182 GLIMPSES OF INDIAN BIRDS 



these is the Indian roller (Coracias indica), who uses 

 the heads of the millet as convenient perches whence 

 he can descend upon his quarry. It is not by any 

 means every millet stalk that is sufficiently stout to 

 support so weighty a bird, and it is amusing to watch 

 a " blue jay " try in vain to find a perch on several 

 successive heads, on each occasion almost losing his 

 balance. For this reason the roller always selects for 

 his watch-tower a castor-oil plant, when any of these 

 are interspersed among the millet. 



King-crows are always in force on the millet field, 

 but is there any spot in India where they are not in 

 force ? They, like the roller, use the heads as resting 

 places whence to secure their quarry, but they take 

 it in the air in preference to picking it from off the 

 ground. 



On the highest stalk of the field sits a butcher bird, 

 still and grim, waiting for a victim. Though he is 

 small, you cannot fail to notice him on account of 

 his conspicuous white shirt front. As a rule, there 

 are no thorny bushes in the vicinity of the millet 

 field, so that here he must devour his food without 

 spitting it on a thorn. 



Every millet field is visited by flocks of mynas 

 bank, pied, and common mynas with now and then 

 a starling. These, I believe, visit the field mainly for 

 insects ; but I would not like to assert that they do 

 not sometimes pilfer the grain. In any case, they are 

 a cheery crowd, and without them the bajra fields 

 would not be the lively spots they are. Mention must 

 also be made of the Indian bush chat (Pratincola maura) 



