FOR NORTHERN INDIA 17 



Occasionally in January a pair of hoopoes 

 (Upupa indie a) steals a march on its brethren 

 by selecting a nesting site and laying eggs. 

 Hoopoes nest in holes in trees or buildings. 

 The aperture to the nest cavity is invariably 

 small. The hen hoopoe alone incubates, and 

 as, when once she has begun to sit, she rarely, 

 if ever, leaves the nest till the eggs are hatched, 

 the cock has to bring food to her. But, to 

 describe the nesting operations of the hoopoe 

 in January is like talking of cricket in April. 

 It is in February and March that the hoopoes 

 nest in their millions, and call softly, from 

 morn till eve, uk-uk-uk. 



Of the other birds which nest later in the 

 season mention must be made in the calendar 

 for the present month of the Indian cliff- 

 swallow (Hirundo fluvicold) and the blue rock- 

 pigeon (Columba intermedia), because their nests 

 are sometimes seen in January. 



