THE KHANJAN 241 



this country that the latter feel prejudiced 

 against caging them, and whenever any 

 such bird is put up in the market, it is 

 not unuBual to find a benevolent person 

 losing no time in buying it up or, if 

 there be more, the whole lot, simply for 

 liberating them. Consequently a Wag- 

 tail is not a common cage-bird in any 

 part of India. The Large Pied Wag- 

 tail, however, is sometimes caged, and 

 is considered a respectable bird in Behar 

 and some parts of the U. P. , where 

 it is specially known as ^the Khanjan'. 

 This bird is much larger for a Wag- 

 tail and closely resembles the Dhayal 

 as regards the arransfement of the black 

 and the white colours upon its body. It 

 has a superbly beautiful canary-like song 

 which, if widely known, would earn for 

 it a popularity that would probably be 

 in an inverse ratio to the undeserved neg- 

 lect in which it has hitherto been held. 

 In Bengal, few people can make its 

 acquaintance even in nature, chiefly on 

 16 



