THE KHANJAN 253 



its indefatigable activity. But it is not 



a fussy bird like the Mynah or the 

 Sparrow, and does not dissipate its 

 vigour by useless and unnecessary 

 restlessness. Nature has not for nothing 

 endowed it with a superabundance of 

 energy ; it is necessary for its very 

 existence. And therefore we never find 

 it at rest for any two seconds, and it 

 is busy hunting for food from sunrise 

 till sunset. And what a feed it has I 

 "Live to eat" is perhaps the philosophy of 

 life of this bird. The number and variety 

 of insects devoured by it in a day is 

 appalling. It is keen on catching very 

 minute winged insects, large numbers of 

 which daily fall victims to the Khanjan's 

 appetite. Of the large insects, grass- 

 hoppers, mantidae, caterpillars, crickets, 

 flies, butterflies and wasps are considered 

 edible. It seems to avoid harder insects 

 like metallic coloured wasps and beetles, 

 nor does it touch bugs or cockroaches. If 

 it happens to catch a particularly fris- 



