154 COMMON BIRDS OF AN INDIAN GARDEN 



are constantly liable to be attacked as they come 

 and go. Many entertaining incidents happen under 

 such circumstances ; and it is curious how in some 

 cases even the constitutional dislike to crows may 

 for the time being be forgotten in a common enmity 

 to kites. Now and then a kite will be attacked 

 simultaneously by nesting crows and king-crows, and 

 driven to take refuge with its back to the wall on the 

 cornice of a house ; a crow sitting close to it and 

 insulting it with shrill cawings, while a king-crow 

 swoops and dashes at it from above, filling the air 

 with angry outcries. Owing to the small size and 

 peculiar shape of the nests, the heads and the long 

 tails of the sitting birds project quaintly on either 

 side, and show very conspicuously from beneath. 

 After the young ones are hatched their heads may be 

 seen reaching out in eager expectation of the insects 

 that are brought in in ceaseless succession from 

 dawn to dusk by the devoted parents. It is pleasant 

 to note the intense satisfaction with which a king-crow 

 regards its nest. When a sitting bird comes in from 

 one of its frequent raids upon passers-by, it does not 

 at once resume its place, but sits down beside the 

 nest and bends over it, thrilling with an admiration 

 that keeps the long forked tail in vigorous sidelong 

 motion. Both parent birds share in the task of 

 incubation, and relieve one another at short and 

 regular intervals. 



During the course of winter stray specimens of 



