64 COMMON BIRDS OF AN INDIAN GARDEN 



description of the notes may be accepted as fairly 

 correct as regards their sound, it is likely to give rise 

 to some confusion as to the nests. They certainly 

 are not the property of the ko'il, as neither he nor 

 his wife either know or care to know how to build 

 one. All honour, however, is due to birds that can 

 successfully cuckold the Indian crows, and, whilst 

 other cuckoos are content to impose upon birds of 

 relatively feeble physical power and intellect, pit 

 themselves against such really formidable antagonists. 

 Even the physical and mental advantages that the 

 crows possess afford insufficient protection, and, 

 indeed, it is questionable whether the very elabora- 

 tion of intellect that renders them so exceptionally 

 suspicious does not, in this instance, make for their 

 undoing. The order of events is this : when every- 

 thing is ready and a desirable nest has been chosen, 

 the cock-koil, conspicuous in his shining black 

 plumage and crimson eyes, seats himself on a 

 prominent perch, whilst the hen, in modest 

 speckled grey garb lurks hidden among dense 

 masses of neighbouring foliage. He then lifts up 

 his voice and shouts aloud, his voice becoming 

 more and more insistent with every repetition of 

 his call, and very soon attracting the attention of 

 the owners of the nest, who rush out to the attack 

 and chase him away. Now comes the chance for 

 his wife, who forthwith nips in to deposit her egg. 

 Very often she does this successfully before the 



