50 GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 
they cherish a lively prejudice against the old Koels, and 
hunt any Koel they can to death if they get the 
chance. 
The Koels breed from March to July, and at this 
time the call whence is derived its Hindustani name 
“‘ko-eel ko-eel,’’ running up the scale, is one of the charac- 
teristic sounds of the country. Unfortunately the bird 
insists on calling at night as well as by day, and is rather 
4 
apt at all times to be “instant out of season ’’; whence 
many Huropeans call him the Brain-fever Bird, and detest 
him accordingly. The male, which has another call of 
his own, like ‘‘ho-e-o,’’ is a favourite native pet, and 
seems to thrive well on satoo; like all Cuckoos, however, 
he is restless in a cage, and apt in this way to break and 
damage his plumage, though not so much as other species. 
In an aviary of the larger birds, a pair of Koels make a 
nice addition, but are hardly worth keeping in most places, 
as they are so common outside. 
THE Hawk-Cuckoo or “‘BrAIN-FEVER Birb’’ (Hiero- 
coccyx varius), called Popiya by the natives, is a smaller 
bird, not much over a foot long, with much weaker bill 
and shorter legs than the Koel. The cock and hen are 
alike, blue-grey above, with tail barred with buff-edged 
dark bands, and below white on the throat and belly, 
and cinnamon on the breast, which is barred below. The 
eyes are bright yellow, the legs yellow, and the bill black 
above and greenish below. 
The young bird is quite differently coloured, being 
brown above, barred with buff, and white with brown 
spots below; the eyes are grey at this stage. 
