FOR NORTHERN INDIA 3 



January is the month in which the avian 

 population attains its maximum. Geese, ducks, 

 teal, pelicans, cormorants, snake-birds and 

 ospreys abound in the rivers and jhils ; the 

 marshes and swamps are the resort of millions 

 of snipe and other waders ; the fields and 

 groves swarm with flycatchers, chats, star- 

 lings, warblers, finches, birds of prey and 

 the other migrants which in winter visit the 

 plains from the Himalayas and the country 

 beyond. 



The bracing climate of the Punjab attracts 

 some cold-loving species for which the milder 

 United Provinces have no charms. Con- 

 spicuous among these are rooks, ravens and 

 jackdaws. On the other hand, frosts drive 

 away from the Land of the Five Rivers certain 

 of the feathered folk which do not leave the 

 United Provinces or Bengal : to wit, the purple 

 sunbird, the bee-eater and, to a large extent, 

 the king-crow. 



The activity of the feathered folk is not at 

 its height in January. Birds are warm-blooded 

 creatures and they love not the cold. Com- 

 paratively few of them are in song, and still 

 fewer nest, at this season. 



Song and sound are expressions of energy. 



