BIRDS ON THE LAWN 83 



struts by. There is something very pompous about 

 the strut of the crow-pheasant. Were it an inhabitant 

 of Whitechapel, its friends would undoubtedly enquire 

 whether it was a fact that it had purchased the street ! 

 But the sight of an insect on the lawn causes the coucal 

 to throw dignity to the winds. Its sedate walk be- 

 comes transformed into a bustling waddle as it gives 

 chase to the insect with a gait like that of a stout, 

 nervous lady hurrying across a road thronged with 

 traffic. Crow-pheasants feed largely on insects, 

 and it is in search of these that they frequent the 

 lawn. Their food, however, is not confined to such 

 small fry ; they are very partial to snakes, and so are 

 useful birds to have in the garden. 



Hoopoes (Upupa indica) are constant visitors to 

 my lawn. They revel in soft ground. The com- 

 paratively hard probe-like bill of the hoopoe enables 

 the bird to extract insects from ground on which the 

 soft-billed snipe could make no impression. But 

 hoopoes prefer soft ground ; from it they can obtain 

 food with but little effort. Unfortunately for them, 

 velvety lawns are not common in India ; hence the 

 birds flock to those that exist as eagerly as Europeans 

 rush to the Himalayas in June. A few mornings 

 ago I counted twenty-seven hoopoes feeding on my 

 lawn. Occasionally a hoopoe perches on one of the 

 bars from which my mosquito curtains hang, and 

 thus unconsciously exposes himself to close scrutiny 

 on my part. There are few birds so delightful to watch 

 as hoopoes. Their form is unique. Their colouring 

 is striking and pleasing. Then they are such fussy 



