in and around Lucknuw. 189 



One morning towards the end of March I was walking 

 with some of the College boys through a mango " top " on 

 the look-out for nests^ when we caught sight of a pair of 

 " llajah Lais/' as the natives call these birds^ flying about in 

 the upper brandies of one of the biggest mangoes. In a 

 second I had my glasses on them, and, proceeding to inspect 

 them and the tree very closely, at last made out wliat I 

 thought might be the nest. One of the boys at once com- 

 menced the ascent, when the male bird, by flying in, put an 

 end to all doubts as to its identity. Having climbed a little 

 above the level of the nest, the boy was able to see that it was 

 empty, so we left it undisturbed for the present. On the 9tli 

 of April we returned, and the same boy, climbing up, saw 

 that there were eggs. The thing to do now was to get them, 

 and a very difficult task it proved. The birds had built at 

 the end of a thin branch between 30 ft. and 40 ft. from the 

 ground, and to me from below it looked a most hazardous 

 attempt. Fearing an accident, therefore, I begged the lad 

 to come down, but he said he was confident that he could 

 reach the nest, and, my desire to obtain the eggs over- 

 coming my prudence, I allowed him to try. Balancing him- 

 self by a few small twigs, he left the main trunk and stepped 

 out upon the branch ; very gradually he stooped, and stretched 

 out his hand and succeeded in reaching the nest, which, 

 greatly to my relief and delight, lie brought down in safety. 



I saw no more of these birds after the month of May, 

 though why I do not know. The College boys declare that 

 this species and the larger one {P. speciosus) only breed 

 here in March and April. Nobody got the eggs of the 

 latter this year, though a pair of birds, evidently nesting, 

 were brought to me in the flesh in the beginning of March. 

 The mangoes in La Martiniere Park are full of noles, 

 occupied in the earlier part of the season by the Chestnut- 

 bellied Nuthatch [Sitta castaneiventris) , the Indian Roller 

 {Coracias indica), and the Spotted Owlet {Atheiie brama) ; 

 and later on, in May and June, by the Common Mynah 

 {Acridolheres tristis). The first-named is a very early 

 breeder ; the hole is plastered up with mud in the same 



