BREEDING SEASONS. 9 



cocks are still to be seen about, leads to the inference that 

 the former are in all probability sitting on eggs somewhere close by, and 

 if watched, the male bird may be seen to carry food to the female, and 

 thus lead to the discovery of the nest. Some birds put on handsome 

 plumes or tufts of feathers as the breeding season approaches, which 

 indicates when search for the eggs should be made. If watched closely, 

 many kinds of birds may be detected pairing ; or, in the case of such 

 as build nests, they may be seen carrying bits of stick or straw, or 

 wool or feathers in their bills to the tree or hole where they are prepar- 

 ing their little home. This latter of course leads not only to the know- 

 ledge of the breeding season, but also what is more to the point to 

 the discovery of the nest. Some birds that are widely spread over the 

 country breed in one locality or another nearly throughout the year. 

 Some again breed nearly throughout the year in the same locality. 

 Among these latter may be mentioned the striated bush babbler (Chat- 

 tarhcea caudata), the pin-tailed munia (Munia malabarica), the black- 

 bellied finch lark (Pyrrhalauda grisea), the common sandgrouse (Pterocles 

 exustus), and all the commonest doves in the plains. 



To ensure success in discovering nests to any extent, it must be 

 repeated that close and persevering search is necessary, many nests and 

 sometimes those of the rarest birds are found accidentally, but even in 

 these cases the finding generally results from a habit of keeping a 

 watch on the movements of birds, and without labor and perseverance 

 no great results can be looked for in this or in any other pursuit. 

 With birds that sit close the nest itself must be searched for ; and 

 likely spots must be beaten, or otherwise disturbed, to cause the bird 

 to fly off; but in many cases this is not necessary, as birds often quit 

 their nests on the first signs of the approach of man. In forest country 

 if the trees are too numerous, or the underwood is too thick to allow 

 of complete search, it is best to keep a sharp look-out some thirty 

 yards ahead of where you are walking to catch sight of the birds as 

 they rapidly and often silently flit from the nest and reveal its situa- 

 tion. In this manner I found in one morning nests of the small 

 billed mountain thrush (Oreocincla dauma), the dusky bush thrush 

 ( Geocichla unicolor), the black-throated jay ( Garrulus lanceolafus), and 

 several others in the course of a quick ride through a secluded forest. 

 It is sometimes advantageous to sit quite still for a time and watch, but 

 as a rule moving about gives the best chance. One morning in the hot 

 weather I had sat down to light my pipe at the foot of a tall clump 



B 



s 



