XXIX 



BIRDS IN THE MILLET FIELDS 



f "HE fields of bajra, or giant millet, which 

 in late autumn or early winter form so 

 conspicuous a feature of the landscape of 

 "^^ Northern India, are a never-failing source 

 of amusement to the naturalist, because they are 

 so attractive to the feathered folk. Were the bird 

 visitors asked why they came to the bajra, they would 

 doubtless reply, if they could speak, that the attrac- 

 tion was the insects harboured by the crops. And 

 the majority would be telling the truth. But there 

 are, alas, some who come for a less useful purpose, 

 that of abstracting the grain. Let us deal first with 

 the avian black sheep. Of these, the buntings are 

 the most numerous, unless the particular field happens 

 to be within a mile of a village ; in that case, of 

 course, the sparrows outnumber them. On Passer 

 domesticus I have not leisure to dwell. It must suffice 

 that he eats and twitters and squabbles to his heart's 

 content all day long, and generally enjoys himself at 

 the expense of the cultivator. 



The buntings merit more attention. They are 

 aristocratic connections of the sparrow. They need 



178 



