ALEXANDER THE COPPERSMITH 249 



ance, and greatly detracts from its beauty. Jerdon states 

 that these naked patches are inflated when the bird 

 emits its note. I have not been able to verify this, for 

 the bird, when it pours forth its monotonous song, likes 

 to conceal itself in tall, leafy trees. 



To return to the nest in my compound. It was 

 excavated in a bare branch of a pipal tree {Ficus 

 religiosd) about ten feet above the level of the ground. 

 The entrance to the nest pointed upwards, but was so 

 well shaded by the foliage above that it was not flooded 

 by some heavy rain that fell before the young birds 

 were fledged. 



Upon one occasion I watched the mother leave the 

 nest, and then took up a position immediately under it, 

 in order to ascertain whether she would venture in with 

 me so near at hand. In a few minutes she returned, 

 but, seeing me, alighted on a branch above that con- 

 taining the young birds. There she sat and contem- 

 plated me. She next flew to a neighbouring branch, 

 then back again. After thus behaving for about three 

 minutes she summoned up her courage and flew into 

 the nest. I could almost have touched her as she did 

 this, so close was I. She made no pretence of con- 

 cealing the whereabouts of the nursery, for, not only 

 did she enter it before my eyes, but as soon as she was 

 inside, she and the youngsters began talking loudly. 

 In this case maternal anxiety seems to have got the 

 better of prudence. On another occasion I saw a 

 parent bird enter the nest with something in its beak. 

 I wanted to have a good look at it as it emerged, so ran 

 up close to the nest, but, as I did so, trod on some dried 



