294 PET BIRDS OF BENGAL 



takes to its wings. Though the ordinary 

 flight of the Koel is slow, clums}^ and 

 shuffling, it always evades pursuit. The 

 crow's habit of pursuing the Koel at 

 sight affords the latter the opportunity 

 to hoodwink the former. In the nesting 

 season, the male cuckoo tries to become 

 very prominent. When the female Koel 

 feels like laying, the male presents itself 

 before a crow's nest and flings a volume 

 of outrageous vocabulary at the corvine 

 pair, while the soberly clad female lurks 

 in some neighbouring leafy cover. As 

 soon as the crows catch sight of the Koel 

 they start out in hot pursuit. The male 

 Koel flees before them, keeping a very 

 slight lead. The crows, hoping soon to 

 overtake their enemy, dog its heels and 

 are thus led far away from their nest. 

 This gives the female the desired oppor- 

 tunity to carry out its nefarious scheme. 

 The male Koel seems to possess a precise 

 idea of the time the female will require to 

 accomplish its purpose, for it invariably 



