BIRDS AT SUNSET 255 



them reluctantly to desist from their vigorous exercise, 

 and to disappear into the bamboo clump, they give 

 out energy in the form of loud clamour. 



From the grove of tall trees yonder, where thousands 

 of crows will spend the hours of darkness, an even 

 greater noise issues. Some twenty minutes before the 

 sun dips below the horizon the advance guard of the 

 corvi arrives ; then, for the succeeding quarter-hour, 

 continuous streams of crows come pouring in from 

 east and west, from north and south. 



Meanwhile the sparrows have been foregathering in 

 their hundreds in the low shrubs that fringe the edge 

 of the garden. And what a dissonance issues from 

 those bushes ! 



Truly phenomenal is the activity of the birds at 

 eventide. It is especially marked in India, where 

 during the middle of the day the sun nearly always 

 shines fierce and hot, so that the birds are glad to 

 enjoy a siesta in the grateful shade. From this they 

 emerge like giants refreshed. 



This liveliness of the feathered folk at sunset is no 

 small matter. It is one of the most pleasing facts of 

 natural history. It shows how immensely birds enjoy 

 life. It proves how healthy, how full of energy they are, 

 how they, to speak figuratively, live within their 

 incomes. 



Contrast such scenes as those described above with 

 what may be seen in the City of London at six o'clock 

 on a weekday. A multitude of pale, anxious, worn- 

 looking men, and thin, tired, haggard women pursue 

 with listless steps their homeward way. Compared 



