18 COMMON BIRDS OF AN INDIAN GARDEN 



building season some of the servants appropriated 

 the sticks of one of the nests as firewood ; and, 

 when the building-time again came round, the two 

 other nests were repaired and occupied, but the 

 missing one was not replaced. They are remarkably 

 regular even in the time that they come in to roost. 

 Even when their favourite perches are for a time 

 quite exposed by the vernal fall of the leaves they 

 faithfully adhere to them, and one feels quite un- 

 comfortable on a cold night to see them sitting 

 without any shelter from the chilly breezes. As a 

 rule, they settle down for the night shortly after 

 sundown, but occasionally the routine is interrupted, 

 owing to the attractions of an abundant store of 

 dainty food at a late hour, such as present themselves 

 when a swarm of white ants emerges. In such cases 

 belated stragglers continue to come sailing in through 

 the gloaming until it is almost dark. The deftness 

 with which they can secure such small, floating 

 objects as the bodies of white ants, is remarkable, 

 and it is a pretty sight to see them, sweeping and 

 circling about through a swarm of these insects, 

 picking one after another up in their claws and 

 transferring them to their beaks without disturbing 

 the regularity of their flight. 



The majority of the kites in Calcutta begin to 

 think of building at the end of August or begin- 

 ning of September, but an anticipative bird may 

 occasionally be seen carrying a stick about quite 



