-onk_ of the brahminy ducks, the mewing of the jacanas and the +quacking of many kinds of ducks. Everywhere in the fields and the +groves are heard the cawing of the crows, the wailing of the kites, +the cooing of the doves, the twittering of the sparrows, the crooning +of the white-eyes, the fluting of the wood-shrikes, the tinkling of +the bulbuls, the chattering of the mynas, the screaming of the green +parrots, the golden-backed woodpeckers and the white-breasted +kingfishers, the mingled harmony and discord of the tree-pies, the +sharp monosyllabic notes of the various warblers, the melody of the +sunbirds and the flycatchers. The green barbets also call +spasmodically throughout the month, chiefly in the early morning and +the late afternoon, but the only note uttered by the coppersmith is a +soft _wow_. The hoopoe emits occasionally a spasmodic _uk-uk-uk_. + +The migrating birds continue to pour into India during the earlier +part of November. The geese are the last to arrive, they begin to come +before the close of October, and, from the second week of November +onwards, V-shaped flocks of these fine birds may be seen or heard +overhead at any hour of the day or night. + +The nesting activities of the fowls of the air are at their lowest ebb +in November. Some thirty species are known to rear up young in the +present month as opposed to five hundred in May. In the United +Provinces the only nest which the ornithologist can be sure of finding +is that of the white-backed vulture. + +Some of the amadavats are still nesting. Most of the eggs laid by +these birds in the rains yielded young ones in September, but it often +happens that the brood does not emerge from the eggs until the end of +October, with the result that in the earlier part of the present month +parties of baby amadavats are to be seen enjoying the first days of +their aerial existence. A few black-necked storks do not lay until +November; thus there is always the chance of coming upon an incubating +stork in the present month. Here and there a grey partridge's nest +containing eggs may be found. As has been said, the nesting season of +this species is not well-defined. + +The quaint little thick-billed mites known as white-throated munias +(_Munia malabarica_) are also very irregular as to their nesting +habits. Their eggs have been taken in every month of the year except +June. + +In some places Indian sand-martins are busy at their nests, but the +breeding season of the majority of these birds does not begin until +January. + +Pallas's fishing-eagle is another species of which the eggs are likely +to be found in the present month. If a pair of these birds have a nest +they betray the fact to the world by the unmusical clamour they make +from sunrise to sunset. + +The nesting season of the tawny eagle or wokab (_Aquila vindhiana_) +begins in November. The nest is a typical raptorial one, being a large +platform of sticks. It may attain a length of three feet and it is +usually as broad as it is long; it is about six inches in depth. It is +generally lined with leaves, sometimes with straw or grass and a few +feathers. It is placed at the summit of a tree. Two eggs are usually +laid. These are dirty white, more or less speckled with brown. The +young ones are at first covered with white down; in this respect they +resemble baby birds of prey of other species. The man who attempts to +take the eggs or young of this eagle must be prepared to ward off the +attack of the female, who, as is usual among birds of prey, is larger, +bolder and more powerful than the male. At Lahore the writer saw a +tawny eagle stoop at a man who had climbed a tree and secured the +eagle's eggs. She seized his turban and flew off with it, having +inflicted a scratch on his head. For the recovery of his turban the +egg-lifter had to thank a pair of kites that attacked the eagle and +caused her to drop that article while defending herself from their +onslaught. + + + + +DECEMBER + + Striped squirrels raced; the mynas perked and pricked, + The seven sisters chattered in the thorn, + The pied fish-tiger hung above the pool, + The egrets stalked among the buffaloes, + The kites sailed circles in the golden air; + About the painted temple peacocks flew. + ARNOLD, _The Light of Asia_. + + +In the eyes of the Englishman December in Northern India is a month of +halcyon days, of days dedicated to sport under perfect climatic +conditions, of bright sparkling days spent at the duck tank, at the +snipe _jhil_, in the _sal_ forest, or among the Siwaliks, days on +which office files rest in peace, and the gun, the rifle and the rod +are made to justify their existence. Most Indians, unfortunately, hold +a different opinion of December. These love not the cool wind that +sweeps across the plains. To them the rapid fall of temperature at +sunset is apt to spell pneumonia. + +The average villager is a hot-weather organism. He is content with +thin cotton clothing which he wears year in year out, whether the +mercury in the thermometer stand at 115 degrees or 32 degrees. +However, many of the better-educated Indians have learned from +Englishmen how to protect themselves against cold; we may therefore +look forward to the time when even the poorest Indian will be able to +enjoy the health-bringing, bracing climate of the present month. + +By the 1st December the last of the spring crops has been sown, most +of the cotton has been picked, and the husbandmen are busy cutting and +pressing the sugar-cane and irrigating the poppy and the _rabi_ +cereals. + +The crop-sown area is covered with a garment that, seen from a little +distance, appears to be made of emerald velvet. Its greenness is +intensified by contrast with the dried-up grass on the grazing lands. +In many places the mustard crop has begun to flower; the bright yellow +blooms serve to enliven the somewhat monotonous landscape. In the +garden the chrysanthemums and the loquat trees are still in flower; +the poinsettias put forth their showy scarlet bracts and the roses and +violets begin to produce their fragrant flowers. + +The bird choir is composed of comparatively few voices. Of the +seasonal choristers the grey-headed flycatchers are most often heard. +The fantail flycatchers occasionally sing their cheerful lay, but at +this season they more often emit a plaintive call, as if they were +complaining of the cold. + +Some of the sunbirds are still in undress plumage; a few have not yet +come into song, these give vent only to harsh scolding notes. From the +thicket emanate sharp sounds--_tick-tick_, _chee-chee_, _chuck-chuck_, +_chiff-chaff_; these are the calls of the various warblers that winter +with us. Above the open grass-land the Indian skylarks are singing at +Heaven's gate; these birds avoid towns and groves and gardens, in +consequence their song is apt to be overlooked by human beings. Very +occasionally the oriole utters a disconsolate-sounding _tew_; he is a +truly tropical bird; it is only when the sun flames overhead out of a +brazen sky that he emits his liquid notes. Here and there a hoopoe, +more vigorous than his fellows, croons softly--_uk_, _uk_, _uk_. The +coppersmith now and then gives forth his winter note--a subdued _wow_; +this is heard chiefly at the sunset hour. + +The green barbet calls spasmodically throughout December, but, as a +rule, only in the afternoon. Towards the end of the month some of the +nuthatches and the robins begin to tune up. On cloudy days the +king-crows utter the soft calls that are usually associated with the +rainy season. + +December, like November, although climatically very pleasant, is a +month in which the activities of the feathered folk are at a +comparatively low ebb. The cold, however, sends to India thousands of +immigrants. Most of these spend the whole winter in the plains of +India. Of such are the redstart, the grey-headed flycatcher, the snipe +and the majority of the game birds. Besides these regular migrants +there are many species which spend a few days or weeks in the plains, +leaving the Himalayas when the weather there becomes very inclement. +Thus the ornithologist in the plains of Northern India lives in a +state of expectancy from November to January. Every time he walks in +the fields he hopes to see some uncommon winter visitor. It may be a +small-billed mountain thrush, a blue rock-thrush, a wall-creeper, a +black bulbul, a flycatcher-warbler, a green-backed tit, a verditer +flycatcher, a black-throated or a grey-winged ouzel, a dark-grey +bush-chat, a pine-bunting, a Himalayan whistling thrush, or even a +white-capped redstart. Indeed, there is scarcely a species which +inhabits the lower ranges of the Himalayas that may not be driven to +the plains by a heavy fall of snow on the mountains. Naturally it is +in the districts nearest the hills that most of these rare birds are +seen--but there is no part of Northern India in which they may not +occur. + +The nesting activity of birds in Upper India attains its zenith in +May, and then declines until it reaches its nadir in November. With +December it begins again to increase. + +Of those birds whose nests were described last month the white-backed +vulture, Pallas's fishing-eagle, the tawny eagle, the sand-martin and +the black-necked stork are likely to be found with eggs or young in +the present month. + +December marks the beginning of the nesting season for three large +owls--the brown fish-owl, the rock horned-owl and the dusky +horned-owl. The brown fish-owl (_Ketupa ceylonensis_) is a bird almost +as large as a kite. It has bright orange orbs and long, pointed +aigrettes. Its legs are devoid of feathers. According to Blanford it +has a dismal cry like _haw_, _haw_, _haw_, _ho_. "Eha" describes the +call as a ghostly hoot--a _hoo hoo hoo_, far-reaching, but coming from +nowhere in particular. These two descriptions do not seem to agree. +There is nothing unusual in this. + +The descriptions of the calls of the nocturnal birds of prey given by +India ornithologists are notoriously unsatisfactory. This is perhaps +not surprising when we consider the wealth of bird life in this +country. It is no easy matter to ascertain the perpetrators of the +various sounds of the night, and, when the naturalist has succeeded in +fixing the author of any call, he finds himself confronted with the +difficult task of describing the sound in question. Bearing in mind +the way in which human interjections baffle the average writer, we +cannot be surprised at the poor success that crowns the endeavours of +the naturalist to syllabise bird notes. + +As regards the call of the brown fish-owl the writer has been trying +for the past three or four years to determine by observation which of +the many nocturnal noises are to be ascribed to this species. With +this object he kept one of these owls captive for several weeks; the +bird steadfastly refused to utter a sound. One hoot would have +purchased its liberty; but the bird would not pay the price: it sulked +and hissed. The bird in question, although called a fish-owl, does not +live chiefly on fish. Like others of its kind it feeds on birds, rats +and mice. Hume found in the nest of this species two quails, a pigeon, +a dove and a myna, each with the head, neck and breast eaten away, but +with the wings, back, feet and tail remaining almost intact. "Eha" has +seen the bird stoop on a hare. The individual kept by the writer +throve on raw meat. This owl is probably called the fish-owl because +it lives near rivers and tanks and invariably nests in the vicinity of +water. The nest may be in a tree or on a ledge in a cliff. Sometimes +the bird utilises the deserted cradle of a fishing-eagle or vulture. +The structure which the bird itself builds is composed of sticks and +feathers and, occasionally, a few dead leaves. Two white eggs are +laid. The breeding season lasts from December to March. + +The rock horned-owl (_Bubo bengalensis_) is of the same size as the +fish-owl, and, like the latter, has aigrettes and orange-yellow orbs, +but its legs are feathered to the toes. This owl feeds on snakes, +rats, mice, birds, lizards, crabs, and even large insects. "A loud +dissyllabic hoot" is perhaps as good a description of its call as can +be given in words. This species breeds from December to April. March +is the month in which the eggs are most likely to be found. The +nesting site is usually a ledge on some cliff overhanging water. A +hollow is scooped out in the ledge, and, on the bare earth, four white +eggs are laid. + +The dusky horned-owl (_Bubo coromandus_) may be distinguished from the +rock-horned species by the paler, greyer plumage, and by the fact that +its eyes are deep yellow, rather than orange. Its cry has been +described as _wo_, _wo_, _wo_, _wo-o-o_. The writer would rather +represent it as _ur-r-r_, _ur-r-r_, _ur-r-r-r-r_--a low grunting sound +not unlike the call of the red turtle-dove. This owl is very partial +to crows. Mr. Cripps once found fifteen heads of young crows in a nest +belonging to one of these birds. December and January are the months +in which to look for the nest, which is a platform of sticks placed in +a fork of a large tree. Two eggs are laid. + +The breeding season for Bonelli's eagle (_Hieraetus fasciatus_) begins +in December. The eyrie of this fine bird is described in the calendar +for January. + +In the Punjab many ravens build their nests during the present month. + +Throughout January, February and the early part of March ravens' nests +containing eggs or young are likely to be seen. + +Ordinarily the nesting season of the common kite (_Milvus govinda_) +does not begin until February, but as the eggs of this bird have been +taken as early as the 29th December, mention of it must be made in the +calendar for the present month. A similar remark applies to the hoopoe +(_Upupa indica_). + +Doves nest in December, as they do in every other month. + +Occasionally a colony of cliff-swallows (_Hirundo flavicolla_) takes +time by the forelock and begins to build one of its honeycomb-like +congeries of nests in December. This species was dealt with in the +calendar for February. + +Blue rock-pigeons mostly nest at the beginning of the hot weather. +Hume, however, states that some of these birds breed as early as +Christmas Day. Mr. P. G. S. O'Connor records the finding of a nest +even earlier than that. The nest in question was in a weir of a canal. +The weir was pierced by five round holes, each about nine inches in +diameter. Through four of these the water was rushing, but the fifth +was blocked by debris, and on this a pair of pigeons had placed their +nest. + + + + +GLOSSARY + + +_Arhar_. A leguminous crop plant which attains a height of four feet +or more. + +_Chik_. A curtain composed of a number of very thin strips of wood. +Chiks are hung in front of doors and windows in India with the object +of keeping out insects, but not air. + +_Holi_. A Hindu festival. + +_Jhil_. A lake or any natural depression which is filled with +rain-water at all or in certain seasons. + +_Kharif_. Autumn. Rice and other crops which are reaped in autumn are +called _kharif_ crops. Crops such as wheat which are cut in spring are +called _rabi_ crops. Two crops (sometimes three) are raised in India +annually. + +_Megas_. Sugar-cane from which the juice has been extracted. + +_Rabi_. Spring. See _Kharif_. + +_Shikari_. One who goes hunting or shooting. + +_Tope_. A term applied to a grove of mango trees, artificially +planted. Thousands of such topes exist in Northern India. In some +places they are quite a feature of the landscape. + + + + +INDEX + + +Amadavat. _See_ Red munia + + +Babbler, common (_Crateropus canorus_), 36, 49, 68, 82, 89, 108, 120, +124, 142, 156, 162, 163, 183 +--large grey (_Argya malcomi_), 162 + +Barbet, green (_Thereiceryx zeylonicus_), 7, 20, 53, 66, 68, 82, 89, +106, 108, 121, 138, 155, 168, 185, 192 + +Baya. _See_ Weaver-bird + +Bee-eater, 3, 73, 74, 108, 120, 125, 139, 157, 169, 172, 182 +--blue-tailed (_Merops philippinus_), 43, 89 +--little green (_M. viridis_), 43, 89 + +Blue Jay. _See_ Roller + +Blue-throat, 172 + +Brain-fever bird. _See_ Hawk-cuckoo + +Bulbul, 5, 20, 36, 65, 68, 89, 107, 108, 123, 182, 185 +--Bengal (_Molpastes bengalensis_), 47 +--black (_Hypsipetes psaroides_), 192 +--red-whiskered (_Otocompsa emeria_), 46 + +Bunting, 40, 41, 172, 183 +--black-headed (_Emberiza melanocephala_), 41 +--pine (_Emberiza leucocephala_), 193 +--red-headed (_Emberiza luteola_), 41 + +Buzzard, 175, 183 +--long-legged (_Buteo ferox_), 160 +--white-eyed (_Butastur teesa_), 30, 44, 68, 69, 89, 108, 160 + + +Chat, 3 +--brown-rock (_Cercomela fuscus_), 59, 70, 89, 108, 123, 138 +--dark grey bush (_Oreicola ferrea_), 193 +--Indian bush (_Pratincola maura_), 42, 172, 173 +--pied bush (_Pratincola caprata_), 21, 65, 74, 89, 170 + +Coot, common (_Fulica atra_), 135 +--purple (_Porphyrio poliocephalus_), 121, 133, 135, 146, 184 + +Coppersmith or crimson-breasted barbet (_Xantholaema haematocephala_), +7, 20, 23, 44, 53, 66, 68, 82, 89, 106, 108, 121, 138, 169, 185, 191 + +Cormorant, 3, 133, 135, 142, 183 + +Crane, 184 +--demoiselle (_Anthropoides virgo_), 167, 171 +--sarus (_Grus antigone_), 5, 98, 133, 143, 156, 176 + +Creeper, wall, 192 + +Crow, 13, 36, 69, 119, 156, 169, 183, 185 +--black, or jungle crow or corby (_Corvus macrorhynchus_), 5, 25, 44, +68, 89 +--house (_Corvus splendens_), 5, 108, 113, 124, 125, 141, 162 + +Crow-pheasant or coucal (_Centropus sinensis_), 36, 82, 112, +120, 138, 142, 156, 164, 170, 176, 183 + +Cuckoo, European (_Cuculus canorus_), 66, 80 +--hawk (_Hierococcyx varius_), 20, 36, 49, 82, 84, 120, 124, 138, 155, +157, 168 +--Indian (_Cuculus micropterus_), 85, 120, 138 +--pied crested (_Coccystes jacobinus_), 114, 120, 124, 138, 142, 155, +157, 163 +--sirkeer (_Taccocua leschenaulti_), 124 + +Cuckoo-shrike (_Grauculus macii_), 5, 51, 52, 89, 108, 124, 142, 169 + +Curlew, 171, 184 + + +Dabchick, or little grebe (_Podiceps albipennis_), 150, 183 + +Darter. _See_ Snake-bird + +Dhayal. _See_ Magpie-robin + +Did-he-do-it. _See_ Red-wattled lapwing + +Dove, 8, 9, 21, 44, 54, 68, 89, 108, 123, 156, 162, 169, 174, 185 +--little brown (_Turtur cambayensis_), 5 +--red turtle (_Oenopopelia tranquebarica_), 157, 172 +--ring (_Turtur risorius_), 5 +--spotted (_Turtur suratensis_), 5 + +Drongo or king-crow (_Dicrurus ater_), 3, 36, 38, 43, 77, 90, 107, +108, 120, 121, 138, 157, 169, 170, 182, 192 + +Duck, 3, 133, 146, 183, 185 +--brahminy (_Casarca rutila_), 64, 185 +--comb or nukta (_Sarcidiornis melanotus_), 115, 135, 143, +149 +--gadwall (_Chaulelasmus streperus_), 64, 171 +--mallard (_Anas boscas_), 64 +--pintail (_Dafila acuta_), 41, 64, 171 +--pochard (_Netta ferina_), 64, 171 +--shoveller (_Spatula clypeata_), 171 +--spot-billed (_Anas poecilorhyncha_), 134, 135 +--widgeon (_Mareca penelope_), 64, 171 + + +Eagle, 21 +--Bonelli's (_Hieraetus fasciatus_), 10, 44, 197 +--Pallas's fishing (_Haliaetus leucoryphus_), 11, 43, 187, 193 +--steppe (_Aquila bifasciata_), 160 +--tawny (_Aquila vindhiana_), 11, 44, 68, 89, 160, 187, 193 + +Egret, 99, 133, 134, 135, 142 +--cattle (_Bubulcus coromandus_), 100, 151 + + +Falcon, lugger (_Falco jugger_), 160 +--peregrine (_Falco peregrinus_), 160, 161, 174 +--shahin (_Falco peregrinator_), 174 + +Finch, rose (_Carpodacus erythrinus_), 158, 172, 183 + +Finch-lark, ashy-crowned (_Pyrrhulauda grisea_), 28, 44, 56, 68, 89, +183 + +Flycatcher, 3, 185 +--fantail (_Rhipidura albifrontata_), 5, 29, 44, 68, 83, 89, 106, 108, +125, 142, 156, 170, 182, 191 +--grey-headed (_Culicicapa ceylonensis_), 6, 21, 42, 156, 170, 172, +182, 191, 192 +--paradise (_Terpsiphone paradisi_), 42, 43, 77, 92, 107, 108, 123, +157, 172 +--red-breasted (_Siphia albicilla_), 172 +--verditer (_Stoparola melanops_), 42, 193 + + +Gadwall. _See_ Duck + +Goatsucker. _See_ Nightjar + +Goose, 3, 64, 171, 185 +--grey-lag (_Anser ferus_), 41 + +Grebe. _See_ Dabchick + + +Harrier, 161, 183 + +Hawk, sparrow, 160 + +Heron, 135, 184 +--night (_Nycticorax griseus_), 89, 113, 133, 142 +--pond, or paddy-bird (_Ardeola grayii_), 99, 113, 134, 142, 184 + +Honeysucker. _See_ Sunbird + +Hoopoe (_Upupa indica_), 7, 17, 20, 23, 68, 83, 97, 108, 170, 182, +185, 191, 197 + +Hornbill, grey (_Lophoceros birostris_), 78, 95, 108 + + +Ibis, 184 +--black (_Inocotis papillosus_), 135 + +Iora (_Aegithina tiphia_), 35, 65, 71, 72, 83, 89, 106, 108, 121, 123 + + +Jacana, 121, 133, 185 +--bronze-winged (_Metopus indicus_), 134, 135, 144, 145, 183 +--pheasant-tailed (_Hydrophasianus chirurgus_), 114, 135, 144, 145, +183 + +Jackdaw, 3, 172 + +Jungle-fowl (_Gallus ferrugineus_), 108 + + +Kestrel, 160, 161, 183 + +King-crow. _See_ Drongo + +Kingfisher, 184, 185 +--pied (_Ceryle rudis_), 27, 44, 68, 88 +--white-breasted (_Halcyon smyrnensis_), 5, 45, 68, 73, 89, 106, 108, +121, 138, 182 + +Kite (_Milvus govinda_), 5, 14, 26, 44, 68, 89, 108, 119, 156, 160, +169, 183, 185, 191 +--black-winged (_Elanus caeruleus_), 160 +--brahminy (_Haliastur indicus_), 56, 68 +--large Indian (_Milvus melanotis_), 160 + +Koel (_Eudynamis honorata_), 8, 43, 82, 84, 110, 120, 124, 125, 138, +141, 155, 157, 163, 168 + + +Lapwing, 108, 123, 183 +--red-wattled (_Sarcogrammus indicus_), 5, 77, 88, 89, 139 +--yellow-wattled (_Sarciophorus malabaricus_), 77, 89 + +Lark, crested (_Galerita cristata_), 21, 56, 89, 108 +--red-winged bush (_Mirafra erythroptera_), 123 +--sky (_Alauda gulgula_), 21, 68, 89, 108, 183, 191 + + +Mallard. _See_ Duck + +Martin, sand (_Cotyle sinensis_), 14, 21, 44, 68, 73, 89, 167, 187, +193 + +Merlin, common (_Aesalon regulus_), 160, 161 +--red-headed (_Aesalon chicquera_), 12, 21, 44, 68, 89, 160 + +Minivet, 51, 158, 172, 181 +--little (_Pericrocotus peregrinus_), 52, 68, 89, 125, 142 + +Munia, 21 +--red or amadavat (_Estrelda amandava_), 15, 44, 124, 140, 156, 186 +--white-throated (_Uroloncha malabarica_), 16, 44, 162, 186 + +Myna, 5, 82, 108, 156, 157, 175, 182, 183 +--bank (_Acridotheres ginginianus_), 59, 89, 94, 123 +--brahminy (_Temenuchus pagodarum_), 73, 94, 124 +--common (_Acridotheres tristis_), 59, 73, 93, 124, 142, 162, 185 +--pied. _See_ Pied Starling + + +Nightjar, 53, 66, 87, 89, 108 +--Franklin's (_Caprimulgus monticolus_), 37, 88 +--Horsfield's (_Caprimulgus horsfieldi_), 37, 88, 106 +--Indian (_Caprimulgus asiaticus_), 37, 88 + +Nuthatch (_Sitta castaneiventris_), 7, 20, 23, 44, 68, 83, 88, 182, +192 + + +Openbill (_Anastomus oscitans_), 142 + +Oriole, 78, 83, 106, 108, 124, 138, 156, 157, 169, 172, 182, 191 +--black-headed (_Oriolus melanocephalus_), 20, 42 +--Indian (_Oriolus kundoo_), 42, 90 + +Osprey, 3, 160, 161, 184 + +Ouzel, black-throated (_Merula atrigularis_), 193 +--grey-winged (_Merula boulboul_), 193 + +Owl, 66, 159 +--barn (_Strix flammea_), 29, 49 +--brown fish (_Ketupa ceylonensis_), 14, 21, 44, 193, 194, 195 +--collared scops (_Scops bakkamaena_), 22, 44, 87 +--dusky horned (_Bubo coromandus_), 6, 14, 22, 193, 196 +--mottled wood (_Syrnium ocellatum_), 22, 44 +--rock horned (_Bubo bengalensis_), 14, 21, 44, 193, 195 + +Owlet, jungle (_Glaucidium radiatum_), 6, 86, 138, 169 +--spotted (_Athene brama_), 6, 53, 68, 86, 88, 98, 118, 138, 169 + + +Paddy-bird. _See_ Pond-heron + +Paroquet or green parrot, 5, 30, 36, 68, 88, 97, 156, 169, 183, 185 +--alexandrine (_Palaeornis eupatrius_), 31, 44 +--rose-winged (_Palaeornis torquatus_), 31, 44, 53 + +Parrot, green _See_ Paroquet + +Partridge, black (_Francolinus vulgaris_), 98, 107, 138 +--grey (_Francolinus pondicerianus_), 76, 89, 97, 108, 162, 186 + +Pea-fowl (_Pavo cristatus_), 98, 124, 138, 142, 162 + +Pelican, 3, 184 + +Pie, tree (_Dendrocitta rufa_), 5, 36, 59, 68, 89, 108, 123, 169, 185 + +Pigeon, blue rock (_Columba intermedia_), 17, 22, 69, 89, 108, 197 +--green (_Crocopus phoenicopterus_), 89, l08, 123 + +Pipit (_Anthus rufulus_), 56, 68, 89, 108 + +Plover, 142, 183 +--little ringed (_Aegialitis dubia_), 89 +--spur-winged (_Hoplopterus ventralis_), 57, 89 +--swallow (_Glareola lactea_), 57 + +Pochard. _See_ Duck + + +Quail, 64, 183 +--grey (_Coturnix communis_), 159, 172 +--rain (_Coturnix coromandelica_), 121 + + +Rail, water (_Rallus indicus_), 184 + +Raven, 3, 14, 44, 197 + +Redstart, Indian (_Ruticilla frontalis_), 158, 167, 172, 173, 182, 192 +--white-capped (_Chimarrhornis leucocephalus_), 193 + +Robin, Indian (_Thamnobia cambayensis_), 21, 35, 59, 65, 76, 89, 108, +123, 182, 191 +--magpie (_Copsychus saularis_), 8, 35, 65, 73, 74, 83, 89, 106, 108, +120, 121, 123, 138, 155, 182 + +Roller or "blue jay" (_Coracias indica_), 38, 39, 53, 67, 73, 83, 89, +106, 108, 123, 139, 141, 156, 169, 170, 182 + +Rook, 3, 172 + + +Sand-grouse, 77, 89 + +Sandpiper, 171 + +Seven Sisters. _See_ Babbler + +Shikra (_Astur badius_), 69, 89, 160 + +Shoveller. _See_ Duck + +Shrike, 38, 50, 68, 89, 108, 123, 142, 182 +--bay-backed (_Lanius vittatus_), 51 +--large grey (_Lanius lahtora_), 21, 32, 50 +--rufous-backed (_Lanius erythronotus_), 51 + +Skimmer, Indian (_Rhynchops albicollis_), 57 + +Skylark. _See_ Lark + +Snake-bird (_Plotus melanogaster_), 3, 133, 135, 142, 183 + +Snipe, 3, 64, 139, 158, 172, 184, 192 +--fantail or full (_Gallinago coelestis_), 140 +--jack (_Gallinago gallinula_), 140 +--pintail (_Gallinago stenura_), 139 + +Sparrow (_Passer domesticus_), 54, 89, 108, 123, 185 +--yellow-throated (_Gymnorhis flavicollis_), 43, 73, 89, 157, 172 + +Spoonbill, 135, 142 + +Starling, 3, 172, 182 +--pied (_Sternopastor contra_), 77, 94, 107, 124, 138, 142, 155, 168 +--rosy (_Pastor roseus_), 36, 40, 139 + +Stork, 171, 184 +--black-necked (_Xenorhynchus asiaticus_), 176, 186, 193 +--white-necked (_Dissura episcopus_), 113, 124, 135, 142 + +Sunbird, purple (_Arachnechthra asiatica_), 3, 6, 8, 20, 24, 36, 43, +44, 65, 68, 89, 106, 108, 123, 156, 157, 170, 172, 182, 185, 191 + +Swallow, 172, 182, 184 +--Indian cliff (_Hirundo fluvicola_), 17, 22, 44, 68, 89, 133, 140, +197 +--wire-tailed (_Hirundo smithii_), 54, 68, 89, 108, 124, 125, 142 + +Swift (_Cypselus indicus_), 54, 68, 89, 108, 123, 142, 182, 184 + + +Tailor-bird (_Orthotomus sutorius_), 5, 59, 65, 72, 82, 89, 108, 124, +169, 182 + +Teal, 3, 64, 143, 171, 183 +--cotton (_Nettopus coromandelianus_), 121, 135, 148 +--garganey or blue-winged (_Querquedula circia_), 139, 159, 171 +--whistling (_Dendocygna javanica_), 185 + +Tern, 57, 68, 142, 184 +--black-bellied (_Sterna melanogaster_), 57 +--river, (_Sterna seena_), 57 + +Thrush, blue rock (_Petrophila cyanus_), 192 +--Himalayan whistling (_Myophoneus temmincki_), 193 +--small-billed mountain (_Oreocincla dauma_), 192 + +Tit, green-backed (_Parus monticola_), 192 + + +Vulture, 21, 159, 183 +--Pondicherry or black (_Otogyps calvus_), 26, 44, 68, 88 +--scavenger (_Neophron ginginianus_), 56, 68, 89 +--white-backed (_Pseudogyps bengalensis_), 9, 68, 186, 193 + + +Wagtail, 156, 157, 167, 172, 173, 182, 183, 184 +--grey (_Motacilla melanope_), 158 +--masked (_Motacilla personata_), 158 +--pied (_Motacilla maderaspatensis_), 59, 65, 74, 89 +--white (_Motacilla alba_), 158 +--white-faced (_Motacilla leucopsis_), 158 + +Warbler, 139, 156, 181, 185, 191 +--ashy wren (_Prinia socialis_), 124, 132, 142 +--flycatcher (_Cryptolopha xanthoschista_), 192 +--Indian wren (_Prinia inornata_), 48, 68, 108, 124, 131, 142 +--reed (_Acrocephalus stentoreus_), 184 + +Water-hen, white-breasted (_Gallinula phoenicura_), 98, 124, 133, 146 + +Weaver-bird or baya (_Ploceus baya_), 114, 127, 142, 163, 176 + +Whimbrel, 184 + +White-eye (_Zosterops palpebrosa_), 5, 65, 71, 89, 108, 123, 180, 182, +185 + +Widgeon. _See_ Duck + +Woodpecker, golden-backed (_Brachypternus aurantius_), 5, 53, 68, 89, +106, 108, 121, 182 +--pied (_Liopicus mahrattensis_), 28, 44, 53, 68, 89, 182 + +Wood-shrike (_Tephrodornis pondicerianus_), 7, 32, 51, 65, 68, 89, +170, 182, 185 + +Wryneck, 182 + + + + +ANIMALS OF NO IMPORTANCE +BY DOUGLAS DEWAR + + +PRESS OPINIONS + +_Nature_.--"We may commend the book as an excellent example of 'Nature +teaching.'" + +_Literary World_.--"Mr. Dewar makes us laugh while he teaches us.... +These twenty essays are in all ways delightful." + +_Saturday Review_.--"A number of excellent books on Natural +History ... proceed from Anglo-Indian authors; and certainly this ... is +worthy of its predecessors." + +_Academy_.--"A chatty anecdote book ... showing a sense of humour and +kindly insight ... many amusing stories." + +_Indian Daily News_.--"Brightly and cleverly written ... pleasant and +amusing reading." + +_Morning Post_ (Delhi).--"A treasure-trove of literary art." + +_Madras Mail_.--"Mr. Dewar ... displays quite remarkable knowledge and +insight as well as a pretty wit.... Mr. Dewar's volume is calculated +to give delight to all who are interested in the creatures of God's +earth. Its humours will raise many a smile, while its keenness and +accuracy of observation should induce many readers to study more +closely the ... life ... around them." + +_Civil and Military Gazette_.--"Shows the faculty of observation as +well as a pleasant style." + +_Englishman_.--"The reader will easily fall under the sway of the +writer's charms.... Mr. Dewar's book is as interesting as it is +entertaining." + + + + +BOMBAY DUCKS +AN ACCOUNT OF SOME OF THE EVERYDAY BIRDS AND BEASTS FOUND IN A +NATURALIST'S EL DORADO +BY DOUGLAS DEWAR +ILLUSTRATED BY MAJOR F. D. S. FAYRER + + +PRESS OPINIONS + +_Standard_.--"The book is entertaining, even to a reader who is not a +naturalist first and a reader afterwards.... The illustrations cannot +be too highly praised." + +_Daily News_.--"A charming introduction to a great many interesting +birds." + +_Scotsman_.--"Like a good curry, it is richly and agreeably seasoned +with a pungent humour." + +_Manchester Guardian_.--"A series of clever and accurate essays on +Indian Natural History written by a man who really knows the birds and +beasts." + +_Daily Chronicle_.--"A series of informing and often diverting +chapters." + +_Tribune_.--"Those who know India ... will find themselves smiling +again and again at the vivid recollection called up by these +descriptions." + +_Times_.--"A collection of bright popular papers by an observant +naturalist." + +_Pall Mall Gazette_.--"Most entertaining dissertations on the tricks +and manners of many birds and beasts in India." + +_Yorkshire Daily Observer_.--"This handsome and charming book ... the +author has many interesting observations to record, and he does so in +a very racy manner." + +_Spectator_.--"Mr. Douglas Dewar's book is excellent ... the +photographs of birds by Captain Fayrer ... are most remarkable." + +_Graphic_.--"Light and easy, yet full of information." + +_County Gentleman_.--"Thoroughly interesting." + +_Illustrated London News_.--"Mr. Dewar ... has collected a series of +essays on bird life which for sprightliness and charm are equal to +anything written since that classic 'The Tribes on my Frontier' was +published." + +_Shooting Times_.--"... a more delightful work ... has not passed +through our hands for many a long day.... There is not a dull line in +the book, which is beautifully illustrated." + +_Truth_.--"... a naturalist with a happy gift for writing in a bright +and entertaining way, yet without any sacrifice of scientific +accuracy." + +_Outlook_.--"... the essays make pleasant reading.... We doubt if +anything better has been done in bird photography." + +_Pioneer_.--"... not only is the book very fascinating to read, but +most instructive." + +_Indian Daily News_.--"Mr. Dewar's excellent book ... beautifully +illustrated." + +_Indian Daily Telegraph_.--"Mr. Dewar's book is of the kind of +delightful volume which is always to be kept at hand and dipped into." + +_Madras Mail_.--"Phil Robinson delighted a generation that knew not +'Eha,' and now Mr. Dewar will complete a trio which, for some time to +come at least, will stand for all that is best in that branch of +literature which they have made their own." + +_Civil and Military Gazette_.--"A volume which is far the best of its +kind since the immortal works of Phil Robinson and 'Eha.'" + +_The Indian Field_.--"... these charming chapters.... There is not a +dull paragraph in the whole book." + + + + +BIRDS OF THE PLAINS +BY DOUGLAS DEWAR + + +PRESS OPINIONS + +_Daily Chronicle_.--"Here is a work worthy of all commendation to +those who love birds." + +_Daily Graphic_.--"... a work which all bird lovers will welcome ... +beautifully illustrated." + +_Daily Express_.--"... light, sprightly and thoroughly entertaining." + +_Globe_.--"Mr. Dewar ... is gifted with the descriptive art in a high +degree, and his vivacious style communicates the characters and habits +of the birds with unerring fidelity and infinite spirit." + +_Sportsman_.--"Mr. Dewar has a delightfully simple and quaintly +humorous way of expressing himself, and his clever word-pictures of +bird-life make charming reading." + +_Manchester Guardian_.--"His breezy style is pleasant and easy +reading. The photographs deserve the highest praise." + +_Manchester Courier_.--"Mr. Dewar has produced a book that will +delight not only ornithologists, but all who have the good fortune to +light on this humorously instructive volume." + +_Western Morning News_.--"The book is enjoyable from the playful +preface to the last chapter." + +_Spectator_.--"... the contents are excellent." + +_Field_.--"... it may well stand on the same bookshelf with the +entertaining and instructive writings of 'Eha.'" + +_Madame_.--"... accounts of many birds written in the author's +inimitable style." + +_Outlook_.--"... as charming a volume--avowedly ornithological--as it +has been our good fortune to encounter." + +_Sunday Times_.--"Mr. Dewar, like Goldsmith, has a delightful style." + +_Pall Mall Gazette_.--"Mr. Dewar's volume is one of the best recent +examples of sound information conveyed in attractive literary form." + +_Literary World_.--"Upon every page ... there is a merit to justify +the existence of the page." + +_Dundee Advertiser_.--"... just as good reading as ... 'Bombay Ducks,' +and to say so much is to bestow high praise." + +_Birmingham Post_.--"There is a gladness in his aspect, a pleasing +inquisitiveness concerning bird mystery, and a simple, candid style of +self-revelation in his essays full of fascination, with touches now +and again that remind one of the descriptive qualities of Francis A. +Knight. The wood-joy that inspired the felicitous phrases and +delightful reflections of John Burroughs in the Western Hemisphere +finds its counterpart in these Indian bird-pictures." + +_Indian Field_.--"... not a volume that will grow dusty and uncared +for on a neglected shelf." + +_Times of India_.--"The book has a charm all its own, and is written +with rare humour, a humour that in no way detracts from its scientific +utility." + +_Englishman_.--"One of the most interesting books on bird-life we have +seen." + + + + +INDIAN BIRDS +A KEY TO THE COMMON BIRDS OF THE PLAINS OF INDIA +BY DOUGLAS DEWAR + + +PRESS OPINIONS + +_Pall Mall Gazette_.--"This practical and useful work ... is a key to +the everyday birds of the Indian plains, in which birds are classified +according to their habits and outward differences ... and familiarity +with these pages would enable the average man in a few weeks to know +all the birds he meets in an Indian station." + +_Daily Mail_.--"The plan of this clever little volume ... is as simple +as it is ingenious.... It is a safe and thorough guide." + +_Athenaeum_.--"Mr. Dewar is a capable guide." + +_Manchester Guardian_.--"... new, original and invaluable to the +beginner ... it is a small book, but it represents a wonderful amount +of thoughtful ingenuity and patient work." + +_Daily News_.--"We feel inclined to defy any Indian bird to hide its +identity from an enquirer armed with this volume." + +_Truth_.--"An admirable practical handbook of Indian ornithology." + +_Scotsman_.--"Mr. Dewar's compact, clearly classified, concise and +comprehensive manual ... cannot but prove eminently serviceable." + +_Spectator_.--"The book is most carefully compiled and much ingenuity +is displayed in framing this artificial analysis." + +_Western Daily Mercury_.--"A very interesting volume." + +_Manchester Courier_.--"All ornithologists in India ... will +appreciate and value 'Indian Birds.'" + +_Literary Post_.--"... a model of all that such a book should be." + +_Pioneer_.--"The plan of the book is unique.... It can be heartily +recommended." + +_Indian Field_.--"We can thoroughly recommend this book to all not +versed in ornithology and who wish to know our birds without having to +kill them." + + + + +JUNGLE FOLK +ACCOUNTS OF SOME OF THE SMALLER FRY OF THE INDIAN JUNGLE +BY DOUGLAS DEWAR + + +PRESS OPINIONS + +_Westminster Gazette_.--"Mr. Dewar writes brightly and cleverly about +these lesser jungle folk." + +_Scotsman_.--"... interesting and delightful." + +_Evening Standard_.--"The author ... writes not only out of the +fulness of his knowledge, but in a pleasant unpedantic style." + +_Liverpool Daily Post_.--"... most readable and enjoyable." + +_Sunday Times_.--"We give his book the highest praise possible when we +say that it will serve as a matter-of-fact commentary to Mr. Kipling's +'Jungle Books.'" + +_Irish Independent_.--"... a work of the most captivating charm." + +_Outlook_.--"... pleasant little essays." + +_Literary World_.--"This lively book ... abounds in word-pictures and +happy humour." + +_Glasgow Evening News_.--"Mr. Douglas Dewar writes with accustomed +grace and sympathetic knowledge." + +_Academy_.--"... with Mr. Dewar there is a smile on every page, and +his touch is so light that one only realises, when the process is at +an end, that a large amount of information has been imparted in an +amusing form." + +_Western Morning News_.--"Every page makes for easy reading and ready +attention." + +_Shooting Times_.--"... delightful reading." + +_Catholic Herald_.--"Quite the most interesting natural history work +we have seen for a long time." + +_Manchester Courier_.--"Mr. Dewar's ... shrewd observation, his quaint +humour and his wide knowledge of Indian bird-life make his every page +interesting." + +_The World_.--"We have read and enjoyed much of his work before, but +we think that 'Jungle Folk' makes even more delightful reading than +anything that has come from its author's pen." + +_Birmingham Daily Post_.--"... entertaining sketches ... and light +dissertations." + +_Times of India_.--"Mr. Dewar's bright and pleasant pages." + +_Madras Mail_.--"The reader who has perused Mr. Dewar's books merely +for amusement will find that he has incidentally added a good deal to +his knowledge of Indian natural history." + + + + +GLIMPSES OF INDIAN BIRDS +BY DOUGLAS DEWAR + + +PRESS OPINIONS + +_Globe_.--"Mr. Dewar gives us something more than 'glimpses' of Indian +bird-life in his very interesting volume." + +_Standard_.--"Not the least merit of the book is the author's +unwillingness to take anything for granted." + +_Spectator_.--"We know nothing better to recommend to an amateur +ornithologist who finds himself in India for the first time." + +_Guardian_.--"... vivid and delightful." + +_Observer_.--"... full of special knowledge." + +_Scotsman_.--"... a lively and interesting series of short studies." + +_Daily Graphic_.--"The book is full of the right sort of information +about birds." + +_Field_.--"... chatty and graphically written." + +_Daily Citizen_.--"... very pleasant and very instructive reading." + +_The World_.--"We have read and enjoyed his earlier efforts, but we +think that his latest will be found the most valuable and enduring of +all his work." + +_Pall Mall Gazette_.--"... much first-hand observation and +experience." + +_Birmingham Daily Post_.--"These ... 'glimpses' ... so full of alert +observation and racy description, are delightful and informing +reading." + +_Newcastle Daily Chronicle_.--"... his accounts ... make us feel that +we have been with him in something more than the spirit." + +_Pioneer_.--"The charm of the volume ... lies in the evidence of the +immense amount of observation carried out by the writer." + + + + +BIRDS OF INDIAN HILLS +A GUIDE TO THE COMMON BIRDS OF THE INDIAN HILL STATIONS +BY DOUGLAS DEWAR + + +PRESS OPINIONS + +_Sunday Times_.--"Excellent is hardly good enough a term for this +volume." + +_Times_.--"Mr. Dewar writes accurately and vividly of his selected +group of birds in the Himalayas and Nilgiris, and adds a list of those +to be found in the Palni Hills." + +_Field_.--"Mr. Dewar gives short descriptions of the most notable +species, not in wearisome detail as affected by some writers, but in a +few sentences which carry enough to enable the reader to recognise a +bird when he sees it." + +_Aviatic Review_.--"... a very useful, compact little volume." + +_Pall Mall Gazette_.--"The book will appeal most of all to those who +have occasion to visit Indian hill stations." + +_Morning Post_.--"Now and again he gives us little pictures of +bird-life, which are pleasant proofs that he is, like M. Fabre, a +master of the new science that will not select the facts or distort +them to suit some splendid generalisation." + + + + +THE MAKING OF SPECIES +BY DOUGLAS DEWAR AND FRANK FINN +_WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS_ +A BOOK THAT BRINGS DARWINISM UP TO DATE + + +PRESS OPINIONS + +_Truth_.--"'The Making of Species' will do much to arrest the +fossilisation of biological science in England." + +_Outlook_.--"... a book of knowledge and originality. Messrs. Dewar +and Finn are capable investigators. This work is thoroughly +characteristic of our day. A long volume full of interest and very +clearly written." + +_Literary World_.--"The book is certainly to be welcomed for the +concise way in which it deals with the greatest problem of zoology." + +_Aberdeen Free Press_.--"The book is well written. We do not doubt +that the work will produce good fruit and attract considerable +attention." + +_Daily Telegraph_.--"Interesting and suggestive. It should receive +wide attention." + +_Dublin Daily Express_.--"The merits of the book are undoubtedly +great. We recommend it to the attentive study of all who are +interested in the subject of evolution." + +_Manchester Courier_.--"The amateur entering this perplexing field +could hardly have a better guide." + +_Nation_.--"An exceptionally interesting book." + +_Scotsman_.--"Impartial and awakening." + +_Bristol Mercury_.--"The authors ... handle a subject which has an +obvious controversial side with strength, and there are convincing +qualities as well as lucidity in the views so admirably set forth." + +_Times_.--"The two authors ... deal suggestively with the difficulties +of natural selection ... and their arguments are supported by a goodly +array of facts." + +_Liverpool Courier_.--"Contains a great deal of well-marshalled +observation." + +_Lancet_.--"A very interesting book ... simply and clearly written." + +_Dundee Advertiser_.--"... a book which is at the same time one of the +most interesting and readable on the controversial aspects of natural +history published in recent years." + +_The Christian World_.--"This very interesting work." + +_Bristol Times_.--"A work of value, which will give occasion to many +to think, and an admirable presentation of facts." + +_Westminster Review_.--"... written in popular language and contains +many original observations." + +_Daily Chronicle_.--"An interesting and suggestive book." + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Bird Calendar for Northern India, by +Douglas Dewar + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A BIRD CALENDAR FOR NORTHERN INDIA *** + +***** This file should be named 18237.txt or 18237.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/2/3/18237/ + +Produced by Ron Swanson + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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