96 THE POOD OF 6IR&S IN INt>lA. 



abundant in the Punjab committing great havoc on the grain there/ 

 In the North -West of India and Afghanistan they devour large 

 quantities of mulberries in the spring. They at times, however, 

 feed much on insects, and are called the "locust-bird" in Persia, 

 according to Chesney. . . .Burgess also states that in 1850 towards 

 the end of August he saw a large flock feeding on insects in the open. 

 They do not breed in India." 



<( It has been noticed also that when the locusts enter a grain 

 field, the Tilliars do not pursue them into it, but station themselves 

 all round its borders and kill the locusts as they issue forth/' 



The following reports are also from the same source. Locusts 

 in parts of Sind in 1889-1890 were exterminated by the Jowari bird. 

 Mr. Omanney mentions that these birds were great enemies of the 

 locust (Khandesh 1883). Similar reports were made by Dr. F. 

 Chand, Gujranwalla, 1891 ; by the Director of Land Records and 

 Agriculture, Punjab, the Bannu District 1891 by the Acting De- 

 puty Commissioner of Thar and Parkar, Sind, 1891. Major H. P. 

 Leigh says it appears in Kohat with Kabul sparrows, when the 

 mulberries are ripe ; it preys on the locust, but if in small numbers 

 will not face a large swarm. It appears to kill them for amusement 

 rather than for food leaving them in a very mutilated condition. 

 The Deputy Commissioner, Dera Ismail Khan, wrote in 1891 that 

 the rosy pastor eats locusts greedily, and though large swarms of 

 these insects appeared but little damage was done to the crops as 

 the birds drove them off. Mr. E. C. Cotes also notes this habit in 

 " the locust invasion of 1889-1892." (1. M. N., Ill, 79.) 



Jerdon also notes (B. I. II. 334) this bird is more a grain and 

 fruit eater perhaps than any other members of the family. 



Stebbing (M. F. Z.), with regard to the distribution of seeds by 

 means of birds voiding undigested seeds, says : ' ' A good example 

 of this action of birds can be seen in the Changa Manga plantation, 

 where the Rosy Pastor, which assembles in enormous flocks to feed 

 on the fruits of the mulberry trees in the plantation, has distributed 

 the seed, and consequently planted up considerable areas in this 



