248 PET BIRDS OF BENGAL 



courtyard or in the garden, emd may also 

 be found feeding in a field close by. In 

 the month of November, I have seen in 

 Madras a few cock Wagtails perched, 

 on the parapet of a house, at a 

 little distance from a very serious- 

 looking hen and pouring out their 

 impetuous love-songs with that hypnotic 

 ardour which only the longing for posse- 

 ssion and spirit of rivalry can give. 

 These song-contests reminded me of the 

 ancient Indian ceremony of Svaya^mhara. 

 At the approach of the marriageable age 

 of a particularly accomplished princess, 

 for whose hand aspired many eligible 

 suitors (among whom it was difncult to 

 make a selection), it was usual to allow 

 the bride to choose her consort. Invita- 

 tions used to be issued to all royal 

 houses. On an auspicious day the suitors 

 used to gather in the audience-hall 

 when the princess came out with her 

 attendants, passed through the ranks of 

 the expectant guests, stopped before each 



