THE HAREWA 97 



i;'reat as it appears to select only those 

 fruits that burst open in riping. 



A near relative of the Harewa [C. 

 jerdoiii) has been observed to frequent the 

 heads of cocoanut palms which abound in 

 many parts of Southern India. But the' 

 Gold-fronted Harewa has no such predi- 

 lection, and shows its attachment generally 

 to all fairly big trees and shrubs, though 

 it roosts by preference in dense secondary 

 scrub or even in long sun- or elephant-grass. 

 There its activity knows no bounds. Watch 

 it hop amidst luxuriant fronds or flit 

 about among^ slender twio-s, or clino- 

 to moving leaves like a Tit or catch insects 

 on the wing like a Bee-eater, — -the bird is 

 always at its best. ''At one moment it 

 will hover like a Sun-bird in front of a 

 flower, at another it clambers along the 

 lower surface of a thin branch and some- 

 times it will swing itself round and round 

 in somersaults." It looks extremely 

 graceful as it slips with ease through the 

 foliage in pursuit of moths and termites, 



7 



