Part 18

The dusky horned-owl (Bubo coromandus) may be distinguished from the rock-horned species by the paler, greyer plumage, and by the fact that its eyes are deep yellow, rather than orange. Its cry has been described as wo, wo, wo, wo-o-o. The writer would rather represent it as ur-r-r, ur-r-r, ur-r-r-r-r--a low grunting sound not unlike the call of the red turtle-dove. This owl is very partial to crows. Mr. Cripps once found fifteen heads of young crows in a nest belonging to one of these birds. December and January are the months in which to look for the nest, which is a platform of sticks placed in a fork of a large tree. Two eggs are laid.

The breeding season for Bonelli's eagle (Hieraetus fasciatus) begins in December. The eyrie of this fine bird is described in the calendar for January.

In the Punjab many ravens build their nests during the present month.

Throughout January, February and the early part of March ravens' nests containing eggs or young are likely to be seen.

Ordinarily the nesting season of the common kite (Milvus govinda) does not begin until February, but as the eggs of this bird have been taken as early as the 29th December, mention of it must be made in the calendar for the present month. A similar remark applies to the hoopoe (Upupa indica).

Doves nest in December, as they do in every other month.

Occasionally a colony of cliff-swallows (Hirundo flavicolla) takes time by the forelock and begins to build one of its honeycomb-like congeries of nests in December. This species was dealt with in the calendar for February.

Blue rock-pigeons mostly nest at the beginning of the hot weather. Hume, however, states that some of these birds breed as early as Christmas Day. Mr. P. G. S. O'Connor records the finding of a nest even earlier than that. The nest in question was in a weir of a canal. The weir was pierced by five round holes, each about nine inches in diameter. Through four of these the water was rushing, but the fifth was blocked by debris, and on this a pair of pigeons had placed their nest.

GLOSSARY

Arhar. A leguminous crop plant which attains a height of four feet or more.

Chik. A curtain composed of a number of very thin strips of wood. Chiks are hung in front of doors and windows in India with the object of keeping out insects, but not air.

Holi. A Hindu festival.

Jhil. A lake or any natural depression which is filled with rain-water at all or in certain seasons.

Kharif. Autumn. Rice and other crops which are reaped in autumn are called kharif crops. Crops such as wheat which are cut in spring are called rabi crops. Two crops (sometimes three) are raised in India annually.

Megas. Sugar-cane from which the juice has been extracted.

Rabi. Spring. See Kharif.

Shikari. One who goes hunting or shooting.

Tope. A term applied to a grove of mango trees, artificially planted. Thousands of such topes exist in Northern India. In some places they are quite a feature of the landscape.

INDEX

Amadavat. See Red munia

Babbler, common (Crateropus canorus), 36, 49, 68, 82, 89, 108, 120, 124, 142, 156, 162, 163, 183 --large grey (Argya malcomi), 162

Barbet, green (Thereiceryx zeylonicus), 7, 20, 53, 66, 68, 82, 89, 106, 108, 121, 138, 155, 168, 185, 192

Baya. See Weaver-bird

Bee-eater, 3, 73, 74, 108, 120, 125, 139, 157, 169, 172, 182 --blue-tailed (Merops philippinus), 43, 89 --little green (M. viridis), 43, 89

Blue Jay. See Roller

Blue-throat, 172

Brain-fever bird. See Hawk-cuckoo

Bulbul, 5, 20, 36, 65, 68, 89, 107, 108, 123, 182, 185 --Bengal (Molpastes bengalensis), 47 --black (Hypsipetes psaroides), 192 --red-whiskered (Otocompsa emeria), 46