86 PET BIRDS OF BENGAL 



hunting for food on the skirts of a reedy 

 field, it will not remain long in sight. 

 Go near and it will vanish in a moment. 

 And though you may wait patienth' for 

 ever so lono:, it will never come out as 

 long as you are there. 



The breeding season for this Yellow-eyed 

 Babbler extends from May to Septem- 

 ber. Living amid grassy surroundings, its 

 ambition for housing its family seldom 

 goes beyond grass-blades, three or four 

 of which are usually considered 

 sufficient to support its nest; 

 sometimes only a single reed 

 serves the purpose. But whenever it goes 

 out of its way to a tree to build its nest, the 

 fork of a lime-bush, or at most, a young 

 manofoe-tree is all that more than suffices 

 to satisfy its taste. 



The nest is an ingeniously built cone 

 with the apex downwards. It is always 

 very strong and compact, never slovenly 

 done, which bespeaks volumes about the 

 bird's artistic ability. Broad blades of 



