MARCH. 77 



and a few of the king vultures are the only vultures with eggs at 

 this season. The laggar falcon, the red-headed merlins, the changeable 

 hawk eagles, buzzards, kites, and most of the owls, are still laying. 

 All the swallows and martins, the blue-tailed bee eater, the roller, 

 the parrots, woodpeckers and barbets, the flower-peckers, honey 

 suckers, nuthatches, robins, chats, titlarks, carrion crows, larks 

 of all kinds, green pigeons, emerald doves, grey partridges, bush 

 quail, common quail, most of the plovers, the river terns, and the 

 scissor bills have all got eggs. The following birds not included in 

 the list that follows begin building during the month, and should be 

 watched : The shikra hawk, the jungle owlet, the blue-ruffed bee eater, 

 the northern grey hornbill, the large grey cuckoo shrike, Sykes* 

 warbler, and the common cormorant. 



In BENGAL, the palm roof swift in the Garo hills lays throughout 

 the month. The large Bengal nightjar, the white-breasted kingfisher, 

 the red-breasted paroquet, the Indian loriquet, the yellow-fronted wood- 

 pecker, Franklin's green barbet, the koel, honey suckers, flower- 

 peckers, the common wood shrike, the common babbler, the red- 

 whiskered and white-winged green bulbul, the black-headed oriole, 

 the black crow, Sykes' turtle dove, the red jungle fowl, the kyah par- 

 tridge, plovers, river terns, and scissor bills all have eggs. The species 

 that commence nest-building during the month are Jerdon's green 

 bulbul, the shama robin, and the white- backed munia. 



In CENTRAL INDIA, the cliff swallows, crag martins, blue-tailed 

 bee eater, little kingfisher, rock chat, rufous-tailed finch lark, 

 painted spur fowl, and plovers are the characteristic species that lay 

 during the month, but many of the species that breed at this time in 

 northern, and particularly southern India, breed also now in central 

 India. The species that begin building in this month are the jungle 

 nightjar and the purple heron. 



In SOUTHERN INDIA, the kestril is still laying, and probably some 

 of the owls. The jungle nightjar, chestnut-headed bee eater, little 

 kingfisher, lesser green woodpecker, the green barbet, the sirkeer, flower- 

 pecker, some shrikes, flycatchers, thrushes, blackbirds, quaker 

 thrushes, babblers, laughing thrushes, bulbuls, robins, chats, the 

 ashy wren warbler, titlark, tits, long-tailed treepie, mynahs, 

 larks, grey jungle fowl, red spur fowl, and red-winged bush quail 

 are the kinds that breed throughout the month. The white-bellied 

 short wing in the Pulneys, and the green pigeons and Nilgiri wood 

 pigeons commence building their nests. 



