Proceedings. 79 



sometimes balancing themselves head-downwards. The yomig 

 birds are dusky-brown above, and grey below. 



The Indian Magpie {Dendrocitta rufa) is usually met 

 ■with in pairs. Its cinnamon and grey plumage is decidedly 

 handsome. 



The Coucal [Centropus rufipeimis), a large bh-d, popularly 

 called the " Crow-Pheasant," is allied to the Cuckoos. Its 

 booming-call may be heard all day long from the tops of the 

 Pcilms. It is shaped like a small Pheasant, and is dark 

 purplish-black, with rufous wings. 



Amongst British birds to be met with in India during the 

 cold season I may name the Swallow, Sand Martin, Lesser 

 Whitethroat, Quail, Snipe, the Common and Green Sand- 

 pipers, the Greenshank, and most of our species of Duck. 



A few other birds are really common in the Central 

 Provinces, such as the Spotted Owlet [Athene Biama), which 

 ventures out at dusk from its hiding-places around every 

 village ; the Munia, a little finch with a white rump ; the 

 Indian Titlark ; the Short- toed Lark ; the Black-bellied and 

 the Eufous-tailed Finch-Larks ; the Wire-tailed Swallow ; 

 the Dusky Crag Martin and Indian Bank-Martin ; the Grey 

 Partridge ; and others. 



The Crimson-breasted Barbet [Xuntliolama Indica) is a very 

 un-English looking little bird, with a loud call, which has 

 earned for it the name of the "Coppersmith." It came into 

 the Banyans at Sohagpur and fed upon the Figs. 



One bird more I must name, one of the most glorious of 

 feathered fowl, with plumage of green and blue, and purple 

 and gold, a sight of which in the wild state is not an every- 

 day occurrence, the Peacock [Pavo crintatits). It must indeed 

 be a fine sight to see a party of ten or a dozen Peacocks 

 coming down towards sunset to the river's edge to drink. On 

 two occasions it was my good fortune to catch sight of wild 

 Peacocks in the jungle when travelling by rail in the Central 

 Provinces. 



A number of Waders and water-birds that I met with in 

 the neighbourhood of a tank some seventy acres in extent, at 

 Hirankhera, in the Central Provinces, I have described in a 



