8 BREEDING SEASONS. 
The seasons for any particular kinds that may be spread throughout 
the whole range of the Himalayas are usually somewhat earlier in the 
eastern, and later in the western portion. 
In the hills of south India the season is much the same as in the 
Himalayas, but it begins earlier, and ends later. There too a second or 
autumn brood is frequently hatched, while in the Himalayas, with 
birds that have two broods, the first is usually in March, and the second 
in June. In the southern hills, the ranges being less lofty and easily 
accessible to and from the plains, birds’ nesting may be carried on with 
more or less success over a much longer period by extending the rambles 
to the forests at the foot of the hills from time to time. 
In the plains, where the tropieal extremes of temperature occur, 
the season never ends, every month of the year yields a fair harvest. 
Some individual species breed all the year round, and where some leave 
off, others begin, so that the birds’ nester may be always fully employed: 
In the dry parts of the plains, more especially towards the north and 
west, the autumn months are comparatively barren seasons, the end of 
the cold weather, and throughout the hot weather and rains being the 
most prolific periods. 
In searching for birds’ nests the great secret of success after all is 
patience and perseverance, and when this is backed by keen eyesight 
and a knowledge of the habits of birds, success is certain. When the 
time cf breeding is known, the way is cleared to a great extent; but 
when the time for any particular species is only to be found out by 
observation, search may be guided by noting the breeding times of 
closely allied kinds of birds. If the breeding of one species is known, 
it may generally be inferred, though it is not always the case, that 
other species of that genus will breed about the same time in that 
locality. An exception to this is found among the crows, the common 
erow (Corvus impudicus) breeding in the upper provinces in June, while 
the raven (C. corax) and the corby (C. culmenatus) both breed in those 
parts during the winter. Other exceptions will occur to all who have 
collected eggs in this country, but the rule generally offers a fair guide. 
When this method leads to no results, the simplest way with 
common species is to shoot a specimen from time to time and ascertain 
by dissection whether breeding is in progress or not. Of course, if the 
birds are rare, this method cannot be carried out; for it defeats its own 
object, and watching must be resorted to. With birds in which the 
sexes differ in plumage, the disappearance of the hen birds, while the 
