6 A BIRD CALENDAR 



the bird clioir altogether hushed during the 

 hours of darkness. Throughout the year, 

 more especially on moonlit nights, the shriek- 

 ing kucha, kwacbee, kwacbee, kzvachee, kwachee 

 of the little spotted owlet disturbs the silences 

 of the moon. Few nights pass on which the 

 dusky horned owl fails to utter his grunting 

 hoot, or the jungle owlet to emit his curious 

 but not unpleasant turtuck., turtuck, turtuck, 

 turtuck, turtuck, tukatu, ckatuckatuckatuck. 



The above are the commonest of the bird 

 calls heard throughout the year. They form 

 the basis of the avian melody in India. This 

 melody is reinforced from time to time by the 

 songs of those birds that may be termed the 

 seasonal choristers. It is the presence or 

 absence of the voices of these latter which 

 imparts distinctive features to the minstrelsy 

 of every month of the year. 



In January the sprightly little metallic 

 purple sunbird pours forth, from almost every 

 tree or bush, his powerful song, which, were it 

 a little less sharp, might easily be mistaken for 

 that of a canary. 



From every mango tope emanates a loud 

 " Think of me ... Never to be." This is the 

 call of the grey-headed flycatcher (Culicicapa 



