25 A BIRD CALENDAR 



and incubates the eggs, enters and leaves the 

 chamber by a hole at one side. This is pro- 

 tected by a little penthouse. The door serves 

 also as window. The hen rests her chin on the 

 lower part of this while she is incubating her 

 eggs, and thus is able, as she sits, to see what 

 is going on in the great world without. She 

 displays little fear of man and takes no pains 

 to conceal her nest, which is often built in the 

 verandah of an inhabited bungalow. 



As the month nears its end the big black 

 crows (Corvus macrorhynchus) begin to con- 

 struct their nests. The site selected is usually 

 a forked branch of a large tree. The nest is 

 a clumsy platform of sticks with a slight 

 depression, lined by human or horse hair or 

 other soft material, for the reception of the 

 eggs. Both sexes take part in incubation. 

 From the time the first egg is laid until the 

 young are big enough to leave the nest this is 

 very rarely left unguarded. When one parent is 

 away the other remains sitting on the eggs, or, 

 after the young have hatched out, on the edge 

 of the nest. Crows are confirmed egg-stealers 

 and nestling-lifters, and, knowing the guile 

 that is in their own hearts, keep a careful watch 

 over their offspring. 



