ME BOOK

*?*

OF

INDIAN BIRDS
BY
SALIM ALI

\Wiih a map, 171 plates in colour (depicting 181 species)

3 in line and 18 in half-tone\

Published by

THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY,

6, Apollo Street, Fort,
BOMBAY
1941
 Preface

A wise old Chinese proverb has it that one picture is worth

10,000 words. This is only too true in India where bird books
and the amateur are concerned. The greatest drawback in most
of the comparatively small number of books on Indian birds
available has been the absence or extreme paucity of good coloured
illustrations. A notable advance was made by Whistler's
excellent Popular Handbook of Indian liirds which first appeared
in 1928 and contained a small number of coloured plates. The
response of the public to this long-desired feature was marked
and immediate as proved by the fact that the 2nd. enlarged
edition of the book lias since been sold out and a 3rd. edition,
still further enlarged and with more coloured plates, is now under
preparation.

In the vear 1928 the Bombay Natural J^istory Society, as

a step in their campaign for popularising;i Nature Study and
creating a body of public opinion to back their efforts in the
cause of the conservation of Indian fauna, issued a set of 5 wall-
charts illustrating in colour some 200 species of common Indian
birds, primarily for the vise of schools and other educational
institutions. It was part of their plan that the plates prepared
for these charts should l>c subsequently used to illustrate a book
on the common birds of India containing simple descriptions
and short life-histories of every species depicted, together with
a few general chapters on bird-life calculated to interest the
beginner and the lavman, and stimulate a desire for deeper
study. Unfortunately, the publication of the book has been
delayed beyond expectation. The unforeseen economic depres-
sion that intervened obliged nianv institutions to cancel or
greatly reduce their orders for the Bird Charts placed prior to
publication. This retarded the liquidation of the very consi-
derable expenditure the Society had incurred on the charts and
held up the publication of the book, since it was beyond their
means to undertake this additional liability simultaneously.
The issue of this lxiok with its large number of coloured plates
at a price that should bring it within the means of the average
purse, has now become possible entirely due to the recoupment
by the Society of their initial outlay on the preparation of the
colour-blocks for the charts, thus minimising the cost of the
present illustrations.

The number of species illustrated in colour and fully described

in this lx>ok is 181. In addition, a few more birds have been
cursorily mentioned in their appropriate places.
 It is realised that the plates, in many cases, leave much to be
desired, and that as life-like portraits some are even definitely
bad. Our difficulties in getting them prepared have been great
not the least being the fact that our artists were not at the same
time naturalists indeed, they were entirely unacquainted with
;

the requirements of this highly specialised branch of work.

Apart from the question of artistic merit, however, the drawings
are on the whole accurate enough to help in the identifications
of the birds they represent, and to that extent should serve a
useful purpose. They may also claim the merit of being the
first, and so faT the only, attempts at illustrating in colour every
species of Indian bird to be described in a l>ook.

The species selected for illustration and description are

amongst the more common we have in India, and therefore
birds
such as the ordinary citizen is likely to come across at one time
or another in the course of his day to day lile. They are princi-
pally those found in the plains, and throughout the work more
stress has been laid on the continental and peninsular races of a
species than on the Himalayan. Distribution beyond the limits
of the Indian Empire has only been roughly indicated.

Many readers will perhaps deplore the absence of local

names. These have been advisedly omitted. The greatest
drawback with local names, so far, is their extreme
inconstancy. For instance in different parts of India I have
found the name Gariicla applied to the Vulture as well
as to the Hornbill and the Green Pigeon. The general tendency
is to call any large bird Garuda. These names vary from Pro-
vince to Province and often also from one locality to another
within the same Province. Frequently the same name is applied
to two or more totally dilferent birds in adjoining localities,
or two or more totally dilferent names are applied to the same bird
in the same locality which in turn may again be loosely applied
to two or more different species in an adjoining locality On !

account of this likely confusion it has been thought best to leave

out local names altogether and let the reader discover and
note down for himself those in use in his particular locality.

I have departed from the common practice of indicating the

size of a bird in inches in favour of the system of using certain
common and familiar species as standards for comparison. Earlier
experience has convinced me that the old method conveys precious
little to the layman and is hopelessly misleading in cases where
abnormally long necks, bills or tails have to be reckoned with.
Length in inches by itself, moreover, gives no idea whatsoever
of the massiveness or otherwise of the bird described. To me
it seems that describing the Spotted Dove, for example, as
" Between the Myna and the Pigeon " gives a far clearer idea
of the size .than " Length 12 inches."

The standards employed for comparison, of size in the

following pages are :

A Sparrow Length 6 G Crow Length 17"

B (Juail 7-8 H Kite ,, 24"
C Bulbul 8
I Duck „ 24"
D Myna
E Pigeon 13 J Village hen ,, 18-30*
F Partridge 13 K Vulture „ 36"

It is hoped that the keys to identification, on pages

xxiii to xxxv will
be of further help to beginners in tracing down
and recognising the birds they see.

To the many friends who have been good enough to make

helpful suggestions from time to time 1 wish to express my
grateful thanks. 1 am particularly beholden to Mr. H. If. N.
I.owther for allowing the use of some of his charming bird photo-
graphs and to Major R. S. P. Hates for the one on page 393
showing his " hide " camouflaged for action.
 CONTENTS
I'AC.E

PREFACE m
Introduction ix

terminology ok a bird's parts and plumag

GE xix
Ilow TO RKCOGN1SE BlRDS IN THE FIELD :

1. Minis with prominent Tails xxiii XXIV

2. Birds with prominent Bills XXV xxvii

:i. Birds with prominent Crests . xxviii

4. Bright coloured birds xxix--XXX

5. Sober coloured birds XXX XXXV
Descriptions and coloured plates . .. I- -90

Some Nests and Nesting Behaviour . . 92- 104

Descriptions and coloukkd plates . . 105-188

Bird Migration . . 190 -200
Descriptions and coloured plates . . . 201 288
The Usefulness oe Birds .. 289- 296

Descriptions and coloured plates . ..297 388

Bird Watching .. 390--394

Index of Species xxxvii — xxxix

List of Black & White Plates
Nest and Eggs of the Yellow-wattled Lapwing 91
Painted Storks, White Ibises and Cormorantss usually
nest in Company 93
Mud Nests of the Cliff Swallow.
Colony of 95

The Hammock Nest of the Black-headed Oriole 191

Baya Weaver- Bird and Nest 99

Nukta or Comb-Duck at Nest 101
Male Paradise Flycatcher at Nest 103
Cattle Egrets attending on grazing buffalo 147
White Ibises on Nests 151
Large Parakeet at Nest-hole • • • • 185
 Pack
Swallows collecting before migration 189
A Flight of Rosy Pastors 193
A ringed Sparrow-Hawk ready to be released . 197

Jungle Babbler on Coral Blossoms 221

The Kestrel 241
A Scrimmage of Vultures at a Carcase 291
Thick-billed Flowerpecker eating f.oranlhus berriess 295
A liaised '
Hide '
Platform 3S9
A Camouflaged Ground '
Hide '
393

Diagrams
Illustration of names of a bird's parts Sc plumage xviii

Types of I SiHs XX
Types of Feet xxi

Map
Europe-Asia showing most important recoveries of

ringed birds in and from India, to date 195

viii
 Introduction
What is a Bird?

A Bird has been described as a Feathered Biped.' This

'

description is apt and precise, and can apply to no other animal.

Birds are vertebrate warm-blooded animals, i.e., whose

temperature remains more or less constant and independent
of the surrounding temperature. This is in contradistinction
to Reptiles, Amphibians and Fishes which are cold-blooded,
i.e., of temperature that changes with the hotness or coldness
of its surroundings.

To maintaining an even temperature, the body of

assist in
a bird covered with non-conducting feathers- -its chief
is
characteristic —
which in details of structure and arrangement
reflect the mode of life of the group to which the bird belongs.
Compare for example the thick, soft, well-greased covering on
the underside of an aquatic bird like a Duck or Grebe with the
peculiar, narrow, hairlike, double
'
feathers of the Cassowary
'

to be seen in any Zoo. Kxcept in the Flightless Birds such as

the last named, the Ostrich and the Penguin {Uatitce and Sphenici)
whose feathers grow more or less evenly over the entire surface
of the body, the growth of feathers is restricted only to well-
defined patches or tracts known as plerylce in various parts of
the body, whence they fall over and evenly cover the adjoining
naked interspaces or apteria. A study of the arrangement of
the feather tracts (pterylosis) which varies in the different orders,
families and even species is of great importance in determining
the natural relationships of different birds.

The feathers covering the body of a bird fall into 3 classes :

(1) The ordinary outside feathers known as Contour feathers or

pemue, whether covering the body as a whole or specialised as
pinions or flight feathers (remiges) or as tail feathers (rectrices)
which serve as rudder and brake (2) the fluffy Down feathers
;

or plumules hidden by the Contour feathers and comparable to

flannel underclothing, whether confined to nestlings or persisting
throughout life (3) the hair-like Filo-plumes which are hardly
;

seen until the other feathers have been plucked off. They are
particularly noticeable, for instance, in a plucked pigeon.
 —
The body temperature of birds is high ioo°-ii2° Fu.hr.—
higher than that of most mammals. Assisted by their non-
conducting covering of feathers, birds are able to withstand
great extremes of climate. As long as they can procure a
sufficiency of food supply, or fuel'
for the system, it makes
'

little material difference to them whether the surrounding

temperature is 150° on the burning desert sands or 6o°F. below
zero in the icy frozen north. Their rate of metabolism is greater
than that of mammals. They lack sweat-glands. The extra
heat generated by their extreme activity which would, under
torrid climatic conditions result in overheating, fever and death,
is eliminated through the lungs and air-sacs as fast as it is

produced. For one of the functions of the air sacs '- a feature
'

peculiar to birds and found in various parts within the body

is to promote internal perspiration. Water vapour diffuses from
the blood into these cavities and passes out by the lungs, with
which they are indirectly connected.

In addition to these two cardinal attributes, warm-blooded-

ness and insulated Birds as a class possess
feather-covering,
certain well-marked characteristics which equip them eminently
for a life in the air. In India we have at present no indigenous
flightless birds like the Ostrich or the Penguin so they need not
come under discussion here. The forelimbs of Birds, which
correspond to human arms or to the fore-legs of quadrupeds,
have been evolved to serve as perfect organs of propulsion through
the air. Many of their larger bones are hollow and often have
air sacs running into them, which, as mentioned above, function
principally as accessory respiratory organs. This makes for
lightness without sacrificing strength, and is a special adaptation
to facilitate aerial locomotion. Modifications in the structure
of the breast bone, pectoral girdle and other parts of the skeleton,
and the enormously developed breast-muscles enable a bird to fly
in the air. It has been estimated from analogy with birds that
a man, to be able to lift himself off the ground by his own elfort,
would require breast muscle at least 4 feet deep There is,
!

moreover, a general tendency for various bones to fuse with each

other, conducing to increased rigidity of the skeletal frame-
also a factor of great importance in flight. As a whole the
perfectly streamlined spindle-shaped body of a bird is designed to
offerthe minimum resistance to the wind. On account of their
warm-bloodedness coupled with these peculiar facilities for
locomotion with which Nature has endowed them, birds enjoy a
wider distribution on the earth than any other class of animals.
They cross ocean barriers and find their way to remote regions
and isolated islands, and exist under physical conditions where
their cold-blooded relatives must perish. It is also this power
of swift and sustained northern
flight that enables birds living in
lands to migrate periodically over enormous distances of land
and sea in order to escape from the rigours of winter —shortening
days and dwindling food supply to warmer and more hospitable
climes.

Birds are believed to have sprung from reptilian ancestors in

bygone aeons. At first sight this appears a far-fetched notion,
for on the face of it there seems little in common between the
grovelling cold-blooded reptile and the graceful, soaring warm-
blooded bird. But pakrontological evidence, supplied chiefly
by the earliest fossil of an undoubted bird to which we have
—
access— the Archceopteryx and modern researches on the
skeletal and other characteristics of our present-day birds, tend
in a great measure to support this belief. The method of
articulation of the skull with the backbone, for instance, and the
nucleated red blood corpuscles of the bird are distinctly reptilian
in character. To this may be added the fact that birds lay eggs
which in many cases closely resemble those of reptiles in appear-
ance and composition, and that the development of the respective
embryos up to a point is identical. In the majority of birds
scales are present on the tarsus and toes which are identical with
the scales of reptiles. In some birds like Sandgrouse, and certain
Eagles and Owls the legs are covered with feathers, a fact which
suggests that feathers are modified scales and that the two may
be interchangeable. The outer covering of the bills of certain
birds, the Puffin (Fratercula arctica) for example, is shed annually
after breeding in the same way as the slough in reptiles. The
periodical moulting of birds is also essentially the same process
as the sloughing of reptiles. In short, birds may reasonably be
considered to be extremely modified reptiles, and according to the
widely accepted classification of the great scientist Huxley, the two
classes together form the division of vertebrates termed SauropsiUa.
 Of the senses, those of Sight and Hearing are most highly
developed in birds that of Taste is comparatively poor, while
;

Smell is practically absent. In rapid accommodation of the eye,

the bird surpasses all other creatures. The focus can be altered
from a distant object to a near one almost instantaneously as ;

an American naturalist puts it, " in a fraction of time it (the eye)

can change itself from a telescope to a microscope."

For the safety of their eggs and young, birds build nests
which may range from a simple scrape in the ground, as of the
Lapwing, to such elaborate structures as the compactly woven
nest of the Weaver Bird. With rare exceptions they incubate
the eggs with the heat of their own bodies and show considerable
solicitude for the young until they are able to fend for themselves.
Careful experiments have, however, proved that in all the seem-
ingly intelligent and purposeful actions of nesting birds, in the
solicitude they display for the welfare of their young and in the
tactics they employ when the latter are in danger, instinct and
not intelligence is the primary operating factor. The power of
reasoning and the ability to meet new situations and overcome
obstacles beyond the most ordinary, are non-existent. It is good
therefore always to bear this in mind when studying birds, and
to remember that their actions and behaviour cannot be judged
entirely by human standards and emotions.

The total number of bird species known to science as

inhabiting the earth to-day may be put down as between 8 and
10 thousand. If subspecies or geographical races are taken into

account, the figure would rise to about 30,000.

For its size, the Indian Empire, in which it is customary for

and Burma, contains one of
biological purposes to include Ceylon
the richest and most varied avifaunas on the face of the globe.
Covering some 40 degrees of latitude and about the same of
longitude,it encloses within its boundaries a vast diversity of

climate and physical features ranging from the dry, scorching.

sandy deserts of Sind and Kajputana and the humid evergreen
rain forests ofAssam and the south Western Ghats, to the region
of glaciers and eternal snow in the mighty Himalayas. Smooth
wide spaces of depressed river basins either sandy, dry and sun-
scorched or cultivated, or water-logged under a steamy moisture-
laden atmosphere (the terai) lie at the base of the northern
ramparts. The great Central Indian and Deccan Plateaux
succeed the fertile alluvial Gangetic Plain and are Hanked on the
west by the broken crags and castellated outlines of the ridges of
the Western Ghats which overlook the Arabian Sea and continue
southward in gentle, smoothly-rounded slopes of green uplands —
the Nilgiri and other hills of Southern India.

This far-Hung continent— 2 /3rd of Europe in superficial

area — offers suitable living conditions to a great variety of
feathered The second edition of the Fauna of
inhabitants.
British India Series on Birds enumerates some 2,400 species and
sub-species, of which roughly 500 are winter visitors from lands
to the North.

The Indian Empire as a whole falls into the zoo-geographical

division of the earth known as the Oriental Region. For the sake
of convenience the area has been split up (Blanford, Phil. Trans.
of the Royal Soc, Vol. 194, 1901, pp. 335-436) into 5 primary
sub-divisions as under :

(a) The Indo-Gangelic Plain extending across the whole of

Northern India from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal. Its
boundaries run up the hill ranges from Karachi to Peshawar and
thence along the outer spurs of the Himalayas to Bhutan, and
thence roughly southward to east of the Sunderbans. The
southern boundary takes a line from the Rann of Cutch to Delhi
and from about Agra to Rajmahal whence it goes south to the
Bay of Bengal.

(b) Peninsular India, southwards of the above area.

(c) Ceylon.

(d) The Himalayas including the whole area of the mountain

ranges from their foothills up to the limit of tree-growth.

(e) Assam and Burma.

 The Punjab, Sind and Kajputana, however, have a fauna
differing considerably from that of the other parts of India and
resembling that found in S. \V. Asia and N. Africa, whilst the
animals of the Higher Himalayas (above the tree-line) and the
Upper Indus Valley resemble those of Central Asia. Both these
areas belong to the zoological region which extends over the
greater part of Asia and all Europe and known as the Palsearctic
Region.

A still further splitting up of the fauna within these broad

sub-divisions on the basis of ecological or environmental factors
is clearly desirable. A scrutiny shows that there is a close
similarity between the fauna and llora of those regions in which
Monsoon is heaviest, namely the
the incidence of the South-West
Himalayas east of Sikkiin and the hilly portions of Assam and
Burma on the one hand, and the south-western corner of the
Indian peninsula, south of about Goa, together with the south-
western portions of Ceylon on the other. On account of the
similar physical configuration of all these areas and their geogra-

phical position relative to the strike of the S. W. Monsoon currents,

they are areas of heavy rainfall and excessive humidity. These,
precisely, are two of the most important factors that regulate the
character of the vegetation. Similarity in vegetation is a striking
feature of these heavy-rainfall areas. As would be expected,
this similarity extends to the insect forms dependent upon the
which
plants, conduce to similarity in the birds predatory
in turn
upon them. It has thus been suggested that all these parallel
ureas, far-ilung as they are, are perhaps better lumped together
in one zoo-geographical sub-division.

There are certain biological axioms of more or less universa

application which arc found to hold good in the case of our
Indian avifauna also. They are of great importance particularly
in view of the modern practice of recognising geographical
variations and races. A cursory glance through any well-
arranged museum collection, or through the description of geo-
graphical races in any up-to-date work on systematic ornithology
—
reveals the fact that the largest race of a bird species this is true
of other warm-blooded animals as well —
is, with rare exceptions,

found inhabiting the cooler part of its distributional range while

the smallest inhabits the warmer. Parallel with this axiom is
the fact that in the Northern 1 lemisphere races occupying the
cooler (northern) portions of the range of a species tend to lay
larger clutches of eggs than those occupying warmer (southern)
parts.
Furthermore, it is well known that of a given species the races
that inhabit desert areas are always pile or sandy-coloured whereas
others living under the influence of heavy rainfall, in well-wooded
or humid tracts, tend to be darker in colouration. This is true
not only of individual races and species, but also of the entire
aspect of the avifauna of these tracts as a whole. What the
precise factors are that bring about these changes in colouration,
and the manner of their operation, we do not know. That
humidity has to do with increased pigmentation is clear enough,
and it has recently been suggested that the reduced force of
ultra-violet rays due to water- vapour suspended in the air may
account for the darkening.

A few remarks with regard to the classification of birds seem

called for in the interest of the beginner. It will be observed that
under the English or trivial name of each species in the following
pages, there appear in brackets two Latin names. The practice
of employing a uniform Latin terminology is current throughout
the modern scientific world. It is a boon to workers in different
countries since it is more or less constant and enables the reader
of one nation to understand what the writer of another is talking
about. To take an example what the Englishman calls Jloopoe
:

is Wiedehopf to the German. A Pole knows the bird as some-

—
thing else doubtless with a good many c's, z's, s's and other
consonants in bewildering juxtaposition while the Russian has
yet another ecpjally fantastic looking name for it. A fair working
knowledge of a language seldom implies a familiarity with popular
names as of birds, for instance, many of which often are of purely
local or collocpjial application. Thus it is possible that while the
Englishman may follow more or less all he reads in German about
the Wiedehopf he may still be left in some doubt as to the exact
identity of the bird. The international Latin name Upupa epops
after the English or Polish or Russian name will leave no doubt
as to what species is meant.
 In the abf)ve the name Upupa denotes the Genus of the
first

bird corresponding roughly, in everyday human terms, to the

Surname. The second name cpops indicates the Species and
corresponds, so to say, to the Christian name. Modern trend of
scientific usage has tended to split up the Species further into
smaller units called Geographical Races or Subspecies. An
example will clarify what this means : It will be admitted that
all the peoples living in India are human and belong to one and
the same human species. Yet a casual glance is enough to show
that the Punjabi is a very different type in build and physiognomy
from the dweller in Madras, or the Bengali from the Burman.
The differences, though small, are too obvious to be overlooked.
They are primarily the result of environment which includes not
only climatic conditions of heat and cold, dampness and dryness,
but also of diet and many other subtle factors working unceasingly
upon, the organism in direct or indirect ways. Thus, while
retaining all these inhabitants under the human species when you
talk of the Madrasi or the Punjabi or the Burman you automa-
tically recognise the sum total of the differences wrought in each
by his particular environment.
A comparative study of birds reveals that there are similar
minor but well-marked and readily recognisable differences in
size, colouration and other details in those species which range
over a wide area and live under diversified natural conditions, or
which have been subjected to prolonged isolation as on oceanic
islands or through other causes. It is important for science that
these differences should be duly catalogued and recognised since
they facilitate the study of variation and evolution. This
recognition is signified by adding a third Latin name to the two
already existing, to designate the Geographical Race or Subspecies.
—
Thus, for example, the species Corvus splendens the House
—
Crow has been sub-divided on the basis of constant differences
in size and colouration brought about in the different portions of
the Indian Empire it occupies as follows :

Corvus splendens splendens (the typical race)- -The Common

House-Crow.
—
Corvus splendens zugmaycri The Sind House-Crow.
—
Corvus splendens insolens The Burmese House-Crow.
—
Corvus splendens protegatus The Ceylon House-Crow.
 Barring restricted areas and particular groups of birds which
still and working out, we can now claim
require careful collecting
to have a sufficiency of dead ornithological material from India
in the great museums of the world to satisfy the needs of even an
exacting taxonomist. Most bird lovers in this country possess
neither the inclination, training nor facilities for making any
substantial additions to our knowledge of systematics. Speaking
generally, therefore, Indian systematic ornithology is best left in the
hands of the specialist or museum worker who lias the necessary
material and facilities at his command. Our greatest need to-day
is for careful and rational field work on living birds in their

natural environment, or what is called Bird Feology. It is a

virgin field both the serious student and the intelligent aniateur
;

can contribute towards the building up of this knowledge. A

great many biological problems await solution by intensive
ecological study. It is a line of research that may be commended
to workers in India it will afford infinitely more pleasure
;

and is capable of attaining much greater importance ami promise

than the mere collecting and labelling of skins.
Finally, to those desiring a closer acquaintance with birds in
general,no better or more readable book can be recommended
than The Biology of Birds by J. A. Thomson. For India in
"
particular, the excellent serial on " The Study of Indian Birds
by Hugh Whistler published in the Journal of the Bombay Natural
History Society, and his Popular Handbook of Indian Birds are
useful guides. Inglis and Fletcher's Birds of an Indian Garden
is good and describes and illustrates a number of the commoner

birds. Douglas Dewar's series of books on Indian birds will be

found helpful, and no one should be without KI A's (11. 11. Aitken)
1

classic little Common Birds of Bombay which, despite its

title, covers a good many of the commoner birds found in India.
For masterly touch of matter and charm of style KIIA stands
unapproachable. To the advanced student the 8 volumes of
the -2nd edition of the Fauna of British India Series on Birds by
Stuart Baker and the 4 companion volumes of his Nidificalion of
Indian Birds must remain indispensable for a long time to come.
Terms used in description of a bird's plumage and parts.

1. Forehead.
2. Crown.
3. Nape or occiput.
4. Lores (space in front of eye).
5. Supercilium.
6. Cheeks.
7. liar-coverts.
8. I'ppcr mandible or maxilla.
i). Lower mandible.
10. Oulmen or upper profile of maxilla.
11. Commissure or line of junction of the two mandibles.
12. Rictal bristles or vibrissa;.
13. Chin.
14. Throat.
15. |}r east.

16. Abdomen.
17. Back.
18. Rump.
19. Scapulars.
20. Primaries (the earlier or outermost it or 10 visible quills
of the wing).
21. Outer secondaries (wing-quills springing from the radius
and ulna).
22. Inner secondaries.
23. Lesser wing-coverts.
24. Median wing-coverts.
2r». Greater wing-coverts.
26. Primary wing-coverts.
27. Winglct or bastard wing.
T
28. I pper tail-coverts.
2<J. Tail-feathers or rectrices.
30. Under tail-coverts.
31. Tarsus.
32. Hind toe or first toe or hallux.
33. Inner or second toe.
34. Middle or third toe.
35. Outer or fourth toe.
 Types of Bills

i. Calling.

2. Tearing and
piercing flesh.

8. Tooth-edged for
7. A sieve for straining mud. gripping fish.

I. Jungle-Crow. 2. Pariah Kite. 3. House-Sparrow. 4. Purple

Sunbird. 5. Golden-backed Woodpecker. 6. Stilt. 7. Flamingo.
8. Cormorant.
 \ Types of Feet

Swimming,
t). Swimming.

"gle-Crow. 2. Sparrow-Hawk. 3. Woodpecker. 4. Gjurser. 5. Swift.

<;ana. 7. Sea-Gull. 8. Cormorant. 9. Dabchick or Grebe.
 HOW TO RECOGNIZE BIRDS IN THE FIELD
1. Birds with Prominent Tails

Size of
Length !
Predominant Colours
Bird, Species. Page.
of Tail. I
of Bird.

A— Indian Wren-Warbler
(5<0 1 Harthy brown SKI

Ashy Wren-Warbler. ! Ashy-slate, fulvous-

|
white ss
TailorBird 'a Olive-green, white 84
Grey Wagtail (4b) .
4" Grey, yellow I Hi
White Wagtail 4" White, grey, black . 1W
Common Swallow S" Steel blue, white,
chestnut 142
Wire-tailed Swallow . . Steel blue, white,
chestnut 144
Green Bee-eater
(2, 4 a) Green 200
Hlne-tailed Bee-eater
( 4 a)
(>"- Green 208
Paradise Hycatchcr,
ad. male (3, 5b) 10-15" White, black 58
Paradise Klycatchcr
imiii. male (3, 5c) . 10-15" Chestnut, black, white. 58
Shama (>" Black, chestnut, white 48
Mack Drongo (5a) . 7" Black 78
White-bellied Drongo. u* Indigo, whitish 81)
Common Babbler (5e) Streaked earthy
brown 1(1

Large Pied Wagtail

(5C) Pied black & white . . 148

Indian Tree-Pie (5c). Chestnut brown, sooty

black, grey (i

Kackct-tailed Dnmgi
(i. 5a) >5 Black 82
l'ied Crested Cuckoo
(.1. 5t) Pied black & white . 178
Grey Shrike (5d) Grey, black, white: (12
Blossom-headed Para
keet (4a) Green, purplish-plum. 188

* A ^ Sparrow ; C ^ Bulbul ; I) Myna.

+ — bigger ;
— - -- smaller.

The numbers brackets after

in name of species are to facilitate
cross references to these keys.
 HOW TO RECOGNIZE BIRDS IN THE FIELD
1. Birds with Prominent Tails— ctmtd.

Size of
Bird.* Species.
Length Predominant Colours Page.
of Tail. of Bird.

D+ Rose -ringed Parakeet

(4a) 10" Green 180
K— Large Parakeet (4a) . 12* Green 184
Common Sandgrouse
(50) »*'— Sandy, black 270
F Pheasant-tailed Jacana
(5c) 5"~ Chocolate-b r w n,
white 308
G— Koel, male (5a) 8" Black 180
Koel, female 8" Brown, spotted and
barred black 180
G+ Crow-Pheasant 11*— Black, chestnut 182
Little Cormorant (5a). 6" Black :U4
H Grey Hornbill (2, 5d). 12" Slaty grey 210
r— Darter or Snake Bird
(2, 5a) 9" Black, brown, silver
grey 340
J Red Jungle-fowl, cock
(4c) 13"— Orange-red, chestnut,
black 274
Grey Jungle-f owl,
cock 18"— Grey, brownish-yellow,
black 270
K Peafowl, cock (3, 4d). 36-48" Metallic blue, green,
(train) brown 272

*D = Myna; K Pigeon; F = Partridge; G=Crow

---=
; H=
Kite ; I = Duck J — Village hen
;
K = Vulture. ;

4- = bigger — = smaller.
;
 HOW TO RECOGNIZE BIRDS IN THE FIELD
2. Birds with Prominent Bills

Shape, Colour
Predominant Colours
Size ofj Species. and Length of Page.
of Bird.
Bird* I Bill.

A Purple Sunbird, Curved, black, .Metallic purplish-

male (5a) 1
* . .
:

|
— - . . black
. 102
Purple-rumped 'Curved, black/Metallic green, purple,
Sunbird, m. 1" j
— .j
. crimson 104
Vem a 1 e s of Curved, ;
black,!
above two. 1" - j
Brown, pale yellow . 102, 104
.

A Green Rce-cater;Curved, black, iGreen . . . 200

!
(1,4.1). I if— i

Common IndianjStraight, point-Blue, green, rusty 212

King fi s h e ri ed, black, 2".'
(4<i).
B+
; i
i

Painted Snipe. Straight, slen-jMctallic olive-green,;

i j
dor, brown, white, bull, black 310
'

; I
2".
:Common or'Straight, slen- Dark brown, black,;
Fantail Snipe; der, brown rufous, buff 342
-
j

(5e). 3" !

C Blue-tailed Bee-Curved, black,. Careen . . . . 208

1

eater (1, 4a). 2" - ! !

C-DiUeccan Scimi-Curved, yellow, Dark brown, white .. 18

j"+
'

I
tar Babbler! '

i
(5e). I
!

D ;Hoopoe (3, 5e). jCurvcd, slen-1'awn, black, white . . 21S

I j
der, dark: i

brown, 2" +
D + Golden-backed
j

[Straight, wedge- Golden yellow, black,;

1 Woodpecker, j
shaped, black' white, crimson 172
!
;
if- 1
i

D-iJPicd KingfisherStraight, point-iPied black and white. 210

'

(5c). ed, black, 3*.:

White-breasted, Straight, point-jBlue, chocolate brown,
—
j

Kin grislier! ed, red, 3° white 214

:
(4d).
1' ;Black-wi nged;Straight, slen -White, grey-brown,
j
Stilt (5c). ! der, black, black 332
!
3'—

* A = Sparrow B = ; Quail ; C Bulbul ; » =~ Myna ; E

Pigeon F — Partridge.
;

+ — bigger ; — = smaller.
 HOW TO RECOGNIZE BIRDS IN THE FIELD
2. Birds with Prominent Bills — conid.

Size of Shape, Colour

Bird.* Species. and Length Predominant Colours Page.
of Bird.
of Hill.

F + Avocet (5c) Upcurved, slen- Pied black & white . .: 334

der, black,
3" +
H Grey Hornbill t.urved, heavy, Slaty-grey .. ..; 210
(1. 5<l)- hornlike,
black and
white, 5".
Night Heron ("Ashy-grey, black ..! 374
(adult) ( 5 d). )
IS t r a i g li t ,

^heavy, black
Night Heron & yellow, 4"- 1 Streaked brown . . i 374
(immature)
(5e).
I
H + Grey Heron Straight, dag- Ashy-grey, white;
J

(5d)- gerlike, yel- black . . . .

1
304
low, 0".
Open-b i 1 1 e d Heddish-b lack Greyish-white, black..' 3(52
Stork (5c) with gap be-
(Standing tween mandi- J

30"— )
• bles (;".
r— Dart e r Straight, dag- lilack, brown, silver-;
S n ak e-iJiid ger-1 i k e, grey . . . . 346
(1. 5a). brown and
yellow, 2".
i+ Spoonbill (5b). S p a t u 1 a t e White 348
brown and
yellow, 8".
Whimbrel (se). Curved, slen Sandy-brown, streak-
der, brown, ed black & fulvous. 336
3" + -

Cattle ligret ( Golden yellow, white.

(breeding) Straight, poin
(5b). 1

ted, yellow
Cattle Kgrct \ White . . . 368
•(non- breed i"-
I

ing)- I

F =: Partridge ; H = Kite ;
I — Duck ; J
— Village hen.
+ = bigger ; —= smaller.
 HOW TO RECOGNIZE BIROS IN THE FIELD
2. Birds with Prominent Bills— concld.

Size Shape, Colour

of Species. and Length Predominant Colours Page.
of Bill. of Bird.
Bird.*

Pond Heron or Straight, point- Earthy brown, white. 372

Paddy Bird ed, brown
(50). and yellow,
3".

J Curlew (50) Curved, slender, Sandy-brown, streaked 336

brown, 5-6". black and fulvous.
Black Ibis (5a). Curved, slender, Black 352
black, 6*—
Reef Heron Straight, point- Bluish-slaty or White. 370
(5«1)- ed, brownish
yellow, 4".
Little Hgret Straight, point- White 306
(5b). ed, black, 4'.
J + White This (5b). Curved, slender, White 350
black, 7"
K White Stork Straight, heavy, White, black 354
<5c). red, 8'- -

(Standing 40"
high).

W hit e-necked Straight, heavy, Black, white 35(5

Stork (5c). black. 7"
(Standing 36"
high).

Painted Stork Heavy, yellow, White, black, rose-

(5c). decurved at pink 3IK)
(Standing 48" tip, 10".
high).
K+ Adjutant Stork. Heavy, 4-sided, Black, grey, white 308
(Standing 48- wedge-shaped
60" high). 13".
Sams Crane Straight, heavy, Ashy-grey 312
(5d). p i n t e d ,
,
(Standing 48- greenish-
60" high). brown, j".

. . _ . —
J = Village hen ;
'
K= Vulture.
+ = bigger ;
—- = smaller.
 HOW TO RECOGNIZE BIRDS IN THE FIELD
3. Birds with Prominent Crests

Size of l'rincipal Associated

Bird
Species. Page.
Colours. Colours.

A Ye 1 1 o w-cheeked Yellow, black White

Tit ( 4 b).
A+ Indian Crested Brown Whitish
Lark (5e).
C Ked-ventcd Bul- Brown Black, crimson .

bul (5e).
Kcd-wh i s k ered Brown White, black,
Bulbnl (5e). crimson.
White -chee ked Brown White, lilac k,
Bulbul (5e). yellow
Paradise Fly- White Black
catcher, adult
male (i, 5b)
1 'aradise Fly- Chestnut Black, whitish .

catcher, adult
female and im-
mature male
(1- 5e).
D- Brahminy Myna Ueddish-fawn Grev, black
(50).
D Racket-t ailed Black
Drongo (1, ga).
Rose-c o 1 o u r e d Pale pink, black.
Starling or Rosy
Pastor.
Hoopoe Fawn
(2, 5e) Black, white
.

Pied Crested Pied black and

Cuckoo (1, 5c). white.
H Crested Serpent Dark brown, ful- White
Eagle (50). vous.
K Peacock ( r 4 d) (.".listening
, blue Brown
green.
Peahen (50) Variegated brown,
white, glisten
ing green.

* A = Sparrow ; C = Bulbul ; D = Myna ; H = Kite

K = Vulture.

+ — bigger ;
- - = smaller.
 HOW TO RECOGNIZE BIRDS IN THE FIELD
4. Bright Coloured Birds

a. Chiefly GREEN

Size of Species. Associated Col ours. Page.

Bird* !

A Crimson-breasted Barbot Yellow, crimson 174

or Coppersmith.
Loriquet Crimson 202
Cominon Bee-eater (1, 2) Kusty brown 200
C Blue-tailed Bee-eater (1,2). Chestnut, yellow. blue 20S
Gold-fronted Chloropsis Golden yellow,
. purple,
.

black 20
Jerdon's Chloropsis, male. Black, purple 2S
Do. do. female. Bluish-green 2S
D Blossom-headed Parakeet Plum colour, maroon, blue. 1S8
(I).
D+ Rose-ringed Parakeet (1) .. Black, rose-pink ( in male). l«i
E Large Parakeet ( [ Black, rose-pink maroon
(in male) . 1S4
Common Green Pigeon French grey, ,'cllowish,
dark brown 202

b. Chiefly or Largely YELLOW

A- - White-eye . Olive green KM)
! Purplo-rumped Sunbird, Metallic green, crimson.
i male. purple. 104
A j
Yellow-cheeked Tit (3) Black, white 10
i
Iora, male Black, white 24
I
Do. female Greenish-yellow, dark
!
brown. 24
Baya Weaver Bird, male Brown (streaked) 124
(breeding)
A+ Black-headed Bunting, Brown, black i:is
male.
Bed-headed Bunting, male. Chestnut brown 138
Grey Wagtail (breeding Grey, blackish 140
plumage) (1).
C Scarlet Minivct, female Ashy-grey . . 70
1) Golden Oriole Black 100
1 Black-headed Oriole Black . . I0IS

* A = Sparrow ; C — Bulbul ;
Myna ; E = Pigeon
J = Village hen.
+ = bigger; —= smaller.
 HOW TO RECOGNIZE BIRDS IN THE FIELD
4 Bright Coloured Birds— contd.

c. Chiefly or Largely RED

Size o:
Bird.* Species. Associated Colours. Page.

A Wed Munia, male (breed- White (spots) 1:10

ing).
A Small Minivet, male Black, grc5' 72
Hodgson's Rose-K inch, Brown 132
male.
C Scarlet Minivet, male Black 70
o+ Crow Pheasant or Coucal. Black 1S2
J Red Jungle-fowl, cock (t). Black, orange 1>74

. d. Several BRIGHT Colours in Plumage

A Common Kingfisher (2). Blue green, rusty brown . . 212

D Indian Pitta Green, blue, brown, black,

crimson, white. KW
D-E White-breasted Kingfisher Blue, chocolate brown,
(2)- white. 214
1C Indian Roller Oxford and Cambridge blue,
rufous brown, lilac. 204
K Peafowl (1, 3) Metallic blue, green, brown. 272

5. Sober Coloured Birds

a. General effect more or less wholly BLACK

Size of Species. Page.

Bird*

Purple Sunbird, male (breeding) (2) 102

Common House Swift(sc) 220
A+ Indian Robin, male 44
C Black Drongo (1) 78
D Racket-tailed Drongo (1,3) S2
D+ Crackle or Hill Myna 110

* A = Sparrow ; C = Bulbul ; D =-= Myna ;

K ^=1'igeon;

G = Crow;
J= Village hen K = Vulture.
+ = bigger ;
—= smaller.
;
 HOW TO RECOGNIZE BIRDS IN THE FIELD
5. Sober Coloured Birds— contd.

a.' General effect more or less wholly BLACK

Size of Species. Page.

Bird*
1

D-F. Malabar Whistling Thrush r.4

G— Koel, male (i) 180

G House Crow 2
G+ Jungle Crow . . .... 4
J.ittle Cormorant (i) 344
I Coot :«I4
Darter or Snake Bird (1,2) :i4t>

J-l- Mack Ibis (2) 352

K ] King Vulture 234

b. General effect more or less wholly WHITE

C Paradise Flycatcher, adult male (i, 3) . 58
1 + Spoonbill (2) 348
J Cattle Egret (->) 308
J Little Kgret (2) :«>»>

J 1- White Ibis (2) aou

c. General effect PIED BLACK & WHITE

A White-hacked Munia .; 128
Common SwiFt(5a) . . ! 220
A Pied Bush-Chat, male 38
C Magpie Robin, male 40
l'ied or Mahratta Woodpecker 170
Large Pied Wagtail (1) . 148
D Pied Myna ... 122
Uf Pied Crested Cuckoo (1,3) 178
D-K l'ied Kingfisher (2) 210
F Pheasant-tailed J alalia (1) .'{08

Black-winged Stilt (2) 332

+ Avocet (2)
1'' :m
H [ Open-billed Stork (2) :s<>2

K White Stork (2) 354

White-necked Stork (2) . 350
Painted Stork (2) 3(30

* A = Sparrow ; C = Bulbul ; D = Myna K = 'igeon

; 1 ; V =
Partridge; G = Crow; H — Kite; X = Duck J —Village
;
hen;
K =- Vulture.
+ = bigger ; — = smaller.
 HOW TO RECOGNIZE BIRDS IN THE FIELD
5. Sober Coloured Birds —cmud.
d. General effect largely ASHY-GREY, BLUE-GREY or

SLATY
1

Size of! Species. Associated Colours. Page.

Bird*

A Grey Tit Black, white S

i
Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch. Chestnut 12
Tickell's Blue Flycatcher. Rusty brown, azure blue . . 5(i

C Black-headed Cuckoo- Black, white 74

Shrike.
Indian Blue Rock-Thrush. Dark brown 52
c+ Rufous-backed Shrike Rufous, black (Hi

D Bank Myna Blackish, white 120

D Grey Shrike (i) White, black G2
E Largo Cuckoo-Shrike White, black 7(i

Indian King Dove Vinous, dark brown 2<i8

Indian River Tern White, black 324
K Indian Blue Rock Pigeon Glistening purple and green,
black 2ti4
Hawk-Cuckoo or Brain- White, rusty brown 170
fever Bird.
Shikra Hawk White, rusty brown 2<>0
G Black-winged Kite White, black 251)
G+ Black-headed Gull White, black 322
H— Pale Harrier, male White, black 258
H Night Heron (2) White, greenish-black 374
Grey Hornbill (1, i) Dark brown 211!
H+ Grey Heron (2) White, black :«S4
1 + Bar-headed Goose Brownish, white, black . . 380
J- Indian Reef Heron (2) Dark brown 370
K Demoiselle Crane . . Black, white 314
K + Sams Crane (j) White, dark brown 312

e. General effect more or less BROWN (all shades)

A— Rufous-bellied Babbler' . . 20
Streaked Fantail Warbler, j
. . . . . . . .
,
S(i

Indian Wren-Warbler (1) . !)()

White-throated Munia While . . 128

Spotted Munia White . . . .
j
130
Ashy-crowned Finch-Lark, Black 158
male.

* A = Sparrow ; C = Bulbul ; D = Myna K — ; Pigeon ;

G = Crow H = Kite ; ; I - Duck; J = Village hen K = ; Vulture.

+ = bigger ;
— = smaller.
 HOW TO RECOGNIZE BIRDS IN THE FIELD
Sober Coloured Birds
5. — eoiud.

General effect more or less BROWN (all shades) — contri.

Size of Species. Associated Colours. Page.

llird*

Ashy-crowned Finch-Lark, 158

female.
Purple Sunbird, female Pale yellow
. 102
Purplc-rumped Sunbird, Pale yellow 104
female.
Tickell's Flowerpecker Whitish 1 ()(>

Palm Swift Sooty grey 222

Dusky Crag Martin 14(1
A Pied Bush-Chat, female . 38
Indian Bush-Chat, female. 41)
Redstart, female Rusty reddish 42
Indian Robin, female • . 44
White - spotted Fantail White 60
Flycatcher.
Hodgson's Rose - Finch, 132
female.
House Sparrow, male White, grey, black. 130
Do. do. female .... . . . 136
Yellow-throated Sparrow . . Sulphur yellow, white,
chestnut 134
Indian Pipit 152
1 Baya Weaver Bird Yellow (only in male breed-
ing plumage) 124
|

Striated Weaver Bird Yellow (only in male breed-

'.

ing plumage) 12<>

|
Little Stint White 341)
! Small Skylark 154
A+ Crested Lark (3) .. 150
J
Red-headed H iinti n g, 138
female.
'
Black-headed Bunting, 138
i
female.
B^ Rain or Black-breasted Buff, black 280
Quail.
Jungle Bush-Quail Vinous, black 282
Bustard Quail Buff, black 288
Littlo Ringed Plover White, black 320
B Common or Grey Quail . Buff, black 278
Spotted Sandpiper White 338
B+ Common or Fantail Snipe Rufous, buff, whitish 342
(2). i

*A = Sparrow B = Quail. ;

+ = bigger — = smaller. ;
 HOW TO RECOGNIZE BIRDS IN THE FIELD
5. Sober Coloured Birds contd. —
e. General effect more or less BROWN
{all shades) — contd.
Size of Species. Associated Colours. Page
Bird* 1

C— Yellow-eyed Babbler White 22

C Common Babbler ( •i . • • . » • 10
Indian Blue Rock-Thrush, Whitish 52
female.
Paradise Flycatcher, female Black, white 58
(3) and young male (1, 3).
Red-vented Bulbul (3) Black, crimson 30
Red-whiskered Bulbul (3). White, black, crimson 34
White-cheeked Bulbul (3) White, black, yellow 32
C-D Deccan Scimitar Babbler White 18

D— Brahminy Myna (3) Grey, black 116

D Common Myna White 118
Tree-Pie (1) Sooty black, grey . <>

Jungle Babbler " 14

Southern or Black-capped .... 50
Blackbird.
Hoopoe (2, 3) Black, white 218
Common Indian Nightjar Grey, buff, black 224
Spotted Owlet White 232
E— Common Sandgrouse (1) Black 270
H Little Grebe or Dabchick White 388
F Grey Partridge Whitish 286
Indian Courser Black, rufous, white 320
Yellow-wattled Lapwing Black, white . 330
F+ Stone Curlew or Goggle- Buff, white 318
eyed Plover.
Red -wattled Lapwing or Black, white 328
" Did-he-do-it."
G+ Laggar Falcon White 240
White-eyed Buzzard- Eagle 248
H Pariah Kite 254
Brahminy Kite, immature. 252
Do. do. adult White . .
'.'.
'.'.
252
Brown Fish Owl 228
Indian Great Horned Owl Buff, black 230
Scavenger Vulture, imma- 238
ture.
Night Heron, immature (2). 374

*C = Bulbul ; D= Myna; E = Pigeon ; F = Partridge;

G = Crow ; H= Kite.
+= bigger; — = smaller.
 HOW TO RECOGNIZE BIRDS IN THE FIELD
5. Sober Coloured Birds — contd.

e. General effect more or less BROWN (all shades) — contd.

iize of Species. Associated Colours. Pages.
Bird * |

H + Tawny Eagle 244

Crested Serpent Kagle (3). 240
Ring-tailed or Pallas's White, greyish 250
Fishing Eagle.
I— Lesser Whistling Teal 382
White-eyed Pochard White 380
Common Teal, female 384
J- Pond Heron or Paddy Bird White' .. '.'.
'.'.
372

Whimbrel (2) Fulvous burl, black 33B

J Ked Jungle-fowl, hen 274
Grey Jungle-fowl, hen White . . .. '.'.
27<i
Curlew (2) . Fulvous, buff 336
K White-backed or Bengal White 230
Vulture.
Peahen (3) . Metallic green 272
K+ Great Indian Bustard White, black 310

*H= Kite ; I ~ Duck ; J = Village hen j K= Vulture.

+ = bigger ; —= smaller.
'4

y-s
s-

The Common House-Grow

 i. The Common House-Crow
Corvus splentkns (Vicillot).

Size: About that of the Blue Rock -Pigeon ; slightly larger.

(17")-

Field Characters : The grey neck and somewhat smaller

size serve to distinguish this species from the wholly black ]ungle
Crow, frequently found living side by side with it, especially
on outskirts of human habitations. Sexes alike.
Distribution : A resident species everywhere in the plains of
India, Burma and Ceylon. Limited numbers have secured
a footing even in some of our higher hill stations. Mased on
slight differences, mainly in colouration, four geographical races
are recognised within our area.
Habits: The I louse-Crow is the commonest and most familiar
of Indian birds, an unfailing commensal of man and an element
of his social system. His intelligence and boldness, coupled with
an infinite capacity for scenting and avoiding danger carry him
triumphantly through a life of sin and wrong-doing. Food-
getting is a simple matter with the crow. Nothing comes amiss
to him. He will take a dead rat or kitchen refuse, pilfer from a
protesting fishwife's basket, or decamp with the egg on your
breakfast table. His thieving propensities, however, are in a
great measure redeemed by his efficient service as scavenger.
Although crows devour locusts, termites and other injurious
insects, particularly when these are swarming, they also raid
ripening crops such as wheat and maize and cause damage to
fruit in orchards. Their status in regard to agriculture, therefore,
is summed up as neutral.

They have communal roosts where large numbers foregather

at sunset, often from considerable distances around, dispersing
again at daybreak to feed.
Nesting: The breeding season varies in different parts of the
country. In Western India House-Crows nest between April
and June, in Bengal slightly earlier, while in the heavy rain full
areas of S.-W. India breeding is usually over before the onset
of the South-West Monsoon in May. The nest is an untidy
—
platform of twigs also wire or hoop-iron when available with —
a central cup-like depression lined with coir and other fibre. It
is placed in the fork of a tree at any height from 10 feet up.
The normal clutch is of 4-5 eggs, pale blue-green, speckled and
streaked with brown. Both sexes share in nest-building, incu-
bation and care of the young. The Koel, one of our commonest
parasitic cuckoos, habitually lays in the nest of this crow.
The Indian Jungle-Crow
3
 2. The Indian Jungle-Crow
Corvus macrorhynchos Wagler.

Size : Between the House-Crow and the Kite.

Field Characters : A uniformly glossy, jet black crow with a

heavy bill. Its voice differs from that of the Common House-
Crow in the '
caws '
being much deeper and hoarser in tone.
Sexes alike.

Distribution Resident throughout India, Burma and Ceylon,

:

where 3 races are recognised on differences mainly in size of

wing and bill.

Habits Though small numbers are lured into towns and cities
:

by the prospect of profitable scavenging, the Jungle-Crow is

mainly a rural bird, abundant on the countryside and met with
even in forested and unfrequented parts, far from the haunts of
Man. Many live in the neighbourhood of villages and outlying
hamlets where sanitation is elementary and refuse abundant.
Jungle-Crows are not as gregarious as Common Crows. They
are usually solitary, but at times congregate in biggish parties.
Several will collect in company with vultures to feed on a carcase.
Their liking for carrion is sometimes a help to the shikari, since
in dense jungle their presence often reveals the whereabouts
of a tiger or panther kill '. Jungle-Crows are just as omnivorous
'

;is their grey-necked relatives and notoriously destructive to

the eggs and young of other birds. In the monsoon, land crabs
—
form a favourite item of food a useful service to agriculture
if land crabs are really as destructive to seedling crops as they are

believed to be. At all times lizards, frogs, and centipedes as

well as a large variety of fruits are eaten.

Nesting The normal breeding season in peninsular India is

:

between December and March or April north of the Ganges ;

and in Assam and Burma it is usually later, between March and

May. They build the usual type of crow's nest of twigs high
up in a tree. Both sexes partake in building work, incubation
and care of the young. Though slightly larger, the eggs, 4-5
in number, resemble those of the Common Crow in colour. Like
the Common Crow, though less frequently, Jungle-Crows are
selected by the Koel as suitable foster parents for its offspring,
and it is not unusual to see a clamouring young cuckoo being
assiduously and carefully tended by this species.
The Tree-Pie
5
 3« The Tree-Pie
Dendrocitta vagabunda Latham.

Size: About that of the Myna, with a tail 12 inches long.

Field Characters : A long-tailed chestnut-brown bird with

sooty head and neck. The broad black tips of the longest tail
feathers and the greyish-white wing-coverts are particularly
conspicuous on the wing. The flight is undulating a swift —
noisy flapping, followed by a short glide on outspread wings and
tail. Sexes alike.

Distribution The whole of India, Burma and Ceylon. Over

:

this wide range 4 races are recognised on differences in size and

colouration.

Habits: The Tree-Pie is a bird of open forest. It often

frequents wooded country and scrub jungle near towns and
villages and freely enters compounds and gardens. It is of a
social disposition going about in pairs or family parties which
keep up a loud grating conversation. They have a wide repertoire
of calls, some harsh and guttural, others quite melodious. The
term Bob-o-link
'
is a more or less
' faithful syllabification
of one of their pleasanter calls. Like their near relations, the
crows, Tree-Pies are omnivorous. Fruits, both wild and culti-
vated are eaten. They are invariably present among the mixed
gatherings of birds on Banyan and Peepal trees to gorge them-
selves on the ripe Jigs. Insects, caterpillars, lizards, frogs and
centipedes are relished, and even carrion is not despised on
occasion. Thev are amongst the most constant members of the
hunting parties of insectivorous birds that move about in forest.
They also hunt systematically for birds' nests and are highly
destructive to the eggs and young of the smaller species.

Nesting: The season extends from February to July, the

majority of eggs being laid between March and May. The nest,
well concealed by foliage, is placed near the top of a tree, not
necessarily a high one. In structure it is of the crow tyjxj, a
— —
deep platform of twigs often thorny with the cup well lined
with finer twigs and rootlets. Both sexes share in building,
incubation and care of the young. The eggs— 4 or 5 in number
vary slightly in shape and size and rather more in colour. The
i-'omnionest type is pale salmon-white, splashed and streaked
with bright reddish-brown.
The Grey Tit
 4. The Grey Tit
Parus major Linnaeus.

Size : That of the Sparrow.

Field Characters : The glossy jet black head, throat and

broad ventral band down centre of breast contrasting with the
white cheek-jiatches, grey back and whitish underparts help
to recognise this typical tit. Sexes alike.

Distribution : throughout the Indian Empire,

Practically
upto about o.ooo feet. In this range
in the plains as well as hills
four races are recognised on slight differences in size, shade
of colouration and the relative extents of black, white and
grey in their tail feathers.

Habits :The Grey Tit is found in well-wooded localities, but

it avoids heavy evergreen forest. It goes about singly, in pairs
or small Hocks either by themselves or in association with other
small insectivorous birds. They scatter about the trees keeping
in touch with one another by a joyous cheeping and twittering.
These restless little busy-bodies spend most of their time hunting
for insects —
climbing about and clinging to sprigs and Uowering
stems in every conceivable position, peering under leaves, probing
into flowers and searching the crevices of the l>ark. Their food
consists mainly of insects, but seeds and berries are also eaten.
Tits destroy large numbers of noxious insects and their larvae
and are thus welcome in orchards inspite of some little damage
they may do to fruit and fruit-buds. They get at the kernels
of hard-shelled nuts by holding the nut down under one foot
and piercing it with repeated blows of their strong conical bills.
In the breeding season the male utters a loud, clear, whistling
song :Whee-chi-chi. .wliee-chi-chi. .whee-clii-chi ,&c.
.

Nesting : Thewhich varies somewhat in different

season,
localities, is February and November. Often two
between
successive broods are raised. The nest is a pad of hair, moss
«r feathers placed in holes in trees, masonry walls or earth cut-
ti"gs, 5 to 15 feet from the ground. It is remarkable what a
tiny entrance hole the bird will squeeze itself through. Four
to six eggs are laid, white or pinkish-white in colour, spotted
and speckled with reddish-brown. Both sexes share in building,
incubation and care of the young. They are close sitters and
will often refuse to desert even while the nest hole is being
lucked open.

8
The Yellow-cheeked Tit
9
 5. The Yellow-cheeked Tit
Machlolophus xanihogenys (Vigors).

Size : Same as the Grey Tit (Sparrow).

Field Characters A dainty little black and yellow tit with

:

;iprominent pointed crest. Sexes alike in the Northern race,

both having black crest and black ventral band. In the Penin-
sular and Southern races the ventral band of the female is dull
olive-green. The female of the latter race is dimorphic, some-
times having the crown also of this colour.

Distribution A resident chiefly of hill forests and wooded

:

plateau country throughout India. Three races a Northern —

(\V. Himalayas), a. Peninsular (Central India, Deccan, &c.)
and a Southern (\V. Ghats) are recognised on differences of size
and colouration. Absent in Ceylon. Represented in Burma
by an allied species, .1/. spilonotus, with bright yellow forehead.
Habits Like others of their tribe, these tits hunt in family
:

parties, generally in company with other small insectivorous

birds. They prefer the leafy canopy of tall trees, but will descend
lower where the prospect of food is inviting. The individuals
keep up a joyous chee-chee as they restlessly search for insects,
grubs and spiders which comprise the major part of their diet.
Various fruits and berries are also eaten. Like Grey Tits they
hop about the leaves and twigs, clinging head downwards,
prying into cracks and crevices, and flit from sprig to sprig
in their <[uest. Usually they are not shy and do not resent
being watched. During the breeding season the male has
a loud, clear whistling song Cheewit-prelty-cheewit, &.C. This is
:

uttered with crest erect and wings drooping at the sides.

Nesting : The season varies in different parts of its range

according to local conditions, between April and September.
The nest is similar to that of the Grey Tit —a pad of moss, hair,
wool or feathers placed in a hole in a tree-stem. Old Barbet
holes are frequently appropriated. Sometimes a hole or crack
in a masonry wall or in an earth bank is utilised. The eggs-
—
four to six in number are a glossless white or pinkish-white,
more or less spotted and blotched with reddish or purplish-
brown. Both sexes share in building, incubation and care of
the young. A female whose nest-hole was cut open did not
desert her abode, but continued laying her full complement
of eggs inspite of her daily contribution being removed from
the nest on four successive mornings !
Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch
ii
 6. The Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch
Silta caslanea Lesson.

Size : Slightly smaller than the Sparrow.

Field Characters A small bird slaty-blue above, deep

:

chestnut below. The underparts of the female are paler. Short

square tail (not used in climbing as by the woodpeckers) long ;

heavy pointed bill. It scuttles jerkily up, sideways or down

and around the trunk and branches of a tree, or clings to and
runs along the undersurface of a bough with surprising agility.

Distribution A resident species throughout India, Burma

:

and Assam (not Ceylon) though often patchy. Four races are
here recognised on differences in size of wing and bill, and
colouration -chiefly of the underparts.

Habits The Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch is not a bird of deep

:

forest though it likes wooded tracts. It is partial to mango

groves on the outskirts of villages. There is in the Nuthatch
something of the tit and something of the woodpecker. Like
the tit it scours the trunk and branches of trees for its food ;

like the woodpecker it climbs and taps away on the bark to

dislodge insect prey. On a casual glimpse it is possible to mistake
it for a tree-mouse. Indeed the manner in which it runs up
and down a tree, slips behind a trunk or branch or clings to
it upside down
is strongly reminiscent of the antics of that

rodent. utters feeble mousy squeaks and also has a quick-

It
repeated double note Chilp-chilp.
: Unless paired off for breed-
ing, these nuthatches may be seen in small parties usually in
the mixed company of woodpeckers, tits, warblers, flycatchers
and other insectivorous birds working the tree-trunks and
branches with industry and thoroughness in search of spiders,
grubs and insects lurking on the bark and in its holes and crevices.
They also eat the kernel of various nuts and hard-shelled seeds
of forest trees. These are wedged firmly into some crevice
and pierced or hacked open by repeated blows of their strong,
pointed bills.

Nesting : The season over most of its range is between February

and May. The eggs are laid in natural holes and hollows in
tree-trunks on a lining of leaves, moss, wool, feathers or merely
chips of bark. The hollow is walled up with a plaster of mud,
leaving a small neat round entrance hole. Two to six eggs are
laid, white in ground colour, speckled with red. Sometimes
two broods are raised in succession.
The Jungle Babbler
13
 7- The Jungle Babbler
Turdoides somervillei (Sykcs).

Size: About that of the Myna.

Field Characters : A familiar earthy-brown bird of frowzled,
untidy appearance and a lungish tail that gives the impression of
being loosely stuck into the body. Always in flocks of half a
dozen or so, whence its popular names of Satbhiii and Seven
'

Sisters.' Sexes alike.

Distribution : Throughout India and Assam, in the plains and
up to aljout 5,000 feet elevation. It avoids both heavy evergreen
forest and treeless country. Five geographical races are recog-
nised on slight differences, mainly of colouration. Replaced in
Ceylon and Jiurma by other related species.
Habits : This Babbler inhabits outlying jungle as well as well-
wooded compounds, gardens and groves of trees about towns and
villages. The Hocks or sisterhoods spend their time hopping
' '

about on the ground, rummaging amongst the fallen leaves for

insects. They habitually form the nucleus of the mixed hunting
parties of insectivorous birds that move about the forests. They
keep up a constant harsh chatter and squeaking, and as a rule the
best of good fellowship prevails within a sisterhood. Occasionally
differences of opinion arise between members, and loud and
discordant wrangling ensues bill and claw are then freely plied
;

and feathers fly. To outside aggression however, thev always

present a united front and when one of the Hock has been set
u|X)ii, the others will boldly attack and often put to rout the
marauding hawk or cat.
Their food consists of spiders, cockroaches and other insects
and larva:. Banyan and Pecpal figs, Lantana and other berries,
and grain are also relished. Babblers are inordinately fond of
the flower-nectar of the Coral and Silk Cotton trees and inci-
dentally do considerable service in cross-pollinating the blossoms.
Nesting : There is no well denned season and odd birds breed
irregularly throughout the year. The breeding pairs continue
to remain with the only detaching themselves now and
flock,
again to attend to their private concerns. The nest is a loosely
put together cup of twigs, roots and grass placed in the fork of
some leafy mango or other tree, 8 to 10 feet from the ground.
Three or four eggs comprise the clutch. They are of a beautiful
turquoise blue colour. Both sexes build, incubate and tend the
young. The I'ied Crested and Common Hawk-Cuckoos often
foist their eggs in this babbler's nest, and shed their parental
responsibilities upon the dupe.

14
The Common Babbler
15
 8. The Common Babbler
Argya caudala (Dumont).
Size : That of the Bulbul with a relatively longer tail.
"

Field Characters : Slimmer than the Jungle Babbler and like

it always seen in flocks of half a dozen or so on the ground or in
low bushes. The earthy-brown upper plumage is streaked
darker, and the long, graduated, loosely attached tail is finely
cross-rayed. Sexes alike.
A closely allied species, the Large Grey Babbler, A.
malcolmi, with grey forehead and white outer tail feathers is
also common in the drier portions of the plains.
Distribution : The typical race caitdata is resident throughout
the dry plains and hills of India up to about 4,000 feet. Not in
Burma, Assam or Ceylon. It has two other geographical races
outside India proper, viz., eclipes, in the Trans-Salt Range Plateau
and huttoni, in Afghanistan, Baluchistan, etc.
Habits : The Common Babbler is strangely catholic in its choice
of habi tilts. It avoids heavy evergreen forest and on the whole
prefers dry open country. But it is equally at home in the
deserts of Sind and Ilajputana where the annual rainfall is under
5 inches a year, and the Himalayan foothills where it often
exceeds a hundred.
Flocks spend their time scuttling along the ground like rats
under hedges or through prickly scrub and thickets, rummaging
for insects. They are loth to take wing and usually rely on their
nimble legs when alarmed or moving from bush to bush. The
flight is feeble— a few rapid flaps followed by ii glide on outspread
wings and tail. Their calls are a series of short pleasant trilling
whistles. When agitated- as for instance at the appearance of a
—
prowling cat or mongoose the birds utter a musical whistling
Which-which-whichi-ri-ri-ri-H-ri-ri, etc., as they nervously twitch
their wings and hop from bush to bush, peering down at the
intruder, loosely jerking their tails, the whole sisterhood com-
bining to hurl invectives at it in disorderly chorus.
Their food consists of spiders, grasshoppers and other insects,
and their larva;. Lantana and other berries, as well as grain are
also eaten.
Nesting : The season is poorly defined and odd birds breed
more or less throughout the year. The most general period
however is between March and July, and often two broods are
raised. The nest is a neat compact cup of grass and rootlets
placed in a low thorny bush, seldom more than 5 feet up. Three
or four glossy turquoise coloured eggs form the clutch. Both
sexes share in the domestic duties. The nests are commonly
parasitised by the Pied Crested and Hawk-Cuckoos.
16
The Deccan Scimitar Babbler
17
 9- The Deccan Scimitar Babbler
Pomatorhinus horsfieldii Sykes.

Size: Between the Bulbul and the Myna.

Field Characters: A dark brown babbler with white throat

and breast, a prominent white eyebrow, and curved, pointed
yellow bill. Pairs or small Hocks usually in dense cover. Sexes
alike.

Distribution: reninsular India from the Vindhya Mountains

to Travancore and Cevlon. So far five races are recognised
mainly on depth of colouration and size of bill.

Habits: The Scimitar Babbler is confined to thickly forested

country, preferably where it is broken and hilly. It is met with
upto about 6,000 feet elevation, being most abundant in secondary
evergreen jungle with patches of bamboo and cane or thorn-
brakes. The birds go about in pairs or small scattered flocks of
4 to 10 individuals which rummage on the ground in the dense
undergrowth, flicking the leaves over or digging in the moist
earth with their scimitar bills, in search of insects and grubs.
They also hop about the moss-covered branches of forest trees
or amongst the bamboo culms in this quest. The members of a
Hock maintain contact with one another by mellow bubbling or
gurgling calls. In the case of pairs the male usually acts as
leader and is followed from one thicket to another by the female
who acknowledges by a subdued kroo-kroo or krokiinl every one
of his musical flute-like calls. When alarmed, the birds hop
along the branches with great agility as if to get under weigh
before launching down into the seclusion of the dense under-
growth, l-ike the other babblers, their flight is feeble and ill-
sustained. The deep mellow whistling call of four notes,
constantly uttered, proclaims their presence in a patch of jungle
long before they are visible. The birds are as a rule shy and great
skulkers, but will sometimes boldly enter town limits in quiet
hill-stations.

Nesting: The principal breeding months are from December

to May. The nest is a loosely put together domed structure —
a ball of grass, moss, rootlets and leaves. It is placed on the
ground at the foot of some bush growing, for preference, on the
side of adry forest nullah, and is inconspicuous in its surroundings.
Three to five eggs are laid, pure white, thin-shelled and trans-
lucent. Both sexes share in the nest-building.
18
The Rufous-bellied Babbler
19
 io. The Rufous-bellied Babbler
Diimrtia hyperythra (Franklin).

Size : About that of the Sparrow.

Field Characters : A restless little bird olive-brown above,

fulvous below, in small cheeping /locks in scrub and grass jungle.
Sexes alike.

Distribution : Resident throughout the greater part of India

(excepting the dry areas in the north-west) from the Himalayan
foothills south, and across into Ceylon. Absent in Assam and
Burma. Two races are recognised. The Southern race
(albagularU) differs from the typical Northern mainly in depth
of tint and in having the chin and throat white.

Habits The Rufous-bellied Babbler inhabits lightly wooded

:

and thorny scrub country, being especially partial to areas

with an intermingling of tall coarse grass. It goes about in loose
flocks of 5 to 10 birds searching the undergrowth and grass stems
for insects. The individuals keep in touch with one another bv
means of feeble but sharp cheeping calls Swccch, sxveech, Ac—
(mistakahle by the uncritical for a Sunbird's). These are punc-
tuated by harsh tittering notes when perturbed. They are
great skulkers. On taking alarm the birds promptly scatter and
dive into the thickest portions of the undergrowth. Soon,
however, the flock reassembles bv the louder and more agitated
cheeping and tittering of its members, and resumes the hunt
for food.

The diet consists principally of insects and their larvse.

They are also fond of the flower-nectar of Silk Cotton, Coral
and other blossoms.

Nesting The breeding season over most of its range is during

:

the S.-W. Monsoon, between the middle of May and September.

Also November to March in Ceylon. The nest is a neat ball-
shaped structure about six inches across, composed of coarse
grasses and bamboo leaves, lined with finer grass and rootlets,
with small round entrance hole at the side. It is placed in a
thorny bush or clump of grass or bamboos, seldom above 3 feet
from the ground, and is often concealed by a dense growth of
monsoon creepers. The eggs- -three or four in number —are a
glossy pinkish-white, profusely speckled and blotched with
Teddish or dark brown.
The Yellow-eyed Babbler
21
 ii. The Yellow-eyed Babbler
Chrysomma sinensis (Gmelin).

Size : Slightly smaller than the Bulbul.

Field Characters A long-tailed bird, cinnamon and chestnut-

:

brown above, white below, with conspicuous orange-yellow

eyelids. In small parties in scrub and grass undergrowth. Sexes
alike.

Distribution : Resident throughout the plains and lower hills

(up to about 5,000 ft.) of India proper, Assam, Burma and Ceylon.
Over this range 4 geographical races are recognised on depths
of colouration.

Habits The Yellow-eyed Babbler is a resident of scrub-,

:

thornand grass-jungle and like its Rufous-bellied relative, with

which it is often found side by side, it is partial to thickets
in which tall coarse grass predominates. It is commonly met with
about cultivation among the thorn and grass tangles growing
on bands dividing the fields. The birds move about in small
loose flocks of 4 or 5, hunting among the brushwood for insects,
often clinging to the grass-stems sideways or upside down in the
manner of tits. The notes usually uttered are a clear, loud and
somewhat plaintive cheep-cheep-cheep, &c. In the breeding
season, principally, the males clamber up to exposed situations
—
the top of a bush or tuft of grass and utter a loud and pretty
song. They are great skulkers, and when alarmed will hop
from bush to bush through the undergrowth and disappear,
uttering harsh tittering notes. The flight is feeble, jerky and
undulating.
The food consists of spiders, grasshoppers and other insects
and but like others of their ilk they will invariably
caterpillars,
take ilower-nectar from ('oral and Silk Cotton blossoms when-
ever available.
Nesting The season is during the S.-W. Monsoon, between
:

J une and September. The nest is a neat, deep cup of coarse

grasses lined with finer material and more or less cemented on the
outside with cobwebs. It is wedged into the crotch of a bush,
or slung hammockwise between the upright stems of grasses or
monsoon plants, and usually under 5 feet from the ground.
Four or five eggs form a clutch. These are yellowish-white in
colour finely speckled with purplish-brown, and have a fair
gloss. Both sexes build, incubate and tend the young who leave
the nest 12 or 13 days after hatching.
 The Common Iora
Female
Male
23
 12. The Common Iora
Mgithina tiphia (Linnaeus).

Size : About that of the Sparrow.

Field Characters : A glossy jet-black and canary-yellow

usually accompanied by his mate chiefly greenish-
tit-like bird,
yellow. In gardens, groves and light forest. In non-breeding
season (winter plumage) the male resembles the female in
appearance.

Distribution Resident throughout the plains and hills (up

:

to about 3,000 feet) of the Indian Empire east of a line running

from the Gulf of Cambay through Mt. Aboo to Gflrdaspur
(Punjab). Three races are recognised on details of colouration,
viz., Northern (tiphia), Central Indian (humei) and Ceylonese
(multicolor), the last extending into Travancore.

Habits : The
Iora is a bird of gardens, groves of trees on the
outskirts of villages such as Mango, Tamarind and Neem, and
light secondary forest. It is usually seen in pairs which hunt
for caterpillars and insects among the foliage hopping from twig
to twig, frequently clinging sideways or upside down to peer
under the leaves. The birds keep in touch with each other by
mellow whistles and short musical chirrups. Its Hindustani
name Shoubeegi is rather a good rendering of one of its
'
'

commonest whistling calls. The nuptial display consists of the

male chasing the female and posturing before her with wings
drooping, white rump feathers fluffed out and tail slightly cocked
to the accompaniment of chirrupping notes, a variety of musical
whistles or a long drawn sibilant chee-ee. A
very spectacular
turn in the display proceedings consists of the male springing
several feet up in the air, fluffing out and exhibiting the glistening
white feathers on his rump and parachuting down to his perch
in spirals looking like a ball of fluff.

Nesting The season varies somewhat from one locality to

:

another but may be put down as mainly between May and

September. The nest is a compact little cup, about 2 J" across,
of soft grass and root fibres neatly rounded off at the bottom.
It is worked into the crotch of a slender twig 4 to 30 feet from the
ground, but most commonly between 6 and 12. The exterior
is well plastered with cobwebs. The eggs number two to four
and are pale pinky-white in colour blotched with purplish-brown.
Both sexes share in nest-building, incubation and care of the
young.

24
 &fl£i^$*i-

The Gold-fronted Chloropsis

Male
25
 i3- The Gold-fronted Chloropsis or
'Green Bulbul'
Chloropsis aurifrons (Temm. & Laug.).

Size : About that of the Bulbul.

Field Characters An elegant, restless grass-green bird with

:

bright golden forehead, purple and black chin and throat and
slender curved bill. The female is less brilliant. Pairs or
parties in leafy or nower-laden trees.
Distribution Resident in well-wooded areas more or less
:

throughout India, Burma and Ceylon up to about O.ooo feet

elevation. Within this range three races are recognised on
differences of size and depth of colouration.
Habits This Chloropsis inhabits forest and on the whole
:

prefers more thickly wooded country than the next species.

It is usually met with in pairs or parties of up to 8 or so, hunting
industriously for insects among the foliage, clinging to the
twigs upside down and in all manner of acrobatic positions
in the quest. Its colour harmonizes with the leaves so admirably
that the bird is oftener heard than seen. Kven then it is fre-
quently passed over since, being an accomplished mimic, it
rather obscures its own identity by its perfect imitation of the
calls of other birds. Among the species commonly mimicked
are the Tailor-bird, Red-whiskered and Common Bulbuls,
Black Dnmgo, lora, White-breasted Kingfisher, Rufous-backed
Shrike and Magpie-Robin. The various impersonations follow
one another without break and convey the impression that a
veritable avian League of Nations is in plenary session Calls of !

migratory birds are often intriguing when they are reproduced

long after the originals have left the locality. This fact
postulates a remarkably retentive memory on the part of
the Chloropsis.
Its food consists of spiders, insects, fruits and berries,
h'lower-nectar is also regularly eaten.
Nesting The season over most of its range is between May
:

and August. In Travancore and Ceylon November to

February seem to be the favoured months. The nest is a loose
shallow cup of tcndrills, moss, rootlets, &c, lined with soft grass
or bast fibres. It is carefully concealed, and usually difficult
of access owing to its situation at the extremity of an outhanging
branch near the top of some high tree. The eggs, normally
two, are cream or reddish-cream in colour, with profuse claret
specks all over.

26
 Jerdon's Chloropsis
Male
Female
27
 14. Jerdon's Chloropsis

Chloropsis jerdoni (Blyth).

Size : Same as the last.

Field Characters Differs from the Gold-fronted species in

:

the absence of golden-orange on the forehead and in having

bright purplish-blue moustachial streaks. The difference be-
tween the colouration of the male and female is shown on the
plate. Arboreal habits.

Distribution The Gangetic Plain, all Peninsular India

:

and Ceylon. Its range largely overlaps that of the last species,
but on the whole it prefers less thickly wooded country. It
is not found in Assam or Burma.

Habits : Jerdon's Chloropsis does not differ appreciably in

habits from the foregoing, and the descriptions apply equally
to both. On Coral and Silk Cotton trees in bloom, where they are
regular visitors, they act the blustering bully, attacking and
driving off every other bird feeding on the nectar, not only
in their immediate proximity but often a good distance away
in cprite another part of the tree. They will even resort to
dog-in-the-manger tactics when not actually themselves eating,
swooping down from a neighbouring tree, chasing away other
birds from the flowers and returning to their base after each
sortie.

Chloropsis of various species are known as Harewa in Hindus-

tani. They make amusing pets and are much prized by fanciers.
Their pugnacious disposition, however, makes them unsuited for
mixed aviaries.

Nesting The principal breeding months are between April

:

and August, but somewhat earlier in the south. The nest

is very like that of the Gold-fronted species but the eggs two —
or rarely three in number —are very different in appearance.
The ground colour is pale creamy or pinkish-white, sparingly
marked with specks, blotches and hair lines of blackish, purplish
and reddish-brown, chiefly about the broader end.
28
The Red-vented Bulbul
29
 15. The Red-vented Bulbul
Molpastes cafer (Linnaeus).

Size: Somewhat smaller and slimmer than the Myna. (8").

Field Characters : A smoke-brown bird with par-

perky
tially crested black head, scale-like markings on breast and back
and a conspicuous crimson patch under the tail. Pairs or
parties in gardens and lightly wooded country. Sexes alike.
Distribution : A resident species, upto elevations of about
4,000 feet, throughout the Indian Empire. Over this wide
range five geographical races are differentiated on depth of
colouration and minor variations in size.

Habits : The Red-vented Bulbul is a common bird of gardens

and light scrub jungle both near and away from human habita-
tions. It is usually seen in pairs, but wherever food happens
to be plentiful —
as for instance on a Banyan tree in ripe fruit
—
or at a swarming of winged termites large numbers will collect.
Although it has no song as such, its notes have a peculiar air
of joyousness which, coupled with the bird's vivacious disposition,
always make it a welcome visitor to the garden.
Its food consists of berries and insects. Occasionally it
causes some damage to fruit in orchards and is at all times a
nuisance in the vegetable patch on account of its weakness
for peas. Hut it devours a great many injurious insects as
well, thereby largely compensating for the mischief it does.

This bulbul is of a pugnacious nature and ranks high with

Indian bird fanciers as a fighting bird. Great rivalry obtains
among the owners and often considerable sums change hands
on the bouts. Champion birds fetch big prices.
Nesting :The breeding season, which varies slightly in the
different parts of its distribution, is between February and
October. The nest is a cup of rootlets sometimes plastered on
the outside with a little cobweb. It is placed at heights of
between 3 and 30 feet from the ground, but oftenest lander 10
feet. Shrubs and creepers growing on or near verandahs,
'
stunted date palms, cactus hedges or pollarded Bhendi
'

(Thespesia) and guava trees in gardens and on the countryside

—
are some of the sites chosen. The eggs two or three in number
are pinkish-white, profusely blotched with purplish-brown
or claret. Both sexes share in building, incubation and care
of the young.

3°
The White-cheeked Bulbul
31
 1 6. The White-cheeked Bulbul
Molpasles leucogenys (Gray).

Size : Same as the last.

Field Characters : A typical earthbrown bulbul with black

head, conspicuous glistening white cheeks and. bright sulphur-
yellow under the tail. Sexes alike. In gardens and open scrub
country.

Distribution : Up to between 3 and 9,000 ft. in the Himalayas

from the extreme west to the Assam hills north of the Brahma-
putra River. Throughout the north-western part of the Peninsula
including Gujerat and Kathiawar, south to about Bombay and
east to Jhansi. Three races are recognised mainly on the colour
and length of the crest which varies from almost none, as in the
race illustrated (leucolis), to the highly developed forwardly
drooping tuft of the typical race.

Habits : The White-cheeked Bulbul is a bird of the same jaunty

and vivacious disposition as its Red-vented and Red-whiskered
cousins. Within its range it is found wherever there are gardens
or orchards, but it may .also be met with far from the haunts of
Man in semi-desert with a sparse sprinkling of Salvadora persica,
Capparis and other thorny bushes. About human habitations it
becomes excessively tame and confiding, and is a general favourite.
Its cheery notes and happy presence have won for it a cherished
place in local poetry and song. The birds go about in pairs, but
small scattered flocks will collect where feeding is plentiful.

Its diet consists of fruits and berries of various kinds, as well

as insects, grubs and spiders. Ber '
drupes and the fruit of
'

the Persian Lilac or Boqain

'
(Melia azadirachta), Salvadora
'

and Wild Caper are largely eaten.

Nesting The breeding season is not sharply denned. It

:

varies somewhat with local conditions, but the principal months

are from March to September. The nest is the typical bulbul
type of structure — a cup of twigs, grass or rootlets, rather loosely
put together. It isplaced in some low tree or thorn bush seldom
more than 5 feet from the ground, in a garden or in open scrub
country. —
The eggs-—3 or 4 in number closely resemble in
appearance and markings those of the Red-vented Bulbul.

32
The Red-whiskered Bulbul
33
 i-j. The Red- whiskered Bulbul
Otocompsa jocosa (Linnaeus.)

Size : Same as the Red-vented Bulbul.

Field Characters Distinguishable at a glance from the fore-

:

going by the presencean upstanding, pointed black crest which

of
sometimes curves forward almost over the beak. The crimson
'
whiskers and undertail patch, and white underparts are other
'

diagnostic features. Sexes alike.

Distribution : Resident up to about 6,000 feet throughout the

Indian Empire excepting the dry portions in the North-west.
Three geographical races are recognised on the tints and minor
differences in colouration. Though often found side by side
with the Red-vented species, this bulbul appears on the whole to
prefer more humid habitats.

Habits . The Red-whiskered Bulbul is another of the more

familiarbirds of our gardens and countryside, being found
wherever trees afford the prospect of food and shelter, not un-
commonly in the heart of noisy cities. Its joyous, querulous
notes maybe heard at all hours of the day. The birds go about
in pairs, "but numbers will collect at some tree or shrub in fruit.
—
Their diet consists principally of berries those of the Lantana
—
being a favourite but they also devour a considerable number
of spiders, insects and caterpillars. They make engaging pets,
becoming exceedingly tame and confiding, following their master
about and Hying long distances when called.

Nesting Nests may be found at all seasons of the year, but

:

chiefly from February to August. The nest, like that of the

Red-vented Bulbul, is a compact cup made of rootlets, fine twigs
and grass. Casuarina needles are utilised where available. The
site selected is usually some low tree, shrub or hedge in a garden
or in scrub country, there being little effort at concealment.
Occasionally it is placed in the thatch or palm-leaf walls and roofs
of huts, the birds sitting complacently on the eggs or feeding the
young within a few inches of the inmates. The eggs two to —
—
four in number are very similar to those of the last species.
Both sexes share in next building, incubation and care of the
young. The incubation period is 15-16 days. Two, or even
three, broods are frequently raised or attempted in succession,
the casualty among the eggs and young being amazingly heavy.

34
The White-browed Bulbul
35
 1 8. The White-browed Bulbul
Pycnonotus luteolus (Lesson).

Size : Same as the last.

Field Characters : A sober coloured brownish olive-green,

uncrested bulbul, with pale underparts and conspicuous white
forehead and eyebrows. Sexes alike. Pairs in scrub and bush
jungle.

Distribution More or less throughout Peninsular India south

:

of abcut 23°N. latitude —

from Baroda on the west to Midnapfir
(Bengal) on the east, down to Cape Comorin and Ceylon. An
Indian (luteolus) and a Ceylonesc {insula) race are recognised,
the latter being slightly smaller and darker.

Habits The White-browed Bulbul is an inhabitant of dry

:

open bush -and -scrub country and also frequents shrubbery in

gardens and rambling compounds. It avoids heavy forest and
cultivation alike, but may be found on the outskirts of either.
It goes about in pairs and on account of its staid appearance and
retiring disposition is oftener heard than seen. The birds
ordinarily utter a subdued, throaty churr, but every now and
again the male explodes into loud, abrupt snatches of rattling
song which are quite unmistakable when once heard.

Its diet consists of Banyan and Peepal figs and of fruits and
berries of various kinds —
those of Ber (Zizyphus) and l.antana
being two of the commonest. Spiders and insects are also eaten.

All bulbuls, by nature of their food, play an important role

in the dispersal of seed and dissemination of plant-life over the
countryside.

Nesting : The season is mainly from March to September.

Birds in Travancore and Ceylon breed somewhat earlier, i.e.,
between February and April. The nest is similar to that of the
—
Red -vented Bulbul a neat but flimsy and loosely put-together
affair of rootlets, etc., without extra lining. It is placed in some
thick bush or young date palm, as a rule under 5 feet from the
ground.

The eggs —two or three in number —are less richly marked

but otherwise not unlike those of the Red-vented species.

36
The Pied Bush-Chat
37
 19. The Pied Bush-Chat
Saxicola caprala (Linnaeus).

Size : About that of the Sparrow.

Field Characters : A jet black bird with white patches on

rump, abdomen and wings, the last more conspicuous in flight.
The female is earth-brown with a pale rusty coloured rump. Pairs,
on bushtops, etc., in open country.

Distribution : More or less throughout the Indian Empire,

in the plains as well as hills, commonly up to 7,000 feet. To
north-western India and the Himalayan foothills it is only a
breeding summer visitor. Three geographical races are recog-
nised on slight differences in size and the extent of white on the
underparts of the male.

Habits : The Pied Bush-Chat loves stony open and sparsely

scrubbed country, in the neighbourhood of villages and culti-
vation. It is seen singly, but usually has its mate somewhere
close at hand. The bird takes up a position on the top of a stake,
tuft of grass or some other exposed perch whence it makes
frequent little darts to the ground to pick up an unwary grass-
hopper or bug. Sometimes it will spring up into the air or make
short sallies after winged insects.

The note commonly uttered is a harsh chek, click ending in a

subdued tnvect.In the breeding season the male has a pretty
whistling song, beginning with a double chick-chick and resembling
those of the Indian Robin and the Crested Bunting. It is uttered
either from a perch or as the bird indulges in short display
flights to and fro with slow delayed action
'
wing beats above
'

his back as in a pigeon clapping.'

'
Apart from courtship,
the song is also uttered as a defiance to rivals. During this gesture
the wings are drooped flaunting the white shoulder patches ;

the tail is depressed and outspread, the white rump fluffed out
menacingly and the neck stiffly craned forward.

Nesting : The season is between February and May varying

with locality. The nest is a pad of grass, lined with hair or wool.
It is placed in hollows in an earth cutting, a depression in the
ground under some bush or in crevices or holes in a boundary
wall. — —
The eggs three to five in number are usually pale
bluish-white, speckled and blotched with reddish brown. Incu-
bation takes 12 to 13 days. Only the female broods, but the
male helps to feed the young and also occasionally in building.

3«
The Collared or Indian Bush-Ghat
Male Female

39
 20. The Collared or Indian Bush-Chat
Saxicola lorquata (Linnaeus).

Size : About that of the Sparrow.

Field Characters : A dapper little bird with black head,

orange-brown breast, and prominent white patches on sides
of neck (the collar '), shoulders, and above the base of tail.
'

The female resembles the hen Pied Bush-Chat, but is streaked

darker on the upper parts. Singly or pairs in open country and
cultivation.
Distribution : The race indica, which breeds in the Himalayas
and beyond, is common in winter throughout the Indian Empire,
excepting the part of the peninsula south of about Belgaum.
It is also absent in Ceylon. Three other races are recognised on
minor differences of size and colouration. One of these is resident
along a strip of country in the north, the other two being winter
visitors from beyond our northern borders.

Habits The Indian Bush-Chat is only met with in the plains

:

during the cold weather. It begins to arrive in September and

by April the majority of birds have departed for their northern
breeding grounds. During its sojourn, it is seen singly or in
pairs in open country and cultivation. Like the Pied Bush-
Chat it takes most of its food from the ground using the tip of a
bush, grass-stem or clod of earth for its observation post. Prom
this perch it makes short excursions in pursuit of prey, which is
either devoured on the ground or carried back to the base.
It is of the same restless disposition as the last, and constantly
spreads and Hicks its tail up and down as it surveys the neigh-
bourhood.
Its voice and notes are similar to those of the Pied Bush-
Chat. The pretty little song, developed in the breeding season,
is seldom heard while the birds are in their winter quarters.
Its food consists of grasshoppers, earwigs, beetles and other
small insects.
Nesting : Within Indian limits, this Bush-Chat breeds through-
out the Himalayas from east to west between 2 and 9,000 feet
elevation. Odd birds may occasionally be found nesting in the
foothills and sub-Himalayan plains. The usual period is between
April and July. The nest does not differ from that of the Pied
Bush-Chat. It is well concealed in a hole in parapet walls of
terraced fields, or under a boulder on the stony, scrub-covered
hillsides. —
The eggs four to six in number do not differ—
appreciably from those of the last species.

40
The Redstart
Female
Male
 2i. The Redstart
Phcenicurus ochruros (S. G. Gmelin).

Size : About that of the Sparrow.

Field Characters : A slim black and orange-chestnut bird,

constantly shivering its tail and clipping low the forepart of its
body. The female is brown where the male is black and is also
paler generally. Seen singly in stony, sparsely-scrubbed country
and groves of trees.
Distribution : In winter throughout Assam, Burma and the
Indian Peninsula as far south as, but not including, Travancore
or Ceylon. Two races are recognised (i) phwnicuroides
:

visiting N.-W. India including the western United Provinces,

(2) rufiventris the rest of the range. The latter race is slightly
larger and has less grey fringing to its upper plumage, especially
crown.

Habits The Redstart is a common and familiar bird about

:

and gardens during the cold weather, from

villages, cultivation
September to April. It haunts shady nullahs and groves such
as mango orchards, and may frequently be seen perched on a
roof-top or wall dipping forward jerkily every little while and
ceaselessly flirting its tail. It is equally at home in bare broken
country or amongst boulder hillocks and ruins. It Hits about
from perch to perch shivering its irrepressible little tail as it goes.
Its food consists of small beetles, caterpillars, ants, spiders
and the like which are picked off the ground or from old walls,
bushes or trees, the bird working industriously from early dawn
until well after dusk. At times it will capture winged insects
in the air in the manner of a flycatcher.

The notes commonly uttered are a sharp squeaky whit whit,. . .

&c, reminiscent of an unoiled bicycle wheel. There is a slight

pause between one whit and the next, just enough for one revolu-
tion of the wheel The pleasant little song, uttered at the breed-
!

ing season, is seldom heard while the birds are in their winter
quarters.
Nesting : The Redstart breeds in the mountains of Kashmir,
Nepal, Tibet and beyond — from Persia right across to Mongolia,
between May and August. The nest is a loose cup of grass, moss
and leaves lined with hair, wool or feathers. It is placed in a hole
in an earth bank, roadside cutting or piled-stone boundary wall.
Four to six eggs are laid. In colour they range from almost
white to pale blue green, and have no markings,

42
The Indian Robin
Female
Male
 22. The Indian Robin
Saxicoloidcs fulicata (Linnaeus.)

Size : Slightly larger than the Sparrow.

Field Characters : A sprightly little black bird with Tusty-

red under the cocked tail. There is a white patch on each wing,
concealed or almost so in rest, but conspicuous in flight. The
hen is ashy-brown with pale chestnut under the tail. Pairs, in
open country.
Distribution : Resident throughout India and Ceylon up to
about 5,000 feet. Not in Assam or Burma. Four races are re-
cognised the typical or Ceylonese, a North Indian (cambaiensis)
: ,

a South Indian, (ptymatura) and an intermediate {intermedia).

The last occupies a broad belt across the centre of the peninsula
north and south of Ahmadnagar. They are separated on minor
diiferenccs of size and colouration of the back.
Habits : The Indian Robin is one of the most familiar and
confiding birds of our countryside. It inhabits the drier and
more open parts and is a frequent visitor to gardens and com-
pounds. It loves the neighbourhood of villages where one may
come across it perched on a thatch roof, cactus hedge or stone,
switching its cocked tail up and down expressively as it turns
one way then another, uttering its cheery notes. The tail is
sometimes tossed so far forward as almost to touch the head.
This is the case especially when a rival is being faced up to. The
birds may be seen hopping along the ground, now mounting a
bush or termite-mound, now descending at the sight of insect
prey. They are by no means shy and will boldly enter verandahs
of dwelling houses and tents in search of food.
The Robin feeds exclusively on insects and caterpillars. It
is partial to white-ants and is commonly in attendance on or near
ant-hills. It has a short pleasant song uttered in courtship
display.

Nesting : The season over the greater part of its range is from
April to June earlier in the south. The nest is a cup-shaped
;

affair of grass and rootlets, lined with feathers or hair and often
adorned with snake sloughs. It is placed in a hole in a wall,
earth-cutting or rotten tree-stump. A derelict tin can or earthen
—
chatty lying about is frequently used. The eggs two or three
— are white or cream coloured, sometimes with a greenish tinge,
and are speckled and blotched with ruddy brown. Both sexes
share in building and care of the young, but the female alone
incubates.

44
The Magpie-Robin or Dhayal
Male
45
 23. The Magpie-Robin or Dhayal
Copsychus sanlaris (Linnaeus).

Size : About that of the Bulbul.

'

Field Characters A trim black-and-white bird with cocked

:

tail as in the Robin. In the female the black portions are re-
placed by brown and slaty-grey. Singly or pairs about human
habitations.
Distribution : Resident practically throughout the Indian
Empire, up to about 4,000 feet elevation. It does not occur in
S.-W. Punjab, Sind and W. Rajputana. Four races are recognised
on minor differences of size and colouration, viz. : Indian (saitlaris)
Ceylonese (ceylonensis) Andaman (andamawnsis) and Malayan
,

(amanus)
Habits : The Magpie-Robin is also amongst the more familiar
birds found about the haunts of Man. In the non-breeding
season it is shy and quiet, skulking about in undergrowth and
brushwood and only uttering a plaintive swee-ee and harsh chr-r,
chr-r notes from time to time. Hut it is one of our finest songsters.
With the approach of the hot weather the cock recovers his voice,
and in his spruce pied livery he is a striking and happy figure as
from the topmost twigs of a leafless tree, a gate-post or hedge he
gladdens the short-lived cool of a May morning with his contin-
uous torrent of far-reaching song. The melody is punctuated
bv a constant spreading and upward jerks of his white-fringed
tail. Singing continues intermittently throughout the clay.
He is an accomplish mimic besides, and imitates the calls of many
other birds to perfection.
Although chiefly arboreal, the bird also feeds largely on the
ground, hopping about and picking up crickets, grasshoppers,
ants, caterpillars and a host of other insects. Occasionally one
will make short sallies into the air after winged prey. Silk Cotton
and Coral blossoms are visited regularly for the sake of the sugary
nectar. During the breeding season the males love to show off
before their mates and indulge in much spreading of tails and
ludicrous pufling-out, strutting and nodding. They become
very pugnacious and resent the intrusion of other cocks into their
territory.
Nesting The season over most of its range is between April
:

and July earlier in the south. The nest is a pad of grass,

;

rootlets and hair. It is placed in a hole in a wall, tree-trunk or

branch, between 5 and 20 feet from the ground. The eggs
three to live- are some shade of pale blue-green, blotched and
mottled with reddish-brown.

46
The Shama
Male
47
 24* The Shama
Kiltacincla malabarica (Scopoli).

Size : That of the Bulbul, but with a relatively much longer

tail.

Field Characters : An unmistakable cousin of the familiar

Magpie-Robin. The head, back and breast in the male are glossy
black, the underparts rich chestnut. The white patch above the
base of the long, graduated black-and-white tail is diagnostic
even when only a flashing glimpse of the flying bird is obtained.
In the female the black is replaced by slaty-brown, the under-
parts are paler and duller and the tail shorter. Solitary, in deep
forest.

Distribution Patchily through the whole of India (excepting

:

the dry portions in the N.-W.), Burma, Ceylon and the Andamans.
Three races are recognised on comparative lengths of tail, and
details of colouration.

Habits : The Shama is essentially a bird of forest-clad foothills

and ghats, where
haunts the seclusion of dense secondary
it
undergrowth, being particularly fond of bamboo-covered ravines.
It is extremely shy and retiring as far as Man is concerned, but
otherwise closely resembles the Dhayal in habits. Its beautiful
song of several clear melodious notes is principally heard in the
early mornings and at dusk, often continuing till close on nightfall.
On account of its retiring disposition and the remoteness of its
normal habitat, the Shama is much more likely to be met with as
a cage-bird by most readers than in a wild state. It is popularly
acknowledged as the finest songster we have in India and is
accordingly much prized by fanciers. It thrives well, anil even
breeds, in captivity. Besides its own vocal accomplishments,
it will readily learn to mimic the calls of other birds accurately.

Its diet is exclusively insectivorous, consisting of grasshoppers

and other insects and larva;, which are taken either off the ground
or among bushes.

Nesting The breeding season is mainly between April and

:

—
June. The nest a shallow cup of rootlets, grass and bamboo
—
leaves is placed at moderate heights in some hollow in a tree-
trunk or at the base of a tangled bamboo clump. The eggs
—
three or four in number closely resemble those of the Magpie-
Robin, being some shade of blue-green, densely blotched with
brown or reddish-brown.
48
 r

The Black-capped Blackbird

Male
49
 2$. The Southern Blackbird
Turdus simillimus Jerdon.

Size : About that of the Myna.

Field Characters * A plain grey-brown bird with a black
:

cap, orange-yellow eyelids, legs and bill. The female is more

ashy above and paler generally, with the cap brown. In ghat
forests.

Distribution : Ghats and hill country practically throughout

Peninsular India, roughly south of the Vindhyan Hills. Five
races are recognised on minor differences of size, colouration
and comparative lengths of the second primary wing-quill.
Habits : The Blackbird is a resident of well-wooded hills
but wanders into the plains in winter. It may be met with
in open scrub jungle, groves of trees about villages and in gardens
and compounds. It goes about singly as well as in pairs or
small parties which feed both on the ground and in trees. But
it is chielly terrestrial in habits and more usually seen hopping
about, turning over and flicking aside dry leaves in search of
insects and ripe fruit lying on the ground. The bird is silent
in the cold weather, the only note then heard being a sharp
high-pitched krce-ee uttered from time to time and varied
occasionally by a throaty, quick-repeated chuck-chuck-chuck.
During the breeding season it has a fine song resembling that
of the Magpie-Robin, but considerably louder and richer. This
is heaTd mostly in the mornings and evenings, often till well
after dusk. Its flight is swift and direct without pauses or gliding.
on insects, snails and the like, but fruits and berries
It lives
also form a large proportion of its diet. Banyan figs, Jamun
fruit (Eugenia jambolana) and Lantana berries are invariably
eaten. Silk Cotton and Coral blossoms are regularly visited
for the sugary nectar they supply.

Nesting : Blackbirds throughout the hilly portions

breed
of their range between May and
August. The nest, typical
of this group of birds, is a deep cup of moss, rootlets and grass
into which a good deal of wet mud is incorporated, lined with
soft ferns and root hairs. It is placed in a bush or small tree
rarely above 10 feet from the ground. The eggs three to five —
in number —
are pale greenish-white, blotched with ruddy-brown,
densely about the broad end.

* These refer chiefly to the Black-capped Blackbird [T. s.

mahratiensis.)

5°
The Blue Rock-Thrush
Male
51
 26. The Blue Rock-Thrush
Monticola solitaria (Linnaeus).

Size : That of the Bulbul.

Field Characters Male bright indigo-blue

: female grey- ;

brown above, whitish below cross-barred with dark brown,

and with a pale bar in the wings. Solitary, among boulders,
ruins, stone-quarries, etc.

Distribution : Four races are recognised of which three have

a very restricted or occasional winter distribution in extreme
North-West India, and in Burma. The fourth pandoo, is found
practically all over India, Assam and Burma in the cold weather.
The races differ in details of size and colouration.
Habits : The Blue Rock-Thrush is a winter visitor to the Indian
plains and hills, arriving about October and leaving by April.
It loves boulder-strewn hillsides, rock scarps and broken country,
but may also commonly be seen in and about towns and villages
perched bolt upright on a housetop or cornice, bowing jerkily
in the manner of a Redstart and flirting its tail. From this
vantage point it sallies down on any insect it can spot morsels ;

too large to be devoured at once are carried off and whacked

against the perch before being swallowed. Occasionally it
will capture winged insects in the air like a flycatcher. It is of
sedentary habits and will often frequent a particular locality
day after day throughout the season. It is not shy and fre-
quently enters inhabited houses, quietly and unobtrusively,
to take refuge among the rafters or under caves from the mid-day
heat. For the most part it is silent while with us, but the male's
sweet whistling song may sometimes be heard just before the
birds depart for their nesting grounds. In silhouette on —
—
the wing and also while alighting the bird looks extremely
like the Brown Rock-Chat {Cercomela fusca) another familiar
species of similar habitat of North and Central India.
Its food consists principally of insects, but fruits and berries
are also eaten.

Nesting : The species as a whole breeds from Transcaspia

right across to Japan. Our Indian race, pandoo, nests in Kashmir,
Simla States, Garhwa.1 and Tibet, usually at between 6 to 9,000
feet elevation, from April to June. The nest is a rough pad
of moss, grass and leaves placed in a hole in a cliff or bank,
or among stones in terracing parapet walls. The eggs—three
to five in number —
are pale blue speckled with brownish-red.

52
The Malabar Whistling Thrush
53
 27. The Malabar Whistling Thrush
Myophonns horsfieldii Vigors.

Size : Between the Myna and the Pigeon.

Field Characters A blue-black thrush with patches of

:

glistening colsilt blue on forehead and shoulders. Sexes alike.

Singly or pairs by rocky hill-streams.
A
closely related species (M. temminckii) occupies a
country along the foot of the Himalayas extending into
strip of
Assam and Burma. This has no cobalt patches, and a yellow
bill instead of black.
Distribution Mt. Abu and practically down the entire length
:

of the Western Ghats. On the eastern side only recorded from

Sambalpur (Orissa) and the Shevaroy Hills.
Habits : This handsome bird is a denizen of well-wooded rocky
nullahs and torrential hill-streams, both near .and away from
human habitations. In the cold weather mostly, the only note
heard is a sharp kree-ee. With the approach of the breeding
season it develops a rich, remarkably human whistling song which
rambles aimlessly up and down the scale and has earned for the
bird its popular name of Idle or Whistling Schoolboy. It is
heard chiefly in the early morning and shortly before dusk.
Aquatic and crabs form the major part of
insects, snails
its diet. The
bird hops about from stone to stone in the midst
of a rushing stream and snatches the quarry as it floats past.
The tail is constantly jerked and spread fanwise in order to
'
stampede lurking prey from the crevices and hollows. Snails
'

and crabs are purposefully battered on the rock and their shells
smashed before swallowing.
The Whistling Thrush thrives in captivity and becomes
surprisingly tame if taken young. It is much prized as a songster.
Nesting The breeding season ranges, according to locality,
:

between February and August. The nest is invariably in the

proximity of some nullah or torrent. It is a large, compact
pad of roots, moss and grass reinforced with a good deal of mud.
It is placed under a shelf of rock, on a precipitous ledge or among
the roots of a tree. It is sometimes built in houses, both deserted
and in occupation. Three or four eggs are laid, pale buff or
greyish-stone in colour blotched and speckled with reddish-
brown and lavender. Both sexes share in building, incubation
and care of the young. The incubation period is 16-17 days.
.54
 >

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher

Male
55
 28. Tickell's Blue Flycatcher
Muscicapula tickellim (Blyth).

Size : About that of the Sparrow.

Field Characters : A blue bird with bright azure forehead,

eyebrows and shoulder-patches. Breast pale rusty, fading
to white lower down. The female is duller and paler. Singly,
in secondary bush jungle.

Distribution Resident for the most part — up to about 5,000

:

feet elevation
in Sind
— practically throughout the Indian Empire except
and the dry areas of the North-West. Three races are
recognised the Indian (tickelliee), the South Burma (smnatrensis)
:

and the Ceylon (meseea). They diifer from each other mainly
in depth and details of colouration.

Habits Tickell's Blue Flycatcher is a resident of lightly

:

wooded country abounding in thorn scrub, and is also met with

in secondary growth in deciduous forest. It has a preference
for broken foothills country where it haunts cool shady glades
and bamboo-clad ravines. It also enters gardens and groves
about human habitations. From a favourite perch on some
exposed twig or twisted liana stem, where it sits bolt upright
nicking its tail, it launches short agile sallies after insects. While
these are usually captured on the wing, the bird will occasionally
also seek for them as it hovers before a sprig or flower.
It has a pleasing little trilly, metallic song which is constantly
uttered and which is frequently the first indication of its presence
in a thicket.

The food of the Blue Flycatcher, like that of its relations,

consists very largely of Hies, gnats and other dipterous insects.

Nesting : The breeding season ranges between March and

August, varying with the locality. The nest is placed in a hollow
in a tree-stump or earth-bank, or it may be in a clump formed
by the branching on a bamboo stem. It is never at any great
height from the ground, and often as low as 3 or 4 feet. It is
composed of dead leaves, twigs, rootlets and moss untidily
put together. The whole thing is wedged into the site, and
in the last named situation usually assimilates so well with
its surroundings as to be difficult to locate. Three to five eggs
are laid, pale clay-brown or olive-brown in colour, sprayed all
over with very minute reddish-brown specks.

56
The Paradise Flycatcher
Male
Female

57
 zg. The Paradise Flycatcher
Tchitrea paradisi (Linnaeus).

Size' : That of the Bulbul, excluding the tail ribbons which' '

are between 10 and 15 inches long.

Field Characters Adult male silvery white with two long-
:

ribbon-likc feathers or streamers in tail, and metallic black-

crested head. Female and young male chestnut above, greyish-
—
white below in general effect suggestive of a bulbul. The
young male has chestnut streamers in the tail the female is ;

without. Singly or pairs in wooded country.

Distribution Throughout the Indian Empire, in the Hima-
:

layas (commonly up to 5,000 feet and occasionally higher),

the plains and the peninsular hill ranges. Resident in many
portions, seasonal visitor in others. Three races concern us
here. They are recognised on minor differences of colouration
and size.
—
Habits: This delightful creature variously known as Rocket
Bird, Widow Bird or Ribbon Bird- -is a frequenter of shady
groves and gardens, often in the neighbourhood of human
habitations, and of light deciduous jungle with bamboo-clad
nullahs. Pairs are usually met with, either by themselves
or in the mixed hunting parties of small birds in forest. The
lithe, fairy-like movements of the male as, with streamers trailing
behind, he makes short aerial sallies and contortions after winged
insects or Hits in graceful undulating flight from one tree to
another, present a fascinating spectacle. The notes commonly
heard are a harsh and grating chr or chc-chwe, but during the
breeding season these are supplemented by a number of pleasant
musical ones uttered by both sexes.
Their diet is entirely insectivorous consisting chiefly of
flics and moths. These are captured on the wing in the manner
typical of the flycatchers.
Nesting : The season ranges between February and July.
The nest is elbow of a twig usually from
built in the crotch or
6 to 12 feet above the ground. It is a compactly woven cup of
fine grasses and fibres, plastered on the outside with cobwebs
and spiders' egg cases (Plate p. 103). The normal clutch consists
of three to five eggs, pale creamy-pink in ground colour,
speckled and blotched with reddish-brown.
Both sexes partake in building, incubation and care of
the young, though the hen does the lion's share of the work.
Incubation takes 15-1C) days and the young leave the nest about
t2 days after hatching.

58
The White- spotted Fantail Flycatcher
59
30. The White-spotted Fantail Flycatcher
Leucocirca pectoralis Jerdon.

Size : About that of the Sparrow.

Field Characters : A cheery, restless smoke-brown bird with

conspicuous white eyebrows, white-spotted breast and flanks,
and whitish abdomen. Its most striking feature is the tail,
cocked and spread out like a fan, with the wings drooping on
either side. Sexes alike. Pairs, in wooded country, gardens, &.c.
An allied species, the White-browed Fantail Flycatcher,
(L. aureola,) —distinguished by its broad white forehead is—
found commonly more or less throughout India, Burma and
Ceylon.
Distribution : From north of Travancore through the Bombay
Presidency to Rajputana. Also the greater portion of peninsular
India in and south of the Central Provinces up to about 6,000
feet elevation. Two races are recognised on minor differences
of colouration.

Habits : This llycatcher is a bird of sparse secondary jungle

as well as gardens and groves, even in the midst of noisy towns.
It regards the proximity of Man with indifference and is often
surprisingly tame. The birds are usually seen in pairs which
keep more or less to one circumscribed locality. They flit
tirelessly about the foliage or from tree to tree, waltzing and
pirouetting amongst the lower branches or on a nearby wall
or stone. The birds constantly launch graceful looping-the-loop
sallies after insects which are snapped up in the air with a little
castanet-like snap of the mandibles.
The note usually uttered is a somewhat harsh chuck-chuck,
but has also a delightful, clear whistling song of several tinkling
it
notes, rising and falling in scale, which is constantly warbled
as the bird prances about.
and other small insects.
Its food consists of mosquitoes, flies

Nesting The breeding season ranges between March and

:

August. The nest is a beautiful little cup of fine grasses and

fibres, neatly, draped and plastered on the outside with cobwebs.
It is similar to the lora's though as a rule not rounded off at
the bottom but with an untidy bunch of grass, strips of bark and
pith dangling underneath. It is built in the crotch or fork
of a twig, seldom more than 8 feet off the ground. The normal
clutch is of 3 eggs, pinkish-cream in colour with a ring of tiny
brown specks round the broad end. Both sexes share in
building, incubation and care of the young.

60
The Grey Shrike
61
 31. The Grey Shrike
Lanius excubitor Linnaeus.
Size : About that of the Myna, with a relatively longer tail.

Field Characters A silver-grey bird with longish black and

:

white tail. The black wings are relieved by a white patch which
Hashes conspicuously in flight. A broad black stripe from bill
backwards across the eye. Typical heavy hooked bill. Sexes
alike. Singly, in dry, open country.
Distribution Sind, along the base of the Himalayas upto
:

2,000 feet elevation, and throughout the drier portions of the

Indian plains south to Belgaum and east to Calcutta. Not
Eastern Ghats, Assam, Burma or Ceylon. Besides the Indian
race (lahtora), 3 others are recognised on minor differences.
These live beyond our limits and only occasionally straggle in
just across our N-W
boundaries.
Habits : The Grey Shrike
inhabits dry, open country and semi-
desert. Cultivation only attracts it where interspersed with
patches of arid Ber- or Babool-covered waste land. From a
perch on the top of some thorn bush it keeps a sharp lookout for
prey, descending to the ground from time to time to seize and
carry off the victims. They are held under foot and torn to
pieces with the sharp hooked bill before being swallowed. Like
—
many of this genus which on account of the peculiar habit are
—
known as Butcher Birds the Grey Shrike maintains a regular
larder where surplus food is impaled on thorns to be eaten at
leisure. Except at the breeding season when pairs is the rule,
the birds .are usually met with singly. Each individual has a
recognised beat or feeding territory which it will frequent day
after day and jealously guard against interlopers. The usual call
notes are harsh and grating, but at the nesting period a very
pleasing little song is uttered. It is a good mimic of the calls of
other birds.
Its food consists of crickets, locusts and large insects as well
as lizards, mice and any young or sickly birds that can be over-
jxnvered.
Nesting The season ranges between January and October,
:

but March and April are the principal months. The nest is a
deep, compact cup of thorny twigs and grass, lined with rags,
wool or feathers. It is placed in a thorny bush or tree, between 4
and 12 feet from the ground. —
The eggs three to six in number
-vary considerably in colour and size. The commonest type is
pale greenish white, thickly blotched and spotted with purplish-
brown, especially at the broad end.

62
The Bay-backed Shrike
63
 32. The Bay-backed Shrike
Lanius vittatus Valenciennes.

Size : About that of the Bulbul.

Field Characters Grey and white head with a broad black

:

and backward through the eyes. Chestnut-

stripe across forehead
maroon back, white underparts. The white or whitish rump,
and the white patches on its black wings are very conspicuous in
flight. Long black-and-white graduated tail and typical stout,
hook-tipped bill. Sexes alike. Singly in dry country and about
cultivation.

Distribution :Practically the whole of India from the

Himalayas (up to 6,000 ft. elevation) south to Cape Comorin.
Across, it extends from Afghanistan and Baluchistan to Western
Bengal. Not in Assam, Burma or Ceylon. In parts of this range
it is a seasonal visitor only.

Habits : —
The Bay-back the smallest of our Indian shrikes
is a bird of dry open country abounding in Babool trees and
scrub. It is frequently met with also in the vicinity of culti-
vation and gardens. It avoids both desert areas and humid
forest. The terrain it prefers is in fact intermediate in character
between the semi-desert favoured by the Grey Shrike, and the wood-
ed, well-watered country beloved of the Rufous-backed Shrike. In
other respects, its habits do not differ appreciably from either of
these. The churrihg notes, most commonly heard, are harsh
and unmusical, but it also has a pleasant little warbling song in
which imitations of the calls of other birds .are freely intermingled.
A whimsical courtship display is indulged in by the male at the
breeding season. This consists mostly of craning his neck,
cocking his tail, sidling up to the hen on a perch and stiffly hop-
ping closer and closer to her. All this while his face is turned
away from her, but he is singing obviously 'at' her.

Nesting : The season lasts from April to September, the

majority of eggs being laid in June and July. The nest is a neat,
compact cup of grass, rags, wool and feathers. Generally much
cobweb is used on the outside for binding the material. It is
placed at moderate heights in the fork of a small tree or in a tall
roadside hedge. Three to five eggs are laid, smaller than those
of the Grey Shrike, but similar in colour and markings, and
presenting the same range of variations.

64
The Rufous-backed Shrike
65
 33« The Rufous-backed Shrike
Lanius schach Linnaeus.

Size : Between the Bulbul and the Myna, with a relatively

longer tail.

Field Characters : Forehead and a band through the eyes

black. Head grey. Lower back and rump bright rufous.
Underparts washed rufous. Typical shrike bill. Singly, in
open wooded, or scrub country.

Distribution : I'ractically throughout the Indian Empire

up to about 8,000 feet in the Himalayas. Resident in many
portions, seasonal visitor in others. Four races are recognised
on measurements, and details of colouration.

Habits The Rufous-backed Shrike inhabits open but wooded

:

and, on the whole, well-watered country. Tn general habits

it does not differ from the two foregoing species. Its usual
call notes are loud, harsh and scolding, but it has also a pretty
little rambling song uttered in the nature of a soliloquy, of con-
siderable duration. Besides its own notes, the song has a great
many imitations of other birds' calls interwoven in it.
is perhaps the finest and most convincing mimic
This shrike
of the trio. Apart from the calls of birds, both resident along
side and long after they have migrated from the locality, it
reproduces with amazing accuracy a large variety of other
familiar sounds of the countryside —
for example, the harsh squeals
of a frog caught by a snake. In one instance an individual
commenced yelping like a very young puppy the day after a
litter was born in a house adjoining its feeding territory. In
another case it mimicked to perfection the call of a tame Grey
Partridge belonging to a grass-cutter working in its feeding
area. The remarkable thing was that in every case the Shrike
prefaced the partridge's call with 2 or 3 human whistling notes,
exactly such as it was the owner's wont to utter when wishing
his bird to call !

Nesting The season ranges between February and July,

:

varying somewhat with local conditions. The nest is a deep

compact cup of twigs, roots, grass and sundry other material,
lined with soft grass. It is placed in the fork of a branch in
a moderate sized tree such as a Babool, usually under 15 feet
—
from the ground. The eggs three to six in number -are —
somewhat smaller than those of the Grey Shrike, but more
or less identical with them in colour and markings.

66
The Wood Shrike

67
 34- The Wood Shrike
Tephrodornis pondicerianus (Gmelin).

Size : About that of the Bulbul.

Field Characters A plain greyish-brown bird with a dark

:

stripebelow the eye and a distinct whitish supercilium. Hook-

tipped shrike bill short square tail. Sexes alike. Pairs or
;

parties in thin forest.

Distribution Practically throughout India, Burma and Ceylon.

:

Three races are recognised, viz., the pale N.-W. and Central Indian
pallida, the darker South Indian pondiceriantls, and the ashy-
grey Ceylonese affinis.

Habits : The Wood Shrike is an inhabitant of open scrub-

and-bush country and light deciduous dense
forest. It avoids
evergreen jungle. It is commonly met with in gardens and
orchards as well as among roadside trees and groves of Babool,
Neem, Tamarind, Banyan and the like near cultivation and
villages. Family parties of 4 or 5, either by themselves or
in the usual mixed hunting parties of small birds, are not un-
common. They hop or flit among the branches and follow
one another from tree to tree calling in rich liquid whistling
notes weet-weet followed by a quick interrogative whi-whi-
whi-whi ? Unlike the true shrikes they seldom descend to
the ground, their food being procured mainly among the twigs
and branches or under the leaves and sprigs. Winged insects
are occasionally captured in the air in the manner of a flycatcher.

The diet consists mainly of moths, beetles, grubs and

caterpillars.

Nesting : The season ranges between February and September

varying with locality. March and April appear, on the whole,
to be the most generally favoured months. The nest is a neat
cup, about two inches across, composed of soft bark, fibres, etc.
cemented with cobwebs. It is draped on the exterior with
bits of papery bark and spiders' egg-cases which render it in-
conspicuous among the supporting twigs. The site is in the
fork of some leafless branch of a sapling or small tree, and mostly
under 20 feet from the ground. The eggs usually three in —
—
number are pale greenish-grey, speckled with some shade of
purple-brown, forming a ring round the broad end.

Both sexes share in building, incubation and care of the

young.

68
jty&J^jd*^ . S£&

The Scarlet Minivet

69
 35« The Scarlet Minivet
Pericrocohts speciosus (Latham).

Size : About that of the Bulbul.

Field Characters Adult male glossy jet black and deep

:

scarlet. Female and young male with pale yellow underparts

iind no black on head or back. Flocks in forest.

An allied species, the Orange Minivet [P. flamnieus,) with

orange-red under-parts instead of scarlet, is found in the forested
portions of the Western Ghats from Khandala to the extreme
south, and in Ceylon. A
third species, the Short-billed Minivet
[P.brevirostris) similar in general effect to the Scarlet Minivet, but
slightly smaller and with a different colour pattern in the wings,
is found largely overlapping the range of that species.

Distribution The Himalayas up to 6000 feet or more, from

:

about Kulu right across to the North-east frontier. Also Assam,

Burma, Andamans and Upper Eastern Ghats. Six geographical
races are recognised on size, and details of colouration mainly
of the tail feathers and primary quills.

Habits This gorgeous Minivet is a resident of well-wooded

:

country and evergreen jungle. It is exclusively arboreal. It

goes about in flocks, often of 20 or more birds, which keep mostly
to the leafy canopy of the forest, flitting restlessly among the
foliage or following one another about from tree to tree in search
of food. This consists mostly of insects and their larva; and is
secured among the leaves and buds or on the moss-covered tree
trunks. Sometimes they are captured in the air in the manner
of a flycatcher.

The call notes, frequently uttered, are a pleasant whistling

whee-twect or whi-ri-ri, whi-ri-ri, etc.

Nesting The season over the greater part of its range is

:

between April and July. The nest is a neat compact cup of

rootlets and bast fibres well bound with cobwebs and copiously
bedecked on the outside with pieces of bark, green moss and
lichens. These serve to make the nest remarkably inconspicuous
in its surroundings. It is placed on the upper surface of a branch
10 to 40 feet from the ground, in humid forest.

The eggs —two to four in number—are of a pale sea-green

colour, spotted and blotched with dark brown and lavender.
Iioth sexes share in building and care of the young.
 jtAj&A'.sA

The Small Minivet

Male
Female
7'
 36. The Small Minivet
Pericrocotits peregrinus (Linnaeus).

Size : Slightly smaller and slimmer than the Sparrow, with a

longish tail.

Field Characters : Adult male chiefly black, grey and orange-

crimson. Female and young male paler, with yellow largely
replacing the red. Flocks flitting amongst trees in gardens and
wooded country.

Distribution : Throughout the Indian Empire mostly in the

plains, but also the lower hills. Five races are recognised chiefly
on shades of colouration.

Habits : The Small Miniveta frequenter of gardens, groves

is

and light deciduous jungle. It is exclusively arboreal.

Flocks
of 5 to 10 birds may be seen flitting amongst the leafy canopy of
large trees in their hunt for insects, or following one another from
tree-top to tree-top. They keep up a feeble musical swee-swee
both while searching for food and on the wing. In the cold
weather some flocks are composed entirely of males. With the
approach of the breeding season, the flocks break up, and until
the young are sufficiently fledged to accompany their parents,
only pairs are met with.

Its food consists ofmoths, caterpillars, flics and other small

insects. These are captured from the leaves or buds. Some-
times a bird will flutter lightly before a sprig to get at the quarry
within, at others launch short aerial sallies after winged prey.

The birds may commonly be seen on the large crimson

blossoms of the Silk Cotton tree, hunting insects attracted by
the nectar.

Nesting: The season is a very protracted one, ranging between

—
February and September varying according to locality. The
nest is a beautiful little shallow cup of fibres —
about 2 inches
across —
coated on the outside with cobwebs and lichens. It is
attached to the upper surface of a branch often high up in a big
tree, and is either invisible from below or looks exactly like a
small lichen -covered knot or swelling on the branch. The normal
clutch consists of 3 eggs, pale greenish-white or creamy-buff
stippled with reddish-brown —
often densely and forming a ring
round the broad end. Uoth sexes partake in building and care
of the young.

72
 / W3**&»<^~«'&'4^. /

The Black-headed Cuckoo-Shrike

Male
Female
73
 37» The Black-headed Cuckoo-Shrike
Lalage sykesii Strickland.

Size :. About that of the Bulbul.

Field Characters Male ashy-grey with black head, wings

:

and tail and whitish underparts. The female has the head grey
and the underparts barred black and white. Pairs, in open
wooded country.
Distribution : All India south and east of a line from Mt.
Abu through Sambhar to Bareilly. Also Ceylon and parts of
Assam.
Habits : The Black-headed Cuckoo-Shrike is a dweller of light
deciduous forest and open secondary evergreen jungle, in the
plains as well as hills up to about 4000 feet elevation. The bird
is resident in many portions of its range, but only a seasonal
visitor in others. It goes about in pairs and may commonly be
met with in association with the usual mixed hunting parties of
insectivorous species. It is fond of mango orchards and groves of
Neem, Tamarind and other leafy trees in the neighbourhood of
villages and cultivation. In its purely arboreal habits and
methods of procuring food, this Cuckoo-Shrike closely resembles
the minivets. In the hot weather, and with the approach of its
breeding season, the male utters a pretty, clear whistling song of
several notes ending in a quick-repeated pil-pit-pit.

The diet is chiefly insectivorous, but ripe berries such as

those of Lantana are also eaten.

Nesting The season ranges between March and August, being

:

earlier inCeylon and the south than in the Deccan and elsewhere.
The nest is a shallow cup of thin twigs and rootlets strongly bound
together with cobwebs. It is placed in the fork of a branch or
on the upper surface of a bough, usually under 15 feet from the
— —
ground. The eggs two or three in number are greenish white,
with longitudinal blotches of brown.

74
The Large Cuckoo-Shrike
Male
75
 38. The Large Cuckoo-Shrike
Graitcalns javcnsis.

Size': Slightly smaller and slimmer than the Pigeon.

Field Characters : A grey bird, whitish underneath with a

broad dark eyestreak. Wings and tail black. Heavy, slightly-
hooked bill. The eyestreak is less conspicuous in the female and
her underparts are barred grey and white. Pairs, in trees in
wooded country.
Distribution : The whole of the Indian Empire from about
4000 feet in the Himalayas. Not found west of Garhwal nor in
the Punjab, Sind and Rajpiitana. Four races are recognised on
differences in size and details of colouration. The largest,
nipalensis, occurs all along the Himalayas the smallest layardi
;

is confined to Ceylon. The race mcicei occupies all continental

India, while siawensis is spread over East and South Assam, and
Burma.
Habits : The Large Cuckoo-Shrike is found in deciduous forest
as well as secondary evergreen jungle, in plains and hills alike.
It is also partial to groves of trees about cultivation and villages,
and to orchards and forest plantations. The birds are mostly
seen in pairs or family parties of 3 or 4 which fly in irregular
follow-my-leader fashion above the tree-tops uttering their
distinctive, shrill but pleasant bisyllabic call tee-eee from time to
time. Their diet mainly consists of insects which they hunt
among the foliage of trees, but berries of many kinds and figs of
the Manyan, Peepal and Guluir (Fiats indica, F. rcligiosa and
F. glomerata) are also largely eaten.

Nesting : The season ranges chiefly between May and October,

— —
The nest is a shallow cup or a deep saucer composed of fine
twigs bound together with cobwebs and often sparsely draped
on the outside with lichens and pieces of bark. It is placed in
the fork of an outhanging branch high up in a tall tree. The
normal clutch consists of three eggs, pile green in colour with
scanty blotches of dark brown and purple.

76
The Black Drongo or King-Grow
77
 39* The Black Drongo or King-Crow
Dicrurus macrocercns Vieillot.

Size : About that of the Bulbul, with a relatively longer tail.

Field Characters : Aglossy black bird with long, deeply

forked tail. Sexes alike. Singly, on telegraph wires &c. about
cultivation.
Distribution : Throughout the Indian Empire, within which
four races arc recognised on differences in size of wing, tail and
bill. The largest race, albirictus, is found in the Himalayas
(up to about 7000 feet), the Indo-Gangetic Plain and Assam ;
the smallest, minor in Ceylon. Peninsularis occupies the whole
of continental and peninsular India, and cathoecux Burma.
Habits :The Black Drongo is one of the most familiar birds
of our countryside. It frequents every type of country except
dense evergreen jungle and actual desert, though even in the
latter it is steadily penetrating wherever irrigation canals make
cultivation possible. The birds, however, are most abundant
in open intensely cultivated areas, and may invariably be seen
perched upon stakes, telegraph wires and the like in the proximity
of crops. I-'rom these look-out pasts they swoop down from
time to time to carry off an unwary grasshopper. If too large
to be swallowed entire, the victim is held under foot and torn
to pieces with the sharp hook-tipped bill. They also capture
moths and winged insects in the air like a llycatcher. Drongos
may commonly be seen in attendance on grazing cattle -often
riding —
on the animals' backs snapping up the insects
disturbed by their feet. For the same reason, forest fires or
tired grass patches never fail to attract the birds. This species
is highly beneficial to agriculture on account of the large number
of injurious insects it destroys.They have a number of harsh,
scolding or challenging calls, some closely resembling those of
the Shikra hawk, and the birds become particularly noisy at
the breeding season.

Nesting Over its wide range the BlackDrongo breeds principally

:

between April and August. The nest is a flimsy-bottomed

cup of fine twigs, grasses and fibres cemented together with
cobwebs. It is placed in a fork, usually near the extremity
of a branch, from 12 to 30 feet from the ground. A large tree
standing in open cultivation is usually selected. The eggs
—
three to five in number show some variation in colour and
markings, but are mostly whitish with brownish-red spots.
Both sexes share in building, incubation and care of the young,
and display great boldness in the defence of their nest.
78
The White-bellied Drongo
79
 40. The White-bellied Drongo
Dicrurus ceendescens (Linnaeus).

Size : Same as the last.

Field Characters Glossy indigo above with white belly

:

and under-tail coverts. Long, deeply forked tail. Sexes alike.

Singly, in lightly wooded country.

Distribution Ceylon and practically the whole of India

:

south of a line running roughly from Cutch to (iarhwal and as

far east as Western Bengal and Bihar. It ascends the Himalayas
up to about 6000 feet in a restricted tract. Two races are re-
cognised :the larger Indian caerulescens, with more white on
the underparts, and the smaller Ceylonese leucopygialis, with
the white restricted to the undertail coverts. There is, however,
some doubt as to whether leucopygialis can really be considered
a race of this species.

Habits: The White-bellied Drongo inhabits well-wooded deci-

duous tracts, hill and plain, and avoids cultivation and treeless
country as well as heavy evergreen forest. It is particularly
fond of bamboo and thin tree jungle, and is usually to be met
with about shady paths and small clearings in this. The birds
keep singly or in separated pairs and are frequently amongst
the hunting parties of insectivorous species that move about the
forest. It makes graceful, agile swoops after winged insects,
turning and twisting in the air in the pursuit, or snapping up
the quarry off the trunk of a tree in its stride. Its diet is mainly
insectivorous, but it may invariably be seen probing into the
blossoms of the Silk Cotton, Flame of the Forest (liutea) and
Coral trees for the sugary nectar they exude. In their efforts
to reach it, the birds do great service to the tree by conveying
the pollen on their throat and forehead feathers and effecting
cross-pollination

It has a pretty call of 3 or 4 musical whistling notes, and is

an excellent mimic besides.

Nesting The season is principally between March and June.

:

The nest does not differ appreciably from that of the Black
Drongo except as regards the site which is usually in forest.
The normal clutch is of 2 or 3 eggs, also very similar in colouration
and markings to those of the foregoing species.

80
 41. The Racket-tailed Drongo
Dissemurits paradiseus (Linnaeus).

Size : About that of the Myna but with outer tail feathers about
15 inches long.
Field Characters : A glossy jet black drongo with conspi-
cuously tufted forehead and two long, thin, spatula-tipped
streamers in the tail. Sexes alike. Singly, pairs or loose parties
in forest.

Distribution The Himalayas from Mussooree (about 6000

:

ft. and patchily throughout India south

elevation) to E. Assam,
of this, including Travancore and Ceylon. Also Burma,
Andamans and Nicobars. At present 7 geographical races arc-
recognised on comparative lengths of wing, tail, crest and bill.
In continental India we are concerned with two the northern, :

grmidis — the -and the southern, malabaricus. Ccylon-

largest-
ensis- -the smallest race— is endemic in Ceylon, while both the
Andamans and the Nicobars have races peculiar to those islands.
Habits : The Kacket-tailed Drongo inhabits forest, both purely
deciduous and where there is an intermingling of the humid
evergreen type. Teak and bamboo jungle in broken foothills
country is especially favoured. The birds are met with singly,
in scattered pairs or parties of 4 or 5, mostly as members of the
mixed hunting parties and in unfailing association with tree-pies
and babblers. They are very noisy and have a large repertoire
of loud, metallic but musical notes— some being a rich whistling
what-mhal-what-ivhal which are constantly uttered as the birds
fly about the forest. It is moreover an accomplished and con-
vincing mimic and imitates to perfection the calls of a great many
birds. It makes an amusing pet and is much sought after by
fanciers.

The food consists of insects of various kinds and grubs,

which are either captured on the wing or picked off the branches
and tree-trunks in a graceful swoop.
Nesting: Over the bird's extensive distribution, the season
varies with local conditions. The most general period, however,
is between March and J une. The nest is a fairly deep, but rather
flimsy cup and bast fibres bound together
of fine twigs, rootlets
and secured to the site with cobwebs. It is placed in a fork near
the end of an outhanging branch in forest, between 15 and 50
feet from the ground. The eggs- three or four in number -are
mostly creamy white in colour, blotched and speckled with
reddish-brown.

82
The Tailor-Bird

83
 42. The Tailor-Bird
Orthotomus sutorius (Pennant).

Size : Smaller than the Sparrow.

Field Characters : A small restless olive-green bird with

whitish underparts, a rust coloured crown, and elongated middle
feathers of the tail which is habitually cocked. Sexes alike.
Singly or pairs, in shrubbery.

Distribution : Throughout the Indian Empire up to about

5,000 the Himalayas. Five races are recognised 011 size and
ft. in
depth of colouration. The three that concern us chiefly are :

the Ceylon race sutorius, the Indian %uzurala, and the Burma and
Assam palia.

Habits : This familiar little bird is equally at home in outlying

scrub jungle or in gardens in the heart of a town. While not
found in actual desert, it is nevertheless present in small numbers
in the arid tracts of N.-W. India, wherever there is any shrubbery,
about villages and in the compounds of Dak Bungalows. It is
tame and confiding and will fearlessly enter the verandahs of
occupied houses, hopping about on the ground with jauntily
cocked tail, or among the creepers and potted plants within a few
feet of the inmates. Its loud cheerful calls towit-, towit-towit or
pretty-pretty-pretty, etc., are familiar sounds on the countryside.

Its food consists of small insects, their eggs and caterpillars,

but the birds are also fond of the nectar of Silk Cotton and
.

Coral flowers and resort to them unfailingly.

Nesting : The season ranges betweenApril and September.

The nest a remarkable structure.
is It is a rough cup of soft
fibres, cotton wool or vegetable down placed in a funnel formed
by folding over and stitching a broad leaf along its edges. Some-
times 2 or more leaves are sewn together. The stitching material
is cotton or vegetable down cleverlv knotted at the ends to
prevent the sewing getting undone. The site is some large-
leafed plant or creeper, the nest being usually under 3 feet from
the ground. Crotons, young fig or mango-grafts and other
plants growing in ]K>ts in a garden, porch or verandah are much
favoured. The eggs- 3 or 4 in number- -are reddish- or bluish-
white, usually spotted with brownish-red. Both sexes share in
building and care of the young, but apparently the female alone
incubates.

84
The Streaked Fantail Warbler

85
 43* The Streaked Fantail Warbler
Cisticola juncidis (Rafinesque).

Size : Much smaller than the Sparrow.

Field Characters : Atiny bird, dark-streaked fulvous-brown

above, whitish below, with a white-tipped fan ' '
tail. Singly
or several loosely together, in tall grass areas.

Distribution : Europe, Africa, Asia. Throughout the Indian

Empire in plains and hills up to about 5,000 ft. Within our
limits three races are recognised on size and depth of colouration,
viz., the paler Indian race cursitans, the richly coloured Travancore
sdlimalii, and the larger Ceylonese omalura.

Habits : The Fantail Warbler inhabits open grassland and

standing paddy crops. It moves about to some extent seasonally
under stress of local conditions. It is usually met with singly or
in loose parties of up to 10 or 15 birds which skulk in the grass,
making short flights only when flushed and diving into the stems
again. The curious, mounting, zig-zag flight in which the fan-
shaped tail is conspicuous, and the sharp chip. .chip, .chip
uttered on the wing are usually the first indications of its presence
in any locality. During courtship display the male rises in the
air every now anil again and flies about over the nest site aim-
lessly, in irregular wavy zigzags. At each dip in this undulating
(light — —
every second or so it utters a single chip like the snip
of a barber's scissors heard in the distance. After two or three
minutes of this, the bird descends to some perch in the neighbour-
hood of its base. The manoeuvre is soon repeated.

Its food consists of small insects and caterpillars which are

hunted on the grass stems as well as among the rootstocks, the
bird hopping about on the ground like a Munia.

Nesting : The season over most of its Indian range is coincident

with the S.-W. Monsoon, ranging between June and September.
In Travancore it apparently breeds between August and March
and in Ceylon, November to June or later. The nest is a deep
oblong pouch with its mouth at the top, lined with vegetable
down. It is made of grasses woven around with cobwebs and
incorporating several of the supporting blades of the tussock in
which it is concealed, mostly under 2 ft. from the ground. The
— —
eggs 3 to 5 are pale bluish-white speckled with red and purple,

86
The Ashy Wren-Warbler

87
 44- The Ashy Wren-Warbler
Pnnia socialis Sykes.

Size : Smaller than the Sparrow.

Field Characters : Ashy-slate above, fulvous-white below

with a loose, longish, black-and-white tipped tail. This is
carried partially erect and constantly shaken up and down.
Sexes alike, but winter plumage less slaty than summer. Pairs,
in gardens and scrub country.

Distribution : Throughout India (excepting the N.-W. por-

tions), Assam and Ceylon. Not in Burma. Upto 4,000 ft. in the
Himalayas and 7,000 ft. in the continental ranges. 4 races are
recognised on details of size and depth of colouration, viz., the
N. Indian stewarti, the S. Indian socialis, the Ceylonese brevi-
caudus and the Duars and Khasia Hills race inglisi.

Habits : A
pair or so of the Ashy Wren-Warbler is commonly
found in gardens of any size with shrubs and herbaceous borders.
It also inhabits the outskirts of cultivation and is fond of open
grassland, especially wet. Though not shy, it is of a reticent
disposition and hops about quietly among the bushes in search
of insects, only uttering a sharp Ue-tee-tee from time to time.
During the breeding season, however, the male courts publicity.
He constantly climbs up to some exposed situation on a grass
stem or bush and pours forth a torrent of feverish warbling. He
Hits about excitedly, jerks his tail up and down and flutters his
wings. His jerky undulating flight gives the impression of his
tail being too heavy for him to carry. When suddenly disturbed
off its nest this warbler emits —
as do several others of its near
relations —
a peculiar kit-kit-kit as of an electric spark, presumably
by snapping its bill.

Its diet consists mainly of insects and caterpillars.

Nesting : The season ranges between March and September,

but chiefly after the S.-W. Monsoon has well set in.
is The nests
are normally either of the Tailor-Uird type in a funnel of sewn —
leaves —
or an oblong purse of woven fibres into which some of the
supporting leaves are tacked and bound with cobwebs. They
are mostly within 2 feet of the ground in some low bush. The
— —
eggs 3 or 4 are a beautiful glossy brick-red in colour with a
dark ring round the broad end.
Both sexes share in building and care of the young. The
incubation period is 12 days.
The Indian Wren-Warbler

89
 45- The Indian Wren- Warbler
Prinia inornata Sykes.

Size Smaller than the Sparrow.

: Same as of the Ashy Wren-
Warbler.

Field Characters Like the last species but dull earthy-

:

brown above with a rufous tinge, and no white terminal spots to

tail. The winter plumage is more fulvous. Sexes alike. Pairs,
in open scrub-and-grass country.

Distribution The whole of the Indian Empire south of the

:

Himalayas. Seven races are recognised on details of size and

comparative depths of colouration. Two of these races are
restricted to Burma and one to Ceylon. A fourtli occupies the
Outer and sub-Himalayan belt from Nepal to Upper Assam.
In India proper we are concerned with the remaining three races,
viz., the N. Indian tcrricolor, the Central Indian and Deccan
inornata, and the Travancore and Nilgiri Hills race franklinii.

Habits : The Indian Wren-Warbler affects hedges or scrub near

cultivation, open grassland and standing paddy crops, in the
plains as well as up to about 4,000 ft. in the hills. It does not
ordinarily enter gardens, and on the whole prefers drier localities
than socialist but the two may often be found together. In all
,

other respects its habits closely resemble those of the Ashy Wren-
Warbler. The call notes and warbling are also of the same calibre,
yet distinct enough to be easily differentiated.

Nesting : The season varies somewhat with locality, ranging

between March and September, but is most general during the
rainy months. The nest is a longish pear-shaped pouch woven
out of fine strips of grass, open or with a lateral entrance hole near
the top. It is slung between a number of grass stems or upright
weeds growing in open scrub, grassland, standing crops, or on
—
bands separating fields under three feet from the ground. The
normal clutch consists of 3 to 5 eggs of a smooth and glossy
texture. They are greenish-blue in colour, speckled, blotched
and. pencilled with reddish-brown.

Both sexes share in building the nest and tending the young,
go
C

01

o
01

09
08

W
a
e
«

2
 SOME NESTS AND NESTING BEHAVIOUR
In the Introduction we said that For the safety of their
'

eggs and young, birds build nests which may range from a simple
scrape in the ground as of the Lapwing to such elaborate struc-
tures as the compactly woven nest of the Weaver-Bird.' To
complete the picture, it may be added that most birds incubate
their eggs with the heat of their bodies by brooding them, and
show considerable solicitude for their young until they are able
to fend for themselves. In this chapter we shall consider the
main types of nests built by Indian birds and deal briefly with
the nesting behaviour of some of the builders.

Nesting seasons
Broadly speaking, the majority of our resident birds have
more or less well-marked seasons in which they lay their eggs
and rear their young. The periods favoured by different species
vary somewhat in the different portions of their distribution,
depending upon geographical position and local climatic conditions.
The season in India as a whole is perhaps nowhere as clear-
cut as in the Temperate and Arctic zones. In the lower Hima-
layas and the country about their base, most species commence
their nesting operations with the advent of Spring, which may
be put down as the beginning of March. The farther south
one moves towards the Equator the more equable does the
climate become, so that the most important seasonal change
in those parts is the one brought about by the monsoons,
particularly the South-west Monsoon. Birds that nest in tree-
holes as well as the ground-nesting species must be discharged
of their parental duties before the onset of the S.-W. Monsoon
in June. In North India it is of vital importance for such
birds as nest on the sandbanks of the larger rivers to have finished
their activities before the rivers swell in summer due to melting
of the Himalayan snows. Therefore, March and April are the
principal months in which to look for the eggs of river birds.

The S.-W. Monsoon — June/July to September /October—is the

time when the annual vegetation is at the height of its luxuriance
and insect life at its peak. In these respects the season corres-
ponds to Spring in the more northerly latitudes. A large
section of Indian birds of divers families and species find optimum
conditions for bringingup families during this period of plenty.
By about mid-October the majority of young birds of the mon-
soon-breeding species have left their nests. The raptores or
birds of prey commence their nesting activities about this period
and are busy throughout the winter months up till about the
92
 c
a)
Q.
E

3
s
09

a
2
o
E
u
o
U
c
es

u
3
CO
•d

c
"3

93
end of February. It is often quite late in March or even the
middle of April before the young of some of the larger raptores -
vultures and eagles -have launched into the world. Young
raptores have astonishingly healthy appetites. The continuous
supply of animal food the parents are obliged to procure for
them makes the choice of this season a happy one young birds
;

are then plentiful and easily hunted, and their numbers are
augmented by vast hordes of winter immigrants from beyond
our borders.

Territory, courtship and song

Individual breeding pairs usually occupy a Territory
'

in the surroundings of their nest which is treated as their special

preserve and into which intrusion by other members of the same
species is regarded as an unfriendly act, to be actively resented.
The acquisition of breeding territories is a fairly general practice
among birds, but not universal. Their existence is particularly
noticeable in the more aggressive species like the Black Drongo.
Territory is acquired by the male. In migrant species this
accounts in a measure for the fact that on Spring passage, when
journeying to their breeding grounds, the males usually precede
the females. laving arrived in the breeding locality, the male
I

proceeds to stake out and establish possession of an area, usually

more or less definable and varying in extent according to species
and to the density of its avian population. In the process it
may have to light for ownership with another male already
in occupation, or in defence of its territory against an interloper.
Once in secure possession, the male awaits the arrival of the
body of females and advertises his presence and the availability
of a nesting site by singing full-throatedly from exposed situa-
tions. The song serves not only to attract likely females, but
also as a warning to rival males to keep off. Having secured
a female, in the pro ess of which again there is often much
active hostility between rival males, courtship displays commence.
These take numerous forms ; fluffing out of the ornamental
plumage, fanning and erecting the tail and dancing or posturing
in front of the female, as in the Peacock and many pheasants,
being some of the most spectacular. The extravagant aerial
contortions of shooting skywards and nose-diving to the ac-
companiment of raucous screams indulged in by the Roller
or Blue Jay in love are a familiar sight at the commencement
' '

of the hot weather. There is an infinite variety of courtship

behaviour both exquisite and bizarre. —
Again, Song which
—
reaches the climax of its intensity in the breeding season plays
a predominating part in the courtship ceremonials of certain
birds, the skylark and thrush for example. AH this feverish
94
 CO

a
s
2

95
activity is indulged in either by one partner or by both, and
has for its ultimate object the rousing of the necessary physiolo-
gical response for successful breeding.
In. birds where the sexes are dissimilar in colouration it
is usually the male who is the more showily coloured and who
takes the initiative in the display and courtship ceremonials,
the female remaining more or less a passive spectator. In
species where the sexes are similar in appearance, such as larks
and pipits, both male and female take an active part in courtship ;

sometimes one sex predominates sometimes the other according

as one or the other is the more physiologically mature.
Colouration of eggs
The colour patterns of birds' eggs are almost as varied as
the birds themselves, or as the architecture of their nests. Egg-
colouration suggests an advanced stage of evolution the ances-;

tors of birds — —
the Reptiles lay only white eggs. Birds that
nest in tree-holes or earth-tunnels also lay white eggs since,
as in reptiles, the required protection is afforded them by the
situation. It cannot be denied that in the main the colouration
of eggs is a protective device and in a general way bears a direct
relation to the types of nests in which they are laid. The eggs
of the Yellow-wattled Lapwing deposited on barren, open waste
land, and of the Tern in a sandy river bed are convincing examples.
They match the soil and blend with their surroundings to such
perfection that they are quite invisible at a few feet's distance
even when deliberately looked for. The eggs of the Pheasant-
tailed Jacana, often laid directly upon floating singdra (Trapa)
leaves, resemble the surrounding olive-brown vegetation so
closely as to be completely obliterated from view. Anomalies
are, however, not wanting. Thus the eggs of the Rain-Quail laid
in grassland are obliterative whereas those of the Bush-Quail,
laid in not much more sheltered sites, are white !

Types of nests
The following are the main types of birds' nests found in
India :

i.Simple scrapes in the ground sparsely lined with grass and

leaves, e.g., Quail, jungle Fowl and other game birds, or with no
semblance of lining, e.g., Tern and Lapwing (Plate, p. 91). Protec-
tion is secured by the eggs and young of such birds through their
remarkably obliterative colouration.
2. Twig nests like platforms with a cup-like depression in the
—
centre usually lined with softer material grass, tow, feathers,
&c. This type, built in trees or on buildings or cliffs, is common
to a large number of birds of different families e.g.. Crow,
:

Kite, Dove, Vulture, Cormorant, Stork, &c.

96
 3. Nests in tree-holes either excavated in living or de ayed
wood, or in natural hollows, and either with a sparse lining of soft
material or unlined, e.g., Tits, Yellow-throated Sparrow, Wood
peckers, Barbets, Hornbills, Owls, some Mynas and most of our
resident Ducks (Plate, p. 101). The holes are in the first instance cut
by woodpeckers, parrots or barbets and subsequently appropriated
in rotation by many other species. Nesting in natural tree hollows
is a common habit among our resident ducks, all of whom breed
during the S.-W. Monsoon. The raised situation gives immunity
against sudden rise of water-level in the jheels due to cloud-
bursts or the swelling of streams flowing into them. The duck-
lings reach the water by being simply pushed out of the nest
by the parents and are not carried down by them as has some-
times been asserted.
4. Nests in excavated tunnels in earth banks or in clefts of
buildings, rock cliffs, &c, e.g., Bee-eaters, Kingfishers, Hoopoe.
The tunnels are driven horizontally into the side of an earth-
cutting or bank of a stream, the bird using its bill to dig and
its feet to kick back the loose earth. The tunnels are from a
few inches to several feet in length and usually bent near the
extremity where they widen into a bullious egg chamber.
5. Nests built entirely of mud or in which mud predominates,
e.g.. Whistling Thrush, Blackbird, Swallows, Martins. The
wet mud is commonly collected at rain puddles, ft is mixed
with a certain amount of saliva in the case of Swallows. There
is a marked increase in the size of the salivary glands of these
birds and swifts during the breeding season. Swallows nests
have perforce to be built very gradually, pellet by pellet, so that
not too much of the material is daubed on at one time before
the underlying layer is sufficiently dry (Plate, p. 95).
6. Cup-shaped nests of grass and fibres in crotches or forks
of branches, usually well plastered over with cobwebs, e.g., Iora,
Fantail and other flycatchers, Orioles, White-eye, Minivets, Reed-
Warblers, Cuckoo-Shrikes, &c. (Plate, p. 19,1). Cobwebs are very
extensively employed as cement in bird architecture, for binding
the material compactly and neatly together. It is collected by
being twisted round and round the bill and is then unwound
and attached on the exterior of the nest, or used in securing the
nest into position.
7. Domed or ball-shaped nests of twigs, grass or rootlets
with a lateral entrance hole, e.g., Munias, Rufous Babbler.
8. Pendant nests, e.g., Weaver-Birds (woven), Sunbirds, Flower-
peckers (Pk\te, p. 99). The Sunbird's nest is a vertical oblong pouch
suspended from the tip of a thin outhanging twig, usually not
high above the ground. It has an entrance hoic at the side
with a little projecting porch over it. The exterior is draped

97
untidily with pieces of bark, caterpillar droppings and spiders
egg-cases which give it an effective camoullage. The Flower-
peckers' nest is a hanging pouch of the same general pattern,
but made entirely of seed- and vegetable- down worked into
a felt-like fabric.
i). — —
Woven oblong purse loofah-like attached to stems of
tall grass or low bushes, e.g., Wren-Warblers (alternative to the
next type)
10. Nest in leaves stitched together in the form of a funnel,
Tailor-Bird, Franklin's Wren-Warbler, Ashy Wren- Warbler.
e.g.,
There are yet other nests of less conventional design. The
Edible Swiftlets which breed in vast colonies, attach their half-
saucer shaped nests made entirely of the birds' saliva or with
an admixture of straw and feathers, to the sides of the rock
in dark grottos and caves on islands in the sea. The Palm
Swift makes a rather similar nest but with more feathers rein-
forcing it, attached to the leaves of the Palmyra palm and usually
well-concealed among the furrows. The Rufous Woodpecker
makes its home in the carton-nests of certain tree ants, and
seems to live on terms of amity with the insects.
A distinction must be made between birds that nest in
individual pairs in usually well-recognised territories, like the
Black Drongo for example, and those that nest in colonies.
Some familiar examples of the latter are the Weaver-Birds,
Cliff Swallows (Plate, p. 05), Common and Kdible Swifts, and
water birds such as Storks, Cormorants and Herons (Plate, p. 03).
Whatever its pattern, the nest is always true to the type
of the species that builds it, and is primarily the outcome of
instinct fixed and inherited through countless generations of
builders. That a young Baya in its first season builds a nest
exactly like the one in which it was born is neither the result
of training by its parents nor of intelligence as we understand
it. The architecture may be improved and perfected with
practice, but the design will remain constant. Experiments
have shown that birds hatched in an incubator who can there-
fore have no idea of the sort of nest built by their kind, will, at
the appointed time, build nests after their own specific pattern.
A great deal of the other seemingly intelligent behaviour of nesting
birds, such as solicitude or love for their offspring, and the
'
broken wing trick practised by many different species osten-
'

sibly to draw off an intruder from the nest or young, prove

upon analysis to be largely, if not wholly, the working of a blind
and unreasoning instinct.
It would be a pity to close this chapter without mention
of the extraordinary nesting habits and l)ehaviour of .( of our
Indian birds.

98
Baya Weaver-Bird and Nest

99
The Hornbills
The first of these is the Hornbill whose prodigious beak at
once proclaims him a Queer Customer. His nesting habits are
in keeping with his unusual get-up. All our Hornbills, as far
as is known, share this peculiar behaviour. We shall take the
Grey Hornbill, their commonest representative, as the type.

At the appointed season, after the courtship and marriage

ceremonials have been duly performed, the female hornbill
betakes herself to a natural hollow in some tree-trunk, the same
perhaps as has served as nursery to numerous previous hornbill
generations. She incarcerates herself within this hollow, using
her droppings as plaster and the Hat sides of her enormous
bill as trowel to wall up the entrance, merely leaving a narrow
slit for the tip of her bill to be thrust out to receive the food
brought in by the male. This walling -in process occupies 2 or
3 days and it is doubtful if the husband assists her at all in the
work. It is also uncertain whether any material besides the
females own excreta is used, and if so how it is conveyed to the
site. The plaster sets so hard that no ordinary predatory animal
can get at the occupant within, hrom this self-imposed con-
finement the female does not free herself until after the young
3 to 5 in number hatch out and are at least a week old. All
the time she is within, the male assiduously brings her food
banyan and peepal ligs varied occasionally by a lizard or some
other tit-bit. The incessant labour of foraging for his spouse
wears him down to a skeleton, while she thrives exceedingly
on this life of ease and plenty and is said to grow enormously
plump. In the case of the closely related Great Indian Hornbill
it is believed that during her incarceration the female moults

her llight quills so that the imprisoning wall gives her protection
from predatory foes at a time when she is most helpless. This
question of moult, however, and the manner of its taking place
needs further investigation. When the young are about a
week old the female breaks down the wall by hammering away
patiently at it, and releases herself. After her exit, the wall
is built up once more and thenceforth father and mother slave
to till the hungry maws of the voracious squabs until they are
feathered enough to be let out and fend for themselves.

The Baya
The Baya or Common Weaver- Bird is a cunning polygamist,
but he has a system of his own. At the onset of the rainy season,
the male Bayas, now in their handsome breeding dress, commence
to build their wonderful retort-shaped pendant nests, chiefly
on Babul trees or date palms preferably standing in or over-
 E. H. N. Lowttier

Nukta or Comb-Duck at Nest

Most of our resident clucks nest in natural tree hollows.
hanging water. The building parties which may consist of from
10 to 50 birds comprise exclusively of cocks. A great deal
of noisy, joyous chirruping choruses and fluttering of wings
accompany the building operations. After the strands of the
initial attachment are wound and twisted round and round
the selected twig till a linn support is secured, the bird proceeds
to work the loose strips dangling from it into a transverse oblong
loop. This is the skeleton of the structure. Porches are built
over the upper part on either side of this loop and continued
down, one bulging out lower into the egg-chamber, the other
less bulgy being produced into the entrance tube. Now it comes
to pass that when the nests are nearing completion, there is
suddenly one morning a visitation from a party of hen Bayas
who have been completely absent hitherto. They hop alwuit
from nest to nest deliberately, entering to inspect the interior,
seemingly indifferent to the excited prancing and strutting and
cluttering of the cocks around them. If a hen is satisfied with

a particular nest she calmly

'
adopts it and moves into posses-
'

sion. Thenceforth she and the builder are wife and husband.
He works assiduously to complete the exterior while she busies
herself mainly with interior decoration. As soon as this nest
is completed ami the hen safely on eggs, the cock commences

to build another on a nearby twig. In course of time this,

if approved, is similarly adopted by a second prospecting female

who becomes Wife No. 1. The process may be repeated until

the cock finds himself the husband of 3 or even wives and the
.)

happy father of as many families all at once !

The Bustard-Quail
The normal condition in birds is that where the male and
female differ in colouration, it is the male who is the brighter
coloured and more showy. He displays his splendour before
the female, courts her and if need be fights furiously with rival
males for her possession. In the Bustard-Ouail, however,
the role of the sexes is reversed. Here it is the female who is
the larger and more brightly coloured and who takes the initiative
in affairs of the heart. She decoys eligible males by a loud
drumming call, courts them sedulously, displaying all her charms
before them, and engages in desperate battles with rival Amazons
for the ownership of the favoured one. As soon as the husband
is secured, the preliminaries over and the full complement of
eggs laid, she leaves him to his own devices and wanders off
in search of fresh conquests. The lucky husband is saddled
with the entire responsibility of incubating the eggs and tending
the young which, to his credit, he discharges admirably and
with great solicitude. By feminine artifice the roving hen
manages to inveigle another unattached cock who is likewise
Male Paradise Flycatcher at Nest

103
'
landed with family cares. The hen is once more in the
'

market for a third husband !In this manner each hen may lay
several clutches of eggs during a single season which, accordingly,
is much prolonged. The Painted Snipe is another Indian species
in which the female is similarly polyandrous.
The Parasitic Cuckoos
Alarge section of the Cuckoo family are known as the
Parasitic Cuckoos on account of their disreputable habit of
building no nests of their own but utilising those of other birds
for laying in, and foisting their parental duties upon the shoulders
of the dupes. Familiar examples of parasitic cuckoos are the
Brain-fever Bird and the Koel. The former commonly lays
in the nests of babblers, often removing one of the rightful
eggs to make room for its own. The Koel habitually parasitizes
the House- and Jungle-Crows and leaves to them the task of
incubating its eggs and rearing its young. The eggs of parasitic
cuckoos usually bear a remarkably close resemblance to those
of their hosts or fosterers. It is believed that this similarity
has been gradually brought about by discrimination on the part
of the fosterer, i.e., by its rejecting, generation after generation,
of such eggs laid in its nest as differed glaringly in colouration
from its own. There is good evidence for believing that even
among parasitic cuckoos of the same species there are distinct
'
strains which are as a rule constant in the choice of their
'

fosterers. Thus Plaintive Cuckoos in Hyderabad City (J)eccan)

habitually lay in the nests of the Ashy Wren-Warbler while those
in the surrounding country favour those of the Tailor-Bird.
Now, the eggs of the Wren-Warbler and those of the Tailor-
Bird are markedly dissimilar, but those of the respective 'strains',
of the Plaintive Cuckoos have evolved through Selection to match
those of their usual fosterers in either area.
Wehave still a great deal to learn about the breeding biology
of even some of our commonest birds. Egg-collecting alone is
not enough. Some of the points on which detailed information
is desirable are (i) The share of the sexes in nest-building, in-
cubation and care of the young, (») Periods of incubation, (3)
Interval between the laying of each egg in a clutch. (This
varies among species and groups.) (4) Nature of food and
quantity fed each day to the young, (5) Behaviour of parents
and young.
Those interested in the nesting habits of Indian birds should
read Birds at the Nest by Douglas Dewar which contains
some useful indications of what still needs to be done in this
country. For the serious student there is nothing more complete
or authoritative than the 4 recent volumes by Air. E. C. Stuart
Baker Nidijication of Indian Birds.
104
The Golden Oriole
105
 46. The Golden Oriole
Oriolus oriolus (Linnaeus).

Size : About that of the Myna.

Field Characters A bright yellow bird with black in the

:

wings and tail, and a conspicuous black streak through the eye.
The female is usually duller and greener. Singly or pairs, among
trees in wooded country.

Distribution The race kumloo occupies all India up to about

:

5,000 ft. Himalayas, from Kashmir to Cape Comorin and

in the
from Baluchistan to Bengal. It is a resident in most localities
but a local migrant in others. For instance, to the Himalayas
and the country about their base it is a breeding visitor only,
from March to September.

Habits : The Golden Oriole, or Mango-Bird as this species is

popularly known, is a dweller of open but well-wooded country
and is fond of orchards and groves of large trees such as Banyan,
Mango, Tamarind and Toon. It is entirely arboreal, but while
of a shy and retiring disposition will commonly enter gardens
even in the midst of noisy towns. The bird is usually met with
in pairs which fly about from tree to tree, Hashing through the
foliage, with a peculiar strong dipping flight. Their usual call
—
notes a harsh checah, and rich mellow whistles something like
pe-lo-lo -are among the more familiar bird voices of our country-
side.

Their food consists chiefly of fruits and berries, those of the

Banyan, Peepal and Lantana being some of the commonest.
Insects of various kinds are also eaten, as is the nectar of flowers
likethe Coral and Silk Cotton whenever available.

Nesting The season over most of its range is from April to

:

July. The nest is a beautifully woven deep cup of bast fibres

with a good deal of cobwebs used as binding material. It is
suspended like a hammock in a fork of twigs near the end of an
outhanging branch of some large leafy tree, 12 to 30 feet from the
— —
ground. The eggs 2 or 3 in number are white, spotted with
black or reddish-brown.

Both sexes share in building the nest and tending the young.
106
The Black-headed Oriole
107
 47- The Black-headed Oriole

Oriolus xanthomas (Linnaeus).

Size: About that of the Myna.

Field Characters : A brilliant golden-yellow bird with jet

black head, throat and upper breast. Black in wings and tail.

Sexes alike. Singly or pairs, arboreal, in wooded country.

Distribution : The whole of the Indian Rmpire excepting the

arid portions west of a line from Kathiawar through Mt. A boo
to the Sutlej Kiver. In the Himalayas up to about 4,000 ft.
Three races are recognised on differences of size and details of
colouration, viz., the largest northern xanthomas, the inter-
mediate peninsular tmuleraspaianus, and the smallest Ceylonese
ceylonensis. It is resident over the greater part of its range, but
also moves about locally to some extent.

Habits : This oriole, like the last, is a bird of well-wooded

country and groves of large trees, often in the neighbourhood of
human habitations. It has a variety of loud melodious calls
which in general are very like those of the Indian Oriole. A harsh
monosyllabic note commonly uttered is mistakablc for one of the
Tree-Pie's. Otherwise, there is no appreciable difference between
the habits of the two species.

Nesting : The months in India are from April to July,

principal
but in Ceylon apparently breeds from October to May. The
it
structure and site of the nest do not differ from those of the Indian
Oriole (Plate, p. 191), but the eggs are somewhat smaller, pinker
and less glossy.

Orioles of both species, along with such other mild-mannered

birds as doves and babblers, often build in the same tree as holds
a nest of the Black Drongo. That this is by design rather than
accident can scarcely be doubted considering how frequent the
occurrence is. It is certain also that the birds must thereby
enjoy a degree of protection against marauders like crows and
tree-pies. The King Crow will tolerate the proximity of his
harmless dependents with complacence, but a crow has only to
show himself in the precincts of the nest-tree to be furiously sef
upon and beaten off by the valiant kvtwal and his wife.
108
The Grackle or Hill-Myna
109
 48. The Grackle or Hill-Myna
Gracula rel-igiosa Linnaeus.

Size : Slightly larger than the Myna.

Field Characters : A glossy jet-bhick bird with yellow bill ami

legs and bright orange-yellow patches of naked skin and wattles
on the head. Sexes alike. Pairs or noisy flocks, in dense hill
forest.

Distribution : Resident in 3 clearly defined areas in India

proper (1) Himalayan foothills up to about 2,500 ft. from near
:

Ahnora to Assam, (z) an area south of Chota Niigpur including

S-E Central I'rovinces, (3) Ceylon, and upto about 5,000 ft.
throughout the Western Ghats north to Kanara and rarely to
Bombay. Three races are recognised on differences of size and
in the head wattles the northern race intermedia, the central
:

peninsularis and the southern httlica. Besides these, two other

races occur within our limits, one in Tenasserim, the other in the
Andamans.

Habits : The Pahiiri- or Hill-Myna, as this bird is popularly

known, inhabits heavily forested hill tracts. In its south-
western range, cardamon and coffee plantations with their lofty
natural evergreen shade trees form an ideal habitat for this species.
Pairs, or ilocks of upto 20 are commonly met with feeding on ripe
figs of the various Fici and other fruits, in company with horn-
bills, green pigeons and other frugivorous birds. The nectar of
Coral, Silk Cotton and Silver Oak (Grevillea) llowers is also
largely eaten and the birds do considerable service as pollinating
agents. The forest resounds with their loud, sharp, creaky,
shrieks, and in flight their wings produce the same whirring sound
as green pigeons.

This Myna is much prized as a cage bird. It is a mimic of

exceptional merit, becomes very tame, and soon learns to re-
produce the human voice and speech with astonishing clarity.

Nesting : The season is from March to October. The nest

—
a collection of grass, leaves, feathers, etc. is placed in natural
hollows 30 to 40 ft. from the ground, in the boles of lofty trees,
often standing isolated in a forest clearing. The eggs 2 or 3 —
are a beautiful deep-blue, sparsely spotted and blotched with
reddish-brown or chocolate.
 twsjdT"^.

The Rosy Pastor or Rose-coloured Starling

 49- The Rosy Pastor or Rose-coloured
Starling
Pastor rosens (Linnaeus).
Size : About that of the Myna .

Field Characters A rose-pink and black Myna-like bird

:

with a prominent crest. Sexes alike, but young birds and adults
in non-breeding plumage, duller and browner. Flocks, about
cultivation.
Distribution : In winter all India. Particularly abundant in
the North-West, but diminishing markedly towards its eastern
boundary in Bengal. South of the Deccan also its numbers are
small, and it visits Ceylon only sparingly and irregularly.

Habits :This, the Jowari Bird or Tilyer, is one of our earliest

immigrants, some individuals often arriving as early as July or
August. The birds stay with us till April. Small parties and
large flocks of upto 400 or more may be seen flying about in the
vicinity of cultivation, especially Jowari, alighting from time to
time to feed on the ripening grain. The ryot may rattle his tin-
cans or shout himself hoarse, but all to no avail. The hungry
swarms rise from one corner of his crops only to circle round in
little '
clouds and settle in a farther corner, almost before the
'

din has ceased. The birds rest in nearby trees in the intervals
between their intermittent ravages, and spend their time in noisy
chattering and warbling. The damage they cause is often
considerable, but to compensate for this they do inestimable
service in destroying locusts on an enormous scale, both in times
of invasions
'
and while in their common breeding grounds in
'

Central Asia. They may commonly be seen in attendance on

cattle grazing on moist grassland, snapping up grasshoppers and
other insects disturbed by the animals. Their food also consists
largely of fruits and berries, those of the Banyan, Peepal and
Lanlana being largely patronised. The birds are invariably
present on Silk Cotton trees in blossom for the sugary nectar
exuded by the flowers, and are truculent towards other species
visiting the tree. They are important agents in the cross-polli-
nation of these flowers, and responsible for the dispersal of seeds
of a great variety of wild fruits.
Nesting : The Rosy Pastor breeds in large colonies in Eastern
Europe, Western and Central Asia, on stony hillsides and amongst
ruins, in May and June. The selection of the breeding ground
varies from year to year being largely dependent upon the move-
ments of locust swarms which furnish the staple diet of the adult
birds and of the young from the time they hatch out.
The Grey-headed Myna
"3
 50. The Grey-headed Myna
Stumia malabarka (Gmclin).

Size : Smaller than the Common Myna.

Field Characters : A small trim Myna with blackish wing-
quills. Grey above, rusty-brown below. Sexes alike. Flocks,
in thinly wooded country.

Distribution Throughout India east and south of a line from

:

Mt. Abu to Dehra Dun Assam, Burma, but not Ceylon.

; It is a
local migrant and shifts about considerably with the seasons.
Six races are recognised on differences of size and details of
colouration. We are chiefly concerned with three, viz., the grey-
headed India and Assam race malabaricus, the white-headed
Travancore and Malabar race blythii, and the white-winged Burma
race netnoricola.

Habits : The Grey-headed Myna inhabits open, thinly forested

country and the neighbourhood of forest cultivation. In suitable
localities, it is found both near human habitations and in out-
lying parts. It goes about in small flocks, either by themselves
or in association with other Mynas. The swift, direct flight is
typical of the Starling. While principally arboreal in habits,
it willoften descend to feed in low bushes or even to the ground.
Its diet consists chiefly of fruits and berries, those of Zizyphus,
Lautana and the various Fici being abundantly taken. Insects
are also eaten. The birds are unfailing visitors to Silk Cotton
trees to feed on the flower-nectar, hopping about from branch to
branch in the quest and keeping up the same incessant squabbling
and chatter as the Rosy Pastor does, varied by pleasant musical
notes. For no apparent reason a feeding flock will suddenly dive
into space helter-skelter, as if to dodge some imaginary hawk,
and after circling round the tree once or twice will resettle and
resume feeding.

Nesting The season varies somewhat according to locality,

:

ranging between March and June. The nest is a collection of

twigs, rootlets and grass placed in a barbet- or woodpecker-hole
in the stem of a tree, 10 to 40 feet from the ground. The eggs
—
three to five- are pale-blue in colour without markings.

Both sexes share in building the nest and care of the young,
but the female alone is said to incubate.

114
The Brahminy or Black-headed Myna
115
5i. The Brahminy or Black-headed Myna
Temeniichus pagodarum (Gmclin).

Size : Smaller that the Common Myna.

Field Characters : A typical Myna, grey above reddish-fawn
below, with glossy black head and long crest black wing-quills
;

and brown tail, the latter with whitish edging at tip which is
conspicuous as the bird spreads it before alighting. Sexes alike.
In the young the head is sooty brown and crestless, and the
general colouration dull. Small flocks, in thinly wooded country.

Distribution : Ceylon and the whole of continental India east

to Bengal. In the Himalayas commonly upto 4,000 ft. in summer,
and occasionally up to 8,000 ft. Absent or patchy in the arid
portions of the N.-W., as also in evergreen forest. Mainly
resident, but also local migrant.

Habits :This Myna is a dweller of open, lightly wooded country

and often associates with the Grey-headed and Common species.
It freely enters gardens, and makes itself at home on and about
houses in towns and villages. It is neither so overwhelmingly
arboreal as the former nor so terrestrial as the latter. Flocks of
6 to 12 birds may usually be met with feeding on Banyan, Peepal,
Ber, Lantana and other fruits and berries in the usual mixed
frugivorous company. It is partial to moist grassland such as
on the edge of village tanks, where it hops or stalks along amongst
the feet of grazing cattle hunting the grasshoppers and other
insects they disturb. It is likewise very fond of the nectar of
flowers like those of the Silk Cotton, and also feeds largely on the
fleshy blossoms of the Mhowa (Bassia).

The bird has several merry creaking or chattering notes and,

at the breeding season, a pleasing little song in the nature of a
soliloquy. When uttering this, the crest is partially erected and
the whole plumage ffowzled.

Nesting : The principal breeding months are from May to July.

The nest is a pad of grass, rags, feathers, etc., placed in some
hollow in a tree, ruined wall or even in those of inhabited houses,
frequently in the midst of noisy bazaars. The eggs 3 or 4
are pale-blue, unmarked.
—
Both sexes share in building the nest,
incubation and care of the young.

116
The Common Myna
117
 52. The Common Myna
Acridolheres trislis (Linnaeus).

Size: Between the Bulbul and the Pigeon. (9").

Field Characters A familiar, perky, well-Rroomcd dark-

:

brown bird with bright yellow bill, legs and bare skin around the
eyes. A large white patch on the wing is prominent in ilight.
Sexes alike. Common in towns and on the countryside.
Distribution Throughout the Indian Empire, in summer
:

up to about 0,000 feet in the Himalayas. Two races are

recognised, viz : the Indian tristis, and the darker Ceylonese
melanosternus.
Habits Along with the Crow, the Kite and the Sparrow, the
:

Myna our commonest and most familiar bird about human

is
habitations- in the heart of a bustling city or far out on the
countryside. It is sociable in disposition and omnivorous in diet,
two conditions which fit it admirably for a life of commensalism
with .Man. A
pair or two usually adopt a house or compound
for their own and guard it jealously against intrusion from others
of their kind. Large numbers, however, will collect to feed,
whether on earthworms on a freshly watered lawn, a swarm of
winged termites or on a Peepal or Banyan tree in fruit. They
may commonly be seen hunting grasshoppers on the heels of
grazing cattle, or following the plough, stalking alongside it,
side-hopping jauntily, and springing in the air now and again to
secure the fleeing quarry. The birds have communal roosts in
favourite groves of trees to which large numbers foregather every
evening. These are often shared by parakeets, crows and other
species who contribute to the din that prevails before the birds
finally retire for the night.

This Myna
has a varied assortment of sharp calls and chatter.
A loud, scolding rddio-radio-rddio is commonly heard, while
during the mid-day heat when a pair are resting in a shady spot,
the male will frequently go through an amazing gamut of keek-
keek-keek, kok-kok-kok, chiiY-cliur, etc., with plumage frowzled and
a ludicrous bobbing of his head before his mate.
Nesting: The season is principally from April to August.
Often two successive broods are raised. The nest is a collection
of twigs, roots, paper and rubbish, placed in holes in trees and
walls, or between the ceiling and roof of a house. The same site
is used year after year. — —
The eggs four or five are a beautiful
glossy blue.
Both sexes, build, incubate and tend the young.
118
 i*w* y^Kik. '-*m
The Bank Myna
119
 53* The Bank Myna
Acridotheres ginginianus (Latham).

Size : Slightly smaller than the Common Myna.

Field Characters : Very like the last, but general colouration
pale bluish-grey. Another distinguishing feature is the naked
skin around the eyes which is brick-red instead of yellow. Sexes
alike. Flocks, in open country.

Another species — the Jungle Myna(JEthiopsar fuscus)— is

not uncommon in lightly in many parts of India,
wooded country
and often found side by side with the Common Myna. In size
and appearance it is rather similar to the latter, but lacks the
bare yellow skin around the eyes and has an upstanding brush-
like tuft of feathers at the forehead.

Distribution : The greater part of Northern India from Sind

to Eastern Bengal, and south to about the latitude of Bombay.
In portions of the Himalayas, up to about 3,000 feet. It is a
resident, but also moves about a good deal locally.

Habits'. The Bank Myna is found in open cultivated country

in the neighbourhood of towns and villages. Railway stations
are a favourite resort and large numbers may often be seen
sauntering about on the platforms picking up bits of food dropped
by the passengers. The bird may also be confidently looked for
about municipal refuse dumps and amongst grazing cattle. Its
antics of clinging to the ears of the animals to pick off ticks, and
holding on precariously as these are Happed, are amusing to
watch. Its voice is somewhat softer than that of the common
Myna, but otherwise there is little appreciable difference in the
habits of the two.

Nesting : The season is between May and August. The birds

breed in colonies, often of considerable size. The nest is a rough
pad of grass, leaves and rubbish placed in tunnels excavated by
the birds in earth banks, or in those in the revetment of bridges,
etc. When dug by the birds, these tunnels are frequently up to
5 feet deep and often coalesce with adjacent ones. They ter-
minate in a bulbous nest-chamber.

The normal clutch consists of three to five eggs, glossy pale

blue, without markings.
The Pied Myna
121
 54* The Pied Myna
Slurnopaslor contra (Linnaeus).

Size : Slightly smaller than the Common Myna.

Field Characters : An obvious myna of pied black — and
—
white plumage, with a bright orange-red and yellow
Sexes alike. Flocks about open cultivation.
bill.

Distribution :India cast of a line from Ambala to Hyderabad

(Deccan) and MasQlipatam Assam and Burma. Four races are
;

recognised on depth and other details of colouration, viz., the

India-Assam race contra, the doubtful dehrce, the Burma race
superciliaris and the Siamese floweri. The last may just cross
over into our boundary in South Tenasserim.

Habits: This species inhabits cultivated country and is rarely

met with away from human habitations. Unlike the Common
Myna, however, it does not appropriate dwelling houses though
often entering gardens and compounds to hunt grasshoppers or
dig up earth-worms on a Hooded lawn, or to roost amongst groves
of large trees. It is essentially a ground feeder and much more
insectivorous in its diet than the mynas already described. It
keeps in flocks- often associated with other mvnas -in the
neighbourhood of villages and towns, feeding at the refuse dumps
on their outskirts or attending on grazing cattle on the moist
grassy margins of village tanks. In Calcutta, particularly large
Hocks may be seen about the brackish lakes and in the sewage
outflow locality.

It has a numljer of pleasant musical notes, some of them

rather like snatches from the flight-song of the Finch-Larks.

Nesting :The season ranges between March and September

and often two successive broods are raised. The nest is very
different from that of the other mynas, being a large untidy
globular structure of twigs, leaves, grass and rubbish. It is
placed on an outhanging branch of a mango or similar large tree
near cultivation, 15 to 30 feet from the ground. The birds do not
nest in colonies as such, but it is not unusual to find 3 or 4 nests
—
on the same tree. The eggs four or five in number — are a
glossy blue, without markings.

Both sexes share in building and care of the young.

122
The Baya or Common Weaver-Bird
Male in breeding plumage

123
55- The Baya or Common Weaver-Bird
Ploceus philippinns (Linnaeus).
Size : That of the Sparrow.
Field Characters: Female, and male in non-breeding plumage,
very like the female House-Sparrow but with a thicker bill and
shorter tail. Flocks, about open cultivation.
Distribution : Ceylon and all India, Assam and Burma.
Mostly plains, but also sub-Himalayan foothills up to about 3,000
feet. Three races are recognised on size and details of colouration,
viz., the Indian philippinus, the Assam-Upper Burma race
burmanicus, and the Lower Burma-Malaya race inforiunatus.
Resident, but also local migrant.
Habits: The Baya is essentially a bird of open cultivated
country. It goes about in Hocks, often of considerable size,
gleaning paddy, jowdri and other seeds on the ground, or invading
ripening crops to which it causes a certain amount of damage.
Paddy cultivation largely governs the seasonal movements of the
bird. Enormous numbers gather to roost in favourite patches
of reeds and bulrushes, usually on the swampy margins of tanks.
Their call notes are a sparrow-like chit-chit-chit followed by a
long-drawn chee-ee uttered in chorus, while the birds are working
on their nests.
Nesting: The Baya is noted chiefly for its wonderful retort
shaped hanging nests and for its remarkable breeding biology.
—
The season coincides with the S.-W. Monsoon chiefly between
May and September-—and the consequent availability of paddy
plants and coarse saw-edged grasses for building material. The
birds build in colonies, occasionally of over 100 nests, on babool
or beT trees and date or palmyra palms standing amidst
cultivation. The nest with its long entrance tube is commonly
suspended over water at heights of between 5 and 40 feet. It is
compactly woven with strips of grass or paddy leaf and has a
small quantity of mud stuck inside near the egg-chamber, the
significance of which is not understood. The male does most of
the building. When a nest is nearing completion a female
iirrives and takes possession of it, and thenceforth the two become
husband and wife, she assisting to finish off the interior. As
soon as eggs are laid, the male commences another nest close by
which in due course is similarly appropriated by a second female.
Thus a single cock may have two, three or more nests and wives.
— —
The eggs two to four are pure white and unmarked.
The female alone incubates and is mainly responsible for tending
the young.

124
The Striated Weaver-Bird
Male in breeding plumage
"5
 56. The Striated Weaver-Bird
Ploceus manyar (Horsfield).

Size : That of the Sparrow.

Field Characters : Differs from the Baya in having the breast

fulvous boldly streaked with black in both sexes and in the
breeding as well as non-breeding plumage of the male. Flocks,
in swampy tall grass areas.

Distribution: Patchily more or less throughout the Indian

Kmpire in humid or swampy tracts covered witli tall grass and
bulrushes, as in the Himalayan Terdi. Within our limits,
three races are recognised on details of colouration, viz., the
N.-W. Indian race striatus, the North India-Assam-Uurma race
pegurnsis, and the South Indian jlaviceps.

Habits: Except that it is more confined to the vast seas of

elephant- and other tall coarse grass, and to bulrushes, &c,
about tanks, this weaver does not differ appreciably in habits
from the Baya. Both species, but especially the last, are largely
kept as pets. They are apt at learning and can be readily
trained to perform a number of tricks such as muzzle-loading
and firing off a toy cannon, retrieving a ring dropped into a
well before it reaches the water, stringing beads, and others
requiring a high degree of skill.

Nesting: The season ranges, according to local conditions

of humidity and rainfall, between February and September.
The nests, built in smaller colonies, are similar to those of the
Baya, but have shorter entrance tubes and on the whole are
more loosely and roughly woven. They are suspended from
bulrushes, giant grass, &c, usually on swampy ground. The
nest is not attached by a long slender suspension as is the Baya's,
but directly to a number of grass-blades which makes its upper
end broader than in that species. Pellets of mud are stuck
near the egg-chamber in these nests also, and the breeding
biology of the two species is very similar in all other respects.

The full clutch consists of two to four eggs, white in colour,

unmarked.

126
1. The White-backed Munia
2. The White-throated Munia
127
 57* The White-backed Munia
Uroloncha striata (Linnaeus).
Size Smaller than the Sparrow.
:

Field Characters A small black and white finch with

:

heavy bluish conical bill and wedge-shaped tail. Sexes alike.

About open cultivation.
Distribution Ceylon and a large part of peninsular India
: ;

a sub-Himalayan belt from Garhwa.1 eastwards Assam, 'Burma,

;

Andamans, Nicobars. Six races are recognised chiefly on

details of colouration.
Habits : This Munia goes about in small flocks which feed
on grass seeds, &c, on the ground near cultivation, and utter
feeble chirruping calls.
Nesting: There is no well defined season, the principal months
varying from locality to locality. The nest is an untidy
globular structure of grasses with a lateral entrance hole
sometimes like a short tube. It is placed in low bushes or trees,
5 to 10 feet from the ground. The normal clutch is of five or
six eggs, pure white in colour. Both sexes share in building,
incubation (?) and care of the young. The incubation period
is 13-14 days.

58. The White-throated Munia

Uroloncha malabarica (Linnaeus).
Size : Same as above.
Field Characters A plain earthy-brown, thick-billed little
:

bird with pointed black tail, whitish underparts and white rump.
In dry open scrub country.
Distribution The drier parts of Ceylon and of all India
:

(up to about 6,000 feet in the Himalayas) cast to, but excluding
Assam.
Habits :The White-throated Munia inhabits dry, open,
cultivated as well as sparse scrub-and-bush country, and avoids
humid forest. It is usually met with in flocks gleaning grass
seeds on the ground or taking them off the ears. The feeble
chirruping notes differ little from those of other munias.
Nesting : Breeds throughout the greater part of the year,
building the usual globular munia nest of grass in some low bush.
In cotton growing tracts these are often largely composed of
cotton filched from the fields. It also habitually utilises old
weaver-bird nests for laying in. The normal clutch is of four
to six white, unmarked, eggs. The nests arc used as dormitories
by the entire family long after the young have flown.
128
3. The Spotted Munia
Breeding plumage
4. The Red Munia or Waxbill
Male in breeding plumage
129
 59- The Spotted Munia
Uroloncha punctulata (Linnaeus).
Size : Same as the last two species.
Field Characters breeding plumage upper parts chocolate-
: In
brown lower, white speckled with black.
; In non-breeding and
young plumage more or less plain brown. Sexes alike. Flocks about
open cultivation.
Distribution : Throughout the Indian Kmpire excepting Sind,
Punjab plains, portions of Kiijpiitana and the N.-VV. F. Province. In
the Himalayas up to about 6,000 feet. Three races are recognised
on details of colouration, viz., the India-Assam race lineorenter, the
Burma race subundulata, and the Shan States-Chinese topela. Resi-
dent, but also local migrant.
Habits: Typical Munia. Flocks sometimes of up to joo individuals
feed on the ground on grass seeds, &c. When disturbed, the birds
rly up into trees and bushes uttering feeble chirrups. They occasionally
devour winged termites emerging from the ground.
Nesting: The season is mainly between July and October. The
nest is a ball of grass about H inches across, with a lateral entrance hole
near the top. It is built in some low thorny tree or bush sometimes
several nests together. —
The eggs four to seven -are glossless white,
unmarked. Both sexes partake in building and tending the young.

60. The Red Munia or Waxbill

Amandava amandava (Linnaeus).

Size : Smaller than the last.

Field Characters Male in non-breeding dress, and female, brownish
:

sparsely spotted with white, with red bill and crimson rump. Tail
rounded. Flocks in tall grassland and among reeds, often on wet
ground.
Distribution : Throughout India from Sind to Assam and from
about 2,000 ft. in the Himalayas to Ceylon Burma. Upto 6,000 ft.
;

in the peninsular hills. The Burmese race flavidivenlris differs from

the Indian amandava in having the abdomen orange yellow in the
breeding male. Resident species.
Habits : Typical Munia. The feeble call notes are more musical
than those of the species described, and during the breeding season
the male keeps up a low, continuous twittering song. It is a popular
cage bird and large numbers are always for sale in bird markets.
Nesting : The season is not sharply defined, but breeding is perhaps
most general in the rains, from June to October. The nest is a small
globular structure of grass, lined with finer grasses and feathers. It is
normally placed under 2 feet from the ground, in a tussock of coarse
grass or bracken bush. —
The eggs four to seven in number —are
glossless white, unmarked.
Both sexes share in building, incubation and care of the young.

130
The Common Indian or Hodgson's Rose-Finch
Male
Female
'3'
6i. The Common Indian or Hodgson's
Rose-Finch
Carpodacus erythrinus (Pallas).

Size : A trifle larger than the I louse-Sparrow.

Field Characters: Both in the rose-coloured male and the
brownish female, the heavy conical finch bill and the slightly
forked tail are always conspicuous features. Flocks in wooded
country and about cultivation.

Distribution: The Indian race roseatus breeds in the

Himalayas at 10,000 feet and higher, from Kflmaon and Garhwal
to East Tibet, down through Yunnan to the Shan States and
eastward beyond our borders. In winter it spreads out over the
whole of India and Burma. The Eastern European race eryth-
rinus also occurs in N.-W. and Central India in winter, while the
Caucasus race kubanensis enters the extreme North-West. The
races differ from each other mainly in depth of colouration.

Habits: The Rose-Finch is found in continental India chiefly

between September and May. It is met with in small flocks in
wooded country and on the outskirts of cultivation, feeding in
bushes, scrub and standing crops. Its diet consists of flower
buds, Lantana and other berries, Banyan figs, bamboo seeds, as
well as jowari, linseed and other grains. The nectar of Butea,
Erythrina and a large variety of other wild flowers is habitually
eaten, and the birds doubtless play a considerable part in cross-
pollinating them.

The ordinary
call note is a musical, whistling, interrogative
tooee ?-tooeebut just before the birds depart for their breeding
?,
grounds the beginnings of a loud pleasant song may often be
heard.

Nesting: The season is from June to August. The nest is a

cup of grass lined with fine roots and hair. It is placed between
2 and 6 feet from the ground in wild rose and similar bushes.
— —
The eggs three or four are blue in colour, spotted and speckled
with blackish and light red.

Both sexes share in building the nest and tending the young.
132
The Yellow-throated Sparrow
Male
'33
 62. The Yellow-throated Sparrow
Gymnorhis xanthocollis (Burton).

Size: That of the House-Sparrow.

Field Characters: An unmistakable sparrow with a

conspicuous chestnut shoulder-patch, two whitish bars in the
wing and a lemon yellow thumb impression on the throat.
' '

The female lacks the last, and the chestnut on her shoulders is
paler. Flocks, in open lightly wooded country.

Distribution: Practically all India from about 4,000 feet in the

Himalayas to Ceylon and from Sind to Bengal, also Shan States
(Burma). Not Assam. Two races are recognised, viz., the paler
transfuga of Sind and the N.-W. Frontier, and the darker xantho-
collis of the rest of its Indian range. Kesident and local migrant.

Habits : While often found in the neighbourhood of human habi-

tations, the Yellow-throated Sparrow does not establish itself in
dwellings in the impudent matter-of-fact way the House-Sparrow
does. It keeps more to open scrub country and light deciduous
forest. Flocks of upto 30 are usually met with gleaning paddy
grains, or grass seeds in stubble fields and on the outskirts of culti-
vation. It also feeds largely on berries, e.g., Lanlana, moths and
other insects, and llower nectar. The chirpy call notes are
similar to those of the House-Sparrow but pleasanter. During
the heat of the day the flocks retire into the centre of some leafy
tree and spend the hours in noisy chirruping and chatter.

Nesting: The season is from April to June. The nest is a

collection of grass, wool, feathers and rubbish placed in a hole in a
tree at any height between 8 and 25 feet. Woodpecker- and
barbet-holes are often appropriated, and nest boxes put up in a
garden are freely used. Old street lamps offer favourite nest
sites, and sometimes a hole on the outside of a building is occupied.
Often the same hole is used year after year. The eggs- -three or
four— are whitish or pale greenish-white, profusely spotted,
blotched and streaked with dingy brown.

Both sexes share in building the nest and tending the young.

134
 fifo4$i^"*Ai<*Vv-.

The House- Sparrow

Male
i35
 63. The House-Sparrow
Passer domesticus (Linnaeus).
Size.: Well known.Smaller than the Bulbul. (6").

Field Characters : Female earthy-brown streaked with black

and rufous above, whitish below. An unfailing commensal of
Man.
Distribution: Throughout the Indian Empire excepting
Andamans, Nicobars and extreme South Tenasserim. Ordinarily
up to about 7,000 feet in the Himalayas. Divided into several
races over Europe, Asia and Africa. We are concerned with two,
viz. : the Indian race indicus, and the larger Kashmir and N-W.
Frontier race parkini(—bactrianns.)
Habits: The House-Sparrow is a confirmed hanger-on of Man
in hills and plains alike, whether in bustling, noisy city or outlying
forest village. When fresh areas are colonised, the Sparrow is
amongst the foremost to profit, and quick to adapt itself to the
new surroundings. In spite of this, however, its complete absence
in certain apparently suitable localities —
as for example in the
Travancore hills -- seems curious and inexplicable. In winter,
—
House-Sparrows collect in flocks often of considerable size
to feed in the neighbourhood of cultivation. At this season, too,
large numbers roost together in favourite trees or hedges, and
indulge in a great deal of noise and bickering before settling down
for the night. Their food consists mostly of grains and seeds
gleaned on the ground, or picked out of horse -and cattle-droppings.
Indeed, the presence or absence of horses at a hill-station, for
example, has a marked influence on the local sparrow population.
Insects and flower buds are also eaten.
The vulgar, irritating call notes of the Sparrow arc too well
known to need description. Breeding males have, besides, a loud
monotonous, and still more aggravating '
song '
Tsi, tsi, tsi
or cheer, cheer, cheer, &c, uttered, sometimes for fully 10 minutes
on end, as the bird fluffs out its plumage, arches its rump, droops
its wings and struts about arrogantly, twitching its slightly cocked
tail.
Nesting : Practically throughout the year. Several broods are
raised in quick succession. The nest is a collection of straw and
rubbish placed in a hole in wall or ceiling, niche, gargoyle, inverted
lamp shade, and in every conceivable situation within or on the
outside of a tenanted building. Rarely, in some small bushy tree
— —
or creeper. The eggs three to five are whitish or pale greenish-
white, marked with various shades of brown.
Both sexes build and tend the young, but the female alone
incubates. The incubation period is 14 days.
'36
The Black-headed Bunting
Male
The Red-headed Bunting
Male
137
 64. The Black-headed Bunting
Emberiza melanocephala Scopoli.
65. The Red-headed Bunting
Emberiza brunniceps Brandt.
Size Slightly larger than the House-Sparrow.
:

Field Characters Yellow sparrow-like birds with a longer

:

and noticeably forked tail. The female of the Black-headed

species is pale fulvous-brown above that of the Red-headed
;

Bunting ashy-brown. Lower plumage of both pale fulvous

—
washed with yellow. Large Hocks often of both species mixed
• about open cultivation.
Another bird of the same size but less gregarious habits,
with a wide residential distribution in the Lower Himalayas,
Central and peninsular India is the Crested Bunting (Melophus
lathanii). The male is black and chestnut, of the same colour
scheme as the Crow-Pheasant, with a prominent crest. The
—
female also crested -is dark brown with some cinnamon in
her wings.
Distribution In winter over the greater part of continental
:

and peninsular India. The Black-headed Bunting is confined

chiefly to the western side south to Belgaum, but the other
extends east to Chota-Nagpur and south to Coimbatore.
Habits : These Buntings arrive in India in September /October
and depart again in March/April. They spread themselves out
over the country in enormous flocks, which keep to open cultiva-
tion interspersed with bush and babool jungle. The birds
descend in clouds to feed upon ripening crops- jowar, wheat,
' '

—
bajra and others and cause considerable damage. The masses
present a remarkable spectacle when settled in the surrounding
trees and hedges, the yellow plumage of the msles glistening
in the sun against the dark green background.
The birds are mostly silent whilst with us- -the only note
heard being a sparrow-like, but musical tweet as they fly about.
Just before they depart for their breeding grounds, however,
the beginnings of a loud, pleasant whistling song may sometimes
be heard.
Nesting : The Black-headed Bunting breeds in \V. Asia and
K. Europe. Within our limits, the Red-headed species breeds
only in British Baluchistan, in May and June. Its nest is cup-
shaped, made of weed-stalks and fibres and lined with goat's
hair. It is well concealed in garden hedges, rose bushes, vines,
and not uncommonly 2 to 4 feet up in the fork of peach trees
growing in wheat fields. The normal clutch is of five eggs
pale greenish-white, speckled and spotted with dark brown,
lavender and grey.

'38
The Dusky Crag-Martin
139
 66. The Dusky Crag-Martin
Riparia concolor Sykcs.

Size : Slightly smaller than the House-Sparrow.

Field Characters : A uniformly sooty-brown bird with a

short square and swallow-like wings and flight. Sexes
tail,
alike. Small numbers about cliffs, &c, in company with swallows.

The closely allied Crag-Martin Riparia rupestris, breeding

in the Himalayas and beyond, often found associating with
is
the present species during winter. It is slightly larger and paler
and has whitish underparts.
Distribution : Resident throughout India, excepting Sind
and the Punjab, from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin and from
Ra.jputa.na to Western Bengal. Patchy locally.
Habits The Dusky Crag-Martin
:
'
is an exceptionally
'

happy name for this bird which it describes admirably. It

is a close relation of the swallows and inseparable from crags
and rock-scarps, being found wherever these occur. It is also
—
very fond of old stone buildings even in the midst of populated,
noisy cities —
hill-forts and ancient ruins, and may usually be
met with about in twos and threes in their neigh-
either (lying
bourhood, hawking winged insects, or perched on some ledge
or cornice. Rock-cut caves, such as at Ellora and Ajanta in
the Deccan, and others elsewhere within its range, invariably
have their small resident population of these Crag-Martins.
The birds utter a soft, cheerful chil-chit as they fly about.
Nesting : The principal months vary according to locality,
but it breeds more or less throughout the year, commonly rearing
two broods in succession. The nest is a deepish oval saucer
attached like a bracket to a perpendicular wall or rock face,
under an archway or projecting ledge, leaving a narrow slit
between the top of the nest and the ceiling. It is composed
of plastered mud-pellets collected at a puddle while wet. The
depression is lined with fine grass, tow and feathers. The nests
are solitary as a rule, but may occasionally be found in a small
scattered colony. They are built under eaves and against rafters
in inhabited bungalows, old mosques, tombs and caves as well
as on natural cliffs. The normal clutch consists of two or three
eggs, white in colour, minutely speckled and spotted with various
shades of reddish-brown. Both sexes share in building,
incubation and tending the young.

140
The Common Swallow
141
 67. The Common Swallow
Hirundo rustica Linnaeus.

Size : About th.it of the T louse-Sparrow.

Field Characters : upper plumage, chestnut

('.lossy .steel-blue
forehead and throat, white underparts and deeply forked tail.
Sexes alike. Gregariously, in open country and by water.

Distribution : In winter throughout the Indian Empire. The

visitors are mainly comprised of two races differing from each
other in size and details of colouration, viz. the European-West
:

Himalayan race rustica, and the East Asiatic-East Himalayan

gtiititralis. A third race the N-E Siberian tvtleri with chest-
nut underparts, is restricted in winter to E. Bengal, Assam and
Burma.
Habits : The vast majority of swallows that visit the plains
of India— except in the N-W where the European race predo-
—
minates belong to the Eastern gittturalis. The birds arrive in
August/September and return to their breeding grounds in
April/May. They are met with gregariously, perched on tele-
graph wires or beating back and forth over reeds and grass
on marshes or shallow jhecls, hawking insects in the air or scoop-
ing them up from the surface of the water. Thev are also common
about cultivation. Large congregations collect every evening
to roost amongst reed- and tamarisk-beds standing in water.
The flight is swift and graceful, the forked tail greatly enhancing
the agility of their movements. I>rior to emigration, these
swallows collect in enormous swarms often covering long stret-
ches of telegraph wire ami overflowing on to adjacent tree-tops
and even the ground.
Their food consists of winged insects which are captured
in the air. They have a number of pleasant twittering notes
uttered both on the wing and while at rest.

Nesting : Within our limits the European race breeds in

Baluchistan and the Himalayas from Kashmir to Nepal. The
Eastern race breeds from Sikkim to N-E Assam, at between 4 and
7 thousand feet. Often two successive broods are reared between
April and July. The nest is similar to that of the Crag-Martin,
but the mud is reinforced with grass and straw. It is fixed in the
corner of a verandah near the ceiling, under eaves or against
rafters in buildings, both inhabited and disused. The eggs
four or five —are similar in colour and markings to those of
the last species.

142
The Indian Wire-tailed Swallow

'43
 68. The Indian Wire-tailed Swallow
Hirundo smil/iii Leach.
Size : Same as the last.
Field Characters Glossy steel-blue above, with a chestnut
:

cap ; white below. Distinguishable from all other swallows

by its glistening white underparts and two long, fine wires '
'

in the tail. In the female these are shorter. Pairs or parties

in open cultivation, near water.

Another common swallow is the Red-rumped or Striated

species //. daurica. This may be recognised by a chestnut
half collar on the nape, a chestnut rump and finely dark-striated
underparts. It is usually present about old mosques and build-
ings.
Distribution : The Indian race filifera is found from about
5,000 feet in the Himalayas south to Mysore and the Nilgiris,
and from the N-W. Frontier and Sind east to Bengal. Also in
Pegu and Tenasserim. Mainly resident, but local migrant in
parts.
Habits : The habits of the Wire-tailed Swallow do not differ
appreciably from those of the foregoing species. It is, however,
even more devoted to the neighbourhood of water and is hardly
ever met with away from it. Several birds may be seen loosely
together skimming over the surface of a jheel or village tank, or
hawking insects a few feet above it or over ploughed fields around
its margin.
It utters a pleasant chit-chit while (lying about. In the
breeding season the male has a pretty little twittering song.
When agitated, as for example when the nest is threatened by a
sparrow, the birds launch a series of furious mock attacks snapping
their bills at the intruder every time they shoot past him. The
'
war cries then uttered are very like the chi-chip, chi-chip of a
'

wagtail in flight.
Nesting The season extends practically over the whole year,
:

but the principal months are March to September. Two broods

are frequently raised in succession. The nest does not diller
from that of the Crag-Martin. It is attached under arches
of bridges and culverts, to cliffs flanking streams, and frequently
to rafters in the verandahs of bungalows. In situations as the
last, the House-Sparrow often ousts the rightful owners, usurping
the nest for its own purposes. The nest is usually solitary, but
occasionally several are built close together. The normal clutch
is of three to five eggs, in appearance like those of the Common
Swallow. Both sexes share in building and care of the young.

144
 69. The Eastern Grey Wagtail
Motacilla cinerea Tunstall.

Size : About that of the House-Sparrow, but with a long tail.

Field Characters In non-breeding plumage blue-grey above

:

with greenish-yellow rump, and yellowish-white underparts,

brighter yellow towards the tail. A slim, sparrow-like bird with
slender bill, and long tail (even for a wagtail) which is constantly
wagged up and down. Sexes alike. Singly, on the ground by
streams, etc. Several other species of grey anil yellow wagtails
also visit the Indian plains during winter. In winter plumage
their identification in the field is difficult except with much
practice.

Distribution The Kastern race caspicu, which breeds from

:

the Ural Mountains to Kamschalka and south to Afghanistan

and the Himalayas, is found in winter throughout the Indian
Empire.

Habits : The Grey Wagtail is almost invariably met with as a

solitary bird near streams or rocky pools in well-wooded country,
both hill and plain, and also along forest paths. It runs about
briskly chasing insects, turning and twisting with agility in their
pursuit and often springing up into the air rlutteringly after them.
Sometimes it makes regular sallies after winged insects from a
stone amid stream, snapping up the quarry in the air and return-
ing to its base. The tail is constantly wagged up and down.
Its flight, like that of other wagtails, is a series of long undulating
curves caused by alternate quick Dapping and closing of the wings
It is accompanied by a sharp chi-cheep, chi-cheep, etc. These
are the only call notes heard whilst the birds are with us in their
'
winter quarters. In the breeding season a pretty little song'

is uttered by the male.

Its food consists entirely of small insects and molluscs.

Nesting Within our limits, this Wagtail breeds only in the

:

Himalayas between 6 and 12 thousand feet elevation, from May

to July. The nest is cup-shaped, made of grass, rootlets and
wool. It is placed under a stone, amongst the roots of a fallen
tree or under a thick bush near a stream, preferably on a miniature
islet in the middle of it. The eggs -four to six in number are —
yellowish-grey or greenish, freckled with reddish-brown, more
densely about the broad end. Both parents tend the young.

14(1
'47
 •jo. The Large Pied Wagtail
Motacilla maderaspattmsis Ginelin.

Size : About that of the Bulbul.

Field Characters : Plate on p. 145. A typical wagtail of

black and white plumage resembling in pattern that of the
familiar Magpie-Robin. Sexes alike. Pairs, on river banks or
near water.

Distribution : Resident throughout the whole of India from

about 3,000 feet in the Himalayas to Ceylon, and from Sind and
Kashmir to \V. Bengal. Not found in Assam or Burma.

Habits : The Large Pied Wagtail is usually met with in pairs

in the neighbourhood of jheete and village tanks, but above all it
loves clear, shingly, smooth-running streams with rocks here and
there and diminutive cypress-grass covered islets standing in
their beds. The birds are not shy and often frequent human
habitations, perching upon roof-tops and the like, or running
about and feeding within a few feet of the dliobi battering his
clothes. They have a number of loud, pleasant whistling calls
and during the breeding season the male sings sweetly from a
rock or housetop. The song is not unlike some snatches of the
Magpie-Robin's. Otherwise, in general habits, this species does
not differ from other wagtails.

Nesting : The season is elastic and continues almost throughout

the year. March toSeptember arc, however, the most widely

favoured months. The nest is a cup-shaped pad of rootlets, hair,
wool and dry alga?, placed in a hole in a wall, beneath a projecting
rock, among the rafters of an inhabited house or under the girders
of a bridge spanning a river. Whatever the situation, the nest is
always in the neighbourhood of water. The normal clutch
consists of three or four eggs. They are greyish-, brownish-, or
greenish-white in colour, blotched and streaked with various
shades of brown.

Both sexes share in building the nest and feeding the young.

148
 7i. The White Wagtail
Motacilla alba Linnaeus.

Size : Same us of the Grey Wagtail.

Field Characters : In winter or non-breeding plumage the

black '
bib '
is much reduced or wanting, the chin and throat
being pure white like the underparts. Sexes alike. Loose
flocks, running about on open grassland.

Distribution : The two races which have the widest range

within our limits are the Indian tlukhunensis and the Masked
:

per sonata. They are very similar in general appearance but the
former lias white ear coverts at all seasons as against black in
per sonata. Hoth are winter visitors to the greater part of India
and Assam. Dit/ihunensis also extends sparingly into Ceylon,
but the other has not been recorded thence. Dukhttncnsis
breeds entirely outside our limits persona/a in Central Western ;

Asia as far south as Kashmir, Ladakh and the N.-VV. V. A third

race, the N.-K. Siberian ocularis distinguished by a streak —
running through the eye -visits Assam and liurma in winter.

Habits : The first two races of the White Wagtail are familiar
birds throughout the cold weather, though dukhunensis is the
commoner. Thev arrive in September/October and depart for
their breeding grounds in March /April. Parties often large
flocks — are usually met with running about, constantly moving
their tails up and down and picking up insects, in ploughed fields,
fallow land, the grassy margins of tanks or on golf links, maidans
and lawns frequently in the midst of populated towns. All
wagtails roost at night in large mixed gatherings preferably
amongst reed- and tamarisk-beds standing in water. In flight,
notes, food and other particulars this species does not differ
markedly from the Grey or other wagtails.

Nesting : The Tace personata breeds in Kashmir and the

N.-W. between 6,000 and 12,000 feet elevation, from May to
F.
July. The nest is a pad of rootlets, moss, hair and wool placed
in a hole in a ruined wall, bank or heap of stones. The normal
clutch consists of four to six eggs, white in colour, freckled and
spotted with reddish-brown.

ISO
 z
G
o
(0

IB

151
 72. The Indian Pipit
AtUhits rufulus Vioillot.

Size : About that of the Sparrow.

Field Characters: Plate on p. 149. Like the female House-

Sparrow in colouration, but slimmer, with a slenderer bill and
longer tail. Sexes alike. Pairs or loose parties on the ground in
open country. Several other species of pipits visit our area during
winter, many of which are superficially so alike in their coloura-
tion and habits, as to be difficult to differentiate in the field.
Distribution : Resident throughout the Indian Empire. Three
races are recognised mainly on depth of colouration, viz. : the
palest N.-W. Indian wailei, the intermediate peninsular and Hurma
race rufulus, and the richly coloured Travancore-Oykm-Malaya
malayensis.
Habits : The Indian Pipit affects open country, in the plains as
well as up to about 6,000 feet in the hills. Pairs or scattered
parties are met with in ploughed and stubble fields, fallow land,
under groves of shady trees or on open grass-covered stony hill-
sides. They feed on the ground, running about briskly and
moving their tail up and down in the manner of wagtails, flying
up into trees when disturbed. They have the same gently
undulating flight, and the notes uttered on the wing- a feeble
pipit-pipit or Iseep-Hecp, etc. —
are also similar to, yet easily
distinguishable from, those of the wagtails. Their food consists
of weevils and other small insects.
During the breeding season the male indulges in a song
flight — an exceedingly poor imitation of the Skylark's. It soars
and flutters a few feet up in the air uttering a feeble cheeping
'
song and descends to earth in a couple of minutes. When
'

the nest young are threatened, the parents express concern by

repeatedly flying up 15 or 20 feet in the air with an agitated
tsip-tsip-lsip, hovering flutteringly overhead for a while, and
sailing down obliquely to the ground some distance away, wings
depressed at the sides and tail tilted upwards.
Nesting The season ranges between February and October,
:

but is most general from March to June. The nest is a shallow

cup of fine grass, rootlets and hair sometimes partially domed
placed on the ground in an old hoof-print of cattle or under
shelter of a clod or diminutive bush. The eggs, three or four in
number, are yellowish- or greyish-white irregularly blotched and
spotted with brown, more densely at the broader end. Both
sexes share in building the nest and tending the young.

!52
The Small Skylark.
153
 73- The Small Skylark
Alanda xitlgiilti Franklin.
Size : About that of the Sparrow.
Field Characters A hen-sparrow-like bird with dark streaks
:

in the brown upper plumage and on the fulvous breast. Differs

from the pipit in its rather squat build and shorter tail. Sexes
alike. Pairs or parties, in open country and cultivation.
Distribution :The three races of this skylark which mainly
concern us are the pale N.-W. Indian pmtjuubi, the darker
:

continental India-Assam-Burma race gulgnla, and the larger

Nilgiri-'fravancore-Ceylon race aitstralis. Four other races occur
in restricted areas within our limits. Resident, but also local
migrant.
Habits The Skylark is essentially a bird of grassy meadows
:

and open cultivated country- -both plain and hill being par- —
ticularly fond of damp grassland in the environs of jheels. It
is met with in pairs, family parties and loose scattered flocks
often quite large ones in the cold weather. It feeds on the ground
on insects as well as seeds. It has a peculiar fluttering flight.
Inspite of its insignificant appearance, the Skylark is a
songster of exceptional merit and well-deserved reputation.
As the breeding season draws nigh, males indulge in their soaring
—
and singing displays. From time to time mostly in the early
mornings and evenings, but also throughout the day-— the bird
springs up from its perch on a clod or stone and soars almost
vertically —
upwards on fluttering wings often legs dangling
singing asit rises, higher and higher, until almost out of sight
even with binoculars. There it remains more or less stationary,
hovering on vibrating wings, and continues to pour forth an
unbroken stream of spirited loud, clear and melodious warbling.
The performance often lasts for over 5 minutes at a stretch.
When over, the bird closes his wings and drops like a stone
it is
for some distance opens them out, flutters a little and drops
again and so on by steps, until when within a few feet of the
ground he shoots off at a tangent and comes to rest near the
starting point. Several males may be thus soaring and singing
in rivalry at the same time over a meadow or wheatfield, and
the air resounds with their full-throated melody.
Nesting : The season over most of its range is February to
July, but in Travancore and Ceylon they apparently breed
most months of the year. The nest is a cup-like depression
in the ground — —
or a hoof-print lined with grass, and under
shelter of a clod or grass tussock. —
The eggs two to four are —
usually pale brownish-grey or whitish, spotted and streaked with
brown.

154
The Crested Lark.
'55
 74* The Crested Lark
Galerida cristata (Linnaeus).

Size : Slightly larger than the Sparrow.

Field Characters : Larger size and prominent, pointed

crest (usually upstanding) distinguishes it from most other larks.
Sexes alike. Singly or pairs in dry, open country.

Two allied but considerably smaller species, Sykes's Crested

Lark (Galerida deva) and the Malabar Crested Lark (G. malabarica)
between them occupy the greater part of India.
Distribution : A widely distributed species with numerous
races in Europe, Asia and North Africa. Only two of these
concern us in India, viz. the larger Baluchistan-N.-W. Frontier
:

race magna, and the smaller North Indian chendoola which

extends south to Central India and east to Bihar.

Habits : The Crested Lark inhabits dry, open, sandy or stony

semi-desert country covered with scanty grass. It is not found
on lush meadows or moist grass land. Where the two types of
country are contiguous, its predilection for the drier facies will
be obvious. Pairs or small parties are usually met with running
about on the ground in search of food. From time to time the
bird mounts a clod or stone to utter its liquid whistling notes.
Its food consists largely of grain and grass seeds, but small
beetles and other insects are also eaten. During the breeding
season the male indulges in a modest song-flight which consists
of soaring a few feet up in the air, flying about wanderingly
over a circumscribed area on leisurely fluttering wings, singing
its short pleasant song, and then sailing down on stiffly out-
spread and slightly quavering wings to perch on a stone or clod.
The song is also uttered from the ground or a bush. It not only
lacks the spirit and liveliness of the Skylark's melody, but is
not so unbrokenly uttered, and is of course very much shorter.
The Crested Lark is a favourite cage bird and thrives well in
captivity.

Nesting : is principally between March and June.

The season
The nest a shallow cup of grass, lined with finer material or
is
hair, placed in a slight hollow in open country, under shelter
of a grass-tuft or clod. The normal clutch consists of three
or four eggs, dull yellowish-white in colour, blotched with
brown and purple. Both sexes share in building the nest
and tending the young. The female alone is said to incubate.
i3 6
The Ashy-crowned Finch-Lark.
Female
Male
i57
 75 • The Ashy-crowned Finch-Lark
Eremopterix grisea (Scopoli).

Size : Smaller than the House-Sparrow.

Field Characters : A squat finch-like bird seen in pairs or

small flocks on the ground in open country. The male has black
underparts, ashy crown and sandy upper plumage the female ;

is sandy hen-sparrow-like all over.

Distribution : All India from the Himalayas to Ceylon and

from Sind to about Calcutta. Three races are recognised, viz.,
the pale N.-W. Indian siccala, the darker continental and penin-
sular Indian grisea, and the large-billed Ceylonese ceylonensis.
It moves about a good deal locally with the seasons.

Habits This little hark affects flat, open cultivated country

:

and semi-barren waste land. It is usually met with in widely

scattered pairs or parties which run along the ground, body
held low, in short zig-zag spurts, facing this way and that,
in search of food. Tts colouration is remarkably obliterative
and matches the ground to perfection. Its food consists chiefly
of seeds and grain, but insects are also eaten. The flight is a
series of rapid wing beats as in hovering, followed by short
pauses. The males have a very pleasant little song a combina- —
tion of sweet warbling and drawn-out wheeching ' notes
'

which is uttered both on the ground and while indulging in their

spectacular aerobatic displays. The bird shoots upwards
vertically on quivering wings for a hundred feet or so. Then
nose-diving for a distance with wings pulled in at the sides,
he suddenly turns himself round to face skywards, and using
—
the momentum of the dive still with wings closed- - shoots up a
few feet once more. On the crest of the wave he again nose-
' '

dives a step lower, and so on until just when perilously near to

dashing himself to pulp on the ground, the wings are opened out
and he alights safely on a clod or stone. The grace and ease
attending the entire performance make it delightful to watch.

Nesting Breeding : is irregular and continues more or less

throughout the year. The nest
a tiny, neatly-made saucer-
is
like depression in the ground —
or merely a hoof-print under —
shelter of a clod or small bush in open country. It is lined with
fine grasses, hair or feathers and frequently rimmed with gravel
or small stones. —
The eggs two or three are pale yellowish —
or greyish-white, blotched and speckled with brown and laven-
der. Apparently the female alone builds the nest, but the male
assists in incubation and care of the young.

158
The White-eye.
159
 76. The White-eye
Zosterops palpebrosa (Temm. & Schlegel).

Size : Smaller than the Sparrow. About that of the Red

Munia.

Field Characters : A tiny, square-tailed greenish-yellow and

bright yellow bird with a conspicuous white ring round the eyes
and slender, pointed, slightly curved bill. Sexes alike. Gregari-
ously, in gardens and wooded country.

Distribution : Practically throughout the Indian Empire

excepting actual desert. Resident but also local migrant. Seven
geographical races are recognised within our limits, on details
of size and depths of colouration.

Habits : The White-eye

inhabits well-wooded country, gardens
and groves of trees. found in humid evergreen forest.
It is also
In the non-breeding season the birds keep in flocks of 5 to 20,
but occasionally as many as a hundred may be seen together.
They are entirely arboreal and spend their time hunting for food
amongst the foliage of tall trees as well as bushes, working
with energy and method, often clinging upside down to peer
into springs and buds for lurking insects. The birds constantly
utter their feeble jingling or twittering notes as they move or
flit about. The flocks break up into pairs during the breeding
season and the male then develops a pretty little tinkling song,
rather reminiscent of the Verditer Flycatcher's. It begins almost
inaudibly, grows louder and soon fades out as it began. Their
food consists of small insects as well as fruits and berries. Nectar
of a large variety of flowers likewise forms a substantial part
of their diet, and the birds do considerable service is cross-
pollinating the species they visit.

Nesting : The principal months are between April and J uly.

The nest is of fibres, neatly bound with cobwebs
a tiny cup
—
a small facsimile of the Oriole's nest and similarly slung ham
mock-wise, in the fork of a thin twig at the extremity of an
outhanging branch. It is situated in a bush or tree normally
between 5 and 10 feet from the ground, but occasionally higher.
The eggs — 2 or 3 in number—are a beautiful unmarked pale blue
in colour, sometimes with a cap of deeper blue at the broad end.
Both sexes share in building, incubation and tending the
young. Incubation occupies 10/n days, and the young leave
the nest in a like period.

160
The Purple Sunbird.
Male
Female
 77* The Purple Sunbird
Cinnyris asiatica (Latham).
Size: Smaller than the Sparrow. About that of the White-eye.
Field Characters :In non-breeding plumage the male is like
—
the female brown to olive-brown above, pale dull yellow
—
below but with darker wings and a broad black streak running
down middle of breast. Pairs, in open lightly wooded country.
Distribution : Throughout India, Burma and Ceylon. Mostly
resident, but also local migrant. Three races are recognised on
details of size and depth of colouration, viz., the N.-\V. Indian
brevirostris,the continental and peninsular Indian-Ceylonese
asiatica,and the Assam-Burma race intermedia.
Habits: The Purple Sunbird is a common and familiar species
all over its range. It affects gardens, groves, cultivated and
scrub country as well as light deciduous forest. It is also met
with in semi-desert wastes with a scanty growth of Babul trees,
young date palms and Ak (Calotropis) bushes, but it avoids
humid evergreen jungle.
The bird goes about in pairs Hitting restlessly from (lower to
flower and often clinging to them upside down to probe with
its slender curved bill for the nectar, which forms its staple diet.
It will sometimes hover in front of a (lower like a hawk-moth,
and, poised on rapidly vibrating wings, insert its long extensile
tubular tongue to suck in the sugary (luid. A very large variety
of flowers is visited in its assiduous search for nectar, and all
sunbirds play an important role as cross-pollinating agents.
Small spiders and insects are also eaten to a lesser extent. It
utters a sharp monosyllabic ivich-wich as it flits amongst the
foliage and blossoms. Breeding males habitually perch on the
topmost branches of a tree, a telegraph wire or in some other
exposed situation and sing
' '
excitedly cheewit-cheewit-cheewit
repeated quickly from 2 to 6 times. While doing so, the bird
pivots from side to side and nervously raises and lowers his
wings.
Nesting: Nests may be found practically all the year, but the
most general breeding months are March to May. The nest is
—
typical of the sunbirds an oblong pouch of soft grasses, rubbish
and cobwebs draped with pieces of bark and woody refuse, with
a porched lateral entrance near the top. It is suspended at the
tip of a branch in a bush or small tree between 3 and 6 feet from
the ground, rarely higher. Commonly it may be in a creeper
climbing on the trellis work of inhabited bungalows. The eggs
2 or 3 —-are pale greyish- or greenish-white marked with various
shades of brown and grey. Only the female builds and incubates,
but the male assists in tending the young.
162
The Purple-rumped Sunbird.
Male
Female
163
 78. The Purple-rumped Sunbird
Cinnyris zeylonica (Linnaeus).

Size: Same as the Purple Sunbird.

Field Characters Head, upper parts and breast mostly

:

metallic green, crimson and purple. Rump metallic bluish-

purple. Lower parts yellow. Female very similar to that of
the last. Breeding and non-breeding plumages alike. Pairs,
in open lightly wooded country.
Distribution : Ceylon and peninsular India north to Bombay ;

east through the Central Provinces to Chota Nagpfir and Bengal,

rarely to Calcutta. In the Madras Presidency not recorded north
of the Godavari Valley. Resident.

Habits: Very similar to those of the Purple Sunbird except

that perhaps even commoner in gardens and about villages
it is
and human habitations in the plains. Pairs are invariably
present on the white blossoms of the Drumstick tree (Moringa
oleifera) to be found in numbers in every village in peninsular
India, the pods of which are so highly relished in curries. The
birds hop from one flower cluster to another or dart from tree
to tree, hanging upside down and clinging to the branchlets in
all manner of acrobatic positions to get at the nectar. A very
large variety of other flowers is also visited in this quest and
similarly cross-pollinated, the birds thus doing a vital service
to trees. The pernicious tree-parasite, Loranthus, which is such
a curse to mango orchards and other plantations in India, is
dependent for the fertilisation of its flowers almost exclusively
on Sunbirds and White-eyes. The birds are in unfailing attendance
on Loranthus clumps in bloom, and the economic loss suffered
by the growers on account of this parasite can largely be attri-
buted to them.
The feeble call notes of this Sunbird are not unlike those of
the Purple species, but easily distinguishable from them.
Nesting : nests may be found
The season is not well-defined and
in practically every month. In structure and situation they
do not differ from the Purple Sunbird's, and the eggs of the two
are also similar. The female alone builds, but the male accom-
panies her each time she brings material to the nest, encouraging
her from a distance by little snatches of lively song. The male
does not share in incubating either, but he helps to tend the
—
young. Incubation occupies 14 15 days and the young leave
the nest when about 15 days old.

164
TickelPs Flowerpecker.
165
 79* Tickell's Flowerpecker
Dicaeum erythrorhynchos (Latham).

Size: Smaller than the Sunbirds described.

Field Characters : A restless olive-brown bird with greyish-

—
white underparts rather like a female sunbird in general effect
— -and with short, slender, slightly curved, flesh-coloured bill.
Singly, in mango orchards, etc.

Another common species of rather similar appearance and

habits is the Thick-billed Flowerpecker (Piprisoma agile). Its
thick, bluish, horny finch-like bill is diagnostic. (Plate p. 241).

Distribution : Ceylon, Assam and all India excepting the dry

areas of the N.-W., i.e. Sind, Punjab, W. Rajputana, N.-W. F. P.
and Baluchistan. Also sparingly in Burma. The Ceylon race
ceylonensis is darker than the Indian erythrorhynchos.

Habits : This Flowerpecker inhabits orchards, groves and

light forest. Its existence and distribution is narrowly linked
with that of l.oranthus and Visctim tree-parasites, commonly
known in India as Bandha and belonging to the Mistletoe family.
Where one partner is present the other may confidently be looked
for. The bird's food consists almost exclusively of the flower-
nectar and berries of these parasites. In its efforts to reach
the Loranihus nectar it fertilises the ilowers. The ripe berries
are swallowed entire and the viscous seeds excreted soon after
on to a neighbouring branch of the host-tree, where they adhere
and sprout within a few days. Complicity in the propagation
of these harmful parasites constitutes a serious indictment
against the bird. Flowcrpeckers have regular '
beats '
or
feeding territories within which they fly about from one infested
tree to another. In flight, as well as while the bird hops restlessly
amongst the bunches of l.oranthus berries, it utters an almost
incessant sharp chick-chick-chick. This is occasionally varied
by a series of twittering notes which might be termed its song.

Nesting : The season over the greater part of its range is

from February to June. The nest is a hanging oval pouch like
the sunbird's, but somewhat smaller and much neater. It is
made of soft fibres and vegetable down, usually pinkish-brown
in colour, with the texture of felt, and not draped with rubbish.
It is suspended on a twig between 10 and 40 feet from the
ground. The eggs —
usually two are unmarked white. Both
sexes build the nest and feed the young.
766
The Indian Pitta.
167
 8o. The Indian Pitta

Pitta brachyura (Linnaeus).

Size : That of the Mynah, but with a stub tail.

Field Characters : A gaudily coloured, thrush-like bird

mostly seen singly on the ground amongst undergrowth. Sexes
alike.

Distribution : Practically all India- excepting the dry N.-W.

—
portions Assam and Ceylon. It is resident in North and
Central India, but a winter visitor to South India and Ceylon.

Habits: The Pitta is a bird of well-wooded and scrubby

country. It fond of nullahs and ravines with plenty of
is
undergrowth, deciduous as well as evergreen, and is met with
both near and away from human habitations. It is mainly
terrestrial in habits, but roosts at night in low trees. It hops
along the ground like a thrush, turning over dead leaves and
digging with its bill into the damp earth for insects and grubs
which comprise its food. The stumpy tail is constantly wagged,
slowly and deliberately, up and down. When disturbed, it
flies up into some low branch, but soon descends again to resume
its hunt. In flight, which is slow and feeble, the round white
spot near the tip of the extended wings is conspicuous. The
most common call-note is a loud, clear double whistle wheel-tew,
heard mostly in the mornings and evenings and also on cloudy
overcast days. It is uttered from the ground as well as from a
branch, at the rate of 3 or 4 in 10 seconds, and is sometimes kept
up for over 5 minutes at a stretch. The birds reply to one
another, often 3 or 4 calling from different directions simulta-
neously. Each time the bird calls it pulls itself upright and
jerks its head well back as when swallowing water.

Nesting : The season is between May and August. The nest

is a large globular structure about a foot in diameter, composed
of fine twigs, grass, roots, dry leaves, etc. with a circular entrance
hole at the side. It is placed on the ground in scrub jungle
under shelter of a bush, or up in the fork of a low tree. The
— —
eggs four to six in number are a beautiful glossy china-white,
with spots, specks and fine hair lines of dull or dark purple.

168
The Yellow-fronted Pied or Mahratta Woodpecker.
Male

169
8 1. The Yellow-fronted Pied or Mahratta
Woodpecker
Dryobates mahrattensis (Latham).

Size : About that of the Bulbul.

Field Characters : A typical woodpecker with long, stout,

pointed bill and stiff, wedge-shaped tail. Spotted black and
white plumage with brownish-yellow crown and scarlet patch
on abdomen and vent. The female lacks the scarlet in the
occipital crest. Singly or pairs, in orchards and wooded country.

Distribution : Resident practically throughout India from

—
about 2,500 feet in the Himalayas to North Ceylon plains as
well as hills at moderate elevations. Also Assam and Upper Burma.
Two races are recognised, viz., the darker South India-Ceylon
race mahrattensis, and the paler North India-Burma anrocri status.

Habits: This little woodpecker frequents open scrub country,

light deciduous forest, mango orchards and groves of trees. It
avoids heavy evergreen jungle. It is usuiilly met with in pairs
commonly in association with the mixed avian hunting parties.
The birds ily from tree-trunk to tree-trunk alighting low down
and scuttling upwards jerkily, direct or in spirals, halting at
intervals to tap on the bark or peer into crevices for lurking
insects. The tail is pressed against the stem to form a supporting
tripod. Their diet consists of ants and grubs which arc captured
by means of the long, extensile, barb-tipped tongue. The call
notes commonly uttered are a sharp click, click or click-r-r-r.
The flight is swift and undulating attained by a series of rapid
wing beats followed by short pauses.

Nesting: The season is principally from January to May.

The eggs are laid in a hole excavated by the birds in the decaying
stem or branch of a tree, at moderate heights. When in
—
a horizontal branch, the entrance hole about ij" in diameter
is situated on the underside. No lining is employed. The eggs
3 in number —are glossy white, unmarked. Both sexes share
in excavating the nest-hole, incubation and care of the young.

170
The Golden-backed Woodpecker
Female
171
 82. The Golden-backed Woodpecker
Brachypternus benghalcnsis (Linnaeus).

Size : Slightly larger than the Myna.

Field Characters : The male differs from the female
(illustrated) in having the entire crown and crest crimson. Singly
or pairs, on tree-trunks in wooded country, orchards, etc.
Distribution : Resident practically throughout the Indian
Empire excepting Burma, from the Himalayan foot hills down.
Five races are recognised on details of size and colouration.
The pale form dilutus is confined to Sind and the dry portions of
of the N.-W., the richly coloured tehminae to the heavy rainfall
area of S.-W. India. The typical race benghalensis occurs in
North and Central India and Assam puncticollis occupies
;

peninsular India (excluding the S.-W.) south of Godavari River.

Ceylon has a small pale endemic race intermedius.
Habits : The Golden-backed Woodpecker affects open scrub-
and-tree jungle and is also partial to mango topes, groves of
ancient trees and cocoanut plantations. It is not shy and freely
enters gardens and compounds in the proximity of human
habitations. The birds go about in pairs, following each othei
from tree to tree. They cling to the trunks low down and work
upwards systematically, direct or in spirals, in short jerky spurts,
tapping on the bark at intervals to dislodge insects and to discover
the hidden galleries and grubs of boring beetles. Occasionally
a bird will slide a few feet down in — reverse gear
' '
—
to
investigate some promising crevice. The dipping flight, typical
of the woodpeckers, is noisy and consists of several rapid wing
strokes followed by a pause. The call, uttered principally on
the wing but also while at rest, is a loud, harsh, chattering
'
laugh.' Black ants form a considerable proportion of its food.
They are captured on the trees, as well as on the ground. We
have observed one clinging to a half-ripe mango, digging into it
and swallowing the pulp. Occasionally it also feeds on the nectar
of Coral flowers.

Nesting: The season is between March and August, and two

successive broods are commonly raised. The eggs are laid in a
hollow in a stem or branch excavated by the birds, 8 to 30 feet
from the ground. The round entrance hole is about 3 inches
across. The shaft or tunnel ends in a widened egg chamber.
The normal clutch consists of three eggs, glossy china white,
unmarked. Both sexes share in excavating the hollow,
incubation and tending the young.

172
The Crimson-breasted Barbet or Coppersmith.

173
 83. The Crimson-breasted Barbet or
Coppersmith
Xantholoema haemacefhala (Miiller).

Size : Slightly larger and more dumpy than the House-Sparrow.

Field Characters : A heavy-billed grass-green bird with
crimson breast and forehead, and green-streaked yellowish
underparts. Short square-cut tail, distinctly triangular in
overhead flight. Sexes alike. Singly or loose parties, on Banyan
and Peepal trees in fruit.
Distribution : Resident throughout the greater part of the
Indian Empire from about 2,500 feet in the Himalayas down.
Kare in the arid portions of the N.-W., and replaced by the allied
Crimson-throated species (X. malabarica) in the humid forest
tracts of S.-W. India.
Habits : The Crimson-breasted Barbet is a common bird
throughout range. Its loud, monotonous ringing c&Wtuk
its tuk,
. . .

etc. as of a distant coppersmith hammering on his metal, every 2

seconds or so throughout the hotter parts of the day, with no
—
variation and seldom a pause are amongst the more familiar
bird voices of the countryside. It is found wherever there are
—
trees especially Banyan, Peepal and the various other J-'ici —
be it in outlying forest or in the heart of a noisy city. When
calling the head is bobbed from side to side producing a curious
ventriloquistic effect. This, combined with the assimilative
colouration of the bird, makes it difficult to locate amongst the
foliage. The Coppersmith is entirely arboreal and never descends
to the ground. Its food consists almost exclusively of fruits and
berries of which I-'icus figs form an overwhelming proportion. The
birds collect in large numbers to feed on trees laden with these
figs, in company with mynas, bulbuls, green pigeons and a host
of other frugivorous species. It occasionally captures moths
and winged termites, launching ungainly and ludicrous aerial
sallies from a branch in their pursuit.
Nesting The season ranges between January and June and
:

sometimes two broods are reared in. succession. The eggs are
laid in hollows 6 to 8 inches deep excavated by the birds in
branches or decaying poles and tree stumps, at moderate heights.
The tunnels are lengthened anil used year after year and may in
time become several feet deep. Softwood trees such as Coral and
Drumstick are commonly selected. As in woodpeckers, the
— —
entrance hole about 2 inches in diameter is placed on the
underside when a horizontal branch is used. The eggs -usually
three— are glossless white, unmarked. Both sexes share in
excavating the nest tunnel, incubation and feeding the young.

174
The Common Hawk-Cuckoo or Brain-fever Bird

»75
 84. The Common Hawk-Cuckoo or
Brain-fever Bird
Hierococcyx varius (Vahl).

Size : About that of the Pigeon. Slenderer and with longer

tail.
Field Characters : Above ashy-grey, below whitish cross-
barred with brown. Broadly barred tail. General colouration
flight and movements very like the Shikra's. Sexes alike.
Singly, in wooded country.
Distribution Ceylon and India north to the Outer Himalayan
:

foothills and including Eastern Bengal and Western Assam.

Resident, but also partly local migrant.
Habits : The Hawk-Cuckoo inhabits scrub jungle and deciduous
forest. It is also partial to gardens, groves of trees, mango topes
and the like, in the neighbourhood of cultivation and human
habitations. It is mostly silent during the winter months, but
with the approach of the hot weather its all-too-familiar calls are
agr.in on the air.' As the season advances the bird becomes
'

aggravatingly obstreperous. The loud screaming call has been

aptly rendered as Brain-fever.'
'
In Hindustani it is rendered
as '
Pee-kahdn ? (Where is my love?), and in Mahratti as
'

•
Paos-dla (Rain's coming!). This is repeated with mono-
'

tonous persistency 5 or (> times in succession, rising in crescendo

to feverish pitch and breaking off abruptly. The bird soon
commences it all over again. These vocal exhilarations are kept
up throughout the day and far into the night usually all through
under a bright moon.
—
The flight of this cuckoo fairly close to the ground, rapid
—
wing-strokes followed by a little sailing and its habit of shooting
up into the branches of a tree before alighting, are sufficiently
like the Shikra's to cause a flutter amongst small birds each time
it is on the move. Its food consists mainly of hairy caterpillars
and soft-bodied insects, but berries and wild figs are also eaten on
occasion.
Nesting : The season ranges between March and June. The
Brain-fever Bird belongs to the group of arboreal parasitic
cuckoos which foist their eggs and family cares upon other birds.
It is habitually parasitic on babblers, noteably of the genera
Turdoides and Argya. Its eggs are blue and closely resemble
those of the dupes' in colour, shape and size. The young cuckoo
usually manages to eject his rightful nest-fellows soon after
hatching. It thus monopolises the attention of its foster-parents
and grows apace.
176
The Pied Crested Cuckoo.

177
 85. The Pied Crested Cuckoo
Clamator jacobinus (Boddaert).

Size : About that of the Myna, but with a much longer tail.

field Characters : Black above including prominent crest

— white below. A white roundish patch on wings, and white
tips of tail feathers conspicuous in flight. Sexes alike. Singly
or pairs, in wooded country.

Distribution I'ractically the whole of the Indian Empire up

:

to about 8,000 feet in the Himalayas. Two races are recognised

entirely on differences of size. The smaller jacobinus is resident
in Ceylon and South India, the larger pica being a rains (breeding)
visitor to the rest of our area, presumably from Africa.

Habits : The Pied Crested Cuckoo frequents open, well-wooded

country in the neighbourhood of cultivation. It is commonly met
with in gardens, compounds or groves of trees within the limits
of towns and villages, and occasionally even in evergreen forest.
The arrival in our midst of the larger migrant race coincides with
the onset of the S.-W. Monsoon. The birds proclaim their
presence by chasing one another about, flying from tree to tree
—
and calling noisily a rather plaintive, metallic /><«. .pin. .pee-pee-
piu .pee-pec-phi, etc. Often only the tinkling monosyllabic pin
. .

is heard. The call is uttered on the wing or from an exposed

perch near the top of a tree or bush. It may also be heard during
moonlit nights. In courtship flight the tail is partly spread, the
wing-strokes are slow and deliberate (' delayed action ') as in a
pigeon clapping,' and the bird calls the while.
'
This is an
entirely arboreal species and though normally descending into
low bushes in search of food, it never actually sets foot on ground.
Its diet consists of grasshoppers and hairy caterpillars to which
berries are sometimes added.

Nesting : The principal laying months are during the S.-W.

Monsoon, from June to August, and coincide locally with the
breeding season of its accustomed fosterers. It is parasitic
mainly on babblers of the genera Turdoides and Argya. Its blue
eggs approximate closely to those of the babblers, and at the
same time they are indistinguishable from the eggs of the Brain-
fever Bird. Often more than one cuckoo egg are found in a
babbler's nest, but whether this is the product of the same or
different females is uncertain. As in other cuckoos of this group,
the young interloper disposes of its rightful nest-fellows soon
after hatching.

178
The Koel
Female
Male
 86. The Koel
Eiuiynainis scolopacciis (Linnaeus).
Size :About that of the 1 louse-Crow, but of slenderer build and
with a longer tail.
Field Characters Male glistening black with yellowish-green
:

bill; female brown, spotted and barred with white. Singly or

pairs, in groves of trees, etc.

Distribution : Throughout the Indian Kmpire except the

N-\Y. V. Province. Two
Taces are recognised, viz., the smaller
scolofxiccits occupying India and Ceylon, the larger muhivami
in which the female is more rufescent Assam and Burma.
Resident, but also local migrant.
Habits :The Koel is one of our most familiar birds, its call
being perhaps even better known than its appearance. It
frequents gardens, groves and open country abounding in large
leafy trees. It is entirely arboreal and never descends to t lie
ground. During winter the bird is silent, but with the approach
of the hot weather and its coincident breeding season, it waxes
extremely vociferous. All through that season its loud, shrill,
shrieking notes resound on the countryside throughout the day

and often far into the night. The call begins with a low kil-oa,

but rises in scale with each successive kit-Tut until at the seventh or
eighth it reaches feverish pitch and breaks oil abruptly. The
bird soon commences it all Another common note
over again.
is a sharp quick-repeated kik-kik-kik uttered by the female as
she dashes from tree to tree or hops amongst the branches. Its
food consists chielly of Banyan and l'eepal figs and berries of
various kinds, but insects and caterpillars are also eaten. Its
Might is swift and straight, and a Koel fleeing before the vindictive
onslaught of a pair of irate crows is a common sight.
Nesting The laying season is mainly from April to August
:

and corresponds with that of its most usual host, the House-
Crow. Occasionally the Jungle-Crow, which nests somewhat
earlier, is victimised. Its eggs are rather smaller, but very like
the crow's in appearance, pale greyish-green or stone colour
speckled and blotched with reddish-brown. As many as u have
been found in a single crow's nest. It appears that the female
Koel seizes the opportunity to deposit her egg in a crow's nest
while the male deliberately draws the owners away by leading
them a chase. It is also evident that the young Koel usually
succeeds in disposing of his rightful foster-brothers at an early
age.
The Crow-Pheasant or Coucal.

181
 87. The Crow-Pheasant or Coucal
Centropus sinensis (Stephens).

Size :That of the Jungle-Crow.

Field Characters : A clumsy, glossy black bird with cons-
picuous chestnut wings and long, broad black tail. Sexes alike.
Singly or pairs, stalking along the ground in undergrowth.
Distribution Kesident throughout the Indian Umpire from
:

about. 6,000 feet in the Himalayas. Three races are recognised

on si/e and details of colouration, viz., the X. India-N. Assam
race sinensis, the peninsular India and Ceylon purroti, and the S.
Assam-Murma intermedins.
Habits The Crow-Pheasant
: is a dweller of open country,

both hill and plain, which abounds in bushes and small tree
growth, preferably interspersed with patches of tall grassland.
It is commonlv found about cultivation .and human habitations.
It is met with singly or in pairs skulking its way through under-
growth in search of food, head lowered and tail almost trailing
the ground, frequently opened and shut. The wings are short and
rounded and its llight weak and laboured inconsequence. In trees
it hops from branch to branch witli agility, but it is essentially

a ground loving species. The call is a, deep, resonant onk repeated

at slow bid regular intervals, especially during the hot weather,
and can be heard a long way off. Mesides this, it has a variety
of harsh croaks and gurgling chuckles some distinctly weird
uttered chiefly in the breeding season or when the bird is annoyed.
When calling, the tail is partially raised and jerked from side
to side the head is lowered, the throat putted out and the
;

whole body quivers with each successive ooh. In the breeding

season the cock goes through a fantastic display before his mate,
'
fanning and cocking his tail over the back and strutting
'

in front of her with drooping wings. Its food consists of grass-

hoppers, beetles, caterpillars, field mice, lizards and snakes.
It is highly destructive to the eggs and young of other birds.
Its tlesh ismuch esteemed by quacks as a cure for bronchial
ailments.
Nesting : The season ranges between February and September,
varying with local conditions. The Crow-Pheasant belongs
to the group of terrestrial 11011 -parasitic, cuckoos which shoulder
their own domestic responsibility. The nest is a large untidy
globular mass of leaves and twigs, with a lateral entrance hole,
placed in the centre of a bush, or in the branch of a tree fairly
low down. The eggs- three or four are white, chalky, glossless
-

and unmarked. Moth sexes share; in building the nest, incubation

and care of the young.
 88. The Alexandrine or Large Indian
Parakeet
Psittacula eupatria Linnaeus.

Size : About that of the Pigeon, but slenderer and with a long pointed
tail.

Field Characters : A large grass-green parakeet with the typical

short, massive, deeply hooked red bill, and a conspicuous maroon
patch on each shoulder. The rose-pink and black collar of the male
(illustrated) is absent in the female. Noisy parties, in cultivation and
wooded country.

Distribution : Practically throughout the Indian lunpire. l-'our

races are recognised on minor differences of size and details of coloura-
tion, viz., the N. India-Assam race nipalensis, the peninsular India-
Ceylon eupatria, the Burmese avensis, and the Andamans magniroslris.
Mainly resident, but some seasonal local movement is also perceptible.

Habits The Large Parakeet ailects wooded country, orchards and

:

cultivation. It is usually met with in parties of 3 or 4 birds, but

where food is plentiful many such parties coalesce. The birds have
communal roosts amongst groves of trees and cocoanut palms where
enormous numbers collect every evening, party after party arriving
from long distances and all quarters, and settling in for the night to
the accompaniment of a great deal of noise and chatter. The flight
is graceful and swift inspite of the apparently leisurely wing beats.
The voice is deeper and more powerful than that of the commoner
Kosc-ringed Parakeet. Its food consists of fruits, berries and grain.
Along with its relatives, the other parakeets, it causes considerable
damage to orchard fruit and ripening crops. It also feeds regularly
on the nectar of such flowers as Hrythrina, liombax and liutea, but
owing to its clumsy and destructive methods its visits are of no
consequence in cross -fertilisation. Thus, from the economic point of
view, the parakeets appear to be wholly harmful to Man's interests.
This, and the 2 species that follow, are favourite pots in India and as
such must be familiar to every townsman from behind the uninspiring
bars of the diminutive hoop iron cage so commonly seen in bazaars.
They learn to repeat a few words rather indistinctly.

Nesting : The season over the greater part of its range is between
December and April. The nest is an unlined hollow in a tree-trunk
excavated by the birds, at moderate heights and up to about 100 feet.
Occasionally natural hollows are used, and even holes in walls of
— —
buildings. The eggs two to four in number are white, unmarked.
They arc rather oval in shape, blunt at both ends. Hoth sexes share
in excavating the nest-hole, incubation and tending the young.
Incubation is said to occupy about 21 days.

184
Photo E. H. N. Lowther.

Large Parakeet at Nest-hole.

Parakeets usually cut the holes themselves.

185
 89. The Rose-ringed Parakeet
Psittacula krameri Scopoli.

Size : Slightly larger than the Myna, and with a long pointed
tail.
Field Characters : A smaller replica of the Alexandrine
Parakeet, but lacking the maroon shoulder patches. In the
female the black and rose-pink collar of the male (illustrated)
is absent. Noisy Hocks, in cultivated and lightly wooded country.
Distribution : Resident practically throughout the Indian
Empire from the Himalayan foothills south. Plains, and
sparingly up to about 5,000 feet in the hills. Two races are
recognised on size, and colour of lower mandible, viz., the larger
N. India- Assam-Burma race borealis and the smaller S. India-
Ceylon manillensis which occurs roughly south of hit. 20" N.
Habits : The Rose-ringed Parakeet ranks with the Crow,
Sparrow and Myna amongst our commonest and most familiar
birds. It is as much at home on the countryside as within the
precints of a bustling city. It goes about in small parties which
band themselves into huge noisy Hocks where food is plentiful,
and do considerable damage to ripening grain crops and orchard
fruit. The birds clamber about the twigs and gnaw at the
ripe and semi-ripe fruit, destroying much more than they eat.
It is a common sight at wayside railway stations to see numbers
of Rose-ringed Parakeets clinging to the sacks of grain awaiting
entrainment, biting into them and helping themselves to the
contents. Their well-known loud, sharp, screaming calls kee-ak.
kee-ak .kee-ak, etc., are uttered both whileat rest and on the wing.
.

They have common roosts in groves of trees and cocoanut palms

where large numbers assemble every evening from over wide
stretches of the surrounding country. These parakeets are
commonly caged and taught to repeat a few words and to perforin
tricks such as firing off a toy cannon.
Nesting The season over the greater part of its range is
:

between February and April. The eggs are laid in a hollow

in a tree-trunk, usually but not always, excavated by the birds
themselves. It also nests freely in holes in rock scarps and
walls of buildings, both in ruins and occupied, frequently in
the midst of the noisiest and most congested parts of a town.
—
The eggs four to six —
are pure white and the usual roundish
ovals. Both sexes share in excavating the hole, incubation
and care of the young. When the nest is threatened, the owners
summon assistance and the neighbourhood is soon seething
with a noisy rabble of parakeets intent on shouting aggression
down if nothing else.
1 80
?i&Jr»~^ *£?**<

The Blossom-headed Parakeet. Male

187
 90. The Blossom-headed Parakeet
Psittacula cyanocephala Linnaeus.

Size : About that of the Myna ; slenderer and with a long,

pointed tail.

Field Characters : Distinguishable from the Rose-ringed

species by its smaller size, bluish-red head and maroon shoulder-
patches. In the female the head is bluish-grey and the maroon
shoulder-patches are absent or obsolete. Flocks, in wooded
country and about forest cultivation.

Distribution : Practically throughout the Indian Kmpire —

excluding the dry areas of the N.-W.- -from about 6,000 feet
in the Himalayas. Three races are recognised on details of
colouration, viz., the S. India-Ceylon cyauoce phalli s, the N.
India-Assam bengalensis, and the Burma rosea. Resident,
but also seasonal local migrant.

Habits: On the whole, the Blossom-headed Parakeet prefers

better wooded country than its Rose-ringed cousin. It is usually
seen in small parties, but the birds will sometimes collect in
immense flocks and commit serious depredations on ripening
crops, especially in cultivation in clearings about outlying forest
villages. Their ilight is very swift and Hocks on the wing turn
and twist their way through the stems of forest trees with
astonishing agility and orderliness, uttering a shrill, interrogative
tooi or tooi-looi ? as they dash along. This distinctive call,
coupled with the yellow tail-tip which is conspicuous in flight,
makes their identity unmistakable. Besides grain and fruit,
they eat a large quantity of flower nectar whenever available,
but are destructive in their methods of obtaining it and conse-
quently of no service in cross-fertilisation.

Nesting The season ranges between January and May.

:

The nest-hole is generally excavated by the birds themselves

in a rotten tree-stem or branch at moderate heights from the
ground. Several pairs often nest together in the same or ad-
joining trees in a loose colony. As with the other parakeets,
there is no lining to the nest, the eggs being laid on the bare wood
or on the chips and debris that have tumbled in during excava-
tion.
roundish-ovals.
—
A normal clutch is of four to six eggs pure white, smooth
Both sexes share in excavating the nest-hole,
incubation and care of the young.

188
 s
8

189
 BIRD MIGRATION
No
resident in India who is even moderately observant can
fail to notice the great influx of birds that takes place into this
country annually between September and November, or to remark
upon their abundance during winter in places where none were
to be seen a couple of months before. The species eagerly
sought after by the man with the gun the snipe, duck, geese,—
—
cranes and others together with the hosts of smaller fry that
interest him less or not at all- -the sandpipers, tree-warblers,
larks, wagtails and pipits- all seem suddenly to pop up from
nowhere. While this transformation is magical enough to
obtrude itself on the least observant, it is doubtful if five persons
in a hundred ever stop to ask themselves what brings it about
and how. To the man in the street the birds come at this season
simply because it is in the nature of things that they should.
Whence they come is not his concern, while why or how they do
it clearly the birds' own affair
is !

Vet, the subject of Migration is one of the most enthralling

branches of the study of bird-life. The magnitude of the move-
ments and the regularity and orderliness of their occurrence are
no whit less than the cycle of the seasons they have aroused the;

wonderment of Man through the ages. The Ned Indians of the

Pur Countries actually named their calendar months after the
arrival of migrant birds. A hard-headed scientific outlook
is nowhelping to dispel some of the fanciful notions entertained
by our forebears, but it must be admitted that many of the
phenomena involved continue to remain a mystery and can
never emerge from the realm of speculation.
Until not so long ago there was a widely prevalent belief
that small birds such as the swallow, nightingale and cuckoo
hibernated like mammals and reptiles to get over unfavourable
weather conditions. This notion had held ground since the days
of Aristotle and even that excellent naturalist C.ilbert White of
Selbonrne was not immune from the belief that swallows passed
the winter buried in mud at the bottom of ponds, in a torpid
condition whence they emerged with the first signs of favourable
weather in the spring.
What is bird migration ?

Landsborough Thomson, an eminent authority, describes

Bird Migration as Changes of habitat periodically recurring
'

and alternating in direction, which tend to secure optimum

environmental conditions at all times.' The italics are im-
portant since it is just this back anil forth movement that is the
crucial feature of the migration of birds. The periodic move-
ments of locust swarms for example, loosely referred to as
190
Photo E. H. N. Lowlktr

The Hammock Nest of the Black-headed Oriole

migrations arc really overflow movements anil do not entail
a return to the starting point. Thus thev differ markedly from '

the seasonal return trallic of birds. The pendulum-swing

'

movement is noticeable in some other groups of animals as well,

but it has reached its rhythmical climax among birds.
Its extent and advantages
On account of their special attributes —warm-bloodedness,
feather covering and unparalleled powers of flight- the pheno-
menon of migration finds its highest development in birds.
Although directly they are the least a fleeted of all animals
bv extremes of heat and cold, it is the difficulties connected
with food-getting under adverse winter conditions that compel
them to change their quarters or perish. Migration enables
birds to inhabit two different areas at the respective seasons most
favourable in each. It involves a swing from a breeding or
—
nesting place the bird's home- -to a feeding or resting place-
its winter quarters. It is an axiom of nature that birds always
nest in the colder portion of their migratory range. Thus, in
the Northern Hemisphere their breeding grounds lie nearer the
Arctic or Temperate Zone and their winter quarters nearer the
Kquator. In the Southern Hemisphere the case is reversed.
Although some migration takes place from east to west, its general
direction as a whole may be considered as North to South. The
movement may vary from no more than a few miles such as
from the North Indian plains to a couple of thousand feet up
in the Himalayan foothills- to several thousand miles either
way as is the case with many of our wintering wildfowl. The
longest known migratory journey is performed bi-annually by
the Arctic Tern (Sterna nnicritrn) which from the Arctic winter
travels south, right across the world to the Antarctic summer
and back again- a distance of over 11.000 miles each way !

A
consideration of the various theories to explain the origin
of this Racial Custom
'
of migration among birds would here
'

be out of place. \Vc shall proceed at once to take stock of some

of the more obvious as well as the more bewildering facts con-
cerning it. The resultant advantages of migration to birds is
self-evident. Absence from high latitudes during the winter
enables (a) Avoidance of cold and stormy weather, (b) Avoid-
:

ance of short daylight hours available for search of food, and

(c) Avoidance of those conditions that bring about a scarcity
of food supply, such as freezing of water and snow enshrouding
the ground.
The advantages of a return to high latitudes in summer are:
(a) Availability of suitable and uncongested nesting territories,
(fc) Existence of long hours of daylight for search of food when
 99
U
3
OS
a,

o
04

2?

193
food is most required for the young, and (< The presence of an
|

abundant food supply following on the luxuriant growth of spring

vegetation.

What stimulates a bird to migrate ?

The urge to migrate at the appropriate seasons is evoked by

both external and internal stimuli. Experiments point to the
assumption that the primary external stimulus is the variations
in day length. The internal stimulus seems to In- provided by
the state of the reproductive organs which, in the laboratory,
can be brought to known stages of maturity by manipulating
the duration of day length. The non-existence of the migratory
instinct in sterile birds is consistent with this view. Headers
interested in the details of Prof. \V. Rowan's original and ingenious
experiments on the causative aspects of bird migration should
read his remarkable book The liiil<llc of M ignition |i«i.(i)-

What determines the goal of a migratory journey ?

How do birds find the way to this goal ?

These are two of the many problems to which satisfactory

answers are difficult to find. The great mass of experimental
and observational data that has accumulated within recent
years does not advance our knowledge much beyond the stage
of conjecture.

In the spring the adult males are the first to arrive on

their breeding grounds. They are followed by the adult females
while immature birds that will not breed till the following year
bring up the rear. In autumn the order of precedence is reversed;
the southward journey is performed more leisurely with many
slop-overs on the way. The young birds, in many cases not
more than a couple of months old lead the vanguard, the adults
following later. Xow conies the mystery. The young birds
have had no previous experience either of the route or the
destination, often thousands of miles away, yet they accomplish
the journey without undue mortality through accidents and
.

misadventure and with amazing accuracy. Of the various

explanations suggested the most acceptable seems to be that this
prescience of the goal and route is the expression of an inborn
racial custom inherited through countless generations of migrants
journeying bi-annually year after year, between their breeding
grounds and their winter quarters. It is on a par with other
vital urges such as building at the appointed season, without
previous experience or training, of nests in accordance with the
constant pattern of the species, howsoever complicated their
architecture.

'91
 Manyspeculations are also offered for how birds find their
way- to terrestrial magnetism, visual recognition
sensitivity
of landmarks and so on but the mystery of the initial determi-
nation by a young and inexperienced bird of the goal and route
of its long migratory journey remains.

Accuracy and regularity of returns

Birds not only return to the same general locality for breeding
year after year, but often also to the identical nesting site.
Once the goal is roughly reached there seems every likelihood
that landmarks, unregistered on the senses in some way as the
result of previous experience and association may play their
part in guiding old birds to their former haunts with the precision
that is well known. The ringing or banding method has now
established the fact that swallows in Kurope often return not
only to the same locality but also to the same building for nesting
purposes year after year, covering distances of 6,000 miles or
more each way (luring the interval. This is the case with many
other true migrants as well.
The great regularity and punctuality almost to the day,
with which migrant birds arrive in a given locality is seen even
from the few published records kept over several years by obser-
vers residing in different parts of this country. This is all the
more amazing, when the enormous distances many of the species
have to travel arc taken into account.
Varying status of winter visitors
The status of every winter visitor to India varies in the
different portions of its winter habitat. Take any locality
say Bhopal in Central India. A large number of species coming
in from across our Northern and N\-\Y. frontiers in autumn touch
Bhopal on the southbound journey to their winter quarters in
peninsular India and Ceylon. Some of these stay behind and
may be seen in Bhopal throughout the cold weather. These will
be classed here as true winter visitors. Other species make their
appearance for a few days at the commencement of the season
and then perhaps are not seen again till they return northwards
at the beginning of the hot weather. These are the autumn
and spring passage migrants respectively. Others again may
be seen on their southward journey in autumn but not on the
return, since some species habitually travel to and from their
winter quarters by different routes. Thus, while these are
autumn passage migrants in Bhopal, they are spring passage
migrants in another part of the country. Similarly some species
may pass over Bhopal only on their northward journey, in
spring and have the status of autumn passage migrants elsewhere.
Again there are species who though true winter visitors may
i«5
yet have their numbers vastly augmented by waves of passage
"migrants from the north or south at the appropriate seasons.
The status of these species will be a combination of winter visitor
and passage migrant.
Local migration
In addition to these very extensive movements of immigrant
birds from beyond our frontiers, there are movements of a
similar but perhaps less spectacular kind ceaselessly going on
amongst our resident bird population. The periodical appear-
ances and disappearances of the Paradise Flycatcher, Golden
Oriole, and Pitta must be obvious to any one with an eye
for birds. In Northern India and along the base of the
Himalayan foothills where the changes of the seasons are
more pronounced than nearer the Equator, these local migratory
movements are especially prominent. The seasonal arrivals
and departures of these local migrants are no less regular in their
cycle than of the true migrants. In some portions of the country
one species may be a summer visitor, in another a rains visitor
while it may be found in a third locality only during the winter
months. Apart from these regular seasonal shillings, other
movements of an even more parochial character are constantly
taking place. They are governed by local conditions of heat,
drought, or Hoods and by their resultant effect upon the available
food supply : the flowering season of certain plants and the
ripening of certain fruits.
Abnormal local migration
Under stressof abnormal natural conditions birds are
frequently driven out of their accustomed habitats in search
of a living and are then met with as stragglers far out of their
normal range.
Thus, practically no square mile of the Indian continent
is static for any length of time as regards its bird population,
and there is an unending chain of comings and goings of species
and individuals.
Altitudinal migration
Lastly, mention must be made of altitudinal migration
which is particularly marked among species living in the
Himalayas. In winter, high elevation birds are forced to descend
to lower levels by exigencies of the weather and the descending
snow-line. With the return of spring, when the snow-line
recedes upwards they re-ascend to breed in the higher hills.
These altitudinal movements are not confined to high-elevation
birds, but are indulged in also by species resident at lower
altitudes.

196
A. ringed Sparrow-Hawk ready to be released

197
Bird ringing
Apart from the purely observational method of bird mi-
gration study, which to be of real scientific value entails an
unbroken continuity of careful records over prolonged periods,
the method of ringing birds has in recent years been very
' '

extensively and profitably employed in Knrope and America

for collecting factual data. —
Bird-ringing or '
banding '
as
it is called in America —consists of fastening a light aluminium
ring of appropriate size, stamped with a number and address,
to the instep region or tarsus of a trapped or netted bird, or of a
young bird before it leaves the nest. A detailed record is kept
in a special register, and the bird is then released. A small
percentage of these ringed birds are subsequently shot or recap-
tured in distant lands, and the rings returned or their inscription
communicated to the marking station with data as to the exact
locality where recovered, date and other particulars. When a
large number of such recovery records have been obtained,
it is possible gradually to build up positive knowledge of the
routes followed on migration by different species, and a number
of other important facts impossible to ascertain in any other way.
Thus, the ringing of White Storks in Western (icrmaiiy
and East l'russia ha.s established beyond a possibility of doubt
that the East l'russian birds migrate to Africa by a south-eastern
route through the Balkans, while the West German storks travel
by a south-western route through Spain. It was by means of
a German-ringed stork recovered in Biknner that we are now
able to state definitely that some at least of the White Storks
that visit us in winter originate from Germany. Very little
ringing work has so far been done in India, but the results such
as they are, of great value and interest. The map at page nj5
shows some of the most important recoveries of ringed birds
so far obtained. They furnish the only positive confirmation
of the hitherto conjectured origin of some of our winter visitors.

Velocity and altitude of migratory flight

Modern devices such as the aeroplane, speed indicators,
altimeters and other instruments used in aviation and anti-
aircraft gunnery have made it possible to discard the almost
fabulous notions formerly held and to arrive at fairly accurate
estimates of the speed and height at which migrating birds fly.
Velocities naturally vary with species of bird and prevailing
meteorological conditions. The average cruising speed of ducks
and geese, for instance, has been found to be between 40 and 50
miles per hour. Under favourable weather conditions it may
reach 55-60 in.p.h. or slightly more. A bird's (lying day (or night)
ranges from 6 to n
hours, and the following figures are of interest

198
as showing the average mileage known to be covered in a hop ' '

Coot 160 miles; Stork 125 miles (6 hrs.) Woodcock 250-300;

;

Plover 550 (11 hrs.).

Non-stop flights of at least 2,000 miles across open sea are
undertaken by the Eastern Golden Plover (Characirius dominions
fulvus) —
which is also a winter visitor to India. This bird breeds
in Western Alaska and N.-E. Siberia and is a regular visitor on the
Hawaiian Islands. Also the Snipe Capella hardtvickii, which
breeds only in Japan and spends the winter in E. Australia and
Tasmania, must habitually fly 3,000 miles non-stop over the sea
since it has never been met anywhere in between. There are
others, especially among the shore birds or waders, that cover
enormous stretches without halting for rest or food. A
probable
example of such a long-distance flyer in India is the Woodcock
(Scolopax ruslicola) whose nearest breeding place is in the
Himalayas. It winters in some numbers in the Nilgiri and other
hills of S. India, but is found nowhere in between. The least
distance it must cover in one hop, therefore, is about 1,500
miles. The Pied Ground Thrush (Geokichla wardii) travelling
by the Eastern Ghats route from the Himalayas to the Nilgiris
and on to Ceylon, probably covers equally long distances non-
stop.
It has been believed in the past that migrating birds Hew
at stupendous heights and that in fact it was of some particular
advantage for —
them to do so for locating landmarks, minimising
air resistance and in other ways. In actual practice, however,
it is now found that except where lofty mountain barriers have
to be crossed, migrating birds chiefly fly under 1,300 feet and
only very rarely over 3,000 feet above the ground. Some species
indeed habitually fly much lower, especially over the surface
of the sea where they have no trees and similar obstacles to
avoid.
On
their bi-annual journeys to and from the plains of India
birds do not appear,ordinarily, to use the valleys of the larger
rivers as highways, as has often been suggested and long believed.
There is ample evidence to show that they fly directly across
the Himalayan ranges thereby shortening their journeys very
considerably. Sven Hedin observed large numbers of mig-
rating ducks at great heights in Tibet at the source of the Indus
in autumn. One of the Everest Expeditions met several immig-
rating birds in September at 17,000 ft. among them being
Temminck's Stint, Painted Snipe (?), Pintail Snipe, House
' '

Martin and several Pipits. More than once migrating waders

were heard at this altitude passing overhead, Curlew being
unmistakable. Meinertzhagen came across various species
of duck in Ladakh on passage to India over the highest parts

199
of the Himalayas. More recently (1937) Shipton in his expedi-
tion to the Karakorams found large numbers of dead frozen
ducks and a big bird with legs longer than my arm (Crane ?)
' '

at 15-16,000 ft. strewn over the face of the Crevasse Glacier

and in the upper basins of most of the big glaciers he visited.
These high glaciers, therefore, must lie on the line of flight between
their breeding grounds in C. Asia and their winter habitat in
India. There are many lower passes over which the birds
could fly across the main range, but they do not appear to use
them.
Donald has observed large numbers of migrating geese
crossing the Himalayas at between 10 and 16,000 ft. elevation,
and cranes (or storks ?) flying at about 20,000 ft. over the range.
That birds can fly at immense heights if necessary with little
inconvenience from the rarified air is evident from the fact that
one of the Everest Expeditions met Crows and Mountain l<'inches
about their camp at 23,000 ft. and Griffon Vultures and
Lammergeier between 20 and 23 thousand, while Choughs
followed the climbers, quite effortlessly and with capacity for
flight undiminished, even up to 27,000 ft., an altitude at which
the atmosphere is reduced to only one-third its supporting power
Considering the immense scale on which bird migration takes
place in India the meagreness of our knowledge in every branch
of it is deplorable. A co-ordinated effort by observers and
students resident in the different parts of the country and large-
scale ringing are the only ways in which the problem can be
satisfactorily tackled.
Those who would like to pursue the study of bird migration
literature further, will find the following books in English useful
and interesting :

1. The Migrations of Birds, By Alexander Wetmore

(Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A.
1927 $ 2.50).
2. Bird Migration. By A. Landsborough Thomson (H. !•".
& G. Witherby, London, 1936. 5/-).
3. Problems of Bird Migration. By A. Landsborough
Thomson (H. F. & G. Witherby, 1-ondon, 1926, 18/-)
which has been brought up to date by the author
in a paper published in the IBIS for July 1936 (pp.
472-530) entitled Recent Progress in the Study of
'

Bird Migration A Review of the Literature 1926-

;

1936.'
There is a good deal of excellent literature in German,
including the quarterly magazine Der Vogelzug started in 1930,
—
which is or was, since it is beyond the pale for the time being
solely devoted to the subject.
 <^.c/ ... . ..- '"'*;

The Loriquet
20I
 91. The Loriquet
Coryllis vernalis (Sparnnan).
Size : About that of the House-Sparrow.

Field Characters : A bright grass-green dainty little i>arrot,

with short square tail and rich crimson-red rump. A small
blue throat-patch in the male, absent in the female. Singly
or small parties, in orchards and wooded country.
An allied species C. beryllinus, with red crown, is confined
to Ceylon.
Distribution : Himalayas from Sikkim eastwards, Assam,
Burma, Andamans. S.-W. India from Cape Comorin to Bombav,
including Nilgiri and adjoining hills. Recently discovered in
the Eastern Ghats near Vizagapatam. Two races are recognised
on depth of colouration, viz., the brighter N. India- Assam-Burma
race vernalis, and the darker Malabar rubropygius. Resident,
but also marked seasonal local migrant.
Habits : The Loriquet inhabits well-wooded country both hill
and and is fond of orchards and plantations, such as those
plain,
of rubber and coffee. It is a marked seasonal migrant, its local
movements depending essentially upon the availability of a
food supply, that is, on the flowering of certain trees and the
ripening of the fruit of others. Its diet consists mainly of fruits
and berries, but at certain times of the year the birds subsist
almost exclusively on flower nectar, that of various species of
the Coral tree (Erythrina) being especially favoured. On account
of their small size and the wonderfully obliterative effect of
their colouration when clambering about amongst the foliage
of tall trees, the birds are seldom seen except when flying
across from one tree to another. The (light is swift, consisting
of several rapid wing-strokes followed by a short pause and a
consequent slight dip. It is invariably accompanied by a
pleasant, sharp trisyllabic chee-chee-chee, repeated every couple
of seconds or so. This note is also uttered whilst the bird climbs
about the twigs. They roost at night hanging head downwards
from their perch in the manner of bats, l^oriquets make engaging
pets and thrive in captivity on a diet of boiled rice and soft
pulpy fruits.

Nesting The season ranges between January and April.

:

The nest-hole is excavated by the birds in some rotten branch

or tree stump, fairly low down as a rule. Sometimes a natural
—
hollow is utilised. The eggs usually three — are small white
roundish-ovals. The female is a close sitter and will often allow
herself to be taken rather than forsake her eggs.
The Roller or Blue Jay

203
 92. The Roller or Blue Jay
Coracias bcng/ialensis (Linnaeus).

Size : About that of the Pigeon.

Field Characters : A striking Oxford-and-Cambridgo-blue

bird with biggish head, heavy bill, rufous-brown breast and blue
abdomen and undertail. The dark and pale blue portions of
the wings show up as brilliant bands in llight. Sexes alike.
Singly, perched on telegraph wires, Ac, in open country.

Distribution Practically throughout the Indian Empire

:

from the Himalayan foothills south. Three races are recognised

on size and details of colouration, viz., the N. Indian bcnghalensis,
the South Indian-Ceylonese indicus, and the Assam- Burma race
affinis. The boundary between I and 2 has been arbitrarily
fixed as the 20th N. lat. Resident, but to some extent also local
migrant.

Habits : The Roller is essentially a bird of open cultivated

country and light deciduous forest. It avoids heavy jungle.
It is tame and fearless disposition and affects the outskirts
of a
of towns and villages,' also freely entering gardens and compounds.
The birds arc met with singly or in pairs perched on tree-stumps,
stakes, hedges or telegraph wires near cultivated fields, whence
the surrounding country can be surveyed to best advantage.
From here they swoop down to the ground now and again to
pick up an insect, returning with the morsel to the same perch
or flying leisurely across to another nearby where the victim is
battered and swallowed. Their food consists of crickets, grass-
hoppers, beetles and other injurious insects, by the destruction
of which the birds do great service to agriculture. They also
eat mice, lizards and frogs. They have a variety of loud, raucous
calls and are particularly noisy and demonstrative during their
courtship displays. In the course of this the male indulges in
a series of fantastic aerobatics, rocketing into the air, somer-
saulting and nose-diving to the accompaniment of harsh grating
screams and with his brilliant plumage flashing in the sun.

Nesting The season over the greater part of its range is

:

between March and July. The nest is an untidy collection of

grass, straw, rags and rubbish in a natural hollow in a rotten
tree-trunk or branch, at moderate heights. Sometimes a hole
in the wall of a building is utilised. A normal clutch consists
of four or five eggs- pure white, glossy and rather roundish
ovals.

204
The Common or Green Bee-eater
Z05
 93« The Common or Green Bee-eater
M crops oricntidis Latham.
Size : About that of the Sparrow.
Field Characters A slender bright green bird, tinged with
:

reddish-brown on head and neck, with the central pair of tail

feathers prolonged into blunt pins. Slender, long, slightly
curved Conspicuous black necklace.' Sexes alike. Pairs
bill. '

or parties, on telegraph wires, eic, in open country.

Distribution : Throughout the Indian Knipire from about
5,000 feet in the Himalayas. Three races are recognised inaiulv
on depth of colouration, viz., the paler Siud-Haliichistan race
biludscliicus, the darker India-Ceylon oriciitalis, and the more
ferruginous-headed Assam-Burma biriiuiuiis. Resident, but also
seasonal local migrant.
Habits :The C.reen ISee-eater affects open country in the
neighbourhood of cultivation. It is coniiiinnlv found in forest
clearings anil about villages and towns where it is partial to
fallow land, lawns and Mutilans. It has a marked liking for the
zone immediately above the sandv beach along the sea coast.
Small loose parties mav usually be met with launching aerial
sallies after winged insects from a perch on some telegraph
wire, fence or dry branch of a small tree. The <|uarrv is snapped
up in mid-air as the bird swoops at it gracefully and circles back
on out stretched motionless wings to its perch, where it is
battered and swallowed. The notes constantly uttered are a
pleasant ///, //'/ or trilly trcc-lrce-lrtr like the jingling of tiny
hawk-bells. Large numbers assemble to roost every evening in
selected bushy trees. Creat noise and bustle prevails before the
birds finally settle in for the night. Kverv now and again the
entire concourse suddenly Hies out in a confused rabble, circling
round the tree to the accompaniment of much exided trilling,
and gradually re-settles. They are late risers and may
frequently be seen huddled together in little groups along the
branches, heads tucked away under their wings and fast asleep,
till after the sun is well up. Their food consists of dragonllies,
dipterous and hymcuoptcrous insects, anil the birds are destruc-
tive to honev bees.
Nesting : The principal breeding months are from February
to .May. The birds usually nest in colonies, excavating horizontal
tunnels about 1 i" in diameter, and from a foot to six feet long,
in the sides of earth banks, mounds, dry nullahs, burrow pits
and the like. In sandy soil the tunnels are often driven obliquely
into more or less Hat ground. They expand at their extremity
into an unlined nest-chamber about 5 inches across. The eggs
.) to 7 are pure white, roundish ovals. Moth sexes share in
excavating the nest-tunnels and feeding the young.
206
X &E*~- - *•>$'** '

The Blue- tailed Bee-eater

207
 94* The Blue-tailed Bee-eater
Merops sttpcrciliosus Linnaeus.

Size : Atx>ut that of the Bulbul.

Field Characters : Similar in general effect to the Common

Bee-eater. Distinguishable by its larger size, greenish-blue
tail including the pin feathers, black stripe through the eyes,
yellow throat anil chestnut upper breast. Sexes alike. Small
flocks, in open and lightly wooded country.

Distribution: General but local throughout India, Burma

and Ceylon from about 3,000 feet in the Himalayan foothills.
Two races occur within our limits, and beyond, differentiated on
details of colouration, viz., the Siud-Punjfib-Kajputana race
persicus, and the all-India-Burm;i-Ceylon javanicus. Resident,
but partially also local migrant.

Habits :The Blue-tailed Bee-eater inhabits more or less the

same type of open cultivated country as the foregoing species,
but it definitely prefers better wooded tracts and the neighbour
hood of jhnt'ls and rivers, its llight is swifter and the swoops
after winged insects more graceful its call notes ir-tcw ? te-tew ?
;

are deeper and easily distinguishable from those of the Green

Bee-eater. Otherwise, in food and habits, there is no appreciable
difference between the two species.

Nesting: The season ranges between March and June. The

birds nest in colonics— occasionally in association with Bank
Mynas- driving horizontal tunnels into the earthy or sandy
banks of rivers and streams. These are about 2 inches in
diameter and seldom under 4 feet long. The tunnel terminates
in a rounded nest-chamber which is sometimes sparsely lined
—
with grass and feathers. The eggs four to seven in number
are pure white, roundish ovals. Both sexes share in excavating
the nest-tunnel, incubation (?) and feeding the young.

208
The Pied Kingfisher
209
 95« The Pied Kingfisher
Ceryle rudis (Linnaeus).
Size : Between the \Iyna and the Pigeon.
Field Characters: A speckled and haired, black and-white
kingfisher with the typical stout dagger-shaped bill. The
female differs in details, but is on the whole like the male. Singly
or pairs, by streams and tanks, perched on rocks or poised hover-
ing above the water.
Distribution: Throughout the plains of India, Burma and
Ceylon the race Iciicomclanura occurs, except in Travancorc to
which is confined the much darker race havioicoriiisis.
The Himalayan Pied Kingfisher ((.'crvlc lit»iibris), a larger
species with a prominent crest, replaces it above about 2,v>o feet
in the Himalayas.
Habits : The Pied Kingfisher frequents rivers, jlircls, back-
waters, tidal creeks and sometimes even the seashore. It goes
about singly or in pairs and family parties of .| or 5. The bird
may commonly be seen perched on a. favourite rock or fishing
stake near the water, (licking up its tail and bobbing its head now
and again. Its sharp cheery notes chirruk, chirruk, uttered on
the wing, are unmistakable when once heard. The most cha-
racteristic thing about the Pied Kingfisher, however, is its
s]>ectacular mode of hunting. Flying over the water, its attention
is unceasingly directed towards any fish that may venture near
the surface. Immediately a shoal is sighted the bird halts dead
in its ilight and remains poised over the spot on hovering wings.
The stance now assumed by the body is as though the bird were
standing on its tail, with the long, compressed bill pointing
intently downward. As soon as an unwary lish stravs within
striking depth, the bird closes its wings and from a height of 15 to
30 feet hurls itself like a bolt upon it with unerring aim, often
becoming completely submerged in the water. It presently
reappears, however, with the quarry in its bill, and Hies oil to a
neighbouring perch where it is battered to death and swallowed
entire. Its food consists mainly of lish, but tadpoles, frogs and
aquatic insects are also eaten.
Nesting : The season is between October and May and
frequently two successive broods are reared. Horizontal tunnels
from 3 to 6 feet long are excavated in the precipitous mud banks
of streams and rivers. They are about 3 inches in diameter and
terminate in a widened nest-chamber which is usually unfilled,
but almost invariably littered with cast-up lish bones. The
normal clutch consists of five or six eggs, pure white roundish
ovals of a glossy texture. Both sexes share in excavating the
nest-tunnel, incubation (?) and feeding the young.
 y

The Common Kingfisher

 96. The Common Kingfisher
Alccdo iiltliis (1. mnaoiis).

Size : About that of the House-Sparrow, with a short stumpy

tailand a long, straight pointed hill.
Field Characters : A dapper blue and green little kingfisher,
with deep rust coloured underparts. Sexes alike. Singly, by
stream, tank or puddle perched on an overhanging branch or
;

Hying swiftly near the surface.

Distribution : Throughout India, Burma and (Yvloii and
extending beyond. Three races occur within our limits, diller-
entiated on size and details of colouration, vis., the largest and
palest Baluchistan-Sind-Punjab-Kashniir race pullasii, the inter-
mediate X. India- Assam Burma bungalensis, and the smallest and
darkest S. India-Ceylon race taprobana.
Habits : This little kingfisher is commonly found by streams,
village tanks, roadside puddles, kutclui wells, brackish backwaters
and even at pools left by the receding tide on the rocky seashore.
It avoids forest and torrential hill streams. The bird is normally
seen singly, perched 011 some favourite stake or stone standing in
water, or on an overhanging branch or reed stem, keeping a look
out for prev sailing past or rising near the surface, from time
to time it bobs its head, turning it from side to side, and jerks its
stub tail to the accompaniment of little subdued clicks. It darts
swiftly over the water from one part of the stream or tank to
another, uttering a sharp chi-chcc, chi-chec. Now and again it will
suddenly drop from its perch, bill foremost, and disappear with a
splash below the surface, presently to emerge; with a small fish
held crosswise in its bill. With this, it usually dashes off at top
speed to another perch some distance away where the quarry is
battered to pulp and swallowed, head first. Occasionally it also
hovers over the water and plunges in after prey in the manner of
the I'ied Kingfisher.
Its diet consists of small fish, tadpoles, water beetles and
their larva;, and other aquatic insects.
Nesting : The usual months are from March to June.
Favourite sites are the banks of streams, tanks and ditches into
which are burrowed horizontal tunnels about 2 inches in dia-
meter and from a foot to 4 feet in length, terminating in a widened
nest chamber 5 or 6 inches across. An evil stench invariably
pervades the abode, caused by the indiscriminate litter of fish
bones and the remains of hard-shelled insects disgorged by the
birds. The normal clutch consists of five to seven eggs— pure
white, roundish ovals with a high gloss. Both sexes share in
excavating the nest-tunnel, incubation and feeding the young.
The White-breasted Kingfisher
213
 97- The White-breasted Kingfisher
Halcyon smymcnsis (Linnaeus).

Size : Between the Myn;i and the Pigeon.

Field Characters: A brilliant turquoise blue kingfisher with

deep chocolate- brown head, neck and uiulerparts, a. conspicuous
white shirt front and long, heavy, pointed red bill. A white
' '

wing -patch noticeable in llight. Sexes alike. Singlv, in culti-

vated and wooded country" both near and awav from water.

Distribution: Mains and lower hills throughout the Indian

I

Km pin- and extending beyond, east and west. Three races

concern us, differentiated on details of size and colouration, ric. :
fused which occupies Ceylon and the heavy rainfall /one of S. \V.
India, snivriiriisis inhabiting the rest of India and liurnia, and
suturulior confined to the Andanians.

Habits: This is perhaps the most familiar of our kingfishers.

It is usuallv met with singlv in the neighbourhood of inundated
paddy-fields, ponds-, puddles, kittclui wells and on the sandy
seashore, both near and away from human habitations. Hut it
is by no means so closelv dependent on the presence of water for
its sustenance as its other relatives are. frequently it may l>o
found considerable distances awav from it, right in the midst of
forest where it feeds on earthworms, lizards, grasshoppers and
other insects occasionally even capturing mice and young birds,
from a favourite perch on some bare branch or telegraph wire,
which it occupies day after day and whence it can survey the
country around, the bird hurls itself down on creeping prey and
Hies off with it to another perch nearby where the victim is
battered and swallowed. Its call or song
'
is a loud,
'
not.
unmusical, chattering scream uttered from the top of a tall tree
or some other exposed situation. It ends in a detached harsh
undertone like the pvnch of a snipe, audible onlv at short range.
Besides this it has a loud cackling call usually uttered in llight.

Nesting The season ranges principally between March and

:

July. The nest tunnel, as with other kinglishers, is dug hori-

zontally into the side of an earth cutting or bank. It is about
2i inches in diameter and often up to or 7 feet long, terminating
in a spacious egg-chamber 8 or <> inches across. The normal
clutch consists of four to seven eggs white and spherical. Moth
sexes share in excavating the nest-tunnel, incubation (••) and
feeding the young.

214
 '
^ , -ft " **

The Common Grey Hornbill

2'5
 98. The Common Grey Hornbill
Tocktis birostris (Scopoli).
Size: That of the Pariah Kite.
Field Characters :A clumsy, slaty-grey bird with an
enormous black-and-white curved bill surmounted bv a peculiar
protuberance or casque. Tail long and graduated. Sexes alike.
Small parties, in lightly wooded country and groves of ancient
trees.
In the heavy rainfall area of the Malabar ("oast (Western
Ghats) north to Bomliay, it is replaced by an allied species the
Malabar Grey Hornbill (7". qriscus) which lacks the casque above
the bill.
Distribution: Throughout India excepting the N. W'.lv
Province, Punjab and parts of Rajputana. Absent in
Sind,
Assam, Burma and Cevlon.
Habits: The Grey Hornbill inhabits open, wooded plains
country and deciduous forest. It is commonly found in groves
of ancient mango. Banyan and Peepal trees in the vicinity or
towns and villages, and freely enters well-wooded gardens and
compounds. It is exclusively arboreal and met with in pairs of
family parties of 5 or 6 birds which lly across from one tig-laden
Peepal or Banyan tree to another in follow -111 v-leader fashion.
Where food is plentiful, large numbers often collect, associating
with green pigeons, mynas, bnlbuls and other frugivorous birds.
The (light, typical of the hornbills, is laboured, undulating and
noisy, consisting of a few rapid wing strokes followed by an
interval of gliding. It has a loud cackling cry K-k-k-kar, and a
variety of squealing and chattering conversational notes. A
shrill alarm whistle whrev is uttered to apprise the company of
susj>ected danger. Its diet consists mainly of figs of Banyan,
Peepal and the various other species of l-'icus, but large insects
and lizards are also eaten.
Nesting: The season is principally between March and June.
The hornbills as a group are remarkable for their curious nesting
habits. A natural hollow is selected in some old tree trunk,
usually fairly high up. Within this the female imprisons herself,
using the Hat sides of her bill as trowel to plaster up the entrance
with her droppings which harden to the consistency of cement.
Only a narrow slit is left through which the cock assiduously feeds
her throughout the incubation period. After the young are
hatched out, the hen emerges from her self-imposed confinement,
the wall is built up again, and thenceforward she assists her mate
in feeding the young. The same nest-site is used for several
successive seasons. The eggs- two or three in number - are dull,
glossless white.
The Hoopoe
217
 99- The Hoopoe
Cpufxi t'pops Linnaeus.

Size : About thai of the Myna.

Field Characters: A lawn coloured binl with black-and-white

zebra markings on back, wings and tail a conspicuous fan-shaped
;

crest and Ions, slender, slightly curved bill. Sexes alike. Singly or
pairs, usually on the ground in lightly wooded country.

Distribution : Practically throughout the Indian Kmpiro and

beyond, both east and west. Three races chielly concern us. di lining
in details of size and colouration, viz.: the Ceylon and all-India
cryloiifiiisis, the I'unjab-N.-W.l'. urimlnlis. and tin Assftm-htirina
hngiro.ilris. A fourth race the typical, Kuropean r/io/i.s visits
N. Tndia during winter. Orieiitutis also spreads out considerably at
that season so that we then have rather a confused jumble of races in
the peninsula.

Habits : The Hoopoe is a bird of open country, plains as well as hills

upto about 5,000 feet, ft is fond of lawns, gardens and groves in
and about towns and villages. Scattered pairs and family parties of
four or live birds are usually met with, feeding exclusively on the
ground, probing into tin: soil' and amongst the fallen leaves with bill
partly open like forceps. It walks and runs on its short legs with a
quail-like but somewhat waddling gait. When digging, the crest is
depressed and projects in a point behind the head suggestive ol a
miniature pickaxe. When the bird is alarmed or excited, the crest
is quickly erected and opened lanwise. It Hies oil in an undulating,

undecided sort of way to resettle at some distance whereupon the

crest is again raised. The call is a suit and musical, but penetrating,
lioo-pn, or lim-/w-po repeated several times and often intermittently
for over 10 minutes at a stretch. When calling from a branch the
bird lowers and bobs its head so that the bill lies almost Mat against
the breast, the tail at the same time being depressed and turned in
under the perch as if in an ellort to make both ends meet. At other I

times the head is jerked forward at each successive call as if balking,

and tin: crest raised and lowered from time to time. Besides this
call, it has a variety of harsh subdued caws and wheezy chuckles. Its

diet consists of insects, grubs anil pupa, it is beneficial to agriculture

bv virtue of the vast numbers of insect pests it destroys.

Nesting The season ranges between February and April. A hole

:

in a wall, roof, under eaves or in a rotten branch or stump is selected

and lined untidily with rags, hair, wool, straw and rubbish. The
normal clutch consists of 5 or t> eggs, white when fresh but becoming
discoloured as incubation progresses. The female is a close sitter and
seldom leaves the nest, being zealously fed by her mate all through
this period. The nest is notorious for the mass of filth that accumulates
there, and for the abominable stench it emits. Moth sexes share in
feeding the young.

218
 W&
1. The Palm-Swift
(Description on next page.)
2. The House-Swift
219
 ioo. The House-Swift
Microptts affinis (Gray).
Size : Smaller than the Sparrow, but with longer, narrower
wings.
Field Characters : A
smoky-black little bird with white
throat, white rump and short square tail. Sexes alike. Flying
about gregariously near human habitations.
Distribution : Inexplicably patchy, but practically through-
out the Indian Empire from about 6,000 feet in the Himalayas.
Two races may be definitely recognised on details of size and
colouration, viz., the square-tailed Indian ntfniis, and the slightly
fork-tailed Assam-Burma race subfweatus. Ceylon and Travan-
core birds are very dark.
Habits : The House-Swift is commonly found in the neighbour-
hood of human habitations both occupied and deserted, in
the plains as well as hills. Ancient forts, and ruined mosques
and buildings seldom fail to attract the birds. They are seen
Hying about gregariously, hawking tiny winged insects and utter-
ing their merry twittering screams. The capture of prey on
the wing is facilitated by their extraordinarily widened gapes.
Although resembling, the swallows in general effect and feeding
from them markedly in structure, especially
habits, swifts differ
in the arrangement of their toes all four of which are forwardly
directed and preclude the possibility of the birds perching in
the normal way. Hence, a swift will never be seen perched
on a telegraph wire. Their wings are long and narrow enabling
the birds to fly almost incessantly and at great speed. When
clinging to some rough surface, as a wall or rock, the tips of the
folded wings cross each other and project far beyond the tail.
Large disorderly gatherings of House-Swifts may commonly
be seen in the evenings wheeling around or balling '
high '

up in the air, uttering shrill joyous twittering screams and

obviously disporting themselves.
Nesting The season is between February and September
:
;

two successive broods are frequently reared. The birds build

in colonies, plastering the nests helter-skelter along the angle
of the wall and ceiling in buildings and porches, even in the
midst of noisy bazaars. The nests are round untidy cups made
entirely of feathers, straw, etc., cemented together with the birds'
saliva. The entrance hole is often merely a slit between the
—
wall and the nest. The same site and nests repaired if necessary
— are used for many years in succession if the birds are left
unmolested. The normal clutch consists of 2 to 4 eggs, pure
white longish ovals. Both sexes share in building the nest
and feeding the young.
 8.

(A
a
c c

**
£ BO
C
S-
09 C
S o
Ou
S (A
as
Vt
3
XI
o
(J

u c
o

a a
6
u ^j
V (/I

2
X
0)

-*-<

_u +J
«o
c e
&
s
I B
«(! rt
 ioi. The Palm-Swift
Cypsiurus parvus (Licht.)

Size : Plate on previous page. Smaller than the Sparrow ;

considerably slenderer and with long narrow wings.

Field Characters A slim plain sooty-grey bird, with thin

:

deeply forked tail. Sexes alike. Flying about gregariously

over open country dotted with Palmyra palms.

Distribution All India except the Punjab and Sind

: ;Ceylon,
—
Assam, Burma, and beyond wherever the Tad or Palmyra
palm (Borassits flabelliformis) occurs, with which species its
range is coincident. Two races are recognised on details of
size and colouration, viz., the India-Ceylon batassiensis, and
the Assam-Burma infumatus.
Habits : The Palm-Swift is typically a bird of open plains
country and is inseparable from the Tad palm. The precise factors
that determine this symbiosis have not as yet been ascertained,
but the rigid folds and furrows of the palm leaf certainly provide
it with eminently suitable roosting and nesting sites. The birds
spend their time gregariously hawking tiny winged insects in the
vicinity of the palms, often flying quite low, turning and twisting
in the air on their long narrow wings to the constant accompani-
ment of their shrill, joyous triple note ti-ti-tee. The deep cleft
or fork in the tail is particularly noticeable when the bird wheels
in its flight.

Nesting: The season varies in the different parts of its range

to cover the entire year. The nest is a tiny half-saucer, about
2 inches from side to side, of feathers and vegetable down agglu-
tinated with the bird's saliva and attached in a fold or furrow
on the underside of a palmyra leaf. Owing to its situation
and diminutive size, it is usually invisible from the ground.
— —
The eggs two or three in number are pure white, long, pointed
ovals.

The Assam-Burma race (C. p. infumatus) sometimes attaches

its nest to the palm leaf thatching of huts in the Garo and
Naga Hills.
The Common Indian Nightjar
223
 io2. The Common Indian Nightjar
Caprimulgns asiaticus Latham.
Size : About that of the Myna.
Field Characters : A soft-plumaged grey, brown, burl and
"fulvous bird mottled and black-streaked above, forming a com-
plicated camouflaging pattern. White patches on wing con-
spicuous in flight. Sexes alike. Singly, in scrub country, crouch-
ing on ground by day, hawking insects at dusk.
Several other species of Nightjars are found within our
limits, superficially resembling one another and difficult to
differentiate in the field except by a study of their call notes.
They all have very short legs, large owl-like head with large
shiny eyes and enormously widened gapes fringed with coarse,
strong bristles.
Distribution : Practically throughout India, Assam, Burma
and Ceylon. Ceylon birds are smaller in size than the Indian
asiaticus, and recognised as the insular race minor. Resident,
but partly also local migrant.
Habits : The Common Indian Nightjar frequents scrub and
stony country, dry nullahs, compounds and groves in the neigh-
bourhood of cultivation, and commonly about towns and villages.
It is entirely crepuscular and nocturnal in habits resting during
the day on the ground under shelter of some bush, and emerging
at dusk to feed. Occasionally it also squats on the low bough
of a tree, not perching crosswise as most birds do, but along
its length. It is active all through the night hawking winged
insects. The flight is peculiarly moth-like, noiseless and wander-
ing, but the bird can turn and twist in the air to avoid obstacles
—
with amazing dexterity now circling, now Happing, now sailing.
Its familiar call chuk-chuk-chuk-chnli-r-r-r has been well likened
to the sound of a stone gliding over a frozen pond. It is uttered
from the ground or from the top of a stump or stone. Two
birds, some distance apart, will frequently engage in a duet,
answering each other for considerable periods. A low chuk-chuh
is sometimes heard on the wing. These birds are fond of
—
squatting on country roads after dusk their eyes gleaming red
in the beam of the headlights of an oncoming car and adept —
at dodging clear when within an ace of being run over. Their
food consists of beetles, moths and other insects captured on
the wing.
Nesting: The season is not well defined anywhere, but most
eggs are found between February and September. No nest
is made, the eggs —
usually two —
being laid on the bare ground
in thin bamboo forest or open country with bush cover, even
in large jungly compounds in cities. They are long, cylindrical
ovals, pale pink to deep salmon in colour spotted and blotched
with reddish-brown and inky-purple.
224
The Barn or Screech Owl
225
 io3- The Barn or Screech Owl
Tylo alba (Scopoli).
Size: About that of the Jungle-Crow.
Field Characters: A typical owl with large round head and a
conspicuous ruff of stiff feathers surrounding a white monkey-like
facial disc. Golden-buff above, silky white below. Sexes alike.
Singly, on and about buildings, especiallv ruined and deserted
Nocturnal.
Distribution: Ceylon ;iml the whole of India. Assam and Burma.
The precise status of the two races occurring within our continental
limits, ri~., javanica and sterti'iis. has not been determined. The
Andaman* race deroi'pstorf/i is darker and smaller than Indian birds
,

The Hani Owl has an almost world-wide geographical range.

Habits: The Barn or Screech Owl is inseparable from the
haunts of Man. Ruins on the site of ancient cities, old tombs,
forts and other buildings invariably have their resident population
of these birds. It is purely nocturnal in habits and greatly
inconvenienced by sunlight. It retires during the dav to the
seclusion of some dark hole or niche, where it spends the time
standing upright and dozing. Favourite daytime retreats are
occupied from year's end to year's end, ami if one occupant is
killed his place is soon taken up bv another. At dusk the bird
issues forth, and it may then be seen living in its characteristic
ghost-like manner from one roof or building to another, often over
busy thoroughfares and above the full blaze of a city's illumina-
tion. Its voice, heard after dark, is a mixture of harsh discordant
screams, and weird snoring and hissing notes. It is eerie and
unpleasant, and no doubt responsible for manv of the supersti
tions prevalent in India which brand the owl as a bird of ill omen.
Inspite of this, however, the Barn < )w is a highlv desirable
1

species to have about farm buildings and grain stores. It feeds

almost exclusively on rats and mice, anil acts as an important
check upon the increase of these destructive vermin. It is also
of the greatest benefit to agriculture in keeping field mice under
control. The rodents are swallowed entire, their indigestible
portions such as hair and bones, being subsequently cast up from
the mouth in the form of pellets. The flesh anil bones of the
Barn Owl are highly prized by quacks and medicine-men as
charms, and as a cure for rheumatism and paralysis.
Nesting: l'ractically all the year. Holes and niches in ruined
walls or the space between the ceiling and roof of a dwelling
house, sparsely lined with straw, twigs and rags, serve as nest.
Same site used in successive seasons. Kggs four to seven —
mooth, white, roundish.

226
The Brown Fish-Owl
227
 1 04. The Brown Fish-Owl
Ketupa zeylonensis (Gmelin).
Size : About that of the Pariah Kite.
Field Characters : A large heavy brown owl, the paler
underparts with dark vertical streaks, especially about the breast.
Feather-tufts, looking like long ears, projecting above the head.
Large, round, yellow forwardly directed eyes. Unfeathcred legs.
Sexes alike. Singly, at dusk in wooded country near water.
Distribution: Throughout India, Burma and Ceylon and —
beyond, both east and west. The race leschenaulti occupies the
whole of our area except Ceylon where the small and dark typical
zeylonensis is the representative form.
Habits: The Brown Fish-Owl is an inhabitant of well-wooded
tracts abounding in rocky ravines, and broken ground in the
neighbourhood of jheels, streams and nullahs. It is commonly
found on tree-girt outskirts of villages. During the day it retires
to the shelter of some favourite bamboo clump or large leafy tree,
emerging soon after sundown heralded by its distinctive deep and
hollow moaning call boom-o-boom which resounds at intervals
through the stillness of the forest with a peculiar ventriloquistic
quality. This weird -and ghoulish boom heard suddenly in the
gloaming for the first time, produces an undescribably eerie effect.
At dusk the bird takes up a perch on some branch or rock neaT
or overhanging water, sitting bolt upright, and keeps a sharp
look-out for fish rising near the surface. It may then also be
seen flying up and down, often almost skimming the water. It
delights in regular baths, wading into the shallows and shuffling
itself in the usual manner of birds, drying and carefully preening
itself afterwards. Its food consists mainly of fish and crabs, but
small mammals, birds and reptiles are also devoured, and a pair
have even been observed feeding on the putrefying carcase of a
crocodile.
Nesting : The season varies according to locality, but is
principally between December and March. The nest, which is
sometimes composed of a few twigs and at others has no extra-
neous material, is in a natural hollow in the stump or bough of an
ancient mango or peepal tree, on a ledge or in the cleft of a rocky
bank, at varying heights from the ground, but never far from
water. Occasionally an old eagle's nest is used. The eggs
—
one or two in number are white, roundish and with a slightly
glossed though pitted texture. The vicinity of the nest is
invariably bestrewn with cast up pellets and remains of birds
and other small animals. The female is a close sitter and when
approached on her nest, snaps her mandibles and hisses in a
forbidding manner.
228
The Indian Great Horned-Owl
229
 105. The Indian Great Horned-Owl
Bubo bubo (Linnaeus).
Size : About that of the Pariah Kite.
Field Characters; A large dark brown owl, streaked and
mottled with buff and black, with two conspicuous black aigrettes
or horns above the head.
' '
Rather like the Fish-Owl in general
effect, but with the legs fully covered with fulvous feathers.
Sexes alike. Singly or pairs, in wooded rocky ravines and ancient
groves. Mainly nocturnal.
Distribution: The race bengalensis ranges throughout India,
Assam and Burma, but not Ceylon. There is considerable
variation in the size and colouration of the birds from north to
south. This genus of Homed Owls has practically a world-wide
distribution.
Habits: The Great Horned -Owl is a fairly common species in
the Indian plains, and in portions of Kashmir it is found up to
about 6,000 feet elevation. It inhabits well-wooded, but open
and cultivated country and avoids heavy forest. Its favourite
haunts are low bush-covered rocky hills and ravines and the cliff
banks of rivers and streams. Here it rests during the day on the
ground under the shelter of a bush or on some rocky projection.
—
Where these conditions are lacking and especially in the neigh-
—
bourhood of villages it alfccts groves of ancient thickly foliaged
trees. It is by no means so completely nocturnal as the Fish-
Owl and may frequently be seen on the move till after the sun is
well up, with little apparent discomfort. The birds emerge from
their daytime retreats soon after sunset with their deep, solemn,
resounding call bu-bn (2nd syllable much prolonged) which, while
not really loud, has a curious penetrating quality. They may
then be seen perched on the top of some boulder, whence they
glide off effortlessly on outstretched wings over great distances
to their accustomed feeding grounds. Besides these calls, they
have a variety of growls and hisses expressive of excitement or
emotion. Their food consists of small mammals, birds, lizards
—
and other reptiles also large insects, and occasionally fish and
crabs. Field rats and mice form a considerable proportion of
their diet in agricultural areas'. The Homed Owls act as a
constant check on these fecund and destructive rodents, and are
therefore of great economic value.
Nesting: The season is from about November to April. No
nest is made, the eggs being usually laid on the bare soil in natural
recesses in earth banks, on ledges of cliffs overhanging water, or
even on level ground under the shelter of some bush. The normal
—
clutch consists of three or four eggs white in colour with a faint
<:reamy tinge. They are broad roundish ovals of a fine and
flossy texture.
23°
The Spotted Owlet
231
 106. The Spotted Owlet
Athene brama (Temminck).
Size: About that of the Myna.
Field Characters: A squat, white-spotted greyish-brown
little owl, with typical large round head and forwardly directed,
staring yellow eyes. Sexes alike. Pairs or family parties, about
villages, ruins, and in groves of large trees. Chiefly crepuscular
and nocturnal.
Distribution: Resident throughout India, Assam and Burma,
but not Ceylon. Three races are recognised on size and depths
of colouration, viz., the South Indian brama, the North India-
Assam race indica, and the Burmese pulchra. The boundary
between I and 2 has been arbitrarily fixed as the -20th N. latitude.
Habits This little bird is the commonest and most familiar of
:

our owls. It affects every type of country in the plains and foot-
hills except heavy forest, and is particularly abundant in the
neighbourhood of human habitations. It is fearless and con-
fiding and regards Man with complete unconcern. In many
localities almost every ancient tamarind, banyan or mango tree
holds resident pair or two of these owlets, and one has but to
its
tap on the trunk to bring forth an enquiring little face to the
entrance of a hollow, -or to dislodge a pair sitting huTddled together
on some secluded branch. The birds often fly out fussily to a
neighbouring branch when the tree is approached, whence they
bob and stare at the intruder in clownish fashion. It is largely
of crepuscular and nocturnal habits, perhaps not so much because
—
of intolerance to sunlight since it is often abroad and even
—
hunting at mid-day but on account of the persecution and
chivvying it is invariably subjected to by other birds immediately
it shows itself. At dusk these owlets may be seen perched on
fence-posts, telegraph wires and the like, pouncing from time to
time upon some unwary insect on the ground, or flying across
noiselessly from one perch to another. Occasionally it launches
ungainly aerial sallies after winged termites capturing them in
its claws, and it will sometimes even hover clumsily like a kestrel
to espy creeping prey. Its food consists mainly of l>eetles and
other insects, but small mice, birds and lizards are also taken.
-
They are noisy birds and have a large variety of harsh chattering,
squabbling and chuckling notes, two individuals frequently
combining in a duet.
Nesting: The season ranges between November and April.
The eggs are laid in hollows in trees, or in holes in walls, or
between the ceiling and roof of deserted as well as occupied
dwellings. The hollows are sometimes sparsely lined with grass,
— —
tow and feathers. The eggs three or four are white roundish
ovals. Both sexes share in lining the nest, incubation and care
of the young.
23*
The Black, Pondicherry or King Vulture
233
 107. The Black, Pondicherry or
King Vulture
Sarcogyps culvus (Scopoli).
Size : About that of the Peacock, minus the train.
Field Characters The black plumage and conspicuous white
:

patches near the crop and on upper thighs serve to distinguish

this vulture at a glance, even in high overhead flight when,
moreover, a whitish band across the underside of the wings is
prominent. The deep yellowish-red head, neck anil legs fuTther
confirm its identity. Sexes alike.
Distribution: Throughout India (from about 5,000 feet in
the Himalayas) and Burma, but. not Ceylon.
Habits :The King Vulture is a bird of open lightly wooded
and cultivated country and as a rule avoids both dense forest
and barren desert tracts. Vnlike most of its congeners it is
not strictly gregarious, and though generally distributed, is
nowhere particularly abundant. Only solitary birds or pairs
are ordinarily seen, perched on an cxjiosed tree-top or soaring
high up in the air. Even at carcases, seldom more than a couple
are present amongst the seething rabble of White-backs and other
species that collect to feast. Very rarely, however, gatherings
of 20 or 30 birds may be met with. The King Vulture is so
named on the strength of a reputation for being pugnacious,
bold and overbearing, of inspiring awe amongst its confreres
and thus monopolising a carcase until it has had its fill of
the choicest tit-bits. This reputation is, however, ill-deserved
for usually —
at any rate- -it may be marked out as the tiniidest
member of the vulture gatherings at a carcase. It keeps itself
aloof of the scrimmage, surreptitiously venturing forward now
and again in obvious fear and trembling to tug at a gobbet, and
withdrawing hurriedly when overwhelmed by the press. It is
a powerful bird and able to lift itself off the ground by a few
strokes of its wings. Even when fully gorged, it is not obliged
to hop along before taking off as the other vultures do. In
sailing flight the outstretched wings are held well above the plane
of the body in a wide V.
Nesting The season is principally from December to April.
:

The nest is a massive platform of twigs placed on the top of

some large tree, 30 to 40 feet from the ground, often near a village.
Where suitable trees are scarce, it builds on bushes, f> to 10
feet high, on stony hillsides. The same nest or site is used year
after year. It is untidily lined with straw and leaves. Only a
single egg is laid, white in colour, but becoming considerably
stained and discoloured during incubation. It is roundish-oval
in shape, strong-shelled and of a fine texture. Incubation takes
about 45 days. Iioth sexes share in building the nest, incubation
and feeding the young.
234
The White-backed or Bengal Vulture
235
108. The White-backed or Bengal Vulture
Pseudogyps bcngalcnsis (Gmelin).
Size :About that of the Peacock minus the train.
Field Characters A heavy, dirty blackish-brown vulture
•

with naked head and neck. At rest the white back is conspicuous.
In overhead flight a whitish band stretching along the underside
of the wings, usually serves as recognition
mark. Sexes alike.
Distribution Throughout India, Assam and Burma. Not
:

found in C'evlon.
Habits The White-back is the commonest vulture of the
:

Indian plains and is met with everywhere, regardless of the

nature of the country, except in dense humid forest. Small
parties are seen perched on bare tree-tops or palms, or sailing
majestically in wide circles, quartering the heavens, for hours
on end and scanning the ground below for food. The leaves
and ground underneath favourite perches and roosts soon become
besmirched with the birds' droppings and present a bedraggled
whitewashed appearance. Though a positively repulsive creature
at close quarters, a vulture gliding effortless in the sky looks the
very embodiment.of graceful motion.
As scavengers, vultures are of the greatest usefulness to
Man. Their eyesight is remarkably keen, and large numbers
will gather at a carcase from nowhere within an incredibly short
time. The speed and thoroughness with which a. company will
dispose of a bullock or other large animal dumped in the precincts
of a village —
which would otherwise befoul the air and breed
pestilence is— astounding. These gruesome obsequies are
attended by an incessant jostling and bickering among the birds,
and by much harsh, unpleasant screeching and hissing as one bird
tries to oust another from a coveted vantage point at. the feast
or to deprive it of a gobbet of flesh. The combatants spread
their wings and prance around ludicrously, tugging and pulling
at the morsel from either end. They sometimes gorge them-
selves to such an extent that they become incapable of flight
anil are compelled to pass the night on the ground.
Nesting : The season is principally from October to March.
The nest is a large untidy platform of twigs lined with green
leaves, on the top of a Banyan, l'eepal or similar tree, near a
village or on the roadside. Several nests are often built on the
same tree or on adjacent ones. A single egg is laid, white in
colour, occasionally speckled and spotted with reddish-brown.
It is thick-shelled and glossless. Both sexes share in building
the nest, incubation and care of the young, which are fed on
regurgitated gobbets of flesh. Incubation takes about 45 days.

23G
 J**.'"

The White Scavenger Vulture or Pharaoh's Chicken

237
 io<). The White Scavenger Vulture or
Pharaoh's Chicken
Neophron percnopterus (Linnaeus).

Size : That of the Pariah Kite.

Field Characters : A dirty-white kitelike bird with black wing-

quills and naked yellow head and bill. Immature differs from adult
(illustrated) in being brown, rather like the Kite. In flight the wedge-
shaped tail distinguishes it from Kites, iiaglcs and other Vultures.
Sexes alike. Singly or twos and threes, in open country, about human
habitations.

Distribution : Throughout India and rarely in Ceylon, but not in

Assam or Burma. Two races are recognised on size and details of
colouration, viz., the larger Egyptian (typical) percnopterus which
extends into N.-\V. India, Sind and the Punjab, and the smaller Indian
race ginginianns occupying the rest of the country.

Habits : The White Scavenger Vulture is a common and abundant

species affecting open country, excflat the wettest areas, invariably
in the neighbourhood of the haunt's of Man whether town, village,
detached rural homestead or shifting encampment of nomadic
herdsmen. Here it is seen soaring gracefully overhead or perched on
mounds, ruined buildings and the like, or stalking about on the ground
with a ludicrous high-stepping, waddling gait rather like the German
'
goose-step.' The body is carried more or less horizontally like a
duck's. It is not gregarious, but numbers collect where prospects of
food are promising, often associating with kites, crows and other
vultures. Inspite of its shabby and repulsive appearance and the
universal disgust in which it is held, this vulture is a useful and efficient
scavenger. It does invaluable service in cleaning up the precincts
of villages where sanitation is unknown, where refuse and garbage
litters the outskirts and where the entire population is obliged to troop
out to attend to the calls of nature, often at no great distance from
their hovels. For, apart from offal and refuse of every description,
this vulture feeds largely on human excrement. At certain Hindu
temples in South India the birds are regularly fed by the priests.
Large numbers from the surrounding country converge at these places
at the appointed hour with clockwork precision.

Nesting : The season is principally from February to April. The

nest is a large filthy and shabby mass of twigs, lined with rags, hair
and rubbish, placed on some cornice or niche in a ruined mosque,
tomb or fort, the ledge of a cliff or in the fork of a large Banyan, l'eepal
—
or similar tree. The eggs two in number and handsome in appearance
— vary from white to pale brick-red in colour, blotched with reddish-
. brown or blackish, rather thickly round the broad end. Both sexes
share in building the nest, incubation and feeding the young.

238
The Laggar Falcon
239
 no. The Laggar Falcon
Falco jugger Gray.

Size : About that of the House-Crow.

Field Characters : An ashy-brown falcon with brown-streaked

white under parts and narrow brown cheek- or raoustachial-stripes
running down from in front and below the eyes. Sexes alike, but
female much larger than male. In flight the white breast, dark and
white pattern on the underside of the long, pointed wings and the fact
that generally pairs are seen together, are features suggestive of its
identity. Young birds are brown below.
Distribution : Kcsident practically throughout India from about
2,500 feet in the Himalayas, (rare in the south) and Assam. Not
found in Burma or Ceylon.

Habits The Laggar is one of our commonest falcons. It frequents

:

dry, open scrub country, the outskirts, of thin jungle, and the
neighbourhood of cultivation, but avoids humid forest tracts. It is
almost invariably met with in pairs which work in co-ordination,
usually stooping on and chasing down winged prey, since it is capable
of long-sustained night at great speed. They are, however, less
courageous and swift" than the Peregrine falcon (l : alco peregrinus)
which can be distinguished by its slaty grey upper plumage. A pair
frequently take up their quarters within the limits of a town, using
a tower or church-spire as foraging base, whence they take toll of the
urban pigeon population. They are commonly chivvied by crows,
drongos and other birds. Occasionally a party of 5 or 6 may be seen
disporting themselves high up in the air, stooping playfully at one
another with incredible velocity. In addition to small birds, their
diet consists of field rats, lizards, locusts, dragonliies and the like.
Their call note is a shrill prolonged whi-ee-ee.
The Laggar used to be commonly employed for hunting birds
like partridges, pond-herons, crows and floricans, but with the decline
in the vogue of falconry is now seldom trained.

Nesting The season is principally between January and April.

:

The nest the usual structure of twigs, lined with straw, leaves, etc.,
is
placed high up in a tree, on the ledge of a clilf or in the turret
or cornice of a ruined building. Old nests of crows, kites and eagles
are frequently appropriated. It is a curious fact that the nests of
these falcons are often situated in the same tree, or in the close
proximity of the nests of rollers, doves and other birds which normally
comprise their prey. These co-tenants are left unmolested, and on
their part seem completely unperturbed by the comings and goings
of the predators. —
The eggs three to five in number are of a—
beautiful pale stone or pinkish-cream colour, densely blotched and
smudged with brick-red or reddish-brown. Both sexes share in build-
ing the nest, incubation and feeding the young.

240
The Kestrel

241
 in. The Kestrel
I'alcu iinniinculits Linnaeus.

Size : About that o[ the Pigeon.

Field Characters A
small slender falcon with pointed wings and
:

longish rounded grey the latter with a broad black band across
tail,
tip. Brick-red above, with black wing quills and grey head. Light
bull below, with brown spear-head spots, l-'emale rufous above
including head, cross-barred with blackish. Singly, in open country,
often hovering.

Distribution : l'ractically throughout the Patearctic Region.

Three races concern us differing slightly in size and colouration, often
separable with difficulty. They are objitrgatiis, resident and breeding
:

in S. India tinminculus, the typical Kuropcan form, which breeds

;

in W. Himalayas between 2.500 and 7,000 feet and spreads all over
India and Ceylon in winter; and interslinclim (—japaniiisis Ticeh.)
the E. Asiatic race- a winter visitor to ID. Himalayas, Assam, Kurma,
K. & S. India and Ceylon.
Habits: little falcon affects open country and grassland.
This It
ispartial to the neighbourhood of cultivation and to rocky or grass-
covered hillsides. It is usually met with singly perched day after
day on some favourite mound, bush or telegraph post keeping a. sharp
look-out for creeping prey, pouncing down to the ground every now
and again and returning with it to its base. Hut it is the Kestrel's
—
other method of hunting- -the hovering that is most characteristic.
As it beats over its feeding ground, a hundred feet or more above, the
bird suddenly checks itself every little while, and with head to wind
—
remains poised in mid-air sometimes with rapidly quivering wing-tips
and tail fanned out, at others almost motionless for a few seconds-
while it intently surveys the ground beneath. At the suspicion of a
movement in the grass, the bird drops a lew feet lower to investigate
more closely. If the quarry is sighted it drops silently upon it and
hears it away in its claws. If not, it Hies on to repeat the manoeuvre
some distance farther. The birds stake out feeding territories, and
encroachment by other individuals is actively resisted. While
occasional examples may sometimes turn habitual offenders and take
to lifting young chickens of poultry or game, Kestrels as a rule feed
chiefly on field mice, lizards, crickets, locusts and other insects and are
beneficial from the economic point of view. The usual notes are a
sharp, clear ki-ki-hi uttered in flight and sometimes while hovering,
and softer ones described as kiddrik-kiddrik.
Nesting : The season in the Himalayas is April-June, in S. India
February to April. The nest is a sketchy affair of twigs, roots, rags
and rubbish. It is placed in a hole or crevice, or on the ledge of a
cliff occasionally on trees and ruined buildings.
; The eggs — three
to six- arc oval, pale pinkish, or yellowish stone-colour profusely
speckled and blotched with various shades or red. Both sexes share
in building the nest, incubation and feeding the young.

242
The Tawny Eagle
243
 ii2. The Tawny Eagle
Aquila rapax (Temra. & Laug.).
'Size : Larger and heavier than the Pariah Kite.
Field Characters An umber-brown bird of prey, sometimes
:

very pale and almost dirty buff. The head is Hat, the bill hooked
and powerful and the legs feathered down to the toes. Tail
rounded like the vulture's, but relatively longer. Wings long,
reaching almost to tip of tail when at rest. Female larger than
male. —
Singly or pairs, on trees or soaring in open country.
Distribution: Resident throughout India (from about .j.ooo
feet in the Himalayas) except in the heavy rainfall tracts, i.e.,
Travancore and Malabar. It is found in the dry zone of Upper
Burma but is absent in Ceylon. The only race within our limits
is vindhiana, the typical rapax being African.
Habits The Tawny, our commonest and most widely distri-
:

buted eagle, is a bird of semi-desert, dry open plains and scrub-

country, and cultivated land dotted with trees. It is commonly
met with on the outskirts of villages, scavenging in association
with kites, vultures and crows by the last of whom it is much
chivvied. It spends its time, perched on some dry tree or other
exposed situation, or circling high up in the air or sailing in search
of food. Its flight is strong and graceful ;when soaring or sailing
the wings are held in a line with the body. It is an inveterate
pirate and habitually robs falcons, kites and crows of any prize
they have secured, chasing them with speed and determination
and forcing them to give it up. Rarely it also catches hares, rats
and sick or disabled birds, but it prefers to live on carrion and by
piracy rather than kill for itself. It is a great marauder of the
poultry yard and becomes especially destructive to chickens when
it has nest-young to feed. It has a variety of laud, raucous
cackles, and utters a distinctive guttural lira as war cry while
' '

in pursuit of prey.

Nesting The season lasts from November to March or April.

:

The nest a large platform of sticks and twigs, sometimes lined

is
thinly with grass and leaves. It is mostly situated on the very
top of an isolated tree -a Babool {Acacia arabica) for preference
— —
often in the vicinity of a village. The eggs two or three in
—
number are white in colour, with a few reddish-brown spots
and specks. Both sexes share in building the nest and feeding
the young, but evidently the female alone incubates. She is a
close sitter, permitting a near approach, but inspite of her fierce
appearance shows no light in defence of the eggs or young before
finally capitulating.

244
The Crested Serpent-Eagle
*45
 113. The Crested Serpent-Eagle
Hcematornis cheda (Latham).

Size : Rather larger than the Pariah Kite.

Field Characters : A dark brown raptore with a prominent
black-and-white crest at back of head, very full when erected.
The paler, fulvous-brown underparts are ocellated and finely
barred with black and white. In soaring flight a white bar across
— —
the tail which is seldom spread and two similar bars on each
of the broad and rounded wings, are suggestive clues. Sexes
alike. Singly or pairs, soaring over wooded country with a
peculiar shrill screaming call.
Distribution : Resident, but wandering locally, throughout
—
the better wooded parts of the Indian Empire up to about 7,000
feet in the Himalayas —
and beyond eastwards. We
are chiefly
concerned with 4 geographical races differing in size and details
of colouration, viz., the Himalayan-N. India-Assam race cheela,
the peninsular Indian melanotis, the Ceylonese spilogaster, and the
Burmese burmaniciis. The Andamans and Nicobars possess
endemic races. -

Habits : This handsome eagle

is an inhabitant of well-watered

country, affecting forested tracts in the plains as well as hills.

Its favourite haunts are jungle-clad ravines, wooded streams and
the edge of forest clearings and cultivation. Here an individual,
or a pair, may be met with perched in a lofty tree often partly
concealed by the foliage, but from where it can command a clear
view of its surroundings. It is also commonly seen soaring in
wide circles high up in the heavens. Its call is a penetrating
high-pitched, screaming whistle of 3 or 4 notes Kek-kek-kek-kee,
chiefly uttered when soaring and clearly <iudible even when the
bird itself is a mere speck in the sky. They are particularly
noisy during the breeding season.
The food of the Serpent-Eagle consists mainly of frogs,
lizards, rats, and snakes, including poisonous ones, sometimes
of large size. Rarely game birds are also taken, it being swift
and powerful and capable of striking down large species such as
jungle- and peafowl.
Nesting : The season varies somewhat in the different portions
of its vast range, but is principally from December to March.
The nest is a large structure of sticks, sometimes lined with green
leaves, placed high up in the fork of a lofty forest tree, growing
near a stream or clearing. One egg is laid, creamy or yellowish-
white in colour, boldly blotched with reddish-brown.

246
The White-eyed Buzzard-Eagle
247
 114. The White-eyed Buzzard-Eagle
Ihitustur teem (Franklin).
Size : About that of the Jungle-Crow.
Field Characters : A small greyish-brown hawk with white
throat, two cheek stripes, brown and white underparts and orange-
yellow cere. The eyes, white or pale yellow, are conspicuous at
close quarters. A tiny white or whitish patch on the back of the
head is further suggestive of its identity. Soxes alike. Singly,
in open scrub country.
Distribution : Throughout the drier parts of India and Burma
up to about 3,000 feet in the Himalayas. It is scarce south of
Central India and absent in Ceylon. Resident, but also local
migrant.
Habits The White-eyed Buzzard-Eagle is an inhabitant of
:

more or less the same type of dry open scrub, thin deciduous
forest and cultivated country as the Tawny Kagle, and like it,
also avoids the wetter and densely wooded tracts. It is usually
seen singly, perched on a favourite stump, bush or telegraph pole
whence it swoops down on any small animal of manageable size
that shows itself on the ground. It occasionally alights on the
ground, walking about and picking up any small fry it may
chance upon. Its diet consists of locusts, grasshoppers, crickets
and other insects as well as small rodents, lizards and frogs.
Although frequently charged with game destroying propensities,
it is in fact an important conserver, since it rids the countryside
of vast numbers of field rats, mice and lizards which are well-
known enemies of the eggs and young of ground game. It does,
however, occasionally take a sick or wounded bird. While
of somewhat sluggish movements its flight is swift and direct,
accomplished by rapid strokes of the rounded wings, and rather
resembling that of the Sparrow-Hawk. In the breeding season
the birds are noisy, and their plaintive but not unpleasant mewing
calls may frequently be heard as they soar in circles high up in the
air, often along with bigger birds of prey.
Nesting : The season is mostly between February and May.
The nest is a loose, unlined structure of twigs, much like a crow's.
It is placed fairly high up in the fork of a thickly foliaged tree
such as mango, preferably one of a clump. The normal clutch
consists of three eggs— unspotted greenish- white in colour, of a
fairly smooth texture, and broad ovals in shape. The female
keeps uttering a curious mewing cry intermittently throughout
the day after the eggs are laid, which generally gives away the
location of the nest. Both sexes share in building and in
feeding the young. The female alone does the incubating which
occupies about 19 days.

248
Pallas's or the Ring-tailed Fishing-Eagle

249
115. Pallas's or the Ring-tailed Fishing-
Eagle
Haliaetus leucory films (Pallas).
Size : Considerably larger and heavier than the l'ariah Kite.
Field Characters A large dark brown eagle with pale golden-
:

brown head and a broad white bar across the tail, particularly
conspicuous in flight. Sexes alike, but female larger. Pairs,
about inland jheels and rivers.
Distribution North India, Assam and North Burma.
:

Beyond our limits it is found about the Caspian and Black Seas,
and the Persian Gulf.
Habits : This magnificent eagle is common in the plains of
Northern India and Burma, invariably haunting the neighbour-
hood of rivers, jheels and marshy ground in pairs- occasionally
also tidal creeks and brackish lakes. It is, however, more con-
fined to fresh water and not met with on the sea-coast. The
birds are seen either perched on the top of some tree or
mound near the water, or sailing aloft in graceful circles, giving
vent to their peculiar loud, raucous screams curiously like the
creaking of an unoiled wooden pulley of a village well. They
are particularly noisy during the breeding season. Its food
consists of fish, snakes, rats, crabs and the like, and carrion is
seldom despised. Fish are caught by the bird hurling itself
from the air on one near the surface and carrying it off in its
talons. It is a powerful creature and on one occasion a fish
weighing j? lbs. has been rescued from its clutches. When
negotiating fish of such proportions, the bird is unable to rise
clear of the water and obliged to drag its quarry along the surface
to the nearest land, where it is torn to pieces and devoured.
Its favourite mode of obtaining a dinner, however, is to attack
Ospreys, Marsh Harriers and such other birds and deprive them
of any prize they have secured. Pairs usually hunt egrets and
other large birds by co-ordinated effort, and take turns at chasing
and harrying the quarry until it is exhausted and can be over-
come. It has been known to attack a flock of Demoiselle Cranes
and strike down a bird. This eagle is often a great nuisance to
sportsmen on account of its aggravating habit of swooping down
on wildfowl falling to a gun, even as large as a Mar-headed (loose,
and carrying them off with the utmost audacity from almost
under the gunner's nose !

Nesting :November to March. Nest a massive stick platform

in some large isolated tree .standing in or near water. Same nest
often used in successive seasons, liggs- usually three- white,
broad oval. Both sexes share domestic duties. Incubation
period al>out 30 days.
250
The Brahminy Kite
251
 1 1 6. The Brahminy Kite
Haliastur iiuins (Hoddacrt).
Size : About that of the Pariah Kite.
• Field Characters A rusty-red bird of prey, with a white
:

head and breast down to the abdomen. Immature birds are

chocolate-brown and resemble the Pariah Kite from which
however, as also from the immature Scavenger Vulture, thev are
distinguished (especially on the wing) by their roumhil instead
of forked or wedge-shaped tail. Sexes alike. Usually found
—
near water river, jheel, sea-coast, &c.
Distribution Throughout the Indian Empire (excepting
:

Haluchistan and W-W. F. Province) up to about (>,ooo feet in

the Himalayas. Only the typical race imtiix occurs within our
limits, but the species extends eastwards to Australia. Resident,
but also locally migratory.
Habits The Hrahminy Kite affects well watered open country
:

and avoids both semi-desert tracts and dense forest. It in variably

frequents the neighbourhood of water and may be seen on all the
larger rivers and jheels inland, as well as along the sea-coast
where it is abundant around fishing villages and harbours. It
freely enters the precincts of towns and villages to scavenge
in company with' Pariah Kites and crows. Its diet consists
of any offal or garbage that can be come by, but it prefers to
pick this off the surface of water. Accordingly sea-ports and
docks are admirably suited to their requirements, for here they
get a constant supply of food floating about in the form of rubbish
of every description thrown overboard the ships. During the
monsoon, land crabs in inundated country provide a welcome
change of fare and are much sought after, while winged termites
emerging from the rain-sodden ground are also hawked. Lizards,
fish, frogs and small snakes are likewise eaten. This kite shifts
about a good deal with the seasons. Local movements are
particularly in evidence during the monsoon when the birds move
inland owing to the prospects of food afforded by the water-
logging of low-lying areas. Its call is a rather harsh, wheezy
—
squeal like that of a Pariah Kite suffering from acute sore
throat
Nesting : The season is mainly from December to April. The
nest is a loose structure of sticks and twigs, occasionally lined
with a few leaves, placed in a large tree such as a banyan, peepal
or mango, preferably growing near water. Along the coast,
cocoanut palms and the lofty Casuarina trees afford favourite
sites. The eggs, usually two in number, are greyish-white, feebly
speckled and blotched with pale dingy reddish-brown. Both
sexes share in building the nest, incubation and feeding the
young. The female does most of the incubation, however, which
occupies about 26 or 27 days.

252
 Kite
The Common Pariah
253
 117. The Common Pariah Kite
Mih'its migrans (Boddaert).
Size : Smaller than the Vulture (about J4 indies).
Field Characters : A large brown raptore. distinguishable
from all similar birds by its forked tail, particularly conspicuous
in (light. Sexes alike. Singly or gregariously, scavenging in
towns and villages.
Distribution : The race govimla is found throughout the Indian
Hmpirc and beyond eastwards ascending the Himalayas coiiimonlv
up to S.ooo feet. A second race liiiciilns, differentiated by a white
patch on the underside of tlie wings, is resident in Kashmir and spreads
out over X. India in winter.
Habits : This common and familiar bird is a confirmed com-
mensal of Alan, invariably keeping to the neighbourhood of his
haunts whether in outlying village or populated town, and
profiting by his concerns. It is usually seen perched on a roof-
top, pole or tree, or sailing in circles overhead, eyes fixed on the
ground for any scraps that can be lifted. It is one of our most
useful scavengers. Large numbers are always present about
slaughter houses, bazaars and refuse dumps, and about the docks
in seaport towns. The ease, swiftness and grace with which a
kite will swoop clown and carry ofl a dead rat or some similar
tit-bit from a narrow, congested lane with all its din and traffic,
twisting and turning masterfully to avoid the buildings and the
tangle of overhead telephone and electric, wires, is a lesson in
aeronautics and exhilarating to watch. The bird is thoroughly
omnivorous and, in addition to the usual offal ami garbage, will
eat practically everything it can come by from earthworms on
a freshly watered lawn or maidan, and winged termites emerging
from the rain-sodden ground, to chickens robbed from the
poultrv yard. Indeed, the kite often becomes a serious menace
to the poultry- keeper, especially when it has nest young 1o feed.
Outside the breeding season the birds roost at night in large
congregations in favourite clumps of trees, and much wrangling,
hustling, Hupping of wings and wheeling in the air usually precedes
slumber. Its call note is a shrill, almost musical, whistle nev-
wir-wir-wir-wir uttered both from a perch and 011 the wing.
Nesting : The season is much prolonged, commencing in
September and lasting till March or April. The nest is an untidy
platform of twigs, iron wire, rags, tow and rubbish of every
description. It is placed in the head of a cocoanut palm where
available, otherwise in the forked branch of a large tree or on the
roof or cornice of a building. The eggs- two to four in number
are a dirty- or pinkish-white, more or less spotted and blotched
with reddish-brown or blood red. Both sexes share in building
the nest, incubation and feeding the young:

2 54
Vi. « wiMtdlie KA"*-

The Black-winged Kite

255
 1 1 8. The Black-winged Kite
Klanus cacrulais (Dcsfonttiincs).
Size About Unit of the Jungle-Crow, but somewhat slenderer.
:

Field Characters A small ashy-grey and white bird of prey,

:

with a black line above the eyes and black pitches on the
shoulders, especially prominent on the closed wings which
extend beyond the square tail. Sexes alike. Singly or pairs,
in scrub country or grassland.
Distribution: The Indian nice rnri/rrns occurs palcliily practically
throughout the fndiau Kmpire. from the base of the llimfikiyiis. Kcsi-
deiit, but also a marked local migrant. The genus I'.litniis is repre-
sented in America, Africa and Asia to Australia.
Habits : The Black-winged Kite inhabits well-wooded country
and cultivation. It is met with, singly or in pairs, also in thin
deciduous forest, scrub country and grassland, but avoids dense
jungle and barren plains alike. Although somewhat crepuscular
and more active in the early mornings and just before dusk,
the bird may nevertheless be seen hunting sluggishly throughout
the day. It keeps to a favoured locality and iimv be seen perched
on the same pole or tree-top day after day, cocking its tail from
time to time and jerking it up and down between the drooping
wings. From here it pounces upon any prey that shows itself
on the ground. It beats over the ground Hying low, anil hovers
c.uinbrously every now and again. When some movement in
the grass is detected, the bird, with wings open and often raised
above the back till almost touching each other only the tips
quivering slowly parachutes down a short distance to investi-
gate, extending its legs gradually at the same time. The
hovering is resumed and presently it descends a step lower to
investigate more closely. In this manner, when within a few
feet of its quarry it closes its wings, drops upon the victim and
bears it away in its claws. Its food consists of locusts, crickets
and other insects, lizards, rats and mice. Sickly or wounded
birds are also taken. The ordinary (light is sluggish, accom-
plished by slow deliberate wing strokes as of the Koller, and
alternated with short spurts of sailing. The call, seldom heard,
is a shrill squeal, described in the typical African race as a
monotonous, oft repeated grec-cr, grcc-cr.
Nesting : The season is an extended one anil covers practically
the entire year. The two principal periods, however, are Decem-
ber to March and July to October. The nest is a loose, untidy
crow-like structure of twigs, sometimes lined with roots and
grass, at others unlincd. It is placed in a small tree, seldom
more than 30 feet from the ground. The eggs three or four in
number- are a pretty yellowish-white, usually densely blotched
with brownish-red. Moth sexes share in building the nest, incu-
bation, and feeding the young. The female does the major
part of the incubation, the male of the food-getting.

2.5"
The Pale Harrier
257
 119. The Pale Harrier
Circus macrourits (S. G. Gmelin).

Size : Slightly smaller than the Pariah Kite and much more
slender-bodied.

Field Characters : A slender, ashy-grey hawk with black

tips to its long,narrow, pointed wings, especially conspicuous in
flight. Female umber-brown with a butt-coloured, rather owl-
like ruff all round the neck —behind the earcoverts and across
the throat. Singly, skimming over standing crops and grassland.

Several other species of Harriers visit India during the cold

weather. With the exception of males in adult plumage, they
are not easy to tell one from another in the field. One of the
commonest of them, however, is the Marsh Harrier (Circus
aruginostis) found about jheels and swampy ground, and well
known to sportsmen for its annoying habit of making off with a
wounded snipe or teal that has dropped to their gun. The adult
male Marsh Harrier has silvery grey wings and tail. The female
and immature male are rather like the Pariah [Cite, but slimmer,
with a rounded tail and usually a creamy-buff cap.

Habits : The Pale Harrier is a generally distributed winter

visitor practically throughout the Indian Kmpire, arriving about
the middle of September and leaving mostly by the end of March.
It loves cultivated and scrub country, rolling grassland and open
grass-and-scrub covered hillsides. Single birds are usually seen,
indefatigably quartering the ground on outspread motionless
wings, gliding gracefully a few feet above the surface and skim-
ming over the standing crops or grass. Every now and again as
the bird—in EHA's inimitable words
—
skims along the grass
'

and skirts the bush, dips to the hollow and rises to the mound as
if it knew some charm to cancel the laws of gravitation,' it
pounces upon some unsuspecting lizard, frog, mouse, grasshopper
or small bird and settles down to dispose of it on the spot before
continuing its beat. It perches on the ground or on clods of earth
in preference to a bush or tree. The bird is silent while with us
in its winter quarters.

Breeding Range and Nesting : The Pale Harrier breeds

throughout Eastern Europe and eastwards to Central Asia, from
April to June. Its nest is a bed of leaves and grass placed on the
ground in a natural hollow, in cornfields and meadows. Pour or
five roundish oval eggs are laid, white in colour and usually
spotted and blotched with reddish-brown.

258
The Shikra
259
 120. The Shikra
Astur badins (Gmelin).
Size : About that of the Pigeon.
Field Characters : A small familiar hawk ashy blue-grey
above, white below cross-barred with rusty brown. Female
browner above, and larger. Immature, brown and rufous above,
broadly streaked with brown below. Tail with broad blackish
bands. Usually pairs, in wooded country and by villages and
cultivation. Sometimes soaring in circles high up, when the
small size, long tail and short rounded wings are suggestive of its
identity.
Distribution : Hesident throughout the Indian Empire, up to about
5,000 feet in the Himalayas, and beyond from Central Asia to
S. China. Several races are recognised on size and depth of colour-
ation. Three of these chiefly concern us, viz., the continental Indian
dussumieri, the Ceylon-Travancore badius, and the Assam-Burma
poliopsis. Birds from N.-W. India arc nearer the larger and paler
Central Asian race cenchroides.
Habits : The Shikra is a dweller of open wooded country and
avoids heavy forest. It is fond of light deciduous jungle and
groves of large trees about villages and cultivation. The tactics
it employs in capturing prey are mainly those of Surprise. From
its perch in the concealment of some leafy tree, whence it keeps
a sharp look-out for lizards, rats, frogs, locusts and other small
animals, it swoops upon ami bears away its victims before they
are aware of danger, it also kills small birds like bush-quails,
doves and babblers swooping on them without warning and
chasing them down with speed and determination. It is hold
and fierce and will often tackle birds much larger than itself.
The flight is swift consisting of several rapid wing strokes
followed by a glide. Except when soaring in circles high up in
the heavens, the Shikra usually flies close to the ground, shooting
up into the branches of a tree when alighting. Its progress is
invariably heralded by the '
Ware Hawk '
alarm notes of
squirrels and every species of small bird in the vicinity. It is an
inveterate robber of young chickens, especially while feeding its
nest-young, and often becomes a serious nuisance about villages.
Its usual call notes are exactly like those of the Black Drongo,
only louder. During the breeding season pairs indulge in curious
aerobatics and are very noisy, constantly uttering a sharp double
note ti-tui.
Nesting : The season ranges principally between March and
June. The nest is an untidy, loosely put-together structure of
twigs lined with fine grass and roots. It is placed near the top
in a leafy mango or similar tree, preferably one of a clump. Three
or four eggs form the normal clutch. They are pale bluish-white,
sometimes faintly speckled and spotted with grey. Both sexes
share in building the nest and feeding the young, but apparently
the female alone incubates. The incubation period is about 18
to 21 days.

260
The Common Green Pigeon

361
 i2i. The Common Green Pigeon
Crocopns phcenicopterus (Latham).
Size : That of the Pigeon.
Field Characters A stout, yellowish olive-green and ashy-
:

grey pigeon with a lilac patch on the shoulders and a conspicuous

yellow bar in the blackish wings. Sexes alike. Differentiated
from all other Indian green pigeons by its yellow, not red, legs.
Flocks in wooded country, chiefly on banyan and peepal trees
in fruit.
Distribution: Practically throughout the Indian Umpire (ami
beyond eastwards to Indo-China) except Sind, Baluchistan and the
desert tracts of the N.-W. Three races are recognised on size and
details of colouration, viz., the grey-bellied (typical) N. India-Assam
race phcenicopterus, the yellow-bellied S. India-Ceylon cklongaster,
and the Burmese viridifrons with yellow forehead. Resident, but
moving about locally with fruiting seasons.
Habits This Green Pigeon— as well as the numerous other
:

species that inhabit our area— is exclusively arboreal and seldom,

if ever, descends to the ground. It affects open well-wooded
country as well as forest, and is frequently found in the vicinity
of towns and villages, even entering gardens. The birds deftly
climb about the twigs of fruit-bearing trees, often clinging upside
down to get at some fig or berry, they keep in (locks of from
10 to 50 birds, and sometimes collect in enormous numbers on
banyan or peepal trees to gorge themselves on the ripe figs, in
association with mynas, hornbills, bulbuls and other frugivorous
species. When a tree is approached, the green pigeons become
immobile. Their plumage blends so perfectly with the surround-
ing leaves that inspite of their large size the birds become com-
pletely obliterated until an inadvertent movement here and
another there gives their presence away. The unsuspected
numbers that will flutter out of a fig-laden banyan when a gun
is fired is often quite amazing. When
thus disturbed the flock
will settle in another tree not far off, returning to the feast as soon
as their suspicion is allayed, in twos and threes and small parties
until the foliage is once again a jostling mass of green pigeons all
eager to make up for lost time. The birds spend the day doing
the rounds of fruiting trees, resting at intervals on the topmost
branches of a dry or leafless one. Their food consists entirely of
fruits and berries —
wild figs predominatingly— but buds and
pleasant, soft and mellow
shoots are also eaten. They have
whistling calls which usually give the first indication of their pre-
sence in a locality. The flight is noisy, swift, strong, and direct.
Nesting : Mainly March to June. Flimsy twig nest, like
dove's, in.moderate sized trees, concealed in foliage. Occasionally
several together. —
Eggs— two white, glossy. Both sexes share
domestic duties.
262
The Blue Rock-Pigeon

263
 122. The Blue Rock-Pigeon
Columba livia Gmelin.
Size : Somewhat smaller than the House-Crow. (13 inches).
Field Characters : A familiar slaty-grey bird with glistening
metallic green and purple or magenta sheen on upper breast
and around neck. Two dark bars on wings. Sexes alike.
Flocks and colonies, about cliffs and buildings.
Distribution : A widely distributed species in Kurope, Asia and
N. Africa with many geographical races. Throughout the Indian
Empire (except S. Burma) 2 races concern us, differentiated on size,
depth and other details of colouration. These are (1) the larger and
paler N.-W. Indian neglecta found up to 13,000 ft. in the Himalayas,
and (2) the smaller and darker intermedia. Resident, but moving
—
locally somewhat with food supply especially neglecta.
Habits : The Blue Rock-Pigeon ranks with the House-Crow
and Sparrow as one of our most familiar birds. In the wild state
it affects open country with cliffs and rocky hills, and avoids
heavy forest. In most localities, however, the bird has dege-
nerated more or less into a semi-domesticated commensal of Wan.
It keeps to human habitations, and almost every town of any
size has its resident pigeon population. Here it freely interbreeds
with fancy domestic .stock causing no little impurity in the race.
The birds become thoroughly inured to the din and bustle of the
most congested bazaars and lead a life of ease and plenty,
roosting and nesting in the neighbouring buildings. Warehouse
sheds, office and factory buildings and railway stations are parti-
cularly favoured resorts. Here they occupy rafters and cornices
and become an unmitigated nuisance on account of the mess
they make. In the wild state these pigeons are commonly found
living in colonies in and about old crumbling buildings, forts and
rock scarps, where they occupy ledges, fissures, and holes. In
the mornings and evenings the flocks regularly flight back and
forth to feed in the nearby fields. They obtain their food by
gleaning in stubble fields, but may sometimes be destructive to
newly-sown maize, pulse, ground-nuts and the like which mainly
comprise their diet. Their flight is swift and strong. Their call
notes are well-known, a deep gootr-goo, gootr-goo, etc.
Nesting : Breeding continues throughout the year but is
rather slack in the rainiest months, July to September. Two or
more successive broods are raised. On cliffs, etc., these pigeons
breed in vast colonies building scanty pads of a few twigs, rubbish
and feathers, often huddled close to one another. In towns and
villages, holes and niches in masonry wells, buildings and mosques
are utilised. The normal clutch is invariably of 2 eggs, white
and eliptical. Both sexes share in building the nest, incubation
and feeding the young. Incubation takes about 16 days.
264
1. The Red Turtle-Dove
Male
2. The Spotted Dove
265
 123. The Red Turtle-Do ve
(Enopopelia tranqucharica (Hermann).
Size : About that of the Myna.
Field Characters The female differs in having the mantle
:

pale brownish- grey instead of pinkish brick-red as in male

(illustrated). Small numbers in open cultivated country, gleaning
in stubble fields, etc.
Distribution Throughout the Indian Umpire. Two races are re-
:

cognised on depth of colouration, viz., the Indian tramfiti'htiyini and

the Burmese humilis. Marked local migrant in many areas.
Habits Perhaps the least abundant of the doves dealt with in
:

this book. It is a dweller of open cultivated country, and seldom

found in the immediate proximity of Man. Met with singly
or in pairs — —
sometimes large Hocks in association with other
doves. Gleans grain, seeds and vegetable matter on the ground.
Call, a somewhat harsh rolling gruo-gurr-goo, groo-giirr-goo
repeated several times cpjickly.
Nesting Practically throughout the year.
: Nest, a sparse
flimsy platform of a few twigs, sometimes lined with wisps of
grass, placed near the end of a branch 10 to 20 feet above ground.
The usual 2 white eggs. Moth sexes share in building the nest.
1 24. The Spotted Dove
Streplopelia chinensis (Scopoli).
Size : Between the Myna and the Pigeon.
Field Characters Conspicuous white-spotted
: brown and
grey upper parts with a white-spotted black chess- '

board on hind neck. Sexes alike. Pairs or parties in open

'

wooded country, gleaning in stubble fields, on paths, etc.

Distribution Throughout the Indian Kmpire except Sinil and tin:
:

dry portions of the X.-W. Three races mainly concern us, differentiated
on size and details of colouration, viz., the all-Jndian suralcnsis, the
Burmese ligrina and the Ceylonesc ceylmicnsis.
Habits Familiar everywhere in open well-wooded and cul-
:

tivated country. It avoids desert and barren tracts and is

never found far from water. Pairs may commonly be seen
gleaning in stubble fields and fallow land, anil along village roads
and cart tracks. If unmolested the birds become very tame
and confiding freely entering gardens and verandahs. The
flight, as of the other doves, is swift and strong accomplished
by vigorous wing-strokes. The call is an oft-repeated pleasant,
though mournful, kroo-kfuk-kruk-kroo. kroo-kroo-kroo the
. . ,

number of final kroos varying from 3 to (>.

Nesting : Breeds throughout the year building the customary
flimsy twig nest low down in trees and bushes also under —
eaves and on cornices and beams in verandahs of inhabited
bungalows. The usual 2 white eggs form the clutch. Both
sexes share in building, incubation and feeding young.
266
The Ring Dove

267
 125. The Ring Dove
Streptopelia decaodo (Frivalszky).
Size : Slightly smaller than the Pigeon.
Field Characters : A pale vinous-grey and brown pigeon-
like bird with a prominent narrow black half-collar on the hind-
neck. Sexes alike. Pairs or parties in open cultivated country.
Another common dove which needs mention is the Little
—
Brown Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis) about the size of the
Myna, earthy brown above with pinkish brown underparts
and a miniature chessboard in red and black on either side
' '

of the neck. It is abundant in dry open scrub country through-

—
out India tame and confiding, freely entering and nesting
in bungalows.
Distribution : Throughout the drier portions of the Indian Umpire,
ascending seasonally and locally up to 10,000 ft. in the Himalayas.
Two races are recognised viz., the India-Assam-Ceylon decaodo,
and the Burma race xanthocyla. The latter has the bare skin around
eyes bright yellow instead of pale grey or pinkish. Resident, but also
local migrant.
Habits : This is one of the commonest doves of the plains,
very plentiful in certain areas and rather inexplicably scarce
in others. It loves open, cultivated —
though essentially dry
country, abounding in groves of trees within which to retire
during the heat of the day. Thorny scrub, babul and dhak
jungle make favourite roosting places. It is found abundantly
in the neighbourhood of human habitations and feerlessly enters
villages and compounds. Pairs or small parties may be met
with gleaning on the ground, often in company with other doves.
Occasionally they collect in large flocks as when preparing for
one of their local migrations, or to feed in a patch of paddy-
stubble or newly sown jowar field where the supply is particularly
plentiful. Their diet consists almost exclusively of seeds and
grain. The flight is characteristically pigeon-like, swift and
strong, and attained by rapid, vigorous wing-strokes. Breeding
males indulge in a pretty aerial courtship display, rising vertically
into the air on noisily flapping wings and fanned-out tail for
about 50 ft., and descending in a graceful spiral glide uttering
an aggressive-sounding, prolonged koon-koon-koon. These same
notes are commonly heard when a rival is being chased off.
At other times the bird just flies out from a tree-top flapping
noisily, rises in the air to describe an arc, and coasts down on
outspread motionless wings and tail to another perch. The
usual call notes are a deep and pleasant trisyllabic kfik-koo-kook
repeated several times.
Nesting : Practically all the year. Scanty twig nest in bush
or small tree not in houses.
; Eggs — two- -white, glossy. Both
sexes share domestic duties.

268
The Common Sand-Grouse
Male
269
 126. The Common Sand-Grouse
Pt erodes exttslns Temm. & I-aug.
Size : Somewhat smaller than the Pigeon.
Field Characters : A yellowish-sandy coloured squat, pigeon
'like bird with short feathered legs and long pin-pointed tail.
The female differs from the male (illustrated) in being streaked
and barred with black all over except on the chin. She has a
black band across lower breast. Flocks, in open, arid country ;

entirely ground feeding.

Distribution : Resident over a wide range in Africa and Western
Asia. Also in the dry plains throughout the Indian peninsula. Not
in Assam, Burma or Ceylon. Only the one race eltioti is found within
our limits.
Habits : Common Sand-Grouse, along with the several
other species inhabiting or wintering in our area, affect open
barren plains, stubble fields and fallow land where they live,
feed, sleep and breed. Their colouration is remarkably oblitera-
tive, and blends so perfectly with this environment that when
squatting motionless even large Hocks are entirely invisible
at short range. Thus a wounded bird crouching only a couple
of feet away can often give endless trouble locating. The
Common Sand-Grouse is usually met with in Jlocks of 10 or
12 birds feeding together, but congregations of 200 or more
are not rare. Though often keeping at great distances from
water, they drink regularly a couple of hours after sunrise and
again shortly before dusk. Flock after flock repairs from every
quarter to a favourite jheel or tank at the appointed hour, and
excellent sport can be had as the birds fly to and from their drink-
ing ground. Their food consists of seeds, grain and vegetable
shoots, and along with it a great deal of grit is swallowed. Their
flight is strong and very swift. The call is a peculiar, penetrating
double note like kut-ro. It is not particularly loud, but capable
of carrying enormous distances and may be clearly heard as the
birds pass overhead often long before they come into view.
Nesting : There is no well-defined breeding season, but most
eggs are found between January and May. They are laid in
shallow unlined depressions scraped by the birds on the bare
soil in open wastes and desert country, unsheltered by bush or
clod. The normal clutch is of 3 eggs, oval in shape, equally
rounded at both ends. In colour they are pile greyish- or
yellowish-stone with numerous specks and spots of brown scat-
tered over the surface. Both sexes share in incubation. The
young are covered with richly marked down and able to run
about and feed themselves from the moment of hatching out.
.
The male apparently conveys water to the chicks by soaking
the feathers of his breast and abdomen while wading in to drink,
which is subsequently sucked in by the chicks.
270
The Common Peafowl
Male

271
 127. The Common Peafowl
Pavo cristattts Linnaeus.
Size : About that of the Vulture, excluding the train of the
cock which is 3 or 4 feet long.
Field Characters : The gorgeous ocellated train of the adult
cock is in reality not his tail but abnormally lengthened upper
tail-coverts. The hen is smaller, lacks the train and is a sober
mottled brown with some metallic green on her lower neck.
She is crested like the cock. Droves, in deciduous forest chiefly
plains and foothills. Also semi-wild about villages and
cultivation.
Distribution Resident throughout Ceylon and India, locally
:

up to 5,000 ft. in the Himalayas, but absent in \Y. Sind, the extreme
N.-W.i'.l'. and also in N.K. Assam. Keplneed in liurnia by the species
nnilicus with a pointed top-knot crest.
' '

Habits :In the wild state, Peafowl inhabit dense scrub and
deciduous jungle abounding in rivers and streams. They keep
in small Hocks usually composed of a cock and .4 or 5 hens
but sometimes all of one sex, and emerge into lirclines,
clearings and fields in the mornings and evenings to
scratch the ground for food. After the sun is fairly high up
and also in the late afternoons, the Hocks troop down to the
water, tripping gingerly and with the utmost circumspect ion.
Thev are possessed of phenomenally keen sight and
hearing, are excessivelv wary and will slink away through the
undergrowth on the least suspicion. The birds are loathe
to leave the ground, but when suddenly come upon they rise
with laborious, noisy Happing. The flight, slow and heavy
at first, develops considerable speed once the birds are well
under way. At night they roost in lofty trees and at early
dawn the jungle resounds with the loud, screaming iiiav-tiwr
calls of the cock which are such an anti-climax to his gorgeous
appearance. He is the first to detect the presence of the larger
cats on the prowl and follows their progress through the jungle
with his ugly niay-aweing, a warning well understood by the
other denizens. In many parts of India peafowl are protected
by religion or sentiment. Here the birds have become very
abundant and semi-domesticated, freely entering the precincts
of villages and roosting in the neighbouring trees. Their food
consists mainly of grain and vegetable shoots, but they are
omnivorous, and insects, lizards and small snakes seldom go.
past.
Nesting January to October. Nest, usually a shallow scrape
:

in dense undergrowth lined with sticks and leaves, liggs three

to five -glossy, broad oval, pale cream or white coffee '.
'

Incubation (hen only) 20 to 28 days. Cock polygamous. Dis-

plays before his bevy of hens by erecting and fanning out his
train and strutting about with peculiar paroxysms of violent
quivering.

272
The Red Jungle-fowl
Male

273
 128. The Red Jungle-fowl
Gallus gallns (Linnaeus).
Size : That of the village hen or murghi.
Field Characters The hen differs from the cock (illustrated)
:

in being a plain streaked brown bird, with rufous-brown under-

pays. Both sexes closely resemble the Game Bantam
'
'

breed of domestic fowls. Small parties in scrub ami Sal jungle.

Distribution The Indian race murghi is resident in N. India and
:

Assam chiefly in the belt of Himalayan Terai, Bhfibar and foothills

— —
country upto 5,000 ft. elevation and south through the eastern
Central Provinces to the Godavari River. Its distribution is almost
exactly coincident with that of the Sal tree (Shorea robusta). Burma
and the adjoining eastern countries are occupied by the race rnbhisoui
which differs in minor colour and other details.
Habits : The Red Jungle-fowl —
ancestor of all our domestic
breeds —
isa resident of forest country, preferably Sal forest
interspersed with patches of scrub jungle, cultivation and
clearings. They keep in small parties comprising usually of a
cock and 4 or 5 hens, feeding in the open in the mornings, retiring
during the heat of the day into the surrounding undergrowth
and emerging again in the fields in the afternoons. They are
very shy and wild, and skulk away through the thickets on the
least suspicion. When suddenly come upon they rise with a
good deal of fluttering and cackling, much like their domestic
cousins, but are fast fliers when well under way and give good
sport over dogs, and when driven. Where roads, cart tracks
or fire-lines run through the forest, Jungle-fowl will invariably
be met with along these in the mornings and evenings, picking
at the droppings of bullocks and other animals, or any grain
that has fallen from a passing cart, or scratching the ground
for food. Their diet consists mainly of grain and vegetable
shoots but insects, worms and lizards are also eaten. Bamboo
seeds are highly prized, and large numbers will collect to feed
in a patch where these are available. The crow of the cock
resembles that of the Bantam, but it is somewhat shriller and
ends more abruptly. It is uttered principally in the early
morning, and also just before and while the birds are preparing
to roost for the night in some tree or bamboo clump. It is
usually preceded by a noisy flapping of the wings against the
sides and promptly answered by another cock in the vicinity.

Nesting Principally March to May.

: Cock apparently mono-
gamous. Nest, a shallow scrape in dense undergrowth lined with
— —
dry leaves. Eggs five or six like domestic fowl's. Incubation
(hen only) about 20 days.

274
The Grey Jungle-fowl
Male

275
 129. The Grey Jungle-fowl
Galltis sonneratii Temminck.
Size :That of the village hen or murghi.
Field Characters : General effect of the cock streaked grey,
with a metallic black sickle-shaped tail. Hen distinguishable
at a glance from that of the Red Jungle-fowl by her while (not
rufous-brown) breast with blackish streaks. Singly, pairs or
small parties in forest and scrub jungle.
Distribution : The forested portions of Central India south of the
range of the last, roughly from Baroda and Mt. Aboo on the west to
the mouth of the Godavari on the east, and through S. India to about
Cape Comorin. Not in Ceylon, Burma or Assam. Resident.
Habits : The Grey Jungle-fowl is also a denizen of forest, both
deciduous and evergreen, hill and plain. It is especially partial
to broken foothills country with bamboo jungle, and to the
thick tangles of Lantana and secondary scrub that invariably
spring up on old toungya clearings and abandoned plantations.
It is usually met with singly or in pairs or small parties, though
occasionally large numbers collect to feed in areas such as where
bamboos or Strobilanthes are seeding. The habits of the two
species are very similar, but this is perhaps even shier and more
timid than the Red Jungle-fowl. When emerging into the open
to feed in the mornings and evenings it seldom strays far from
cover, scuttling headlong into it with outstretched neck and
drooping tail on the least suspicion. Where unmolested,
however, the birds become quite inured to the presence of Man,
feeding in the proximity of villages and in fields under the plough.
Its diet comprises of grain, shoots, and berries such as those of
Lantana and Zizyphus, gleaned on the ground. It also eats
termites and other insects. The crow of this Jungle-fowl has
been well described as Kuck-kaya-kaya-kuck ending with a low
kyukun-kyukun repeated slowly and softly and audible only
at short range. It is heard principally in the early mornings
—
often long before daybreak and evenings, sometimes continuing
into the dark. It is uttered from the top of an ant-hill, stone
or fallen log, or from the nightly roost up in a tree or bamboo
clump. The crowing is usually preceded by a loud flapping of
wings against the sides, and is answered one by one by all the
other cocks in the neighbourhood.
It is not definitely known whether this species is mono-
gamous or otherwise.
Nesting : Eggs and young may be found practically throughout
the year, but the principal laying months are from February
to May. The nest and its situation are similar to those of the
Red Jungle-fowl. The normal clutch is of 4 to 7 eggs, pale
fawn to warm buff in colour, very like those of the domestic
fowl in appearance. The hen alone incubates.

276
i#W#^#^.

The Common or Grey Quail

Female
277
 130. The Common or Grey Quail
Cotumix ccturnix (Linnaeus).
Size : About that of a dove without the tail, or a fortnight-old
domestic chicken.
Field Characters : A plump and squat pale lirown partridge-
like bird, practically tailless, with conspicuous buff spear-shaped
streaks and irregular blotches and bars of reddish-brown and
black above. The male has a black anchor mark on the throat.
Outer webs of primaries barred with bull. Pairs or gregariously,
on the ground, in cultivation and grassland.
Distribution: The typical race is resident over N. Africa. YV. and
Central Asia and sparingly over the greater part of N. and Central
India east to Manipur. In winter immigrants from across our borders
spread abundantly over most of continental India, but not to Ceylon.
The Eastern race japouira. visits Assam and liurnin in winter.
Habits : The Grey Quail is partly resident in India and partly
migratory, i.e., though the species is found in our midst throughout
the year its numbers are augmented by millions upon millions
of fresh arrivals from beyond our northern and north-western
frontiers between August and October. These immigrants
depart again by about the end of April. It is a bird of open
country, frequenting standing crops and grassland. It usually
keeps in pairs, but numbers may concentrate in a spot where
food is plentiful or shelter good. Thus in the Himalayas and
Kashmir, particularly on spring emigration, when most of the
crops have been harvested and only a few standing, hundreds
may be put up in a single field. When flushed, the bird rises
with a characteristic low whirr of wings accompanied by a
squeaky whistling note almost vertically upwards for some
distance and Hies oil at a height of six feet or so, to plunge again
into the crops a couple of hundred yards further. The flight,
swift and direct, is attained by rapid, vibrating wing strokes,
and is typical of game birds of this class. Its call is a loud
whistling note followed rapidly by two short ones. It has been
described as a '
very liquid Wct-mi-lips '. Its diet consists
almost entirely of grain and grass seeds, but termites and other
insects are also eaten. Vast numbers of email are netted annually
all along their migration routes, both autumn and spring, and
were it not for the fact that they are prolific breeders, the species
would have become extinct long ago. On the spring passage
to their breeding grounds, the birds are very fat and considered
a great delicacy for the table. Males are largely kept as lighting
birds. Considerable sums change hands over the bouts, and
victorious birds often fetch prices ranging upto 14s. 100 or more.
Nesting :Our resident birds normally breed between March
and May, but occasional nests may be found from February
to October. The nest is a shallow scrape sparsely lined with
grass, usually well concealed in standing crops or grass. f» to

14 eggs comprise a clutch. In colour the eggs are reddish-or

v'ellowish-buff, speckled and blotched with dark brown.

278
,-«Jpfe

The Black-breasted or Rain-Quail

Male
270
 131. The Black-breasted or Rain-Quail
Coturnix coromandelicus (Gmelin).

Size : Slightly smaller than the Grey Quail.

Field Characters : Similar to the Grey Quail except that

the upper breast and frequently also the centre of the abdomen
is black. Female very like that of the previous species, but in
the hand both sexes can be told from the Grey Quail by the
absence of the buff and brown cross-bars on the primary wing
quills. Pairs or small parties, on the ground, in cultivation and
grassland.

Distribution : Throughout India (up to about 6,000 ft. in

the Himalayas) Assam and North Burma. Rare in Ceylon.
Resident but also local migrant.

Habits : This handsome quail affects tall grassland and

standing crops. In general habits it differs little from the last
species, and the two are frequently found in association. In
up-country stations it commonly enters gardens and compounds
wherever any clumps of grass afford cover, and also haunts open
semi-cultivated country around villages. Wet grassland and
paddy-fields attract it likewise. The Rain-Quail, though a more
or less resident species throughout its range, moves about a
great deal locally with the seasons. This is particularly the
case in the monsoons and due doubtless to the conversion of
otherwise bare tracts into suitable grassland at this period, and
the consequent availability of food and cover. Its movements,
however, are little understood as yet.

The call is a disyllabic musical whistle which-which .which-

.

which, etc., constantly repeated, chiefly in the mornings and

evenings. In the breeding season indeed it may be heard most
of the day and even during the night. It is quite distinct from
and unmistakable with the call of the Grey Quail.

Nesting : The season is from March to October, but most

eggs are laid after the break of the S.-W. Monsoon in
June. The nest is a scrape lined with grass, like that of the
Grey Quail, and usually also in similar situations. Sometimes
it is in the open under shelter of a cactus or other bush. The
—
eggs— 6 to 8 in number are slightly glossed pale creamy-buff
or stone colour, blotched with varying shades of brown. They
resemble those of the last species, but are much smaller. The
female alone incubates.

280
The Jungle Bush-Quail
Male
281
 132. The Jungle Bush-Quail
Perdicula asiatica (Latham).
Size : That of the Rain-Quail.
Field Characters The female differs from the male illus-
:

trated) in the absence of the black barring on the underparts.

In her case the underparts are dull vinous brown. She also has
the chestnut chin and throat. Coveys in dry scrub country.
A very similar and confusing species, the Rock Hush-Quail
P. argoondah is often found side by side with this.
Distribution Resident locally throughout India (from the Hima-
:

layan foothills to Cape Comorin) and Ceylon, in the plains and up to

about 4,000 in the hills.
ft. Absent in Sind, parts of Kitjputatm, Eas-
tern Bengal, Assam and Burma. Four races are recognised on details
of colouration, ji !>., the dark Ceylonese ceyloncnsis, the red Konkan-
Malabar vidali, the pale N.-W. Indian punjaubi, and the typical
asiatica which occupies the remaining portions.
Habits : The Jungle Bush-Quail affects fairly open deciduous
forest as well as dry stony country with grass-and-scrub jungle.
It is found in stubble fields and stony grassland, but seldom in
standing crops. The birds live in coveys of 5 to 20 and have a
habit of forming themselves into squares when resting
'
'

crouching bunched together under a bush or in the open, all

—
facing outwards and of suddenly exploding ' or rising with a
'

whirr of wings when almost trod upon, and dispersing in all

directions. explosions' are apt to l>e rather embarrassing
These '

when one is stalking big game. The birds drop after a short
flight, and the covey soon re-unites by means of soft whistling
calls, whi-whi-whi-whi, etc., uttered by its members. They also
roost at night in the manner described and are easily captured by
fowlers who, having marked down a retiring covey, return under
cover of darkness and throw a net over the sheltering bush. The
birds troop down in single file to drink in the mornings and even-
ings, and shift from one feeding ground to another in like manner,
using the same little paths or tunnels formed in the matted and
bent-over grass, day after day. Their food consists mainly of
grain, grass seeds and tender shoots. Breeding males are pug-
nacious and challenge rivals by harsh grating calls as of the Black
Drongos arguing at the onset of their breeding season.
' '

Nesting : Males are apparently monogamous, but this has not

been ascertained. The season is not well-defined, and ranges
between August and April. The nest is a scrape in the ground,
lined with grass, under shelter of a bush or grass-tussock, usually
in scrub jungle. — —
The eggs 4 to 8 in number are creamy-white
in colour and fairly glossed. Incubation, which takes about 16
days, is carried on by the hen alone.

282
The Black Partridge
Male
283
 133* The Black Partridge
Francolinus francolinns (Linnaeus).
Size : About that of a half-grown village marghi.
Field Characters : A .plump, stub-tailed game bird chictly black,
spotted and barred with white. The female is considerably paler,
mottled and speckled black and white. Singly or pairs, in well-watered
and cultivated country.
The Painted Partridge (F. pictus), in appearance rather like the
female Black Partridge and with a similar call, occupies a large part
of the Peninsula south of the range of this species.
Distribution: Resident throughout N. India (commonly up to 5,000
ft. in the W. Himalayas) east to Manipur in Assam. Its southern
boundary is roughly a curve from Cutch through Gwiilior to Chilka
Lake in Orissa. Westward, beyond our limits, it extends to Asia
Minor. We are concerned with 3 races differing in details of colour-
ation, viz., the pale Sind-Bulfichistan-Persia henrici, the dark Sikkim-
Assam melanotus, and the intermediate asice.
Habits : This handsome partridge loves well-watered scrub-,
tamarisk- and tall grass-jungle. Riverain country, intersected
by irrigation canals and tributaries, such as is now typical of
many portions of N. India and Sind, overgrown with dense tamarisk
scrub and interspersed with millet, sugarcane and other crops arc
eminently suited to its requirements. It thrives equally well, however,
in the drier portions of its habitat, ascending the Himalayan foothills
where among other facies it is partial to tea plantations and their
environs. They keep in pairs, though 3 or 4 birds may frequently be
found together, while a good patch of scrub on being beaten may
produce ten, twelve or even more birds. They afford excellent sport
rising with a whirr of wings singly or in twos and threes and Hying
swiftly and strongly. Often the birds will run ahead of the line of
beaters and rise suddenly and unexpectedly a good many together,
near the edge of the beat, putting the sportsman off completely. The
birds enter the crops to feed chiefly in the mornings and evenings.
They are exceedingly swift runners and will usually trust to their
legs for escape unless driven or suddenly come upon. While walking
along the ground the stub-tail is often held slightly cocked as in the
moorhen, a peculiarity not seen in the Grey Partridge. Their food
consists of grain, grass seeds and tender shoots, but white ants and
other insects are also eaten. The cheerful call of the Black Partridge
is a curious mixture of the musical and the harsh —
a high-pitched
chick . . . cheeh-oheek-heraykek —
syllabified by the Emperor Babur
as Shir-darem-shakrak ( I have milk and a little sugar ').
' It is uttered
at short intervals, chiefly in the mornings after sunrise and in the
evenings far into the dusk, the birds answering one another from all
quarters. The call has a peculiar ventriloquistic and far-reaching
quality. These partridges are extensively netted, and their numbers
in many localities have dwindled considerably within recent years.
Nesting : The season lasts from April to J uly The nest is a shallow
.

depression scraped in the ground and lined with grass. It is situated

amongst the roots of grass clumps and bushes, in tamarisk scrub,
grassland or millet fields. The normal clutch is of to 8 eggs, varying
from pale olive-brown to almost chocolate-brown.

284
 SB

The Grey Partridge

285
 134- The Grey Partridge
Francolinus pondicerianus (Gmelin)
Size : About that of a half-grown village chicken (13").
Field Characters : A plump, stub-tailed greyish-brown game
bird with fine wavy black and buff vermiculations all over, and
'some chestnut in the tail. Sexes alike. Pairs or coveys, in dry
scrub country and cultivation.
Distribution —
Resident in the drier portions mostly plains
:

throughout India up to about 1.500 ft. in the Himalayas, east to

Bengal and south to (including) Ceylon. Westward, beyond our limits,
to Persia. Three races concern us, differing in details of size and
colouration, viz. : the palest Persia-Baluchistan mecranensis, the darker
Sind-N. India interpositus and the darkest S. India-Ceylon -pondi-
cerianus.
Habits : The Grey Partridge inhabits dry, open grass-and-
thorny-scrub country interspersed with cultivation, and avoids
heavy forest and humid tracts. It is commonly found on the
outskirts of villages. Except when paired off for breeding, the
birds go about in coveys of 4 to 6, scratching the ground and
cattle dung for food, and running about with a jaunty, upright
carriage. On alarm the covey scuttles away swiftly, the birds
finally taking surreptitious refuge in some thicket, and are loathe
to fly unless hard pressed. When flushed, they rise with a loud
whirr, scattering in different directions with rapid strokes of their
short rounded wings, alternated with pauses of gliding. After a
short flight the bird resettles on the ground but continues to run
on immediately, so that on approaching a bush wherein one has
apparently taken cover it is found to have vanished and will be
decried running on swiftly a long way ahead. They roost at night up
in thorny trees and bushes, and will often take shelter into these
when harried in day-time. The call of the cock Grey Partridge
is one of the most familiar and exhilerating sounds on the country-
side. It commences with two or three rather subdued chuckles,
rising in scale and intensity, followed by a ringing high-pitched
and musical kateetur-kateetur or pateela-pateela, quickly repeated.
The call of the female is a less challenging pela-pela-pela, etc. The
birds are easily snared and netted by means of trained decoys and
find a large and ready demand as food. Indiscriminate netting
has caused a serious diminution of their numbers in many areas.
Young birds are hand-reared and trained for fighting purposes.
They become exceedingly tame, following their master about like
a dog, calling to his order and coming long distances when sum-
moned. Its food consists of seeds, grain, shoots and berries such
as Lantana. It also eats maggots, white-ants and other insects.
Nesting : The season extends practically throughout the year,
the favoured months varying according to locality. The nest is
a simple grass-lined scrape in the ground in grassland, ploughed
fields, standing crops or scrub jungle. —
The eggs 4 to 8 are —
cream coloured or cafe-au-lait. Apparently only the hen
incubates though both parents usually accompany the chicks.
286
The Bustard-Quail
Female
287
 135- The Bustard-Quail
Tttrnix sitscitator (Gmelin).
Size : Somewhat smaller than the Rain-Quail.
Field Characters : An unmistakable quail with the breast
cross-barred with black and buff. Contrary to the normal
'condition in birds the female (illustrated) besides being larger,
is more richly coloured than the male, his chin, throat and breast
being whitish-buff. Bustard-Quails are distinguishable in the
hand from true quails by the absence of the hind-toe. Pairs or
small parties, in scrub and grassland.
Distribution : Resident— except in Siiul, the Punjab ;nul the N.-WV
practically throughout India, Assam, Burma and IVylon, up to alKiut
8.000 ft. in the Himalayas. Seven geographical races are recognised
on details of colouration, of which the three most wiilelv ranging are :

pluiiibipes (N. Burma. Assam, N. India west to Nepal), taijmtr (all-

India south of above) and leggei (Ceylon).
Habits : Excepting dense forests and deserts, the Mustard-
Quail is found in every type of country. It is partial to open
scrub and light deciduous forest and is frequently met with
feeding in small clearings and on footpaths and lirelines through
these. It also haunts the neighbourhood of cultivation. The
birds usually keep in pairs or 3 or 4 together, and while generally
distributed they are nowhere abundant. They are great skulkers
and flushed with difficulty only when almost trampled upon,
,

flying low and dropping again into the undergrowth after a few
yards. In flight the pale buff shoulder-patches on the wings are
conspicuous and suggestive of their identity. Their food consists
of grass seeds, shoots, grain and small insects.
The call uttered by the hen, who is highly pugnacious, is a
loud drumming drr-r-r-r-r-r often continued for 15 seconds at a
stretch and sometimes heard even on a pitch dark niglil. It
serves both to announce her whereabouts to a cock aiul as a
challenge to rival females. For, in the Mustard-Quails (and
their three-toed cousins the Mutton-Quails) the normal rnle of the
sexes is reversed. The female is polyandrous she does all the
;

courting, and fights furiously with rival hens for the )iossession of
a cock. As soon as a mate is secured and the eggs laid, her part
of the contract is over. She consigns the cock to incubate them
and rear the family, and forthwith busies herself with making
fresh conquests. Thus a single hen may, almost simultaneously,
have several clutches of eggs or broods of chicks under the re-
spective charge of her various husbands. Another call, a subdued
booming hoon-hnon-hoon-hoon, sometimes for 5 seconds or more,
is also heard, but it is uncertain as to what sex or conditions
produce this.
Nesting : Practically throughout the year, presumably as long
as the female can provide herself with gullible suitors The!

nest is a grass-lined depression on the ground sometimes arched

over and canopied by the surrounding grasses in scrub jungle
—
or crops. The eggs- - 3 or 4 are greyish-white, profusely speckled
with reddish-brown or blackish-purple. They are broad, obtuse
ovals in shape and of a glossy texture.
 THE USEFULNESS OF BIRDS
It has been said that Birds could exist without Man but
that Man would perish without Birds. This observation has
been further amplified by the remark that But for the trees
'

the- insects would perish, but for the insects the birds would
perish, but for the birds the trees would perish, and to follow
the inexorable laws of Nature to the conclusion of their awful
vengeance, but for the trees the world would perish.' An
impartial scrutiny of the facts, shows that there is indeed little
extravagance in either of these statements.
As destroyers of insect pests
The fecundity and voracity of insects are
variety,
unbelievable. Over 30,000 forms have been described from the
—
Indian Empire alone or more than ten times the number of
bird species and races— and probably many more still remain
.

to be added to the list. Practically all living animals as well

as plants furnish food for these incomputable hordes. Many
estimates have been made of what a single pair of insects would
increase to if allowed unchecked multiplication, and astounding
figures have been reached rivalling in their stupendousness
those which we associate with astronomical calculations. A
Canadian entomologist has estimated that a single pair of
Colorado Beetles or Potato Bugs (Leptinoiarsa decemlineata —
belonging to the prolific family Chrysomelid.ee of which over
20,000 species are known throughout the world, and which is
well represented in India) would, without check, increase in
one season to sixty millions. Riley computed that the Hop
Aphis or Chinch Bug (Blissus leucopterus), very destructive to
grasses and cereals in America, which develops 13 generations in
a single year would, if unchecked, reach ten sextillion individuals
at the end of the 12th generation. It is calculated that if this
brood were marshalled in line end to end at the rate of 10 per
inch, the procession would be so long that light, travelling at
the rate of 184,000 miles per second, would take 2,500 years to
reach from one end to the other !

Acaterpillar is said to eat twice its own weight in leaves

per day. Certain flesh-feeding larvae will consume within
24 hours 200 times their original weight. It is affirmed that
the food taken by a single silkworm in 56 days equals in weight
86,000 times its original weight at hatching. Locusts are as
notorious for their prolific reproduction as for their prodigious
appetites. Their swarms are sometimes so thick as to obscure
the sun, and such a visitation will in the course of a few short
hours .convert green and smiling areas into a desolate tract
with nothing but bare stems. The female locust lays its eggs
in capsules underground, each capsule containing about ioo
eggs, and several of these capsules are laid by each individual.
On a farm in South Africa measuring 3,300 acres no less than
14 tons of eggs have been dug up at one time, estimated to have
produced 1,250 million locusts. It is evident from their rate of
increase that unless insect numbers were kept under constant
and rigid check, it would not be long before all vegetation vanished
completely from the face of the earth.
A large proportion of the normal food of birds consists of
insects including many that are in the highest degree injurious
to Man and his concerns. Birds of many species not only take
heavy toll of the marauding locust hordes all along their flight
lines but also scratch up and devour their eggs in vast quantities,
as well as the different stages of the young locust after hatching.
The White Stork is a well-known locust destroyer, and the
enormous nesting colonies of the Rosy Pastor live and feed their
young exclusively upon these insects on their common breeding
grounds in Central Asia. An idea of the extent of good birds do
in destroying insect pests may be had from the fact that many
young birds in the first few days of their lives consume more
than their own weight of food in 24 hours. A pair of starlings
have been observed to bring food (caterpillars, grasshoppers,
locusts, etc.) to their nest-young 370 times in a day, and accord-
ing to Dr. W. E. Collinge, the well-known British authority, House-
Sparrows bring food (caterpillars, soft-bodied insects, etc.) from
220 to 260 times per day. A German ornithologist has estimated
that a single pair of Tits with their progeny destroy annually at
least 120 million insect eggs or 150,000 caterpillars and pupae.
This warfare is waged not only when the insects are at the peak
of their periodical abundance, but incessantly, relentlessly, and in
all stages of the insects' lives. Therefore, where birds have not
been unwisely interfered with, they constitute one of the most
effective natural checks upon insect numbers.

As destroyers of other vermin

Owls, Kestrels, Hawks and the —
birds of prey generally so
often accused of destruction to poultry and game and slaughtered
—
out of hand are amongst the most important of Nature's checks
upon rats and mice, some of the most fecund and destructive
vermin from which Man and his works suffer. These vermin do
enormous damage to crops and agricultural produce, and are,
besides, the carriers directly or indirectly, of diseases often
fatal to Man. The ravages of the Sind Mole-Rat in the rice-
growing tracts of the Indus Delta in Lower Sind have been
estimated by a competent authority as between 10 and 50 per
cent of the entire paddy crop. This Mole-Rat breeds throughout

290
29
the year. The number of young born in a litter is 5-10, but in
October and November the litters are very large varying from
14 to 18 young each. Mice are equally fecund and destructive.
It has been computed that one pair of House-rats having
6 litters of 8 young annually and breeding when 3| months
old, with equal sexes and no deaths, would increase at the end
of the year to 880 rats. At this rate the unchecked increase
of a pair in 5 years would be 940,369,969,152 rats. Such
calculations, of course, are purely theoretical and their results
will never be approached in Nature, but they are not extravagant
qua the power to reproduce and are based on moderate and
conservative estimates.
It will thus be seen that every pair of rats destroyed by
birds means the annual suppression of a potential increase of
880 rats. Many of our owls and diurnal birds of prey feed
largely on rats and mice ;some of the former, indeed, live
more or less exclusively on them. Two or three rats or mice
apiece or their remains may frequently be found in the stomachs
of Horned-Owls, for example, and as digestion in birds is a
continuous and rapid process it is conceivable that a larger
number may be destroyed in the course of 24 hours. Since
these birds are engaged in the good work from year's end to
year's end, sonle estimate of their beneficial activities can
be made.
As scavengers
Vultures, Kites and Crows are invaluable scavengers. They
speedily and effectively dispose of carcases of cattle and other
—
refuse dumped in the precincts of our villages notoriously
—
lacking in any organised system of sanitation that would
otherwise putrefy and befoul the air and produce veritable
culture beds of disease. The services of the birds are of especial
importance during famines and cattle epidemics when large
numbers of domestic animals perish and at best are left by the
wayside covered with a flimsy layer of earth to be exhumed by
the first prowling jackal that happens on the spot. The speed
and thoroughness with which a party of vultures will dispose of
carrion is astounding.
As flower -pollination agents
While the importance of bees, butterflies and other insects
in the cross-fertilisation of flowers is well-known, the large part
played by birds in the same capacity has not been adequately
appreciated. A large number of birds of divers families and
species are responsible for the cross-fertilisation of flowers, many
of them possessing special adaptations in the structure and
mechanism of their tongue and bill for the purpose of extracting
honey from the base of the flower tubes. Flower-nectar is
292
rich carbo-hydrates and provides excellent nutriment, so
in
much so that many of the most highly organised flower-birds
subsist more or less exclusively on this diet. In trying to reach
the nectar, the forehead or throat of the bird comes into contact
with the anthers. The ripe golden pollen dust adheres to the
feathers and is transported to the mature stigma of the next
flower visited, which it thus fertilises. It is little realised how
largely responsible birds are for the success of the present-day
Match Industry in India. Of all the indigenous woods that
have been tried in the manufacture of matches, that of the
Silk Cotton tree has been found to be the most satisfactory as
regards quality, abundance and accessibility. The large showy
crimson flowers of this tree serve as a sign-post to attract the
attention of the passing bird. They contain a plentiful supply
of sugary nectar, which is eagerly sought after by birds of many
—
kinds over 60 different species have been noted and are—
mainly cross-pollinated through their agency. Birds thus
contribute to the production of fertile seed and the continuance
of healthy generations of the tree, and incidentally to the supply
of raw material for your box of matches. A careful scrutiny
will doubtless reveal that we are ultimately dependent upon
birds in this House-that- Jack-built sort of way for many more
of our every-day requirements. The Coral tree (Erythrina),
which is largely grown for shade in the tea and coffee plantations
of South India, is also one whose flowers are fertilised chiefly,
if not exclusively, by birds of many species.

As seed dispersers
In the dissemination of seed and the distribution of plant
life, birds play a predominant part in this country. Their
activities unfortunately are not always of a beneficial character
from the economic point of view. No better instance of the
extent of their seed-dispersing activities can be cited than that
of the Lantana. This pernicious plant of Mexican domicile
was first imported into Ceylon for ornamental purposes just over
a century ago. It has since overrun thousands of square miles
of the Indian continent, and become the despair alike of agri-
culturist and forester. Its phenomenal spread within this
comparatively short period would have been impossible without
the agency of birds, numerous species of which greedily devour
the berries which the plant everywhere produces in such over-
whelming profusion. A Black-headed Oriole has been observed
swallowing 77 berries in the course of 3 minutes. The seeds
pass through the birds intestine unaffected by the digestive
juices, .and out with the waste matter in due course. They
germinate rapidly under favourable conditions and establish
themselves.
293
 Another noxious plant that is entirely bird propagated is
the Loranthus tree-parasite. It belongs to the Mistletoe family,
well represented in this country, almost all of whose Indian
members are more or less wholly symbiotic with Sunbirds,
Flowerpeckers and other bird species, which both fertilise its
flowers and disperse its seeds. Bulbuls and Barbets are largely
responsible for the dissemination of the seeds of the Sandalwood
tree in South India and are welcome in Sandalwood plantations.
In the newly colonised canal areas of the Punjab, the Mulberry
owes its abundance mainly to propagation by birds. Experi-
ments have even shown that the seeds of such plants as grow on
richly manured soil, after passing uninjured through a bird's
intestine, produced stronger seedlings than those which were
cultivated without such advantages.
As food for man
A feature of the larger dhands or jheels in Sind and other
places in Northern India during the cold weather is the magnitude
of the netting operations that go on throughout this season for
supplying the markets of the larger towns, both near and distant,
with wildfowl of every description for the table. Tile population
of the neighbourhood of these jheels subsists during these months
more or less exclusively on the flesh of water birds or on the
traffic in them. Round every village near a dhand of any size
in Sind may be seen little mounds of coot feathers which furnish
an indication of the esteem the bird enjoys as an article of diet.
The wildfowl netting operations on the Manchar Lake alone
involve a turnover of several thousand rupees annually,
besides providing the inhabitants of the neighbourhood with
free or almost free sustenance for several months in the year.
Quails, Partridges and other game birds are also netted or
shot for eating purposes, and innumerable other species of every
description are caught and sold in the bazaars to fanciers,
yielding substantial returns to those engaged in the trade.
Egret feathers
Until a few years ago Egret-farming for the sake of the
valuable plumes was a profitable cottage industry and largely
practised on the various dhands or jheels in Sind. The dainty
' '
—
decomposed breeding plumes of the white egrets, aigrettes as
—
they are known to the trade were largely exported to Europe
for lathes' head-dresses, tippets, boas, muds and for other
ornamental purposes. They were almost worth their weight
in gold, and brought in handsome profit to the farmers. With
the change in ladies' fashions, the demand has dwindled consi-
derably, and with it the prices. The working of the Wild Birds
and Animals Protection Act has put a further check upon exports,
and most of the egret farms have gradually disappeared.
294
Thick-billed Flowerpecker eating Loranthus berries
This bird is largely responsible for the spread of the
tree-parasite

295
Birds' nests
There are other minor products of birds which, if properly
husbanded, could be made to yield considerable revenue in
India. The saliva nests of the so-called Edible Swiftlets
(Collocalia), which breed in vtist colonies on islands of! the Burma
coast and that of the Konkan (W. India), are even now a source of
considerable income to those engaged in the trade and of royalty
to Government. The nests are collected and exported to China
as an epicurean delicacy, the better qualities fetching from Rs. 7
to 14 per lb. The value of nests imported into China during
1923, 1924 and 1925 exceeded Rs. 25 lakhs ; a fair proportion
of these came from the Indian Empire.

Guano
Guano which is really the excrement of sea birds such as
gannets, cormorants and pelicans is another product of great
commercial value. The fertilising properties of the phosphoric
acid and nitrogen contained in fish were not recognised until
guano became a stimulus to intensive agriculture. The real
guano is found in vast stratified accumulations on islands off
the coast of Peru, and although no deposits of like magnitude
or value exist within our limits, yet the possibilities of the
'
guano '
of colonial nesting birds have not been seriously
exploited in India.
From all that has been said it must not be assumed that
birds arc a wholly unmixed blessing. They are injurious
to Man's interests in a number of ways. They destroy his crops,
and damage his orchards, flower beds and vegetable gardens ;

they devour certain beneficial insects and prey upon fish and
other animals useful to Man as food ; they act as intermediate
hosts of parasites that spread diseases among his livestock and
disperse them far and wide in the course of their migrations ;
they fertilise the flowers and disseminate the seeds of noxious
plants and weeds. Yet with all there can be no doubt that the
good they do far outweighs the harm, which must therefore be
looked upon as no more than the labourer's hire.
The case for the protection and conservation of birds in a
—
country like ours so largely agricultural and forested and
—
therefore at their mercy, is clear, and needs no eloquent
advocacy. Quite apart from the purely materialistic aspect,
however, it must not be forgotten that Man cannot live by bread
alone. By the gorgeousness of their plumages and the loveliness
of their forms, by the vivaciousness of their movements and
the sweetness of their songs, birds typify Life and Beauty. They
rank beyond a doubt among those important trifles that supple-
ment bread in the sustenance of Man and make living worthwhile.
296
The White-breasted Water-Hen
297
 136. The White-breasted Water-Hen
Ainiittrornis plurnicmus (Pennant).
Size : About that of the Partridge.
Field Characters :A common slaty-grey, stub-tailed, long-
legged marsh bird with prominent white face and breast and
bright rusty-red under the tail. Singly, or pairs, skulking about
in reeds and thickets on water-logged land. Sexes alike.
Distribution : Resident throughout the Indian Empire to
the base of the Himalayas- and beyond eastward to Celebes
and Formosa. Two races are recognised, viz : the paler and
smaller all-lndia-Ceylon-Burma-Formosa race phir-nicitrtts, and
the darker and larger Andamans hisuluris.
Habits : Swampy ground overgrown with reeds, and tangles
of bushes and bamboo on the margins of j heels and ponds con-
stitutes the favourite haunts of the White-breasted Water-] len. In
the rainy season it wanders afield and is then commonly seen about
water-logged burrow-pits and roadside cuttings. At this season,
Hooded rice fields. As the bird circumspectly
too, it is partial to
stalks along the ground or skulks its way through the hedges
and undergrowth its stumpy tail, carried erect, is constantly
twitched up displaying prominently the red underneath. It is
usually shy and resents observation, betaking itself to
cover on the least suspicion and then peering inquisitively through
an opening at the intruder. Its food consists of insects, molluscs,
seeds and vegetable matter.
This waterhen is silent except during the rains when it
breeds. At that season males indulge in fierce though rather
innocuous battles for mates, and become exceedingly obstreperous.
When calling the bird usually clambers to the top of a bush
whence it can command an open view of its surroundings. The
calls begin with loud raucous grunts, croaks and chuckles sug-
gestive of a bear in agony and settle down to a monotonous
metallic kfi-wak .ku-wak .ku-tudk or kook. .koolt ..ktmk some-
. .

what like the Coppersmith's but louder, in a higher key, and

repeated more quickly. On cloudy, overcast days this is often
kept np for 15 minutes at a stretch, and calling continues more
or less throughout the night.
Nesting : The season mainly coincides with the South-west
Monsoon, lasting from June to October. The nest is a shallow
cup-shaped pad of twigs, creeper stems and flags of bulrushes.
It is placed either on the ground in some tangled growth near
the water, or in the interior of a bush or small tree (> to 10 ft.
up on the margin of a tank or water-logged paddy-field. The
eggs— —
or 7 in number are rather long, smooth ovals, cream
or pinkish-white in colour streaked and blotched with some
shade of reddish-brown.
298
The Indian Moorhen
299
 137* The Indian Moorhen
Gallinula chloropus (Linnaeus).

Size : Same as the White-breasted Waterhen ; about that of the

Partridge.

Field Characters : General effect on land that of a waterhen,

on water that of a small duck. A slaty-grey and brown marsh bird
with white border to wing and conspicuous white undertail coverts.
Longish green legs and large ungainly feet. I'airs or gregariously,
amongst partially submerged rushes, swimming or skulking about.
Distribution : —
Very extensive in Kurope, Asia, Africa and
America. Throughout the Indian Empire, plains and hills up to about
6,000 ft. Our entire area is occupied by the race indicus. Kcsident,
but also local migrant.

Habits : The Moorhen inhabits thick reedbcds and vegetation

bordering tanks and jheels. It lives in pairs or gregariously and is,
as a rule, shy and retiring. However, a pair or two sometimes take
up their residence on a village tank where, if unmolested, they become
surprisingly tame. The birds walk with an upright carriage and a
peculiar bobbing of the head at every step, accompanied by an upward
flick of the stumpy little erect tail, displaying the white underneath
prominently. If disturbed it runs swiftly to cover and disappears,
making its way through the reeds and tangled vegetation, or clambering
up the stems, with ease. It swims well inspitc of its unwebbed feet,
with the fore part of the body depressed and the hind quarters raised
showing up the white undertail coverts to advantage. Its movement
on water is also attended by the same characteristic jerky bobbing
of the head and flicking of the tail. It is an adept at diving when
danger threatens, and can remain under water for considerable periods,
poking its beak out stealthily for breath from time to time. When
rising off the water the birds patter along the surface for a good dis-
tance, half running half flying, before they get under way. They fly
with laboured rapid wing-strokes a few feet above the surface, legs and
neck extended, but once fairly launched are capable of long and sus-
tained flights. The call is a sharp loud kirrik-crek-rek-rek heard mostly
in the mornings and evenings, especially during the breeding season
when the birds are very noisy. In addition to this abrupt call, a
variety of chuckling and softer notes are also uttered. Their diet
consists of grass shoots, seeds, water weeds, insects, frogs, etc.

Nesting : Like most of our waterbirds, the Moorhen commences

to breed in June immediately the rains have set in, and continues
till August, sometimes rearing two successive broods. The nest
is a bulky structure of sedges and weeds placed amongst aquatic
herbage, or rarely even in a tree overhanging or near water. The
— —
eggs 3 to 12 in number are pale yellowish to warm buff-stone in
colour, blotched with dark reddish-brown. Incubation is said to last
about 21 days and to be shared by both sexes.

300
The Purple Moorhen
301
 138. The Purple Moorhen
Porphyria poliocephalus (Latham).
Size :About that of the village hen.
Field Characters A handsome leggy, purplish-blue rail,
:

with long red legs and toes. A conspicuous white patch under
the tail and the bald, red forehead eontinguous with the heavy
bill, confirm its identity. Sexes alike. Gregariously, in swampy
reed-beds.
Distribution Practically throughout the plains of India,
:

Burma and Ceylon. West to Persia and east to Siam. The

typical race poliocephalus, is resident in our limits.
Habits The Purple Moorhen frequents reed-covered swamps,
:

and edges of j heels and tanks overgrown with rushes affording

plenty of cover. The birds keep in parties and spend their
time in search of food stalking or skulking through the reed-beds
or awkwardly clambering up amongst and clinging to the stems.
They saunter about over the partially submerged weeds and
floating lotus leaves, constantly flicking their tails in the typical
waterhen or rail manner and displaying the white patch under-
neath. Except when harried, the birds are not particularly
shy or secretive. They run to cover when disturbed and are
averse to flying unless compelled. The flight, attained with
laboured wing beats appears feeble, but the birds can travel
quite fast once they get going. The neck is extended and the
long red legs and ungainly feet trail behind. Their diet is
—
mainly shoots they are destructive to young paddy crops
and other vegetable matter, but insects and molluscs are also
eaten. They have a variety of hooting, cackling and hoarse
notes which may constantly be heard from within reed-beds and
bulrushes bordering a tank, at all hours of the day. During
the breeding season the birds are particularly noisy. The male
goes through an elaborate but ludicrous courtship display,
holding up water weeds in his bill, facing the female and bowing
and showing off before her, to the accompaniment of loud chuckles.
The Purple Moorhen is generally prized as a delicacy and
much persecuted by local shikaries.
Nesting : The season coincides with the S.-W. Monsoon, ranging
between June and September. The nest is a large pad of rush-
paddy- or grass-stems firmly interwoven, sometimes placed on a
floating islet formed by matted water weeds, at others from 1 to 3 feet
above water level in rushes and reeds standing in water. The
normal clutch consists of 3 to 7 eggs, varying from pale yellowish-
stone to reddish-burl in ground colour, blotched and spotted
with reddish-brown. The birds guard their young vigilantly
and are often bold in defending them against predators.

302
The Coot
303
 139- ine ^oot
Fulica atra Linnaeus.
Size : About that of the village hen, or j grown duckling.
Field Characters : A slaty-black, dumpy, practically tailless
—
water bird, rather duck-like on water in the distance with —
ivory-white pointed bill and a white horny shield covering fore-
head. Peculiar lobed or scalloped toes. Sexes alike. Gre-
gariously, on tanks and j heels.
Distribution : Europe, N. Africa, Asia, America. Practically
throughout India, Assam and Burma (but not Ceylon) up to about
8,000 ft. in the Outsr Himalayas. Resident, but also a numerous
winter visitor.
Habits : As a resident the Common Coot is found sparingly
on rush-bordered jheels and tanks of any size, but its numbers
all
are vastly increased in winter by immigrants from beyond
our borders. At that season, the birds collect in immense herds,' '

and on the larger jheels of N. India great patches of water are

often literally black with their multitudes. The birds are reluc-
tant to fly, and when alarmed prefer to get out of the way by
skittering along the water, half running half flying, and flopping
down again to swim away gracefully, the head and neck gently
bobbing with each stroke of the legs. The pattering noise
set up by the birds on a gun being fired near a packed herd
is at times positively bewildering. They are expert divers and
capable of remaining submerged for a considerable time by
holding on to water weeds below, with only the bill breaking
the surface. Their gait on land is awkward, the backwardly
situated legs necessitating a very erect posture. Although
reluctant to fly and taking off with much pattering and apparent
labour, the birds, once under way, are capable of strong and
sustained flight. It is attained by distressingly
'
rapid wing
'

strokes, neck out-stretched and legs trailing behind the blunt

barrel-shaped body. A coot ringed in Indore was shot in Russia
after it had done a migratory journey of about 1,500 miles,
presumably over the Himalayas. The longest- known distance
covered by a coot in a day is 164 miles which is considerably
beyond what one would suppose possible for apparently so
feeble a flier. Their call, often heard at night, is a clear and
loud trumpet-like cry. The diet consists mainly of aquatic
insects, molluscs, shoots of water-weeds and paddy, and other
vegetation. The birds are rank and fishy to the taste and
seldom shot by sportsmen. It is remarkable how confident
they become of their safety, and how little perturbed by the
constant gun fire during a shoot which promptly sends all the duck
higher and higher or right off to another jheel. They are, however,
largely captured and killed by the local fishermen who esteem
their flesh highly.
Nesting The season is chiefly July-August. The nest is a large
:

compact mass of rushes and flags placed amongst reds, slightly above
—
water level. The eggs —-6 to 10 are fine-textured, and of a buffy-
stone colour stippled and spotted with reddish-brown or purplish-
black. Coots are pugnacious and quarrelsome, and intolerant of other
species nesting on the same water as themselves.

304
The Bronze-winged Jaqana
305
 140. The Bronze-winged Jacana
Metopidius indicus (Latham).
Size : About that of the Partridge.
Field Characters : A leggy water-bird somewhat like the
Moorhen, with glossy black head, neck and breast, metallic
greenish-bronze back and wings, and chestnut-red stub tail. The
—
outstanding peculiarity of the Ja^anas this and the next species
— is their enormously elongated spider-like toes. Sexes alike
but the immature is chiefly whitish, rufous and brown. Singly
or gregariously, on ponds and tanks.
Distribution : Resident throughout India (except Sind, the
N.-W., and W.Rajpfitana) Assam and Burma not Ceylon.
;

Beyond, eastwards, it extends to the Celebes.

Habits : The Bronze-winged Jacana inhabits jheels and tanks
abounding in surface vegetation of floating water-lily, singara
(Trapa) and other aquatic plants. Over these, its specialised,
enormously elongated slender toes enable it to trot along with
ease. The birds are somewhat crepuscular and most active in
the early mornings and late evenings, but they are also about at
other times of the day. Where unmolested they become tame,
and on village tanks may commonly be seen in close proximity
of the chattering women folk trooping down with their pots for
water, or of the dhobi noisily banging his clothes upon the ac-
customed stone. When alarmed it sneaks off into the reeds, if
easily accessible, tripping gingerly over the tangles of floating
vegetation. If in the open and far from cover it lies low amongst
the floating stalks often partially submerging itself for better
concealment. If persistently harried, the birds take refuge up
on dry ground in amongst standing crops and the like, whence
they flush like Painted Snipe on being walked up to. It is a good
diver and can also swim creditably when occasion demands, with
the carriage of a Moorhen, but it is a. poor flyer. The flight,
attained by rapid, rather laboured wing-strokes is slow, with the
neck extended and the cumbersome feet dangling behind under
the tail. After a few yards thus, low above the surface, the bird
re-alights on the matted vegetation and resumes its progress on
foot. It has a peculiar short, harsh cry, and like most of its
relations becomes noisy during the breeding season. Its diet
—
consists of vegetable matter seeds, roots, etc. — but insects and
molluscs are also eaten.
Nesting : Breeding commences as soon as the rains have
properly set in, and lasts from June till September. The nest
is a circular mass of roughly put-together and twisted weeds,
— —
placed on floating leaves often partially submerged or amongst
the rushes on the margin. The normal clutch consists of 4 eggs,
very glossy and handsome, bronze-brown in colour with an
irregular network of black or dark-brown scrawls.
306
The Pheasant-tailed Jacana
Breeding Plumage

307
 i4i* The Pheasant-tailed Jacana
Hydrophasianus chirurgus (Scopoli).
Size : Excluding the tail plumes, that of the Partridge.
Field Characters : A striking white and chocolate-brown
rail-like water bird with enormous feet and a distinctive, long,
pointed sickle-shaped tail. Sexes alike. In non-breeding plum-
age chiefly pale brown and white, with a black necklace on upper
breast, and minus the long tail. —
Gregariously in non-breeding
season often large flocks— on vegetation-choked tanks.
Distribution : Resident throughout the Indian Empire, up
to about 6,000 ft. in Kashmir. Beyond, eastwards, to S. China,
Philippines and Java.
Habits : This handsome Jacana is common on every lotus or
stM^fira-covered jheel, tank or swamp of any size. In general
habits it closely resembles its Bronze-winged cousin, except
perhaps that it keeps more to the open and is less skulking.
While strictly resident, the birds are forced to move about a
good deal locally, as the waters they inhabit gradually dry up
in summer. Its enormous toes are admirably adapted for a life
on floating aquatic vegetation. They help to distribute the
weight of the bjrd over a large area, so that it can run over the
most lightly floating leaf without producing a ripple. In the
non-breeding season these Jacanas collect in flocks of as many as
50 to 100 birds, and their peculiar nasal mewing calls tewn,
tewn, etc. —
uttered as the birds rise in the air with a flash of their
white wings and make off on alarm, is a familiar sound to every
one who has shot duck on an Indian jheel in winter. At rest their
colouration at this season is obliterative in their native environ-
ment of dry floating water-lily stems and leaves. Its diet consists
of vegetable matter as well as insects and molluscs.
This species possesses a strong sharp spur at the bend of the
wing which is used as a weapon of offence. During the breeding
season, the birds indulge in a great deal of mostly innocuous
scrapping.
Nesting The season is during the S.-W. Monsoon, principally
:

June to September. The nest is a pad of rushes, etc., as of the

Bronze-winged Jacana, placed on floating vegetation. Some-
times floating rafts of dry weeds and herbage are made, while
occasionally the eggs are even laid on bare lotus or singara leaves,
partially submerged in water. The normal clutch consists of 4
peg-top shaped eggs, glossy greenish-bronze or rufous-brown in
colour, unmarked. Apparently the female alone incubates.
When disturbed or suspicious the bird transfers the clutch bodily
from one spot to another a few yards away, pressing each egg
with the bill against her breast, crouching, walking backwards
and almost dragging it over the floating leaves.
308
 H-N WtHDReKAH.

The Painted Snipe

Female
309
 142. The Painted Snipe
Rostratula benghalcnsis (Linnaeus).
Size : Slightly larger than the Quail.
Field Characters : A leggy, typical rail with long, straight
and slender snipe-like bill slightly decurved at tip. Above
chiefly metallic olive-green with buff and blackish streaks and
markings ; below chiefly brown and white. Pale coloured
'
spectacles and a pale band along centre of crown distinctive.
'

The male is less showy than the female (illustrated) and lacks the
chestnut and black on neck and breast. Singly or in wisps, in
rush-covered swamps.
Distribution : Wide—in Africa, Asia, Australia and Tasmania.
The race benghalensis occurs in Africa and throughout the Indian
Empire up to about 5000 ft. in the Himalayas. Resident, but
also local migrant.
Habits : The Painted Snipe affects reed-covered swamps, the
edges of jheels and tanks and also inundated paddy fields. It
loves patches with little open squelchy puddles interspersed
amongst the cover. It is a resident species but also moves about
a good deal locally with conditions affecting its habitat, such as
the drying up of tanks or inundation of suitable low lying country.
It is largely crepuscular and much more active in the early morn-
—
ings and evenings possibly even at night than in daytime.
It usually keeps singly or in small wisps and can be flushed only
by beating the rush beds or walking up to. The flight is laboured
and rail-like with the long legs dangling behind and below the tail,
and the bird alights in the reeds after topping them for a few
yards. It is strong and swift on its legs and usually runs a Rood
distance through the rushes upon alighting, often soon working
its way back to where it was disturbed. It can also swim well
when occasion demands.
Its food consists of insects and molluscs as well as paddy
grains and vegetable matter. The birds call repeatedly in the
mornings and evenings. The female has a rather deep mellow
note compared by Hume to the noise produced by blowing softly
into a bottle, just falling short of a whistle. It contrasts with
the squeaky note of the male.
Nesting : The Painted Snipe breeds practically throughout the
year. The female, as in the Bustard Quail, is polyandrous. She
does all the courting and fights desperately with rivals for the
possession of a male. As soon as eggs are laid she leaves him to
incubate them and tend the young when hatched, going off her-
self in search of another unattached male who is similarly landed
with family responsibilities. The nest is a pad of grass or rushes
with a slight depression in the centre. It is placed on the ground
in grass on the edge of a marsh or on bands separating inundated
fields. —
The eggs 3 or 4- -are some shade of yellowish stone
colour, blotched and streaked with brown.

310
The Sarus Crane
3"
 143* The Sarus Crane
Antigone antigonc (Linnaeus).
Size : Larger than the Vulture. Standing the height of a man.
Field Characters A large grey stork-like bird with long bare
:

red legs and naked red head and neck. Sexes alike. Usually
—
pairs stalking about cultivation and marsh land.
Distribution : The typical race anligone is resident in Northern
and Central India, Gfljerat and W. Assam. Eastern Assam and
Burma are occupied by the race sharpei which differs in being
darker, and in other details.
Habits : The Sarus — the largest of our Indian cranes— is
essentially a bird of open well-watered plains. It is most often
met with in and about cultivation, but it also frequents shallow
marsh-bordered jheels and river banks. The birds almost inva-
riably keep in pairs, periodically accompanied by one or two
young, and flocks are rare. They pair for life and their devotion
to each other has earned them a degree of popular sentiment
amounting to sanctity. If one bird is killed the survivor of the
pair will haunt the scene of the outrage for weeks calling dis-
tractedly, and has even been known to pine away and die of grief.
They are zealously protected by the inhabitants in many parts
with the result that the birds become tame and confiding and will
stalk about and feed unconcernedly within a few yards of the
cultivators working in their fields.
They the ground with some difficulty, but when once
rise off
fairly launched, the flight —
attained by slow rhythmical strokes
—
of their great wings, neck extended, legs trailing behind is swift
and powerful though seldom more than a few yards above the
ground. They have loud, sonorous, far-reaching trumpet-like
calls which are uttered both from the ground and in flight.
During the breeding season the pair indulges in peculiar ludicrous
dancing displays and caperings, spreading their wings and
prancing and leaping in the air round each other.
Their diet consists of grain, shoots and other vegetable matter
as well as insects, molluscs and reptiles.
Nesting : The season ranges principally between July and
December. The nest is a huge mass of reeds, rushes and straw
—
—about 3 feet in diameter at the top built on the ground in the
midst of flooded paddy fields, swamps or shallow jheels. Usually
2 eggs are laid, pale greenish- or pinkish-white in colour, some-
times spotted and blotched with brown or purple.
Incubation is apparently carried on mainly by the female,
but the male takes occasional turns at brooding. He guards the
nest vigilantly throughout the period, and assists in tending the
young.
312
The Demoiselle Crane
313
 144* The Demoiselle Crane
Anthropoides virgo (Linnaeus).
Size : Considerably smaller than the Sarus, standing about
3 feet high.
Field Characters : A long-legged grey bird with the sides of
the head and neck black, the feathers of the lower neck long and
lanceolate and falling over the breast. Conspicuous pure white
ear-tufts behind the eyes. Sexes alike. Large flocks in young
—
crops gram, wheat, etc. Winter visitor.
—
The Common Crane (Grus g. Hlfordi) the kulam of sports-
—
men somewhat larger and with a distinctive red patch on the
nape, also visits India in enormous numbers during winter,
commonly associating with the present species.
Distribution : Within our limits the Demoiselle ranges in
winter commonly throughout Northern India and down to
Mysore. South of the Deccan, it is rare. It also visits AssSm
and the greater part of Burma.
Habits : The Demoiselle Crane -koonj as it is known to shikaris
— arrives in the plains of India in vast hordes in about October
and departs again by the end of March. The birds frequent
open cultivated country to feed on the tender shoots of wheat,
gram and other cold weather crops in flocks which often number
hundreds. During the middle of the day they usually retire to
the flat shelving shores and sandbanks of the larger rivers and
jheels to rest, and often spend hours flying and circling in the
air at great heights. They are excessively shy and wary birds.
While feeding or resting they post sentinels around who sound
the alarm on the slightest suspicion. The din of a great congre-
gation taking off the ground accompanied by their high-pitched
kurr, kurr, kurr uttered in varying keys has been aptly likened
to the distant roaring of the sea. Both as a sporting bird and
as an item on the menu, the koonj ranks very high. Its uncanny
vigilance combined with its habit of keeping to the open with
no cover at hand to aid the sportsman, calls for all his cunning
and patience in circumventing the quarry and makes it a difficult
bird to bag. Cranes fly in broad V-formation, neck and legs
extended, with a leader at the apex whose place is immediately
filled by the next bird should he happen to be shot. Their
call is a loud, musical, high-pitched trumpet which carries
enormous distances. It can be heard with amazing clarity
even when the birds are ascending in spirals, as in their wont,
so high up in the heavens as to look like midges. Their diet
consists almost entirely of shoots, grain and young crops, but
insects and small reptiles are seldom passed by.
Nesting : The Demoiselle breeds in Southern Europe and on
the high plateaux of Algeria and Central and Northern Asia
as far east as Mongolia. Its nest is similar to that of the Sarus.
Two eggs are laid, greenish- or yellowish-grey in colour sparingly
blotched with reddish-brown and grey.

3M
The Great Indian Bustard
315
 145* The Great Indian Bustard
Choriotis nigriceps (Vigors).

Size : Larger than the Vulture ; standing about 4 ft. to top of crown,
and weighing up to 40 lbs.
Field Characters : A heavy ground bird, reminiscent of a young
ostrich, with a characteristic horizontal carriage of the body at right
angles to the stout, bare legs. Deep buff above finely vermiculated
with black ; white below with a broad black gorget on lower breast.
Conspicuous black-crested crown. Sexes alike, but female smaller.
Pairs or parties, in semi-desert and about cultivation.

Distribution : Punjab, portions of Sind, Cutch, Kathiawar, Raj-

putana, Gujerat, the greater part of Central India, Central Provinces
and the Deccan, and parts of Mysore. Absent in Bengal, Assam,
Burma and Ceylon. Resident, but also local migrant.
Habits : This magnificent bustard affects bare, open semi-desert
plains and sparse grass-covered country interspersed with low scrub
and bushes or with cultivation. It often enters standing crops which
hide it completely from view. The birds are generally met with singly
or in pairs or parties of 5 or 6, but droves of as many as 25 or 30 are
not unknown. They are usually excessively shy and wary and can
seldom be approached within gunshot except by subterfuge in the
shape of a harmless-looking bullock cart or camel to which the birds
have become inured on the countryside. They run at great speed
when disturbed and though rather heavy and slow in taking off, are
no mean fliers once well launched. The flight, rather like a vulture's,
is attained by deliberate rhythmical strokes of the huge wings. It
is often sustained over several miles before the bird re-alights, but
never at any great height from the ground. Though a permanent
resident in India, this bustard is subject to marked seasonal local
migrations under stress of natural conditions affecting its food-supply.
Its diet consists principally of locusts, grasshoppers, beetles and other
insects. Grain and the tender shoots of various crop plants are also
eaten, as well as lizards, small snakes and centipedes.

The usual alarm call of the Great Indian Bustard has been likened
to a bark or bellow, something like hook. In the breeding season
the cock, who is apparently polygamous, makes a great display before
his bevy of admiring hens. He struts about with neck and throat
inflated and the feathers puffed out. The tail is raised and expanded
fanwise, the wings are drooped and ruffled while he utters a low,
deep moaning call audible a considerable way off.
Nesting : Breeds practically throughout the year but chiefly between
— —
March and September. The egg usually a single is laid in a shallow
depression in the ground, sometimes sparsely lined with grass, at the
base of some bush. In colour it is drab or pale olive-brown, faintly
blotched with deep brown. The female alone is said to incubate.

316
The Stone-Curlew
3T7
 146. The Stone-Curlew
Burhinus cedicnemns (Linnaeus).
Size : Slightly larger than the Partridge. More leggy.
Field Characters A brown-streaked plover-like ground bird
.

with thick head, long bare yellow thick-kneed legs, and enormous
round goggle eyes. In flight a white patch on wings conspicuous.
Sexes alike. Pairs or parties, in dry, open, stony country.
Distribution Wide—in Europe, Africa, Asia. Resident
:

practically throughout the Indian Empire up to about 3,000 ft.

in the Himalayas. Two races concern us, viz. the larger and :

paler Persia-Sind-Baluchistan as tutus, and the smaller and darker

all-India-Burma-Ceylon indicus.
Habits The Stone-Curlew, also known as the Thick-knee
:

or Goggle-eyed Plover, is a bird of much the same

type of country as the bustards -open plains and —
hummocks, dry and stony, and dotted here and there with
scanty bushes and scrub. It is also found on ploughed
and fallow land and on the shingly beds of dry streams. Occa-
—
sionally it frequents- especially in daytime light deciduous —
jungle and mango topes, etc., near villages. The birds keep in
pairs or parties of up to 6 or 10. They are strictly ground-
living and run swiftly with short quick steps, neck outstretched
and held almost ift line with the horizontal body. They are
largely crepuscular and nocturnal in their habils and sluggish
during daytime when they may be met with resting in the shade
of bushes or under a grove of trees. When suspicious or alarmed,
the bird, after scuttling a short distance, squats low with body
pressed to the ground, head and neck extended in front. Its
colouration thus affords perfect camouflage and makes
it look exactly like a diminutive mound of earth,
even at close range. The wing-action in flight which is —
strong, and usually close to the ground is something between —
that of the bustard and the plover. Its food consists principally
of insects, worms, slugs and small reptiles with which a quantity
of grit is commonly swallowed. It is considered an excellent
bird for the table.
The call of the Stone-Curlew, mostly hpard during the night
more particularly on moonlit nights is a series of sharp, clear —
whistling screams '
pick pick pick
'
pick. .pick- . . . . . .

wick .pick-wick
. . pick-wick and so on, with accent on the
. . .

second syllable. Very often duets are indulged in.

Nesting The season ranges principally between February
:

—
and August. The eggs usually 2 are laid in a scrape at the —
base of a bush or tuft of grass on stony ground, in a dry river bed,
mango grove or open country. They are pale buff to olive-green
in colour, boldly blotched with brownish or purplish, and remark-
ably obliterative in their surroundings. Both sexes share '

in incubation and tending the young.

318
The Indian Courser
3'9
 i47« The Indian Courser
Cursorius coromandelicus (Gmelin).
jjize: About that of the Partridge.
Field Characters : A sandy-brown, lapwing-like bird with
chestnut and black underparts. Rich rufous crown a black ;

and a white stripe through and above eyes long bare china-
; :

white legs. Sexes alike. Singly, scattered pairs or parties,

running about on fallow land and semi-desert.
Distribution : Throughout the drier portions of India and
in North Ceylon. Absent in Assam and Burma. Largely
replaced in N. Sind and N.-W. Punjab by the Palscarctic cream
coloured species Cursorius cursor without the chestnut and
black underparts. Resident, but also local migrant.
Habits : The Indian Courser inhabits bare stony plains, fallow
and waste land adjoining cultivation, and ploughed fields. It
avoids forest. It is met with in scattered pairs or parties of up
to 10 or 12 individuals which spend their time running about
swiftly, and dipping forward obliquely now and again in a charac-
teristic manner to pick up some insect. When alarmed or
suspicious the bird spurts forward a few yards with short rapid
steps, halts abruptly and erects itself to survey the intruder,
makes another spurt, and so on, quickly increasing the distance
between itself and the object of its suspicion. If pressed, it
rises with a peculiar note and flies fairly low along the ground for
fifty or a hundred yards, commencing to run again immediately
on alighting. When thoroughly disturbed, however, itrises higher
in the air with deliberate and rapid wing-strokes and is then
capable of a considerable turn of speed. Its action and appear-
ance in flight high overhead is strongly reminiscent of the
Pratincoles. Its food consists of insects and their larvae, princi-
pally beetles, crickets and grasshoppers. The birds move about
locally to some extent under pressure of natural conditions
governing their food supply.
The Courser is another good example of the effectiveness of
obliterative colouration in animals living in bare open country.
It is remarkable how invisible this bird can become in its native
environment until betrayed by movement.
Nesting : The season is mainly between March and August.
— —
The eggs 2 or 3 are deposited either in a shallow scrape or
on the bare ground, with no semblance of a nest, in arid open
plains. They are broad, stone-coloured ovals thickly spotted
and blotched with black. Both the eggs and the newly hatched
young are beautifully colour-camouflaged and are extremely
difficult to locate except by a careful watching of the parents'
behaviour and movements.
320
#;'--"->.' --'i>j*iife M**"^''

The Black-headed or Laughing Gull

Summer plumage
33»
148. The Black-headed or Laughing Gull
Larus ridibundus Linnaeus.
Size : About that of the Jungle-Crow.
Field Characters : A typical gull, grey above white below,
—
with a dark coffee-coloured head in summer. In winter the sea-
—
son when the birds are mostly in our midst the head is greyish-
white with a vertical crescent-shaped black mark behind the ear.
The pointed bill and duck-like webbed feet are red (wrongly
coloured on plate). Sexes alike. Distinguishable from the equally
common Brown-headed Gull (L. brunnicephalus) with which it
often associates, by its first primary wing-quill being white with
black edges and tip, whereas in that species it is black with a white
subterminal band. Gregariously, along the sea-coasts and about
large jheels and rivers inland.
Distribution : Breeding in Temperate Europe and Western and
Central Asia. Winter visitors to India south to Travancore.
Habits : The Black-headed or Laughing Gull begins to arrive
in India in August or September and by the middle of April most
birds have again left for their breeding grounds. They are found
in small numbers on large inland jheels and rivers, but more
abundantly along the seaboard. Here they commonly frequent
harbours, flying and circling about the ships riding at anchor,
following in the wake of outgoing vessels for considerable dis-
tances out to sea, and escorting incoming ones back to port.
Their food here consists mainly of any refuse or garbage cast
overboard and floating on the surface which they swoop upon
and pick up with their bills, often alighting on the water and
riding buoyantly like a duck. For these scraps they have
usually to compete with Brahminy and Pariah Kites which are
also present about the docks in numbers. Gulls likewise affect
the vicinity of fishing villages along the coast. They follow the
fishing boats returning with the catch, eagerly scanning the water
for any worthless fry that may be thrown overboard. The
birds reap a rich harvest of such fare where the fishermen clean
and dry their nets on the beach. In inland localities they also
eat insects, grubs, snails, slugs and the shoots of various crops.
They never dive for their food as the terns do.
This Gull has a number of loud raucous calls. The ones
most commonly heard have been described as a querulous scream
kree-ah and a loud wailing ka-yek, ka-yek.
Nesting : In Europe from April onwards in large colonies running
into hundreds, on sandhills, marshes and heather-covered dry hills.
The nests, built on the ground close to one another, vary from a
sparsely-lined scrape to a well-made massive structure of weeds, grass,
etc. Three eggs form the normal clutch. They are light stone to
dark brown in ground colour, spotted and blotched with deep blackish-
brown and purplish.

3*2
The River Tern
323
 149- The River Tern
Sterna auranlia Gray.
Size : About that of the Pigeon, but much slimmer.
Field Characters : A slender, graceful grey and white water bird
with long, pointed wings, deeply forked swallow-tail, very short red
legs and pointed yellow bill. The black cap of the summer plumage
(illustrated) is replaced in winter by greyish-white flecked and streaked
with black at nape. Sexes alike. Gregariously, on rivers and jheels,
usually flying up and down.
The Black-bellied Tern (Sterna melanogasler) is another common
species on inland rivers and tanks, while the Gull-billed Tern
(Gelochelidon nilotica) is found commonly both inland and on the sea-
coast. It is distinguishable from most other terns by its black bill,
legs and feet.
Distribution : Throughout India and iiurma -and beyond, in
—
Malaya on all large rivers.
Habits: The Kiver Tern, as its name implies, is found chiefly on
inland rivers and to some extent also on jheels. It is rare on tidal
estuaries and never met with on the soa-coast. Here it is replaced
by several other species, all differing in details but bearing the unmis-
takable stamp of the tribe. The birds are found singly, in small loose
parties, and gregariously rather than in flocks. They fly to and fro
a few yards above the surface with deliberate lwats of their long,
slender and pointed wings. The bill and eyes are directed below and
intently scanning the water for any fish venturing within striking
depth. From time to time as the quarry comes into view the bird
closes its wings and hurls itself headlong into the water becoming
completely submerged for a second or so, then reappearing with a small
fish held across the bill. As it resumes its flight, the victim is jerked
up in the air and swallowed head foremost. It is pretty to watch a
party of terns following a shoal of fish, plunging into the water one
after another with a splash, swallowing their victims hurriedly, wheeling
and circling masterfully in the air to keep up with the escaping shoal
and repeating the attack again and again. While their staple diet is
fish they also eat small Crustacea, tadpoles and aquatic insects. When
satiated, the birds may be seen resting on mudbanks on their ridicul-
ously short legs. A peculiar habit of the terns is that when one bird
drops to a shot, 2 or 3 others will promptly follow suit and dive down
almost instinctively along with him. At the same time largo numbers
will gather at the spot, flying and circling overhead to investigate.
This is doubtless because the unwounded birds think their companion
has discovered some food and are anxious to share the spoils.
Nesting : The season is chiefly between March and May. Kiver
Terns nest in colonies on sandpits and islets in the larger rivers, in
mixed association with Pratincoles, various plovers and terns of other
species. — —
The eggs normally 3 are laid on the bare sand in a slight
depression. They vary in ground colour from greenish-grey to buify-
stone and are spotted, blotched and streaked with brown and inky
purple. The restless flying about of the birds over the observer's
head, and their obvious concern, usually gives away the presence of
nests on a particular islet.

324
The Little Ringed Plover
325
 150. The Little Ringed Plover
Charadrius dubius Scopoli.
Size : Slightly smaller than the Quail.
Field Characters : A typical little plover with thick head, bare
longish legs and short stout bill. Sandy-brown above, white below.
White forehead black fore-crown, earcoverts and around eyes a
; ;

black collar round the white neck. Sexes alike. Pairs or small
scattered flocks, on tank margins, shingle banks in rivers, etc.
Distribution : Practically throughout the Indian Empire up to
—
about 4,000 ft. in the Himalayas and beyond, east and west. We
are concerned with two races whose validity inter se is, however, rather
doubtful, via., the larger, European, winter visitor curonicus, and the
smaller, resident jerdoni.

Habits : The Little Ringed Plover is essentially a bird of damp,

open mudflats on the margins of j heels and estuaries, the beds of drying
up tanks and the. shingle banks and sandpits of rivers. It keeps in
scattered pairs or parties of 5 to 12. The birds run along the ground
with short mincing steps, halting after every little spurt to pick up some
insect or other tit-bit with the peculiar dipping movement charac-
teristic of the plovers. They have a curious habit, when feeding on
soft wet mud, of drumming with their toes in a rapid vibratory motion
in order to dislodge insects, sand-hoppers and tiny crabs lurking in
their burrows. In their accustomed environment their colouration
is remarkably obliterative, and it is often with the greatest difficulty
that a bird can be located as long as it remains motionless. Although
the individuals keep scattered and feed independently of one another,
yet as soon as one bird takes alarm and rises, the rest follow suit and
they all fly off together, twisting and wheeling in the air in unison and
constantly uttering a short rather plaintive whistle phiu as they go.
The flight, attained by rapid strokes of the pointed wings is swift,
but seldom more than a few feet above the ground.

The courtship display of the Little Ringed Plover is a long and

varied affair. At one stage, it consists, in the male determinedly
chasing the female round and round in the air for several minutes at
a time. A later development, just before mating takes place, com-
prises of his fanning out and rapidly vibrating his tail up and down
while his bill almost caresses the female, and he prances lightly and
quickly from one foot to the other.

Nesting : The season ranges between March and May. The eggs
—
4 in number are laid among the shingle and on sandbanks in a dry
river bed. They harmonise so perfectly with their surroundings that
they are often difficult to locate even when near enough to be trampled
on I They are of the typical shape of plover eggs, broad at one end
and abruptly pointed at the other. The colour varies from buffish-
stone to greenish-grey with hieroglyphic-like scrawls and spots of dark
brown, and phantom purple markings. Both sexes share in the
incubation.

326
 "#?<
./S*.-.;?^

'-*'~#f '>'":

The Red-wattled Lapwing

327
 151. The Red-wattled Lapwing
Lobivanellus indicus (Boddaert).

Size : Slightly larger than the Partridge ; more leggy and with a
longer neck.
Field Characters : A familiar plover, bronze-brown above white
below, with black face, breast and crown and a crimson wattle or
fleshy projection above and in front of each eye. Sexes alike. Well-
known Did-he-do-it ? calls. Pairs or small parties, in open country
near water.
Distribution Resident practically throughout the Indian Empire
:

up to about 6,000 ft. in the Himalayas and peninsular hills. Three

races arc recognized, vie., the larger and doubtfully paler Sind-
Baliichistaii aigneri, the all-India-Ceylon indicus, and the Assam-
Burma artonuchalis with somewhat different head markings.
Habits : The Red-wattled Lapwing is our commonest and most
familiar plover. It haunts open country, ploughed fields and grazing
land, and is almost invariably present on the margins and beds of
jheels and tanks whence the water has lately receded. Pairs or parties
of 3 or 4 birds are also usually to be met with in forest glades and
clearings. Here they are often a source of great annoyance to the
shikari, ruining his stalk by their uncanny and ceaseless vigilance and
giving away his presence to the sambhar or other quarry grazing
in the open by their frantic calls and agitated behaviour.

They spend their time running about on the ground in short spurts,
feeding in the typical plover manner on insects, grubs, molluscs, etc.,
and seem to be quite as active and wide awake at night as during
daytime. Its ordinary flight is slow, attained by deliberate flaps
of the wings. The bird alights again after a short distance, usually
running a few steps on doing so. When thoroughly scared, however,
it is capable of considerable speed and much dextrous turning and
twisting on the wing.

Its call is the all-too-familiar, loud and penetrating Did-he-do-it ?

or Pity-to-do-it uttered either placidly or frantically, just once or twice
or repeatedly, depending upon the intensity of the prevailing emotion.

Nesting : The season is principally between March and August.

The nest is merely a natural depression or scrape in the ground, unlined,
sometimes margined with pebbles. It is situated on waste or fallow
land, more or less water-logged in the rains and with deep imprints of
cattle hoofs. The drying-up beds of village tanks also offer suitable
sites. —
The eggs normally 4, broad at one end, abruptly pointed
—
at the other are some shade of stone or grey-brown in colour, blotched
with blackish. They, as well as the newly hatched downy young
harmonise with the soil to perfection and it is difficult to locate the eggs
or chicks even in a circumscribed area except by patiently watching the
movements of the parents. Both sexes guard the young assiduously
and launch fierce attacks upon other birds and mammals straying into
their proximity.

328
The Yellow-wattled Lapwing
329
 152. The Yellow-wattled Lapwing
Lobipluvia malabarica (Boddaert)

Size : About that of the Partridge ; more leggy.

Field Characters : A sandy-brown plover with white belly,

black cap and bright yellow lappets above and in front of the
eyes. In flight, a white bar conspicuous on the black wings.
Sexes alike. Pairs or small parties, on dry waste land.

Distribution : Throughout India, from the base of the Hima-

layas south, and Ceylon. Not in Upper Sind, Western Punjab,
Assam or Burma. Resident, but partly also local migrant.

Habits The Yellow- wattled Lapwing inhabits more or less

:

—
the same type of open country plains, waste and fallow land
as the preceding species, but with this consistent difference that
it prefers drier habitats and is less dependent upon the neigh-
bourhood of water. It is met with in pairs or small scattered
parties, and except that it is on the whole not so noisy or demon-
strative as its Red-wattled cousin there is little appreciable
difference between the general habits of the two.

Its call, however, is entirely distinctive and bears no resem-

blance to that of the Did-he-do-it. It is a sharp, plaintive,
bisyllabic ti-Pe uttered every two or three seconds, and punctuated
from time to time by a high-pitched, quick-repeated twit-lwil-
twit-twit.

Nesting The season is mainly between April and July.

:

The eggs are laid on the bare earth or in a shallow, unlined

scrape sometimes surrounded by a circle or parapet of pebbles
or kankar. The nest is usually situated on dry open waste
land. —
The eggs 4 in number and of the usual plover's shape
are buff to olive-stone in colour, irregularly blotched with dark-
brown and purplish-grey. They, as well as the newly hatched
downy chicks, harmonise with the soil so effectively as to be
completely invisible even at a few feet's distance. (Plate, p. 91).

The parent birds demonstrate in the same frantically vocal

manner as the foregoing species when their nest or young are
approached, circling close overhead in great agitation and often
making as if to strike the intruder.

33o
.. ^ifflMw- M
I .

"W*^.-*.

The Black-winged Stilt

331
 i53« The Black-winged Stilt
Himantopus himantopus (Linnaeus).
Size : About that of the Partridge, but with bare slender
legs 10 inches long.
Field Characters A striking lanky wading bird of black,
:

greyish-brown and white plumage, and with a straight slender

black Its most striking feature is the enormous length
bill.
of its thin reddish legs. The summer and winter plumages
differ in details, as also does the summer plumage of the male and
female. Pairs or flocks, wading in shallow water at the edge of
tanks, &c.
—
Distribution: Wide in Europe, Africa, Asia, America, Australia
and New Zealand. Throughout India, Burma and Ceylon in winter.
Resident and breeding in many parts of North and North-western
India and Ceylon, Also local migrant.
Habits : The Black-winged Stilt is essentially a marsh bird,
well-equipped for obtaining its livelihood in shallow water.
It is usually met with in pairs or small Hocks wading up to its
'
knees on the margins of jheels, village tanks, ami shallow salt
'

pans. It is sometimes seen even in ploughed inundated fields-

but never on the seashore. As it goose-steps along in the water,
it probes into the soft squelchy mud with its slender bill for worms,
molluscs, aquatic insects and seeds of water plants which form
its food. On the ground the bird walks and runs well and
gracefully, and it can also swim creditably on occasion.
The ilight is weak and napping. The pied colouration and
slender build of the bird, coupled with the extended neck and
the long red legs trailing behind the tail make its identity on
the wing unmistakable, even at a distance. When alarmed
and flying off, the birds utter a rather squeaky piping note.
While largely a resident species, the Stilt is subject to marked
local migrations under stress of natural conditions such as droughts
and heavy Hoods.
Nesting The season is principally between April and August.
:

Stilts nest in colonies, often of several hundred individuals.

The nest is a hollow or depression in the ground about the margin
of a jheel, or a raised platform of kankar in shallow salt-pans,
lined with vegetable scum off the water, grass, or such other
odds and ends as can be procured. The normal clutch consists of
3 or 4 eggs, light drab in colour densely blotched with black.
In size, shape and appearance they closely resemble the eggs
of the Ked-wattled Lapwing.
Brooding birds are not shy and permit a close approach
before they desert their nests. Once off, however, they become
agitated and noisy, circling over the intruder's head with loud
cries all the time until he withdraws.

332
« -«*- m.wah€w«»*»"

The Avocet
333
 i54« The Avocet
Recurvirostra avocetta Linnaeus.

Size : Slightly larger than the Partridge, and more leggy.

Field Characters : A
black-and-white marsh bird, rather
like the Stilt in the distance, with long bare bluish not reddish
— legs and slender, black, conspicuously upcurved bill. Sexes
alike. Pairs or parties on marshes, jhcels and sea-coast, especially
tidal creeks.

Distribution In winter the typical race avocetta is not un-

:

common in Northern India, and extends in smaller numbers

throughout the peninsula east to Bihar and south to Ceylon.
It is absent in Assam and Burma.

Habits : The Avocet is a winter visitor to the plains and

western seaboard of India, arriving in our midst about September
and departing by the middle of May. Pairs and small parties
are usually seen along the margins of j heels, marshes, tidal
creeks and mud-flats where the birds spend their time actively
running about on marshy ground or wading with slow deliberate
steps into shallow water in search of food. Large Hocks of a
hundred birds or more may also occasionally be met with. Its
diet consists of .aquatic insects, small Crustacea, worms, <K:c.
The feeding with the curiously shaped bill is effected as follows :

the bill is partly opened and directed against the ground obliquely
— rather as a hockey stick is held in play so that the curved
part skims the squelchy semi-liquid mud. It is then moved with
a back and fore rotatory churning motion taking in the food.

The toes of the Avocet are partly webbed and enable it

to swim with ease when occasion demands. Its call note is a
clear, loud, rather high-pitched kluit uttered several times in
succession, usually on the wing.

Nesting The Avocet breeds in temperate Europe and Asia

:

—
but nowhere within Indian limits from April onwards, im-
mediately on return from its winter quarters. The nest and
site are very like those of the Stilt- a depression sometimes
lined with grass, etc., on low-lying marshy ground and the margins
of jheels. — —
The eggs usually 4 in a clutch also closely resemble
those of the Stilt.

334
The Curlew
335
 155- The Curlew
Numenius arquata (Linnaeus).

Size : About that of the domestic hen.

Field Characters :A darkish sandy-brown wading bird,
streaked with black and fulvous to produce a game bird pattern,'
'

with white lower back and rump. Its most characteristic feature
is the downcurved slender bill 5 or 6 inches long. Sexes alike.
Singly or small parties, on j heels, rivers and the seashore.
The Whimbrel (Nttmenius pheeopus), a close relative of
the Curlew and very similar to it in appearance and habits,
is also a winter visitor to India and found in identical habitats.
It is distinguishable by its somewhat smaller size and the presence
of a conspicuous whitish median streak on the dark crown.
The call it utters in flight is a musical tetti, telti, tetti, let. As
a rule it keeps in larger Hocks than the Curlew.
Distribution : The Eastern race orientalis winters commonly
throughout India, Burma and Ceylon. The typical (European)
form, arquata, also occurs as a casual winter visitor.
Habits : The Curlew is a winter visitor to India, arriving
in September and leaving again for its breeding grounds by the
beginning or middle of April. In winter it is found in small
—
numbers— singly, pairs or small parties about j heels, marsh-
land and rivers, but it is rather more plentiful along our sea-
coasts. Here the birds may be seen running about or stalking
along the shore at low tide, or on the mudbanks of tidal creeks,
picking up what they can find on the surface or probing into
the soft ooze with their bills, in search of food. Its diet varies
according to the locality it frequents, consisting chielly of
molluscs, crustaceans, insect larva; as well as vegetable matter
such as berries of marsh plants, grass shoots and seaweed. It is
active and on the move more or less throughout the day and
night. The call of the Curlew, usually uttered in flight, is a
loud, plaintive scream — a shrill coor-lee or cur-lew quite—
characteristic and unmistakable when once heard. The bird
is at all times inordinately shy and wary. —
very difficult to
approach or circumvent. It is sought after by sportsmen and
highly esteemed as an article for the table.
Nesting : The Curlew breeds in Northern and Central Europe
to Siberia from April to June. —
The eggs 4 in number are —
laid in a scantily-lined depression on moors and marshland.
They are pyriform in shape, i.e., broad at one end, abruptly
pointed at the other as in the plovers, grey-green to olive-brown
in colour freely spotted and blotched, more densely round the
broad end.

336
+&#>, **«.,,
* {TV*** -,, -^ • •>«

^».« '''<**k- «--

, ,,

The Wood or Spotted Sandpiper

337
 156. The Wood or Spotted Sandpiper
Tringa glareola Linnaeus.
Size : About that of the Quail.
Field Characters : A little, snipe-like wading bird, sepia brown
above indistinctly spotted and marked with white. Lower back and
rump white. Breast pale brownish. Whitish stripe above eyes. The
summer (breeding) plumage is brighter with the spots and "markings
more denned. Sexes alike. Singly or small Hocks, about jlieels.
marshes, etc.
Two other sandpipers need mention The Green Tringa ochropus)
:
(

and the Common (2". hypoleucos). The former is distinguishable from

the Wood Sandpiper by its somewhat larger size and the bronze-green
gloss on its upper parts. In flight its white rump and tail are con-
spicuous and it utters a low whistling ti-tui as it rises and Hies off. The
Common Sandpiper is of the same size as the Wood Sandpiper but
with a brown rump and only the outer tail feathers while. A white
wing-bar is diagnostic in flight, which is accomplished by peculiar
rapid but still wing-strokes, and close over water. It utters lee-tec-tee
as it makes off.
The Redshank (Tringa
totanus) and Greenshank (Chilis nrbiilitriti)
are also common on marshes, jheels and tidal creeks during winter.
They are both larger than the sandpipers (less than Cartridge) but
unmistakably of the tribe. Both have long, bare, slender legs
—
red and olive-green respectively and straight slender bills. In the
Greenshank this is slightly upturned. Singly, parties or (locks ;

Greenshanks less gregarious. Both utter a sharp tlwec-tiwee-liwee 01

tew-tew-tew as they fly.
Distribution : In winter practically throughout India, ihirma
and Ceylon.
Habits The Wood or Spotted Sandpiper is one of the most abundant
:

of the numerous snipe-like birds, popularly known as " Snippets,"

to be found in winter about every j heel, village tank, river, inundated
ploughed lield and marsh in India. It commences to arrive in our
midst as early as August and stays on till May. KHA
satisfactorily
defines the term Snippet as including any bird which purports to
' '

be a snipe and is not a snipe Such birds often form an inadvertently

!

large proportion of the tyro snipe-shooter's bag, but with a little

practice there is no excuse for confusing the two. l'or one thing the
snipe always rises with a very characteristic, rather harsh, scape or
pench, while in the sandpipers or snippets this takes some form of shrill
piping notes. The white rump and barred brown-and-white tail
of the Wood Sandpiper, conspicuous in lliglit, will furnish further
evidence of its lowly identity.
Wood Sandpipers collect into parties and flocks much more
freely than do the other species. The birds run about actively on the
soft mud wagging their diminutive tails up ami down and with them
the posterior part of their body —picking up what they crau on the
surface and probing into tho squelchy ooze with their bills for insects,
larva;, worms, small molluscs and the like. This species is principally
a marsh bird, and though found about tidal creeks, salt-pans and back-
water paddy cultivation, it is seldom, if ever, seen on the seashore.
Nesting: The Wood Sandpiper breeds during May and June in
Europe and N. Asia. Its nest is a scantily -lined depression in some dry
elevated patch in open marshy, grass-covered localities.

338
The Little Stint

339
 i57« The Little Stint
Erolia minuta (Leisler).
Size : About that of the House-Sparrow.
'
Field Characters : A diminutive wader, mottled greyish-
brown or dusky above, white below, with blackish legs and bill.
—
Sexes alike, but summer (breeding) plumage richer more black
and rufous. Flocks, by j heels, tanks and on tidal mudflats.
—
Temminck's Stint (Erolia temminckii) also of the same size
—
and habits and a common winter visitor is frequently found in
association with the Little Stint. It is somewhat darker above
and with the outer tail feathers white instead of brownish. Legs
olive-green. The shaft of its first primary wing-quill is white, the
rest of the shafts brown in minuta the shafts of all primaries are
;

more or less white.

Distribution : In winter throughout the Indian Empire. Two races
visit ub, viz. : the typical minuta from N. Europe and C. Siberia to
India and Ceylon, and the rufous-headed ruficollis from E. Siberia and
Japan to Burma and the Andamans.
Habits : The Little Stint is a common winter visitor to India,
arriving in our midst about August and departing again for its
northern breeding grounds by May. It is a sociable little wader
and often collects- in large flocks, usually mixed with the closely
related Temminck's Stint, Dunlins, and other gregarious
shore-birds. It is found inland as well as along the sea-
board, frequenting the edges of tanks, marshland, mudflats
in the vicinity of tidal creeks, and the seashore. The members
of the flocks spread themselves out when feeding but never stray
very far from one another. They are incessantly on the move,
running about with agility and picking up tiny insects, crusta-
ceans and molluscs which form their food. When disturbed, the
flock flies off swiftly in orderly mass formation, turning and
twisting in unison, the white undersides of the wings flashing,
all together, from time to time as the birds wheel in the air. They
utter a soft musical wit-wit-wit or a low tr-rr as they fly. The
flock settles after a short flight and the birds resume their feeding
activity forthwith.
Nesting : The season in North-eastern Europe and Siberia is

June and July. The nest is a cup-shaped depression lined with

willow leaves, situated on grassy marshland. Four pyriform
eggs are laid, greenish to bufnsh-stone in colour, spotted and
blotched with reddish-brown.
The fact that by the beginning of August the birds already
commence to arrive in India indicates how hurriedly the domestic
operations have to be performed. The adult birds are the first
to arrive. The young of the year remain behind till they are
sufficiently strong to undertake the arduous journey south,
following 3 or 4 weeks later.

340
The Common or Fantail Snipe
34i
 158. The Common or Fantail Snipe
Capdla gallinago (Linnaeus).
Size : Slightly larger than the Quail.
Field Characters : An obliteratively coloured marsh bird with
straight slender bill about 24 inches long. Dark brown above streaked
with black, rufous and buff ; whitish below. Sexes alike. Singly
or wisps, on grass-covered marshy ground, rising up suddenly with
a harsh note when disturbed, and flying off in swift zig-zags.
Another snipe, common during winter, and also featuring largely
in sportsmen's bags is the Pintail (G. stenura). It is not easy to dis-
tinguish the two species in the field except with much practice. In
the hand it can be told by the 26 or 28 attenuated pin feathers in its
tail as against 12 or 14 normal ones in that of the Fantail.
—
Distribution : Wide in Europe, Asia, Africa and America. In
winter two races visit practically the whole of the Indian Empire,
viz. : the typical gallinago from N. Europe and C. Siberia, and the
E. Asiatic raddii with white underwing coverts. This evidently is
the breeding race also of Kashmir and the Himalayas.
Habits : The Common or Fantail Snipe is an abundant winter
visitor to the Indian plains, arriving about September and leaving
by May. It frequents squelchy paddy-fields and stubble, and marshy
reed-covered ground on the margins of jheels, brackish backwaters
and tidal creeks. The birds are usually met with singly, but it is
not uncommon to flush them in wisps of 4 or 5 which have foregathered
in a patch with plentiful food supply. Their colouration harmonizes
so admirably with their surroundings that it is difficult to spot a
crouching snipe, even out in the open, unless it moves. When ap-
proached or otherwise disturbed, they rise abruptly out of a tussock
of grass or rushes with a harsh characteristic note scape or pench,
—
rather like the squelching of a sodden shoe and go off at a tremendous
pace in a scries of rapid zig-zags. It is this swift zig-zag flight that
gives spice to the sport of snipe-shooting and disappointing bags
to inexperienced or mediocre shots. During the heat of the day
snipe retire to cover under grass tufts and bushes bordering their
feeding grounds. They are then sluggish and usually reluctant to
fly fast or travel far. When thoroughly scared, however, and on
cool windy days they will often flush while still well out of gunshot
and rise high in the air, flying at great pace with their peculiar angular
rolling movements in a wide circle overhead, uttering the pench from
time to time and dropping to the ground again not far from where
they were flushed. They commence to feed in the open in the late
afternoon and continue all through the night and till the sun is well
up in the morning. Their food consists of worms, larvae, tiny molluscs
and the like. It is obtained by probing their long bills into the soft
mud, the presence of the quarry being detected by means of the
sensitive, thickened tip.
Nesting : The season in Kashmir is May and June. The nest
is a shallow grasslined depression in a tuft of grass on marshy land.
Four eggs form the normal clutch. They are variable in colour and
markings, yellowish-stone or olive-green, blotched or mottled with
blackish and chocolate-brown.

342
The Little Cormorant
343
 159- The Little Cormorant
Plialacrocorax niger (Vieillot).
Size : Somewhat larger than the Jungle-Crow.
Field Characters : A shabby-looking, glistening black, stiff-tailed
water bird with slender compressed bill, sharply hooked at tip. A
small white patch on throat. Sexes alike. Singly or gregariously,
at tanks and jheels, perched on trees and rocks, or swimming.
The Large Cormorant [P. carbo), frequently found in association
with this species, is of similar habits. It is about the size of the domes-
tic duck, and also black, but in the breeding season with some white
in the head and neck, and a large patch of white on either Hank.
We have a third species of cormorant, the Indian Shag (/'.
fuscicollis)
, numbers of which are commonly seen together with the
above two. In size it is intermediate between the Little and the
Large Cormorants, but otherwise very similar.
Distribution : Throughout the Indian Umpire, and beyond —
—
eastward to Malay l'eninsula, Sumatra, Java, and Borneo.
Habits : The Little Cormorant is commonly found on jheels, village
tanks and the larger rivers inland, as well as on tidal creeks and
sparingly also on the sea-coast. In the non-breeding season the
birds are met with jn twos and threes or gregariously, but hardly in
closely-knit flocks. They are to be seen perched trees on overhanging
or near the water, on sandspits or islets in the shallows or on partially
submerged rocks and dead tree-stumps. They love to sit here for
hours on end, with outspread wings and tail, sunning themselves.
The food of this cormorant consists mostly of lish, but sometimes
frogs are also eaten. It is an accomplished swimmer and diver and
all its fishing is done below the surface. It comes up with the quarry
held crosswise in its bill and then shifts it into position for being swal-
lowed head foremost by little upward jerks of its bill. On the water
it rides very low, unlike the duck, so that only its neck and the top
of its back are visible. It rises off the water with some difficulty
and much flapping, but flies strongly with rapid wing-strokes and
occasional gliding, when well under way. The neck is outstretched
and the legs extended behind under the tail. In alighting on the
water the long stiff tail is the first to break the surface, and functions
as a brake to arrest the momentum. Cormorants sometimes hunt
fish by concerted action. A party of birds hems in a shoal,
diving repeatedly with feverish energy and driving it from below
towards the shore. They close in on their quarry as they drive, and do
great massacre once the fish have been successfully manoeuvred
into the shallows.
Nesting : The season in N. India is July to September in S. India,
;

November to February. Little Cormorants breed in large colonies

running into thousands, often mixed with storks, herons, shags and other
water birds (Plate, p. 93). The nests are shallow platforms of twigs,
rather like crows' nests, sometimes lined scantily with grass-roots.
They are built in babool and similar trees preferably standing in water.
—
The eggs 4 to 5 — are pale bluish-green with a chalky surface.

344
 IJ01

"
H.*hW*»«>'*.**i<<SW. v
'

The Darter or Snake-Bird

345
 i6o. The Darter or Snake-Bird
Anhinga melanogaster Pennant.
Size : About that of a small duck.
Field Characters : A black, cormorant-like water bird with silver-
grey streaks on the back, and brown head and neck. Chin and throat
whitish. Tail long, stiff, wedge-shaped. The long and very slender
S-shaped neck, narrow head and pointed dagger-like bill are charac-
teristic features. Sexes alike. Singly or small loose parties, on and
about tanks and rivers.
Distribution : Throughout India, Burma and Ceylon. Kastward
through Indo-Chinese countries and Malay Peninsula to the Philippines
and Celebes.
Habits :The Darter frequents streams, rivers, village tanks and
jkeels. It is also found on tidal estuaries and creeks but not on the
sea-coast. It is usually mot with singly or in twos and threos, but
large loose congregations of 50-100 birds are not uncommon where
conditions are especially favourable. As a rule they select jheels
with plenty of partially submerged trees, and are particularly fond of
clumps growing on little islets. It is an expert diver and swimmer
and spends a great deal of its time on the water, swimming about
with its body submerged and only the slender snake-like head and neck
exposed and turning this way and that. When sated, the bird perches
upright on the top of some tree or stake standing in the water or nearby,
tail and wings spread out to dry in the manner of the German eagle
before the Swastika became fashionable. Its staple food is fish. It
chases them under water, swimming at speed with wings held halt
open and head and neck swaying back and forth in a peculiar manner,
like a javelin-thrower poising his missile. When within striking
distance, the dagger bill is shot out with lightning rapidity transfixing
the quarry. The bird now comes to the surface a sharp backward
;

jerk of the head shakes the fish off into the air whence it is caught
between the mandibles head foremost and swallowed. A special
contrivance in the nock vertebrae enables the bird to dart forward
its bill as if released by a powerful spring.

When a tree overhanging a jheel on which Darters are resting

is approached, the birds often flop plumb down, one by one, into the
water below dragging' through the intervening branches as if shot.
'

They go right under, but presently the snake-like heads reappear at

some distance in all directions. The call note usually heard is a harsh
disyllabic croak chi-gi. In flight and other habits they closely resemble
the cormorants with whom they habitually associate.
Nesting The season in N. India is June to August in S. India
: ;

November to February. The Darter nests in mixed colonies with

cormorants, storks, herons and other water birds. Its nests arc flat
platforms of twigs built in trees standing in or near water. The
— —
eggs -3 or 4 are greatly elongated in shape, only slightly more pointed
at one end. They are pale greenish-blue with a .whitish chalky coating.

346
The Spoonbill
347
 161. The Spoonbill
Platalea leucorodia Linnaeus.

Size : Rather larger than the domestic duck.

Field Characters :A long-necked, long-legged snow white marsh
bird with black legs and a distinctive large black-and-yellow spatula-
shaped bill. A long full nuchal crest during the breeding season.
Sexes alike. Parties on marshy ground.
Distribution : The Indian race, major, is found throughout the
plains of India, Burma and Ceylon. Beyond, it extends west to
Mesopotamia east to Japan.
Habits : The Spoonbill affects marshes, jheels, sandbanks in rivers
and also tidal mudflats. It is usually met with in flocks of 10 to 20
birds keeping to themselves, but also consorting loosely with ibises,
storks and other marsh haunting species. They spend the middle
of the day resting on the margin of a jkeel or on a sandbank, and are
much more active in the evenings when they repair to their feeding
grounds in a diagonal single file, each bird a little behind and to one
side of the one ahead of it. The flight is rather slow with steady
—
long wing-strokes - neck and legs extended and often .at a consi-
derable height. Their food consists of tadpoles, frogs, molluscs and
insects, but they also, eat a great deal of vegetable matter. To a large
extent the birds are nocturnal in their feeding habits. A
'
herd
'

wades into shallow water on a marsh, and with outstretched necks

and obliquely poised partly open bills they sweep from side to side
with a scythe action raking the squelchy mud with the tip of the lower
mandible. The compact, eager, jostling herd moves forward almost
at a run when feeding. In this manner the birds work restricted
patches methodically, up and down and back again. Their intense
activity is punctuated by intermittent pauses of rest during which
the entire herd stands listless in one spot with apparently no further
interest in food.
— —
Like storks but unlike cranes the Spoonbill possesses no true
organs of voice production. The only sound it occasionally emits is a
low grunt.
Nesting : The season varies with locality and monsoon conditions,
but is principally between August and November. The birds nest in
colonies, as a rule more or less by themselves but sometimes also in
company with colonies of herons, ibises and storks. The nest is a
rather massive stick platform built on the top or on the outside branches
—
of trees standing in or on the edge of a jheel frequently on the out-
skirts of a village. The same site and nests, repaired if necessary,
are used year after year. The normal clutch is of 4 eggs, rather a
sullied white in colour, sparingly spotted and blotched with deep
reddish-brown chiefly at the broader end.
In the newly-hatched chick the bill is fleshy-pink and of the
normal shape. It soon thickens, however, gradually becoming bulbous
at the tip with a slight decurvation. Not till the young is completely
feathered does the bill attain the characteristic spoon shape.
' '

348
The White Ibis

349
 162. The White Ibis
Threskiomis melanocepludus (Latham).
Siae About that of a large domestic hen.
:

Field Characters A large white marsh bird with naked

:

black head and neck, and long black, curved, curlew-like bill.
There is some slaty-grey near the shoulders, and the tips of the
primary quills are brownish. In the breeding season there are
elongated white feathers round the base of the neck and plumes
on the upper breast. Young birds (as shown in plate) have
the neck and part of the head feathered. Sexes alike. Parties
or flocks, on marshy land.
Distribution: Throughout the plains of India, Burma and Ceylon.
Beyond, eastward through China to South Japan. Resident, but also
local migrant
Habits : A near relation of the Spoonbill, the White Ibis
resembles it closely in general habits and habitat. It frequents
jhcels, tanks and rivers in the vicinity of which it is usually met
with in small parties or moderate sized flocks on marshes, water-
logged grassland and paddy stubble. Here the birds feed in
company with storks and other marsh birds. They are active
on their legs walking, about gracefully on the soft mud in search
of food which consists principally of molluscs, crustaceans, insects,
worms, frogs, &c. When disturbed off the ground, they frequently
alight on trees. The flight, in which the long bill and neck are
extended in front and the legs behind, is strong and direct. It
is attained by a series of steady rapid wing-strokes punctuated
by very short glides. The birds usually lly in V-formation.
Like the storks and the Spoonbill, ibises lack true voice organs.
They are silent except during the breeding season when the
present species is said to produce a loud booming call'. Bates,
'

however, has recently described the noises produced by breeding

birds as a series of peculiar ventriloqual grunts, not loud but
vibrant. When heard in the distance, emanating from a number
of birds at the same time, he likens the sound to the mumble of
many people talking together.
Though a permanent resident in localities with perennial
water, the White Ibis elsewhere moves about a good deal locally
under stress of natural conditions such as drought and floods.
Nesting: The season in North India is June to August; in
South India and Ceylon November to February. White Ibises
nest in small colonies, often in association with storks, herons and
other marsh birds. (Plate p. i5i)Thenestis a flat platform of sticks
—
usually unlined built in threes standing in or near water, some-
times on the outskirts of a village. The eggs- 2 to 4 in number
- are bluish- or greenish-white either unmarked or with delicate
spots of yellowish-brown.

35o
The Black Ibis
351
 163. The Black Ibis
Pseudibis papulosa (Temm. & Laug).

Size : About that of a large domestic hen. Slightly smaller

than the White Ibis.

Field Characters : A
large distinctive black bird with slender,
curlew-like curved bill, a conspicuous white patch near the
shoulder (not shown in the plate !) and brick-red legs. A
trian-
gular patch of red warts on the top of the naked black head.
—
Pairs or small flocks, in open country usually not marshland.
Another bird rather similar in appearance to the Black
Ibis but smaller, glistening blackish and chestnut, with slenderer
bill and feathered head is the Glossy Ibis (Vlegudis falchirllus).
It is a resident species in India, but moves about a good deal
locally. It is essentially marsh-haunting like the White Ibis.

Distribution : Plains of North India, south to Mysore. Not

on the West Coast or in Ceylon. Sparingly in Assam and the
drier parts of IJnrma —
and through Siam to Cochin-Cliina.
Resident.
Habits :The Black Ibis is a bird of open plains country on the
-

outskirts of cultivation where it keeps in small parties of 3 or 4

and flocks of up to 8 or 10 individuals. Though frequently found
in the neighbourhood of jheels and rivers, its existence is by no
means bound up with the presence of water. As a rule it
does not feed on marshy ground, but prefers the dry margins
higher up, and the surrounding fallow and stubble fields. Its
food consists principally of insects and grain, but small reptiles
are also eaten on occasion. The birds keep to favoured localities
and have accustomed roots in favourite trees to which they
resort nightly. They fly in V-formation by a scries of steady
wing-strokes alternated with short glides. They are silent birds
on the whole. A
loud screaming cry of 2 or 3 notes, reminiscent
the Ruddy Sheldrake's, is uttered mostly on the wing.
Nesting The season is ill-defined ranging between March and
:

October in North India November-December in the south.

;

The Black Ibis does not, normally, nest in colonies or in company

with other birds, but sometimes 2 or 3 nests of its own species
may be found in the same tree. The nest is a large cup-shaped
structure of twigs lined with straw, feathers, &c. It is placed
high up in a tree generally away from water. Sometimes an old
eagle or vulture nest is utilised. —
The eggs 2 to 4 in number
are bright pale green in colour, either unmarked or with spots
and streaks of brown.
35-2
 .-si** . .-Jf.i^jjft*-
,,-;-'',;>:.,' 'ik*j&l»'

The White Stork

353
 164. The White Stork
Ciconia ciconia (Linnaeus).
Size : About that of the Vulture, but standing nearly 3j ft.
to the top of its head.
Field Characters : A long-legged, long-necked, egret-like
bird ; white except for the wings which are black. Legs and
heavy pointed bill red. Sexes alike, but female somewhat
smaller. Singly, pairs or small parties, on and about marshland.
Distribution : Europe, Africa, Asia. In winter practically through-
out the Indian Empire. The race visiting most of this area is the
typical European- West Asian ciconia. The East Asian race boyciana,
with black instead of red bill, winters in Assam and Burma.
Habits : The White Stork is a common winter visitor to North
India, but is rare south of the Deccan and in Ceylon. It begins
to arrive in our midst in September, and most birds have left
again for their breeding grounds by the beginning of April. It
is certain that some at least of our winter visitors come from
Central Europe. Nestling storks ringed in Germany and Hungary
have been recovered on the Oman Coast of Arabia. One example
ringed as a nestling in Braunschweig (Germany) was found in
Bikaner a few months later, and therefore farther along the same
direction of flight. The air distance covered by this young bird
was about 4,000 miles.
White Storks frequent marshes and the margins of j heels
singly or in pairs or small parties. They collect into larger
flocks before starting on their northward migration in spring.
They stalk along on the soft mud in search of food which consists
of frogs, reptiles, fish and large insects such as locusts of which
last particularly, they take enormous toll in times of swarms or
'
invasions.' Its flight, which appears leisurely, is in fact fast
and strong, and the birds have a habit of soaring in circles high
up in the heavens with the effortless ease and grace of the Vulture.
Storks do not possess voice muscles and are therefore silent
except for a loud clattering together of their mandibles which
both sexes freely indulge in, more especially during the breeding
season. During this performance the neck is bent over back-
wards so that the crown of the head rests on the back. The
gular pouch is puffed out and serves as a resonating organ.
Nesting : The typical race breeds in W. Asia and C. Europe,
between May and July building a large platform of sticks on
chimneys, the tops of buildings or tall trees and rocks. The
—
same site and nest are used year after year. The eggs 3 to 5
are pure white.
In most countries of the West as well as the East, sentiment
affords rigid protection to breeding storks. A nest on a dwelling
house or in its proximity is an auspicious omen since White
Storks, from time immemorial, have been looked upon as models
of conjugal bliss and parental devotion, and as the legendary
ushers of human babies.

354
The White-necked Stork
355
 165. The White-necked Stork
Dissoura episcopus (Boddaert).

Size : Rather smaller than the White Stork ; standing nearly

3 ft. high.

Field Characters : A glistening black stork with conspicuous

white neck, and a black crown that looks like a padre's skull cap.
Abdomen and under tail also white. Red legs. Sexes alike.
Singly, pairs or small parties, by water and on marshland.

Another stork, considerably larger than the White Stork,

and commonly seen on jheels standing in knee-deep water, is the
Black-necked Stork (Xenorhynchns asiaticus). Its enormous
black bill, glistening black head and neck, white underparts and
the pied black-and-white wings serve to reveal its identity.

Distribution The typical race episcopus is resident through-

:

out the greater part of India (from about 3,000 ft. in the
Himalayas), Burma and Ceylon. Rare in Sind. Beyond
—
eastward it extends through the Malay Peninsula and the
intervening countries and islands to the Celebes. A second race
is found in Africa.
Habits : The White-necked Stork affects well-watered plains
country. It is met with singly, in on
pairs or small parties
inundated or water-logged ground and about rivers, jheels, tanks
—
and ponds especially where the latter are in the process of
drying up. The bird may be seen standing motionless on one
leg as if absorbed in meditation, or stalking about in company
with ibises, egrets and other marsh birds in search of food. This
consists of frogs, reptiles, crabs, molluscs and large insects. In
day-to-day habits does not differ appreciably from the White
it
Stork, and like it also may commonly be seen soaring in circles
on outspread wings up in the air at great heights, in the company
of vultures. Any noise beyond the loud clattering of the man-
dibles is seldom produced by this bird.

Nesting : The White-necked Stork breeds practically through-

out the year, the favoured months varying with the locality.
The nest is a large platform of sticks with the central depression,
lined with grass and rubbish. It is placed fairly high up in a tree
often close to a village and seldom very far from water. A normal
clutch is of 3 or 4 white, obtuse oval eggs.
Both sexes share in building the nest and evidently also
in incubation.

356
Kas

The Adjutant Stork

357
 1 66. The Adjutant Stork
Leptoptilos dubius (Gmelin).

Size : Larger than the Vulture ; standing 4 to 5 ft. high.

Field Characters The largest and ugliest of our storks. A sad-
:

coloured black, grey and dirty white bird with an enormous, thick,
four-sided, wedge-shaped bill naked head and neck and a huge
; ;

ruddy pouch, 12-15 inches long, pendant from the chest. Sexes
alike. Singly or parties, on outskirts of habitations or at j heels.
The Smaller Adjutant [L. javanicus), differing chiefly in size
and the absence of the neck pouch, is also found sparingly in well-
wooded and watered tracts over the greater part of India, including
Malabar and Ceylon.
Distribution : North India, Assam and Burma. Beyond eastward —
— through the Malay Peninsula and Indo-Chinese countries to Java
and Borneo.
Habits : The Adjutant Stork derives its English name from its
deliberate, high-stepping military gait as it paces up and down. It is
principally a summer visitor to portions of North India and Bengal,
where it is common during that season. The bird is met with singly
or gregariously on the outskirts of towns and villages, and occasionally
also on marshy land about jheeh. It is an efficient scavenger until ;

a few years ago when urban sanitation was still rather primitive it
used to be abundant about Calcutta, perching on the housetops and
consorting freely with kites and vultures of feast on the offal and garbage
dumped in the environs of the city, and on carcases of animals on the
countryside around. In addition to offal and carrion it also eats
frogs, fish, reptiles, large insects, and in fact anything eatable it can
come by. The precise significance of the pendant pouch at the base
of the neck is obscure. It is in the nature of an air-sac communicating
with the nasal cavity and has no connection with the gullet. Conse-
quently it cannot receive and store food as is popularly supposed.
The flight of the Adjutant is heavy and noisy. The bird is obliged
to run a few steps before taking off, but when once well launched it is
perfectly at home in the air and, like its cousins, fond of soaring in
circles at great heights. On the ground it often squats with the 'shanks'
extended well in front as shown in the background on the plate, head
drawn in between the shoulders and presenting a ludicrous spectacle.
Like the rest of its family it is destitute of voice muscles. The only
noise it normally produces is a loud clattering of the mandibles. It
is, however, also said to emit lowing grunts during the breeding season,
the source of which is unknown.
Nesting : Though nests have been recorded from a few localities
in India, the real breeding grounds of the Adjutant lie in S. Burma.
Here they breed in enormous numbers in the Pegu District along the
Ataran River, in company with Smaller Adjutants and Pelicans. The
nests arc immense structures of sticks built on pinnacles of rock scarps
or in lofty forest trees. — —
The eggs -3 to 4 are. white.

358
The Painted Stork
359
 167. The Painted Stork
Ibis leucocephalits (Pennant).
Size : About that of the White Stork.
Field Characters : A large typical stork with long, heavy
yellow bill slightly decurvecl near tip, and unfeathered waxy
yellow face. Plumage white, closely barred and marked with
shining greenish-black above, and with a black band across breast.
Beautiful rose-pink about shoulders and on wings. Sexes alike.
Pairs, parties or large congregations, at jlieels and marshes.
Distribution The typical race Irttcoccpkalns is found throughout
:

India, Hurma and Ceylon, hut is rare in the Punjab. Reyoml eastward
• it extends to Indo-Chiua and S.-W. China. Resident, but also local
migrant.
Habits : The Painted Stork is a common bird on jhcels and
tanks, and to a lesser extent is also met with on rivers. It is a
resident species, but moves about locally under stress of natural
conditions such as droughts and Hoods. Ordinarily it keeps in
pairs and small Hocks, but during the breeding season enormous
numbers collect in favourite localities. The birds spend the day
standing hunched-up and motionless, or sauntering about
' '

sedately on grassy marshland or in shallow water in search of iish

and frogs which predominate in their diet. They also eat aquatic
insects, crabs and molluscs.
The birds perch freely on and roost in trees standing in or
near water, and have the usual stork habit of soaring in circles
011 motionless wings for long periods several birds together
high up in the air. When shifting from their feeding grounds to
their nightly roosts and vice versa, or on one of their local migra-
tions, they fly in wedge-formation with neck extended and legs
tucked under the tail and trailing behind. The flight consists of
a series of powerful wing-strokes followed by a short glide. The
only noise they make is the loud clattering of the mandibles,
typical of the family.
Nesting The season varies with locality and natural conditions
but ranges principally between September and January. The
Painted Stork breeds in immense colonies sometimes running
into thousands, in close and amicable association with ibises,
herons, cormorants and such birds. The nests are large stick
platforms with a shallow depression in the middle sparsely lined
with leaves, straw, etc. They are built on babool and other
small to moderately sized trees standing in water, often 10 to 20
nests on a single tree, close together and touching one another.
—
The eggs 2 to 5 in number are a dull sullied white, occasionally
with sparse spots and streaks of brown.
Both sexes share in building the nest and feeding the young.

360
The Open-billed Stork
361
 1 68. The Open-billed Stork
Anastomns oscitans (Boddaort).

Size : Small for a stork ; standing about 2 J feet high.

Field Characters A small stork of greyish-white or white

:

plumage with black in the wings. The peculiar reddish-black

bill with arching mandibles leaving a narrow open gap between
them, is diagnostic. Sexes alike. Pairs or Mocks, at jheels and
marshes.

Distribution : Throughout India, Ceylon and Burma. Beyond

— —
eastward to Siam and Cochin-China. Resident, but also
local migrant.

Habits : The Open-bill is one of our commonest storks with a

very wide and general distribution. It is found in small parties
or flocks at ;\\\ jheels and tanks of any size, and shifts about locally
as these dry up or as others spring into existence by the monsoon
inundation of depressions and low lying tracts. Occasionally it
is also met with on rivers and tidal mudflats. In general habits
it does not differ from the family. Like the other storks it also
indulges in the soaring ami circling llights high up in the air.
Likewise, the only sound it normally produces is the loud clat-
tering of its mandibles. The precise significance and function
of the curiously shaped bill is, however, not understood and calls
for special observation and study in the field. Its food consists
to a great extent of molluscs, especially the large Ampiillaria
snails found on marshes, the thick shell of which it crushes in its
mandibles, extracting and swallowing the soft body and viscera.
From the bill and throat of a specimen 8 of such large snails,
minus their shells, have been taken. It also eats crabs, frogs
and any other small living things that can be obtained on its
accustomed feeding grounds.

Nesting : The season over the greater part of its range is July to
September in S. India and Ceylon November to March.
; Open-
bills breed in large colonies frequently in association with cormo-
rants, herons, ibises and other marsh birds. The nests are circular
platforms of twigs with the central depression lined with leaves,
etc. —
They are placed often a great many together on a single
tree -on trees standing in a jheel or on its edge, and sometimes
in the close proximity of a village. A
normal clutch consists of
2 to 4 sullied white eggs, oval in shape and with a close texture.

362
The Grey Heron
363
 169. The Grey Heron
Ardea cinerea Linnaeus.
Size : About that of the Open-bill.
Field Characters A large slender long-legged egret-like bird
:

with long thin S-shaped neck and pointed dagger bill. Ash-grey with
.whitish crown, neck and abdomen. Long black occipital crest. A
conspicuous black dotted line down middle of forencck. Sexes alike.
Solitary, by reedy jheels, tanks and rivers.
The Purple Heron (A. purpurea) of the same size and general
habits, is also found as a solitary bird on rced-bordered water through-
out India. It is bluish-grey, with head and neck chiefly rufous, and
black and chestnut underparts.
Distribution : —
Wide in Europe, Africa, Asia. The Kastem race
rectirostris —
paler grey above than the European cinerea- -is resident
throughout India, Burma and Ceylon, in the plains and up to about
5,000 ft. elevation.
Habits : The Grey Heron affects jheels, tanks, streams and tidal
creeks especially such as have plenty of reeds growing on their margins
or lining their banks. It is normally met with as a solitary bird
standing motionless in knee-deep water with head sunk between the
shoulders and apparently fast asleep. All the while, however, it is
fully alert and peering intently into the shallows for any fish or frog
that might blunder past within striking range. When the quarry
is sighted the bird cranes forward its long flexible neck and freezes,'
'

waiting with poised bill for a favourable opportunity to strike. Pre-

sently the rapier bill darts out with lightning speed and the unsuspecting
victim is impaled or firmly held across the mandibles. With an upward
jerk of the bill it is manoeuvred into position and swallowed head
foremost. The whole of this performance is put through with astonish-
ing quickness, and the bird promptly resumes its vigil. It sometimes
walks in stealthily towards its prey or to a new vantage point, with-
drawing and putting down its feet in the water noiselessly and with
great deliberation.
Herons arc crepuscular and partly nocturnal in their habits,
and do most of their active feeding in the early mornings and in the
evening twilight. Their food consists largely of fish and frogs, but
aquatic insects, molluscs and crustaceans as well as small mammals
like mice are also eaten. When disturbed the bird rises with a deep
harsh croak, which is often also uttered from time to time in flight.
The initial get-off is clumsy and accompanied by an awkward stretching
of the long neck, vigorous laboured flapping of the wings and by much
swaying and balancing with the long dangling legs. When well
launched, the legs are tucked under the tail and trail behind, while
the head is drawn in between the shoulders. This telescoped
' '

position of the head and neck in flight is characteristic of the entire

heron tribe and contrasts strongly with the storks and cranes which
fly with fully extended necks.
Nesting :The season varies with locality, but is mainly July to.
September in N. India November to March in S. India and Ceylon.
;

This species nests gregariously in heronries, usually in company with

colonies of Darters, cormorants, egrets, etc. The nests are twig
platforms with the central depression scantily lined with loaves and
straw. They are built in trees standing in water or on the edge of
jheels —
The eggs normally 3 in number, but up to 5 are deep —
sea-green in colour. Both sexes share in building the nest, incubation
and feeding the young.
364
The Little Egret
365
 ""
170. The Little Egret
Egretta garzetta (Linnaeus).
Size : About that of a village hen, but with longer neck and
legs.
'
Field Characters : A lanky snow-white egret, differentiated
at/din seasons from the very similar Cattle Egret by its black not
y#16w bill. In the breeding season it develops a long drooping
,-fcrestof two narrow plumes, and decomposed dainty ornamental
^'feathers or 'aigrettes' on its breast and back. Sexes alike.
Parties, by jheels and rivers.
Distribution: The typical race garzetta is found in Europe,
Africa and Asia east to Japan. It is common throughout the
plains of India, Hurma and Ceylon.
Habits : The Little Egret frequents fresh water jheels, tanks,
ponds and rivers but to a lesser extent it is also found by tidal
creeks. It is a sociable bird usually met with in small parties or
larger flocks, and commonly in association with the very similar
—
but slightly larger Egretta intermedia the Smaller Egret. They
wade in shallow water or stalk about on the soft mud and grass-
land around the margins in search of food which consists mainly
of insects, frogs and small reptiles. The birds roost at night in trees.
Some years ago Little Egrets used to be extensively and
lucratively farmed by the mohdnas or local fishermen on many of
the dhands or jheels in Sind, for the sake of their elegant orna-
mental breeding plumes. These were collected in a humane
manner, without injury to the birds. Each bird seldom yielded
less than a tola during the year. They fetched from Ks. 10 to
Rs.15 per tola locally, and as much as £15 per oz. smuggled into
Europe. With the change in women's fashions, egret feathers
no longer carry the same demand, and prices have also dwindled
accordingly. But some small farms exist even to this day. The
species that chiefly supplied these aigrette
'
feathers of com-
'

merce were The Little Egret, the slightly larger Smaller Kgret
:

and the solitary Large Egret (Egretta alba) The last is a solitary
.

bird about the size of the Grey Heron, of pure white plumage and
with black legs and bill.
Nesting : The season in N. India is principally July and
August in the south November to February. The Little Egret
;

breeds in heronries in the mixed company of Paddy Birds,

cormorants and other marsh birds. The nests are shallow twig
cups of the crow type, scantily lined with straw, leaves, etc.
They are built in trees, usually but not always, standing in or
near water, and often in the very midst of towns or villages.
The same site and nests, repaired if necessary, are used year
after year. —
The eggs- usually 4- -are moderately broad ovals
in shape and pale bluish -green in colour..

366
The Cattle Egret

367
 171. The Cattle Egret
Biibtdcus ibis (Linnaeus).
"Size*.Same as of the Little Egret. Village hen.
Field Characters A snow-white lanky bird, very
: similar in
noil-breeding plumage to the Little Egret, but recognisable by
the. colour of its bill which is yellow not black. In the breeding
season it acquires delicate golden-buff hair-like plumes on head,
neck and back. Sexes alike. Gregarious. Usually attending
grazing cattle. Not necessarily near water.
Distrlbutian : Africa and the southern, warmer parts of Europe and
Asia. The race coromandus is found throughout India, Burma and
Ceylon. — —
Beyond eastward it extends to Korea. Resident.
Habits: The Cattle Egret is less dependent on the neighbour-
hood of water than are most of its family. It is met with gre-
gariously on grass- and pasture-land both on the margins of
tanks and jheels as well as further inland. The birds are in
constant attendance on grazing cattle, stalking alongside the
animals, running in and out between their legs, or riding on their
backs for a change. (Plate, p. 1 47) They keep an unceasing look-out
for the grasshoppers and other insects disturbed in the animals'
progress through tlie grass, darting out their long flexible necks
and pointed bills and snapping them up as soon as they show any
movement. They also pick oft' blood-sucking flies, ticks and
other parasitic insects from the backs and bellies of the oxen and
buffaloes, jumping up for them as they scurry alongside or
alighting complacently on the animals' heads and backs to reach
the less accessible parts. Their staple food, unlike that of their
marsh-haunting cousins, is insects, but they do not despise frogs
—
and lizards whenever available. Flies both the House-Fly and
—
the Blue-bottle- are greatly relished. The birds are as a rule
tame, running or stalking about fearlessly amongst the cattle
within a few feet of the observer, and completely engrossed in the
search for food.
Cattle Egrets have regular roosts in favourite trees to which
they resort every evening, flying more or less in a disorderly rabble,
with neck folded back, head hunched in between the shoulders,
legs tucked under the tail and projecting behind like a rudder.
Nesting: The season, depending on the monsoons, is mainly
June to August in N. India ; November /December in the south.
The birds breed in colonies usually in company with Paddy-
Birds and sometimes also with Darters, cormorants and herons.
—
The nest is of the usual crow pattern an untidy structure of
twigs. It is built in trees not necessarily near water and often in
the midst of a noisy bazaar in a town or village. Three to 5 eggs
form the normal clutch. They are a pale skim-milk blue in colour.

368
The Indian Reef Heron
369
 172. The Indian Reef Heron
Demiegretta asha (Sykes).

Size : About that of the Smaller Egret. Slightly larger than

the Village hen.
Field Characters : General effect as of the Smaller Egret with
a long, slender neck but found in two colour phases, viz., (1) pure
white, (z) bluish-slaty with a white patch on throat. Occasional
examples are intermediate, being partly white and partly slaty.
A backwardly drooping crest of 2 narrow plumes is donned in the
breeding season. The white phase is distinguishable from the

not black legs.

—
Smaller Egret by its parti-coloured yellow, brown or greenish
Sexes alike. Singly about the sea-coast.
In the illustration opposite, the legs are incorrectly shown.
The tibia in this species (i.e., the portion above the tarsal joint
or '
knee,' which in reality is the heel in birds) is naked for
about half its length.
Distribution : Along the shores of the Persian Gulf and down
to Ceylon and the Laccadive Islands.
Habits : The Indian Reef Heron is essentially a bird of the
sea-coasts. Except when breeding, it is met with as a solitary,
affecting the reefs of rock or coral exposed at low tide. It is
also found on mangrove-lined tidal creeks and estuaries and on
the adjoining mudflats, but seldom if ever on fresh water or far
inland. The bird may be seen perched on the rocks or amongst
the mangroves hunched up, as shown in the plate, ready to strike
out with its long flexible neck and pointed bill at any prey
swimming past. Or it wades about in search of food at the edge
of the surf or among the shallow pools and puddles left by the
receding tide. Its diet consists chiefly of fish, crustaceans and
molluscs.
Except that it is not gregarious at ordinary times, does not
leave the sea-coast and is rather crepuscular, there is no note-
worthy departure in its general habits from those of other egrets
and herons.
Nesting The season ranges, according to locality, between
:

March and June. Reef Herons nest in colonies, but as a rule

not in company with other species. Their nests are the usual
twig structures of the family, but sometimes with the green leaves
stillattached to the sticks, and often also lined with green leaves.
They are built either on trees such as peepal, ber or jambul
some distance from salt water, or in mangrove trees growing in
—
a tidal swamp. The eggs 3 or 4— are a pale sea-green or blue-
green in colour.

37o
The Indian Pond Heron or Paddy Bird
37»
 i73« The Indian Pond Heron or
Paddy Bird
Ardeola grayii (Sykes).
Size : Slightly smaller than the Cattle Egret.
Field Characters : An egret-like bird with the plumage
mostly white but effectively concealed, while at rest, under a
camouflaging buff-streaked earthy-brown mantle. In flight
the white wings, tail, rump and underparts flash conspicuously.
In the breeding season the back becomes maroon— covered
—
with dainty hair-like plumes and a long white occipital crest
isdeveloped. Sexes alike. Singly or gregariously, by water.
Distribution Resident throughout the Indian Empire, in the plains
:

and up to about 3,000 ft. in the hills. Beyond, it extends west to the
Persian Gulf, cast to Siam and the Malay States.
Habits : The Pond Heron or Paddy Bird is an abundant and
familiar species, found wherever there is water in any form-
river, jheel, tank, inundated paddy field, puddle or ditch, seashore,
tidal creek or mangrove swamp. It is also found at kutcha
wells and temple ponds, often in the heart of populous cities,
and is especially partial to drying-up village tanks on whose
margins large numbers collect to feed on the fast concentrating
frog population. The birds stand hunched up and inert on the
squelchy mud or in the shallow water at the edge, head drawn
in between the shoulders. In reality however, they are wide
awake and watching intently all the while for any frog or fish
that may blunder within range of the long extensile neck and
spear-pointed bill. Sometimes they wade stealthily in, lifting
each foot clear of the water and putting it down again circum-
spectly, neck craned forward and bill poised in readiness.
Its food consists of frogs, fish, crabs and insects.
Where not molested the birds become very tame', sitting by
the water's edge or stalking unconcernedly within a few feet
of the village dhobi banging his clothes or of the chattering house-
wives trooping down to the tank with their domestic pots.
When alarmed, the bird rises up with a harsh croak and a sudden
flash of its snow-white wings, and flies off with steady strokes
in the typical heron style. Large congregations resort to favourite
roosts in trees every evening.
Nesting : The season is from May to September in most parts
of India ; November to January in the south. Pond Herons
nest in colonies in association with other egrets and Night Herons.
The nests are untidy twig structures of the crow type, built in
large trees such as tamarind and mango, often growing in the
midst of towns and villages and not necessarily close to water.
The same trees are tenanted year after year.. A normal clutch
consists of 3 to 5 pale greenish-blue eggs.

372
The Night Heron
373
 174* The Night Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax (Linnaeus).

Size : About that of the Kite. Larger than the Paddy Bird.
Field Characters : A rather stocky egret-like bird of the same
general effect as the Paddy Bird but with a stouter bill. Ashy-grey
above with glossy greenish-black back and scapulars. Crown, nape and
long occipital crest black, the last with some white feathers intermixed.
Young birds brown, streaked and speckled with rufous and dark brown.
Sexes alike. Gregarious. Flying at dusk with loud raucous Kwaarh.
Distribution : S. and C. Europe, Asia, Africa and the greater part
of N. America. The typical race nycticorax is found practically
throughout India (up to 5,000 ft. in the N-W. Himalayas), Burma and
Ceylon. Resident, but also local migrant.
Habits : The Night Heron is found commonly but locally in all
the better— watered tracts both inland and along the sea-board. It
is a bird of crepuscular and nocturnal habits. It lives in colonies
which spend the day roosting sluggishly in some clump of trees, often
well away from water, in its characteristic pose with shortened neck
and rounded shoulders. At evening dusk the birds bestir themselves.
Individuals or small parties may then be seen winging their way high
overhead towards their accustomed feeding grounds on the margins
of jheels, tanks or tidal creeks, uttering from time to time a loud,
raucous and distinctive Kwaark. They feed largely at night and
during the evening and morning twilight. When tending nest-young
however, the parents are busy forgaging all day and probably through-
out the night. In their quest for food they are usually more active
than the true herons, constantly moving about on the soft mud or
in shallow water, and seldom standing hunched up inert and like them.
Their diet consists of fish, frogs, aquatic insects, dragonrlies, etc.
The flight of the Night Heron is in the distance reminiscent of both
the flying fox's and the gull's. Tt is strong and direct and attained
by quick strokes of the rounded wings. The neck is shortened, but
not folded back as the herons. At the communal roosts emotion
of any kind, sexual or otherwise, howsoever momentary, is expressed
by an erection of the crest and a fluffing out of the feathers of the
breast, neck and back.

Nesting The season ranges between April and September, being

:

most general in July/ August. In S. India December to February

are the favoured months. Night Herons nest in colonies often covering
several adjacent trees, either by themselves or in company with Paddy
Birds, Cattle Egrets and cormorants. The nest is the usual structure
of twigs about 9 inches across, rather flimsy and unlined. The eggs
— —
4 or 5 are pale sea-green in colour. Both sexes
share in building
the nest, incubation and care of the young. The young birds soon
leave the nest and clamber about the neighbouring branches using
feet, wings and bill. The colony resounds with the deafening incessant
click, click, click, of the young clamouring to be fed-.

374
 u
s
Q

o
U
u

Si
-

375
 175 • The Nukta or Comb-Duck
Sarkidiomis melanotos (Pennant).

Size : About that of a small goose.

Field Characters : A large duck, black above glossed with blue
and green white below. Head and neck speckled with black. A
;

white wing-patch conspicuous in flight. The drake has a curious,

fleshy comb or knob at forehead near base of bill which becomes
greatly swollen in the breeding season. The female is similarly coloured
but smaller and without the comb. Small flocks, on reedy jheels.
Another common resident Indian duck is the Spotbill (Anas
pcecilorhyncha) . It is tho size of the domestic duck, of scaly -patterned
light and dark brown plumage and with a white and metallic green
wing-bar. The two orange-red spots at the base of its bill, one on
either side of the forehead, arc diagnostic.

Distribution : The typical race melanotos occurs practically through-

out India, Burma and Ceylon. Absont in tho N.W.F. Province,
Baluchistan, North and West Punjab and tho N.-W. portions of Sind.
Another race inhabits Africa south of the Sahara, and Madagascar.

Habits : The Nukta

is one of our few resident ducks, the majority
of species being merely winter visitors to our area. It affects well-
watered, well-wooded country and is found on jheels and tanks with
plenty of reeds and floating vegetation growing about the shallow
margins, and with patches of open water here and there in the middle.
It is usually met with in family parties of 4 to 10 birds, but flocks
of up to 25 or 30 are sometimes seen. These break up into pairs
during the breeding season. The birds are strong and rapid fliers.
When moving from one tank to another or to and from their feeding
grounds in inundated paddy fields, they fly in a more or less disorderly
rabble and not in the regular V-formation of geese and cranes. They
walk and dive well and with ease, and perch freely on tho thicker boughs
of trees. Their food consists to a large extent of the grain and shoots
of wild and cultivated rice and other vegetable matter, but they also
cat frogs, aquatic insects, and, occasionally, fish. The ordinary
callnote of the drake is a low grating croak during the breeding
;

season the birds utter a loud honk.

The flesh of adult birds is considered rathor indifferent for the
table, but flying ducklings are good eating.
Nesting The season is during the S.-W. Monsoon, mainly between
:

July and September. The eggs are normally laid in natural hollows
in tree trunks standing in water or at the edge of ajheel (Plate, p. 101).
These hollows are either unlined or have a scanty lining of sticks,
grass and leaves. The normal clutch consists of 8 to 12 eggs, but
up to 47 have been taken from a single nest, probably the product
more ducks. The eggs are pale cream coloured, with the texture
of 2 or
and appearance of polished ivory. The female alone seems to incubate.

376
 176. The Cotton Teal
Nettapus coromandelianus (Gmclin).
•Size: Between the Pigeon and the Crow.
Field Characters: The smallest of our ducks. White
predominating in the plumage. Bill deep at base and goose-
like, not as flat as the Duck's. Male glossy brown above with
a prominent black collar and a white wing-bar. In flight,
whitish edge of wings conspicuous. Female paler without
collar or wing-bar. In non-breeding season the male loses the
black collar and, with the exception of the white wing-bar,
resembles the female. Flocks on tanks and jheels.
Distribution : Common practically throughout India, Burma and
Ceylon, rare or absent in Punjab, Sind, Baluchistan, and Rajputana.
— —
Beyond eastward it extends through the intervening countries to
the Celebes. Resident, but also local migrant.
Habits : The Cotton Teal is not only the smallest but the
commonest and most generally distributed of our resident ducks.
It isfound wherever there is water with plenty of reeds, floating
—
vegetation and the like on jheels and village tanks as well
as on weedy, overgrown roadside ditches and flooded burrow-pits,
and inundated paddy fields. It is also at home on the vast
shallow expanses of brackish water such as are found in the
environs of Calcutta City and elsewhere. It is usually met with in
parties of 5 to 15 individuals, but larger flocks of up to 50 or more
are sometimes seen. Where unmolested this little teal becomes
very tame, swimming about and tipping for food, unconcernedly
within a few yards of the inhabitants engaged at their daily
avocations on village tanks. Under persecution, however, it
soon becomes extremely wary and difficult to approach.
The birds are swift on the wing and can dive creditably
on occasion. A peculiar clucking is commonly uttered in flight.
Their food consists of shoots and grain of wild and cultivated
rice and other vegetable matter, to which is added a quantity
of insects, Crustacea, worms, etc.
Nesting: The season is from July to September. The nest
is in some natural hollow in a tree trunk standing in or near water,
6 to 15 feet above the level. This is either unlined or has a scanty
lining of grass, feathers and rubbish. Occasionally a hole in a
building is utilised, and there is a record of a nest in the coping
of Government House, Rangoon, as high up as 68 feet. The
normal clutch consists of 6 to 12 eggs, but as many as 22
—
probably the product of 2 or more females have been found in
a nest. They are ivory white in colour. The ducklings are not
carried down to the water by the parents' -as is supposed, but just
pushed out of the hole. They drop like a stone for some distance
and then flutter to break the fall as they approach the ground.
378
 te
e
o

•o
03
4>
J3
I

u
«

379
 177* The Bat-headed Goose
Anser indicus (Latham).
Size : About that of the domestic goose.
Field Characters: A grey, brownish and white goose, with
white head and sides of neck and 2 distinctive broad black bars
on the nape. Sexes alike. Flocks, on rivers and j heels, and about
young winter cultivation.
Another common goose, also a winter visitor to N. India in
large numbers, is the Grey Lag {Anser anser). In size, colouration
and general effect it is very like the normal brown phase of the
domestic goose. The grey rump and white nail to the flesh-pink
bill are additional clues to its identity. It keeps more to the dry
margins of jheels than to rivers as the Bar-head essentially does.
Distribution : Central Asia and Western China, south to Ladakh and
and Tibet. In winter common throughout North India and Assam,
rare in Central India and straggling as far south as Mysore.
Habits: The Bar-headed Goose is a cold weather visitor to
India, arriving in our midst about October. By the beginning
of March most birds have departed for their northern breeding
grounds. It is met with in small parties or skeins of 15 to 20
birds. The skeins fly off separately when alarmed or when
flighting to and from their feeding grounds, but congregate in
vast gaggles when feeding or resting. They spend the day
dozing on some sandbank in a large river or on the margin of a
jheel, resting on the dry ground or floating listlessly upon the
shallow water. The become active towards evening when
birds
flock after flock may
be seen winging its way steadily, in orderly
V-formation or straight ribbons high up in the air, in the
' '

direction of their feeding grounds in cultivated fields and marshy

grassland around jheels and irrigation canals.. They feed largely
on the green shoots of winter crops such as gram and wheat,
and owing to their numbers and voracity often do considerable
damage. They are rather crepuscular and nocturnal in their
habits, commencing to feed in the late afternoon and continuing
throughout the night till well past dawn. The call, usually
heard on the wing, is a musical honk, and the din produced by a
gaggle as they rise on alarm is one of the most exhilarating and
unforgetable sounds to the sportsman on a North Indian jheel.
The Bar-head is at all times an excessively wary species and calls
for much skill and labour in circumventing and bringing to bag.
Nesting : The nearest breeding localities are Ladakh and Tibet,
where the birds nest in colonies running into thousands, on the
shore and islets of the high altitude lakes, at 13 or 14 thousand
feet above sea level. The nests are hollows in the lush herbage
or piles of moss, weeds and grass thickly lined with down and
feathers. — —
The eggs 3 or 4 in a normal clutch are ivory white.
380
 H
00

4>
J
o
a
Q

O
u
v

381
178. The Common or Lesser Whistling
Teal
Dendrocygna javanica (Horsfield).
Size : Smaller than the domestic cluck.
Field Characters : A small chestnut coloured duck,
confusable with no other of the same size. Sexes alike. Shrill
whistling notes uttered during the feeble, flapping flight. Small
flocks, on weedy tanks.
The Large Whistling Teal (Dendrocygna fitlva), distinguished
by its larger size and by its upper tail-coverts being whitish
instead of chestnut, is also found, sparingly in India and the
Indo-Chinese countries ovei the same area as javanica. It has a
remarkably broken distribution outside these limits, occurring in
parts of Africa, and then again in North and South America.
Distribution : Practically throughout the plains of India, Burma and
Ceylon except in the N-W. F. Province and in N. & \V. Punjab.
— —
Beyond eastward it extends through the Malay Peninsula and
Islands, Siam, Cochin-China, etc., to South China. Sumatra, Java and
Borneo. Resident, but also local migrant.
Habits: The Lesser Whistling Teal is a common and familiar
resident Indian species found on all reed and floating vegetation —
covered tanks and jlieeh and often also in swampy paddy fields.
It loves such as have trees growing in or around them, on the
branches of which it perches freely. It avoids open water and
rivers. The birds move about a good deal locally under stress
of natural conditions such as drought and floods. They usually
keep in small parties of 10 to 15, but occasionally much larger
flocks are met with. They have a feeble, flapping flight, rather
reminiscent of the Jacanas', which is accompanied by constant,
shrill, wheezy whistling notes. The birds keep wheeling over a
tank long after most of the other ducks have departed as a result
of gunfire. They are poor eating and on that account seldom
shot by sportsmen. Their food consists of snails, worms, frogs,
fish, etc., as well as tender green shoots of grass, paddy and the
like, and grain. The birds walk and dive well.
Nesting: The season ranges from June to October in India
and Hurma, February to August in Ceylon, its commencement
depending upon the break of the S.-W. Monsoons. Although
many birds build nests of leaves, rushes and grass on the ground
among thorny scrub, reeds, etc., most nests are found in trees,
often well away from water. They are twig structures situated
either in natural hollows in the trunks or in the forks of the
larger branches. Sometimes old nests of crows, kites and herons
are utilised. Seven to 12 eggs form the normal clutch, the
commonest number being 10. They are milk-white in colour,
but become stained brownish during incubation, which seems to
be undertaken by the female alone.
382
 S3

a)

d
I
s
o
u

383
 179- The Common Teal
Nettion crecca (Linnaeus).
Size : Smaller than the domestic duck.
Field Characters : Our second smallest duck slightly larger
;

than the Cotton Teal. Male pencilled greyish colour. Chestnut

head with broad metallic green band running through the eye,
bordered above and below with whitish. A tricoloured wing-
— —
bar black, green and buff particularly conspicuous in flight.
Female mottled dark and light brown with pale underparts, and a
black-and-green wing-bar. Flocks on tanks, jheels and marshes, etc.
Distribution : The typical race crecca breeds throughout the
Pakearctic Region. Winter visitor to all India, Ceylon and Burma
south to Pegu. Also to the Indo-Chinese countries and N. Africa.
Habits: In abundance as a winter visitor the Common Teal
rivals the White-eyed Pochard. Along with the Garganey or
Blue-winged Teal (Querquedula querquedula) it is one of the
earliest ducks to arrive in our midst, numbers being already in
by the end of August. By the middle or end of March most
birds have departed on the long journey to their northern breeding
—
grounds. A teal ringed in Western Siberia -presumably as a
—
nestling in July 1929 was recovered in December of the same
year in the Gonda District, U. P., about 2,500 miles to the south.
The Common Teal frequents jheels, tanks and ponds, as well
as rivers, canals, roadside ditches, marshes and flooded paddy-
fields. It is usually met with either in small parties of 3 or 4
—
birds or flocks of up to 50 or more, but very large flocks running
—
into hundreds are not uncommon on the larger jheels. The
birds feed in the marginal shallows mostly at night, when they
also spread out a good deal over the surrounding country on
flooded paddy-fields and marshy land. In places where they are
not much disturbed they may be seen walking about on the
grass-covered edges of tanks till quite late in the mornings and
in the early afternoons, grubbing with their bills in the squelchy
mud. They also procure much of their food by tipping in' '

shallow water. The food consists of the tender shoots of young

crops and marsh plants as well as molluscs, crustaceans, worms,
etc. Their flight is very swift and strong, and the birds twist
and wheel in the air with astonishing agility. The call-note
most commonly heard is a low-toned krit uttered by the male,
and a subdued wheezy quack by the female. It is at all times an
excellent bird for the table and much sought after by sportsmen.
Nesting: The Common Teal does not breed anywhere within
our limits. The season in the North is from April to June. The
nest is an untidy but well-made pad of rushes, grass, etc., and
always thickly lined with down. It is generally placed at the edge
of swamps and lakes and on boggy ground". —
The eggs normally
8 to 14—are pale buff or cream coloured, rather long ovals with
a smooth and glossy texture.

384
3«5
 i8o. The White-eyed Pochard
Nyroca rufa (Linnaeus).
Size : Smaller than the domestic duck.
Field Characters :- General aspect of plumage rufous-brown
and blackish brown with a whitish wing-bar conspicuous in flight.
In overhead flight the abdomen, seen as an oval white patch, is
diagnostic. Eyes white. The female is duller coloured. Flocks
on jheels, tanks and salt water lagoons, in winter.
Distribution : The typical race rufa is a winter visitor from the
western Pakearctic Region to the greater part of India and
Burma. The East Asian race baeri, with green-glossed black
head and neck in the male, visits Bengal, Assam and Burma.
Habits : The White-eyed Pochard is one of the commonest and
most abundant of the ducks that visit us during the cold weather.
It is plentiful in North and continental India, but rare in the
south where, however, large numbers may be met with patchily
along the coast as on the Travancore backwaters. It frequents
every type of water provided there is a sufficiency of reeds and
floating herbage growing in it or along its margins. But it may
also be found resting during the day in the middle of open irriga-
tion tanks, or riding just outside the surf on the sea-coast, safe
from the disturbance of passing boats. The birds use these
open tanks and the sea as a day-time refuge. They flight
inland at night regularly to feed in the inundated paddy fields
and marshes in the surrounding country, returning again in the
early morning.
Though rather slow in taking off the water, the White-eye
is strong on the wing once under way, flying high and with rapid
swishing wing-strokes. It is an expert diver and extremely
difficult to retrieve if merely winged, even in perfectly open water,
for besides keeping itself submerged for considerable periods it
swims with ease below the surface, showing itself only momen-
tarily now and again in the most unexpected places and giving
no chance for a second shot. In this way it steadily increases
the distance between itself and its pursuers until a weedy spot is
reached where it simply vanishes. It is a bad walker and clumsy
on land. Its food consists of vegetable matter, grain, insects,
molluscs, small fish, etc. Its flesh is on the whole poor eating.
Its note is described as a harsh koor-ker-ker, uttered both as it
risesand when wandering about feeding.
Nesting : The only locality within our limits where the White-
eyed Pochard breeds is Kashmir, on the Hokra and other jheels,
in May and June. The nest is a pad of rushes lined with finer
grasses and a thick layer of down. It is generally built among
—
reeds close to the water. The eggs 6 to 10 are pale buff in
:

colour. Large quantities of its eggs formerly used to be collected

by local fishermen and sold in the Kashmir bazaars, but this
practice has now been put a stop to.
386
 •
u
4
XI
u

9
8
o

387
 i8i. The Little Grebe or Dabchick
Podiceps ruficollis (Vroeg).
Size : About that of the Pigeon, but squat and tailless.
Field Characters : A tlrab-coloured plump and squat water
bird with silky white underparts, short pointed bill and practi-
cally no tail. Sexes alike. Gregariously on ponds, village tanks,
jheels, etc., swimming about low down on the water with the tail-end
and wings raised, rather like a swan. Diving at the least suspicion.
Distribution : The race capensis occurs throughout Tndia, Burma and
Ceylon, in the plains as well as up to about 5,000 ft. in the Himalayas
and peninsular hills. It is also found in tropical Africa, Madagascar,
Palestine and Mesopotamia ;and in Siam and Yunnan.
Habits: The Dabchick is present practically on every jJieel,
village tank or pond in India. It moves about locally to some
extent, concentrating on perennial sheets of water as the seasonal
ponds and tanks gradually dry up in the hot weather. The birds
are met with in twos and threes on the smaller tanks, but congre-
gations of 40 to 50 or more are not uncommon on the larger jheels.
They spend their time swimming about and are past masters in
the art of diving. The rapidity with which a Dabchick will
disappear below the surface leaving scarcely a ripple behind, is
amazing. When fired at with a shot gun, the bird has often
vanished before the charge can reach it ! Their food consists of
aquatic insects and their larvae, tadpoles, crustaceans and the
like which are captured below the surface, the bird being an adept
at swimming under water. The usual call-notes are a sharp tit-
tering often heard when the birds are disporting themselves of an
evening, as is their wont, pattering along the surface half running
half swimming with rapid vibrations of their diminutive wings,
and chasing one another. They are loathe to leave the water,
and when pressed will only fly a short distance close over the
surface and flop down again. When once properly launched,
however, as when shifting from one tank to another, the birds
can fly incredibly well and strongly, and often for long distances.
Nesting : The season is not well-defined but ranges principally
between April and October. Two broods are frequently raised
in quick succession. The nest is a rough pad of sodden weeds
and rushes placed among reeds or on floating vegetation and
often half submerged. The normal clutch consists of 3 to 5 eggs.
These are white at first but soon get discoloured to dirty brownish
by the constant soaking and contact with the sodden vegetation
with which the birds habitually cover them up every time they
leave the nest. Both sexes share in incubation and tending the
young. When the female is incubating her second successive
clutch of eggs, the care of the first brood devolves upon the male
alone.
388
Photo E. H. N. Lowther
A Raised " Hide " Platform
For observation and photography of birds nesting in tall trees.

389
 BIRD WATCHING
Nearly every one enjoys birds the beauty of their forms and
:

colouring, the vivacity of their movements, the buoyancy of

their flight and the sweetness of their songs. It is precisely
on this account that as a pursuit for the out-of-doors, bird-
watching stands in a class by itself. Its strong point is that
it can be indulged in with pleasure and profit not only by the
man who studies birds scientifically, but also by one possessing
no specialised knowledge. The latter, moreover, is enabled to
share his profit with the scientist who for certain aspects of bird
study has to depend entirely upon data collected by the intelligent
watcher.
The appreciation of the beautiful and the novel is a charac-
teristic latent in the human species. There is none in whom
the seed of this faculty is entirely wanting. Environment may
nurture and develop it in some, smother it in others. The fact
of its existence is proved by the enquiries an ornithologist
frequently receives concerning the identity of this bird with a
green head or that with a red tail from persons of the most
prosaic ' butcher, baker and candlestick-maker type who in the
'

course of their day to day lives would never dream of going a

step out of their way solely to look at a bird. It shows that even
such a person, inspite of himself, cannot at one time or another
help being struck by some peculiarity in the sight or sound of a
bird which had not forced itself on his notice before.

It is amazing what tricks the imagination can play with

undisciplined observation. A person who, for example, notices
a male Paradise Flycatcher for the first time and is struck by
its exquisite tail-ribbons fluttering in the breeze, will, as likely
as not and in all good faith, clothe his bird in multi-coloured
hues of green and blue and yellow and red when describing it
to you. The only real clue he furnishes is the ribbon tail. Some
days later you have an opportunity of pointing out a Paradise
Flycatcher to your enquirer with the suitable suggestion, where-
upon you promptly learn that this indeed was the object of his
ecstacy !Yet it is equally amazing what small effort is needed
to discipline oneself to observe accurately. After a comparatively
short period of intelligent bird-watching one can often
become so proficient that the mere glimpse of a bird as it
flits across from one bush to another — some distinctive flash
—
of colour, a peculiar twitch of the tail is enough to suggest its
identity fairly reliably. If it is an unfamiliar species this fleeting
impression will often suffice to puzzle ft out with the aid of a
bird book afterwards.

390
 Apart from the joy and exhilaration it affords, careful and
intelligent bird-watching —considering that it can be indulged
—
in by the many without special scientific training widens the
scope immensely for procuring data relating to the lives and
behaviour of birds. Observations by people who habitually
watch birds even merely for pleasure, are often of great value
to the scientist trying to unravel some particular phase of bird-
life. —
Indeed, such observations made as they are without
knowledge of, or being swayed by this pet theory or that
frequently carry the added virtue of being completely unbiased.
As mentioned in a previous chapter the bulk of the work
that now remains to be done on the birds of India
concerns the living bird in its natural surroundings How
:

the bird lives and behaves ; In what way is it fitted or is fitting

itself to its habitat ? How is it influenced by or is influencing
its environment ? It is only, satisfactory answers to ques-
—
tions like these and their number is legion —that can lead us
to a better understanding of that very real but strangely elusive
thing called Life.

One often hears it asserted that there are no birds in this

locality or that. Such statements merely suggest that the
observer may not know exactly where and how to look for them.
For indeed it is difficult to imagine a single square mile of the
Indian continent entirely devoid of birds. Even in the midst
of the scorching Raj put ana desert or amongst the high Himalayan
snows, birds there are for those who know how to find them.
They may be scarce and local, simply because their food happens
to be scarce and local, but they are never entirely absent over
areas of any size.

For the new arrival in this country and for the novice, some
suggestions as to when and where to look for birds with success
might prove helpful. First and foremost, although birds k&
on the move all day long, their activity is greatest in the early
morning ; therefore early rising is a most important pre-requi-
site for successful watching. Most song is also heard during the
early morning hours. Discovering the identity of a songster
often entails patient watching, and the facility for tracking
him down is naturally greatest in the early morning when
the bird is most vocal.

Contrary to the popular notion, a forest, to the inexperienced,

is usually a very disappointing place for bird- watching. You
may tramp miles without seeming to meet or hear a bird,
and then just as you begin to despair you may round a bend in
the path and suddenly find yourself confronted by a gathering

39i
that includes well nigh every species of the neighbourhood !

There are birds on every hand on the ground, among the bushes,
:

pn the trunks of the lofty trees and in the canopy of leaves

high overhead. There are tits, babblers and tree-pies, wood-
peckers, nuthatches and drongos, flycatchers, minivets, and
tree -warblers and numerous other species besides. The scene
is suddenly transformed into one of bustling activity. You
have in fact struck what the books call a Mixed Hunting '

Party ' or Localised Forest Association.'

'
These mixed
assemblages are a characteristic feature of our forests, both
hill and plain. Here birds do not as a rule spread themselves
out uniformly, but rove about in co-operative bands of mixed
species in more or less regular daily circuits. All the members
of the association profit through the co-ordinated efforts of the
lot. Babblers rummaging amongst the fallen leaves for insect
food disturb a moth which is presently swooped upon and captured
in mid-air by a drongo on the look-out hard by. A wood-
pecker scuttling up a tree-trunk in search of beetle galleries
stampedes numerous winged insects resting upon the protecting-
ly coloured bark or lurking within its crevices. These are
promptly set upon by a vigilant flycatcher or warbler and so —
on.

Banyan and peepal trees, when in ripe fig, attract a multi-

tude of birds of many species from far and wide and offer excellent
opportunities to the bird-watcher. A lively scene presents
itselfas party after party arrives, all eager to gorge themselves
on the abundance spread around. There is a great deal of noise
and chatter as the visitors hop from branch to branch in their
quest. Bickering and bullying are incessant, but no serious
encounters develop since every individual is much too pre-
occupied with the main business in hand. Such gatherings are
ideal for studying the natural dispositions and table manners' '

of the various species.

One of the most charming and enjoyable venues for bird-

watching certainly provided by the Silk Cotton, Coral Flower or
is
Flame-of-the-Forest trees in bloom. Their particular attractiveness
lies in the fact that the trees, or the branches bearing the gorgeous
flowers, are bare and leafless at this season, allowing a clear and
unobstructed view of the visitors. Almost every small bird of the
surrounding countryside flocks to the blossoms for the sake of
the sugary nectar which they produce in such abundance. Riot
and revelry prevails throughout the day, but especially in the
mornings, and there is constant i bullying, hustling and
mock fighting amongst the roystdrers. A pair of good
binoculars multiplies the pleasure of watching manifold.

392
 a.'

«i
as

4)
•a

a
s

I
•d
•on
a

393
 Another favourable occasion is after the first few showers of
rain have fallen —
and the winged termites the potential queens and
their numerous suitors —
are emerging from their underground
retreats for momentous nuptial
their flight. A termite
swarm acts magnet on the
like a bird population of
its neighbourhood. Caste and creed are. forgotten and
every species hastens to the repast ; no quarter is given,
the insects being chased and captured on the ground as well
as in the air. The agile and graceful gliding swoops of the
swallows and swifts contrast strangely with the ponderous,
ungainly efforts of crows making unaccustomed aerial sallies
in the pursuit. Kites, kestrels, crows, owlets, mynas and
bulbuls, sparrows, bayas and miinias, tree-pies, drongos and
orioles, tailor-birds and wren-warblers all join in the massacre,
while even woodpeckers and barbers can seldom resist the
temptation.
Nesting birds provide much important material for the study
of animal behaviour. These can best be studied from a
'
hide '
erected in the proximity of their nests. A portable
'
hide '
is easily made with a few iron rods and some canvas,
or one of straw and leafy branches can usually be rigged up
on the spot without difficulty. The birds soon get inured
to its presence and can be watched from within in
comparative comfort and at close quarters. Bird photography
adds enormously to the zest of bird-watching. Many facts of
far-reaching significance concerning nesting habits and sexual
behaviour have been brought to light by the careful observa-
tions and pictorial evidence of bird-photographers. There
is no pleasanter way of prolonged and intensive watching than
in pursuit of bird photography, and there can be no success in
bird photography without patient and intensive watching.
Camera studies of birds in their natural surroundings and busy at
their normal occupations are a joy not only to their maker, but
also to others who have not been fortunate enough to share in his
watching. The several attractive photographs reproduced in
these pages will bear this out. No one interested in this fasci-
nating pastime should miss Major R. S. P. Bates's informative
article on Bird Photography in India published in Volume XL
of the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (May,
1939)-
A North Indian jheel in winter is a veritable paradise for
the bird-watcher. Every species of water bird, as well as those
that live about the margins and in the marshy reed-beds, may
be met here, and an unique opportunely is afforded of getting
acquainted with them. It is an exhilarating experience,

394
even for one who is not a shikari, to drift along in a
punt over the placid water on a cold morning with the din of
honking, quacking and trumpeting on every hand, and the
fluttering and swishing of wings of countless wildfowl overhead.
The multitudes of the birds, apart from their great variety,
leave a picture on the mind that is not easily lost.

It must not be supposed thatthis list exhausts the possi-

bilities bird-watching in India. Indeed pleasure can be
for
derived from the most everyday birds in the most everyday
surroundings and even the jaded city dweller can regale his
leisure hours without the necessity of going far afield in search
of special opportunities.

Every one who watches birds enough to

intelligently
enjoy them, and who carries a should be in a
note book,
position to contribute in some measure to our store of knowledge.
The essentials arc Patience plus the ability to observe accurately
and to record faithfully, even though the observations may
sometimes disagree with the books or the observer himself would
sometimes prefer things to happen differently from what he
observes

Above all it is that sentimentality be kept

important
in check and to remember attimes that the behaviour
all
of birds cannot be adjudged entirely from human standards.
Birds do not possess the power of reasoning ; therefore their
actions, however intelligent they may seem, are essentially no
more than instinctive reflexes.

>\
'£(' THE END|

-V/

395
 INDEX OF SPECIES
( Those partly described, in italics. )

Page Page
Cuckoo, Common Hawk-,
Adjutant Stork, 358 or Brain-fever Bird, 1 76
- Lesser, 358 Cuckoo, Pied Crested, 178
Avocct, 334 Cuckoo-Shrike, Black-headed, 74
B Cuckoo-Shrike, Large, 76
Babbler, Common, 16 Curlew, 336
Jungle, 14 D
•
Large Grey, 16 Dabchick or Little Grebe, 388
Rufous-bellied, 20 Darter or Snake-bird, 3+6
Scimitar, 1 Dhayal, or Magpie-Robin, 4(i
Yellow-eyed, 22 Dove, Little Brown, 268
Barbct, Crimson-breasted, 174 Red Turtle-, £00
— Crimson-throated, 174 Ring, 208
Baya or Common Weaver Spotted, 2KB
Bird, 124 Drongo, Black, or King-Crow, 78
Bee-eater, Blue-tailed, 2(18 Racket-tailed, 82
Common or Green, 206 White-bellied, 80
Blackbird, Southern, 50 Duck, Comb-, or Nukta, 370
Blue Jay or Roller, 204 Spotbill, 370
Brain-fever Bird or Hawk- E
Cuckoo, 170 Eagle, Crested Serpent, 246
Bulbul, Green, or Chloropsis, — Pallas's or Ring-
20, 28 tailed Fishing, 250
Red-vented, 3(1 - Tawny, 244
Red-whiskered,
- 34 White-oyed, Buzzard-, 248
White-browed, 36 Egret, Cattle, 368
White-cheeked,
Bunting, Black-headed,
- Crested
32
138
138
— — Large,
Little,
Smaller,
366
366
366
Red-headed, 138 F
Bustard, Great Indian, 316 Falcon, I.aggar, 240
C Peregrine, 240
Chat, Brown Rock, 52 Finch, Indian- Rose, 132
Collared or Indian Bush- 40 F'inch-lark, Ashy-crowned, 158
Hed Bush, 38 Flower fiecker, Thick-billed, 166
Chloropsis, Gold-fronted, 26 .
Tickcll's 160
Jerdon's 28 Flycatcher, Paradise, 58
Coot, 304 Tickcll's Blue, 56
Cormorant, Large, 344 White-browed
Little, 344 b'antail, 60
Cotton Teal, 378 — White-Spotted
Coucal or Crow-pheasant, 182 Fantail, 60
Courser, Cream-coloured, 320 G
Indian, 320 Goose, Bar-headed, 380
Crane, Common, 314 Grey Lag, 380
Demoiselle, 314 Grackle or Hill-Myna, 110
Sams, 312 Grebe, Little, or Dabchick, 388
Crow, Common House-, 2 Greenshunk, 338
Jungle, 4 Gull, falack-headed or
King-, or Black Drongo, 78 Laughing, 322
Pheasant or Coucal, 182 Brown-headed, 322
 INDEX OF SPECIES—contd.
Page Page
Minivct, Scarlet, 70
Harewa, (Chloropsis) 28 26, Short-billed, 70
Harrier, Marsh, 258 Small, 72
Pale, 258 Moorhen, Indian, 300
Heron, Grey, 364 Purple, 302
Indian Keef, 370 Munia, Red, or Wax-bill, 130
Spotted,
Night, 374
Pond or Paddy Bird, 372 — White-backed,
130
128
Purple, 364 White-throated, 128
Hoopoe, 218 Myna, Bank, 120
Hornbill, Common Grey, 216 — Brahminy or Black-
.
Malabar Grey, 216 headed, 116
— Common, 118
Grey-headed, 114
Ibis, Black, 352 — Hill-, or Grackle, 1 10
Glossy, 352 Jungle, 120
White, 350 Pied, 122
Iora, Common, 24 N
I Night Heron, 374
Jacana, Bronze-winged, Nightjar, Common Indian, 224
Pheasant-tailed, 308 Nukta or Comb-Duck, 376
Junglefowl, Grey, 270 Nuthatch, Chestnut - bellied, 12
Red, 274 O
Oriole, Black-headed, 108

Kestrel, 242
_. — . Golden,
Openbilled, Stork,
106
362
Kingfisher, Common, 212
Owl, Barn or Screech-, 226
Pied, 210
. Himalayan Pied 210
Brown Fish-, 228
- - - Indian Great Horned-, 230
White-breasted, 214
Owlet, Spotted, 232
Kite, Black-winged, 256
Brahminy, 252
P
_ Common Pariah, 254 Paddy Bird or Pond Heron, 372
Koel, 180 Parakeet, Blossom-headed, 188
L Large Indian, or
Alexandrine, 184
Laggar Falcon,
Lapwing, Red-wattled,
240
328
—
Rose-ringed, 186
Partridge, Black, 284
Yellow-wattled,
.

Lark, Crested,
330
156
— Grey, 286
_Finch-, Ashy-crowned, 1 58
Painted,
Peafowl, Common,
284
272
Malabar Crested, 1S6
Peregrine Falcon, 240
Sky-, Small, 154
Pharaoh's Chicken, or
Sykes's Crested, 156
Scavenger Vulture, 238
Loriquet, 202
Pigeon, Blue Rock-, 264
M Common Green, 262
Magpie-Robin, or Dhyal, 46 Pipit, Indian, 152
Martin, Crag-, \ 140 Pitta, Indian, 168
-. Dusky
Crag-, I
1
140 Plover, Little Ringed-, 326
Minivet, Orange, 70 Pochard, White-eyed, 386
 INDEX OF SPECIES--contd.
Page Page
Q Stork, Lesser, Adjutant, 358
Quail, Black-breasted or Black-necked, 356
Rain-, 280
— Open-billed, 362
Bustard-, 288 Painted, 360
—
—- — Common or Grey, 278
—— White, 354
Jungle Bush-, 282 White-necked, 366
: Rock Bush-, 282 Sunbird, Purple, 162
Purple-rumped, 164
R Swallow, Common, 142
Redshank, 338 —
- Indian Wire-tailed, 144

Redstart,
Robin, Indian,
42
44
- - — Red-rumped, 144
Swift, House-, 220
Magpie-, or Dhyal, 46 Palm-, 222
Roller, or Blue Jay, 204
T
Rose-Finch, Indian, 132 Tailor-Bird, 84
Rosy Pastor, 112 Teal Blue-winged or
S Garganey, 384
Sandgrouse, Common, 270 Common, 384
Sandpiper, Common, 338 - --Cotton, 378
. Green, 338 Large Whistling, 382
Wood or Spotted, 338 - Lesser Whistling, 382
Sarus Crane, 312 Tern, Black-bellied, 324
"Satbhai" or Jungle Babbler, 14 Gull-billed, 324
" Seven Sisters " or Jungle River, 324
Babbler, 14 Thrush, Blue Rock-, 52
Shag, Indian, 344 Malabar Whistling, 54
Shama, 48 Himalayan Whistling, 54
Shikra, 260 Tit, Grey, 8
Shrike, Bay-backed, 64 Yellow-cheeked, 10
——— Cuckoo-, Black- Tree-Pie, 6
headed, 74 V
Cuckoo-, Large, 70 Vulture, Black, King or
Grey, 62 Pondicherry, 234
—• Rufous-backed, 66 — White-backed, 236
Wood, 68 White Scavenger, 238
Skylark, Small 1S4 W
Snake-bird, or Darter, 346 Wagtail, Eastern Grey, 146
Snipe, Common or Fantail, 342 Large Pied, 148
Painted, 310 White, 150
Pintail, 342 Warbler, Ashy Wren-, 88
Sparrow, House, 136 Indian Wren-, 00
Yellow-throated, 134 Streaked Fantail, 86
Spoonbill, 348 Waterhen, White-breasted, 298
Starling, Rose-coloured-, or Weaver-Bird, Common-, or
Rosy Pastor, 112 Baya, 124
Stilt, Black-winged, 332 Striated, 126
Stint, Little, 340 Whimbrel, 336
Temminck's, 340 Whit^-eye, 160
Stone-curlew, 318 Woodbccker, Golden-backed, 172
Stork, Adjutant, 368 Mahratta, 170
xxxix
Printed by H. W. Smith, at The Times of India Press,
Bombay and Edited by S&lim AH for the Bombay
Natural History Society.