i82 BIRDS OF THE PLAINS 



brings with it. How luscious and sweet the fruit must 

 taste when the raindrops have washed away all the 

 dust and other impurities with defile it. What a 

 multitude of edible creeping things does a shower 

 bring forth. In England it causes to emerge all 

 manner of grubs and worms which before had been 

 lurking in their burrows. In India is it not the rain 

 that ushers in the red-letter day for insectivorous 

 birds — the day that witnesses the swarming of the 

 " white ants " ? What a feast do these myriads of 

 termites provide for the feathered things. In addition 

 to these there is all the multitude of winged and 

 crawling insects which the rain brings to life as if by 

 magic. How badly would the birds fare but for the 

 barsath which brings forth these insects, upon which 

 they are able to feed their young. 



Perhaps the hoopoes most of all appreciate the rain, 

 for it makes the ground so delightfully soft ; they are 

 then able with such ease to plunge their long beaks 

 into the earth and extract all manner of hidden 

 treasures which are usually most difficult of access. 



Is there anything in the world more complete than 

 the happiness of birds in a shower of rain ? 



