220 BIRDS OF THE PLAINS 



though it were about to fall out and which is constantly 

 being waggled, and you have a fair idea of the appear- 

 ance of this little weaver. But this description applies 

 to dozens of other birds found in India. The various 

 warblers are so similar to one another in appearance 

 as to drive ornithologists to despair. The inimitable 

 " Eha " admits that they baffle him. " There is nothing 

 about them," he writes, "to catch the imagination of the 

 historian, and they will never be famous. I have been 

 perplexed as to how to deal with them. . . . To attempt 

 to describe each species is out of the question, for there 

 are many, and they are mostly so like each other that 

 even the title ornithologist does not qualify one to 

 distinguish them with certainty at a distance. If you 

 can distinguish them with certainty when you have 

 them in your hand you will fully deserve the title." 



It is, however, possible to recognise the Indian wren- 

 warbler by its note. When once you have learned this 

 you are able to identify the bird directly it opens its 

 mouth. But how shall I describe it ? It is a peculiar, 

 harsh but plaintive, twee, twee, twee ; each twee follows 

 close upon the preceding one, and gives you the idea 

 that the bird is both excited and worried. If you see a 

 fussy little bird constantly flitting about in a cornfield 

 and uttering this note, you may be tolerably certain 

 that the bird is the Indian wren-warbler. It never rises 

 high in the air ; it is but an indifferent exponent of the 

 art of flying. It moves by means of laborious jerks of 

 its wings. It is a true friend to the husbandman, since 

 it feeds exclusively on insects. The most remarkable 

 thing about it is its nest. This is a beautifully woven 



