142 COMMON BIRDS OF AN INDIAN GARDEN 



series of observations the thirteenth of the month 

 comes out as the normal date. These dates are to be 

 taken as referring to the arrival of birds who propose 

 to spend the winter in the place ; for in almost any 

 year small parties may be seen and heard, passing 

 high overhead for some days before any come to 

 settle down. The arrival of the local residents can 

 hardly fail to be at once noticed by any one who 

 takes heed of such events ; for their notes, although 

 by no means so loud and insistent as those of the 

 brown shrike, who makes his appearance a few weeks 

 sooner, are of a very specific nature, quite unlike 

 those of any permanent residents, and are, moreover, 

 mentally associated with the approach of the 

 pleasantest time of the year. 



Common bee-eaters are singularly alluring both 

 in appearance and in the character of their notes. 

 When seen from behind they look brilliantly green 

 with golden gleams about their heads ; their wings 

 have a ruddy bronze tint, and there is a beautiful 

 patch of blue on the throat a scheme of colour 

 which, along with their brilliantly sparkling eyes, 

 cheerful cries, and confiding familiarity, is well 

 adapted to command general admiration. Their 

 ceaseless vigilance is very striking ; they seem hardly 

 ever to be entirely at rest; their tails are kept in 

 constant movement, and their heads are ceaselessly 

 jerked about in the outlook for passing insects. It 

 is a joy to watch them as they sit on the ends of 



