186 Mr. W. Jesse— Birds' -nestinff 



until the " rains " break^ an event usually occurring between 

 the 15th and 20th of June. 



There are eggs to be found in every month from January 

 to December inclusive^ but in the area mentioned the number 

 found before February or after September is small. 



La Martiniere College stands in a mango-park of about 

 300 acres. Adjoining this is the Wingfield Park^ a large 

 well-kept space filled with trees and ornamental shrubs, and 

 renowned amongst the College boys as a place for Bulbuls' 

 nests, while further on are the Horticultural Gardens. To 

 the east of the College flows the Goomti, in the banks of 

 which scores of the Indian Sand-Martin and the Bank-Mynah 

 have excavated their holes, and beyond this stretches a level 

 sandy plain dotted here and there with clumps of mango 

 and babool trees. The Oude and Rohilkuud railway crosses 

 the river at right angles, and traverses this plain on its way 

 to Mogul Serai, and all along the sides of the line grow 

 clumps of the tall sharp " patowaP' grass, in which, during 

 the rainy season, the Wren-Warblers weave their beautiful 

 little nests. 



During the earlier part of the cold weather there is not 

 much to be found near the College. Out in the District the 

 Vultures, Falcons, Hawks, and Owls are the principal 

 breeders, but they hardly come quite so close to the city as 

 three miles. Besides these, the Indian Sand-Martin [Cotyle 

 sinensis), Indian Hoopoe [Upiipa nigripennis), and two or 

 three species of Dove are the chief birds to be found nesting 

 before February. The White-backed Vulture {Gyps ben- 

 gahnsis) sometimes builds within a short distance of the 

 College, but most pairs seem to nest well away from the city. 

 In other parts of Upper India, however, this Vulture seeks 

 the neighbourhood of man to breed, often building its nests 

 on the trees situated in the native bazaars, where the birds 

 find abundance of food for themselves and young. 



Natives very rarely disturb or interfere with birds or their 

 nests, and colonies of various species. Crows, Paddy-birds, 

 Bayas, &c., are met with in and around almost every village. 

 In February and March the eggs of the Kites, White 



