CUCKOOS 79 



bulbuls," and this although they are the chataks 

 so often mentioned in Hindi and Sanskrit literature. 

 They resemble koils and differ from "brain-fever- 

 birds," and " crow-pheasants," in their liking for 

 conspicuous positions whilst calling. They are 

 unlike most other cuckoos in frequently calling 

 whilst on the wing and not in any alarm or anxiety. 

 When at rest they droop their wings, just as most 

 of their relatives do, and usually remain quite silent, 

 but when on the wing they are constantly calling. 

 The cry is sometimes a highly pitched trisyllabic 

 one, " pee, pee, pee," and at others a prolonged series 

 of shrill notes, "pee pe, pee pe, pee pe, peep peep, 

 peep pe pe peep, peep pe pe peep, peep, peep." 

 Either of these calls is to be heard very often all 

 through the course of the dry hot months, but, as 

 the rainy season approaches, they become less 

 frequent, and when it is fairly established they cease 

 to be audible until the succeeding spring. The birds 

 rarely venture within the limits of the town, but 

 abound in all the bowery gardens of the suburbs, 

 flying about from tree to tree, calling loudly all day 

 long, and usually descending at dusk in order to 

 roost in the cover of dense shrubs. Like "brain- 

 fever-birds," they seem generally to lay in the nests 

 of common babblers. The latter quite recognise 

 them as undesirable neighbours, and are always 

 ready to assault them during the nesting season. 

 Whether they now and then make use of other nests 



