DAYALS, ETC. 119 



may almost always be met with in particular places 

 at particular hours. Regularly each successive 

 morning and evening during the nesting season the 

 male bird of each pair takes his place on some 

 prominent twig close to the nest, and treats his 

 sitting mate to a series of sweet, cold, plaintive little 

 songs. The sight of one of them, " bright in a light 

 and eminent in amber," sitting on the summit of a 

 mango-tree in fresh, spring foliage, with his bright 

 black and white plumage shining out in brilliant 

 contrast to the golden green and bronze of the young 

 leaves and the clear pale blue of a cloudless sky 

 above, is one not to be readily forgotten. Should 

 any of his neighbours intrude on the territory of the 

 songster he breaks off his music at once and goes 

 upon the war-path. The intruder is usually so 

 conscious of ill-doing that he rarely ventures to 

 show fight until he has reached the narrow zone of 

 neutral ground intervening between his own estate 

 and that of his neighbour. Here, however, repeated 

 conflicts occur, and then the warriors retire, each 

 within his own marches, and there strut about for 

 some time, singing insolently at one another before 

 returning to their domestic duties. 



When alarmed they utter hoarsely chatting 

 notes, and the male birds, if suddenly startled whilst 

 on the ground, accompany these with a series of jerk- 

 ing movements, in the course of which their tails 

 become so extremely erected as to point obliquely 



