1:4 PET BIEDS or BENGAL 



instinct, the bird suddenly develops a 

 irregarious impulse during the mating 

 jieriod. It is not unusual to observe a 

 lUimber of Dhayals congregating in an open 

 ^ )ace in a garden or a grove to fight out 

 <luels like the knights of mediaeval Europe. 

 As each bird comes out a winner, its success 

 is received with such an uproar of applause 

 that the uninitiated may easily mistake it 

 for some disaster in the avine world. 

 Amidst such din and commotion, each com- 

 petitor engages in combat till one is left the 

 ^sole champion of the field. Then, mighty 

 pleased with themselves and their perfor- 

 mances, the birds retire to their roosts, 

 chattering the while and discussing perhaps 

 the merits of different competitors. The 

 Dhayal's bullying tendency very often ])e- 

 trays it into bondage. Bird-catchers take 

 advantage of this propensity and employ 

 tame birds to entrap it. .. Among the various 

 devices which are resorted to, one is to bring 

 a caged Dhayal to the place where wild ones 

 abound. Small sticks smeared with bird- 



