360 THE FOOD OF BIRDS IN INDIA. 



show. In some parts of the country branches are put up in paddy 

 fields to afford resting places to this bird, which is dependent upon 

 them ; this is a custom I would like to see extended to all paddy 

 areas ; paddy as a crop offers no resting place to such a bird, nor can 

 ground feeding birds feed in it ; it has also (? therefore) abundant 

 pests and its worst are just the sort of insects the King-Crow takes, 

 i.e., insects it catches flying. 



For other crops, its importance is perhaps less, but for paddy it 

 should be helped in every way. 



The Warblers and Shrikes are clearly beneficial in a general way. 

 The Orioles are beneficial and deserve protection. The Mynas 

 do also, except the Kosy Pastor which I rank as a most injurious bird. 

 The common Mynah I would encourage particularly, mainly by plant- 

 ing fig trees of all sorts (Pipal, baryar, gular, &c.), as avenue trees 

 always where possible ; the good done by mynahs far outweighs 

 every other consideration, only those in India who have to do with 

 road planting know nothing of birds. It is not uncommon to plant 

 mangoes for fruit and timber, it would be better to plant figs for 

 birds that keep down surplus insects and bring good crops. 



The Flycatchers, Redstarts, Blue-throat, Magpie-robin and 

 Ground-thrush are all beneficial, while the Weaver-birds and Munias 

 are neutral. The Yellow-throated Sparrow does good, the House 

 Sparrow I class as injurious and by no means worthy of protection. 

 Opinions differ about the common house sparrow, but I emphatically 

 rank it as injurious from man's point of view. Of the Martins and 

 Swallows we really know nothing in India ; what it is they get when 

 feeding, high up in the air, it would be very interesting to know. 



The Wagtails, Pipits and Larks are all deserving of protection. 

 In particular the Rufous Short-toed Lark (Calandrella dukhu- . 

 nensis) so often destroyed as an Ortolan should be protected aid 

 not destroyed as it at present is. This is a bird that feeds on weevils 

 (Tanymecus and Myllncerus) and on the '* Fatinga " or surface 

 grasshopper, all insects that do a great deal of harm. You eat a dish 

 of ten Ortolans and you eat birds that daily eat, probably at least 50 

 destructive insects apiece, or 15,000 destructive insect* per month 



