THE SEVEN SISTERS 



"The seven birds . . . that never part." 



BABBLERS are the Bohemians of bird society. 

 The Seven Sisters are to the rest of the 

 fowls of India what the denizens of the 

 Quartier Latin are to the remainder of 

 Parisian Society. There is much to be said for an 

 unconventional, restraint-free life. The poets, from 

 Horace downwards, have hankered after such an exist- 

 ence. 



It is, indeed, no small thing to be able to eat what 

 one likes, drink what one likes, say what one likes, and 

 do what one likes. Babblers enjoy all these advan- 

 tages, and many more. Were there ever before, through- 

 out all the geological ages, any birds so utterly in- 

 different to personal appearance? If a crow were to 

 show himself in public in the unkempt condition of 

 the average babbler, he would be forthwith socially 

 ostracized ; he would be blackballed by every corvine 

 Club and never receive an invitation to dinner. Crows 

 are great sticklers for etiquette, whereas babblers care 

 not a fig for appearances. 



" Liberte, Fraternite, Egalite " is the motto of these 



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