FOR NORTHERN INDIA 39 



Some human beings may fail to notice the 

 courtship of the king-crow, but none can be 

 so deaf and blind as to miss the love-making 

 of the gorgeous roller or blue jay. Has not 

 everyone marvelled at the hoarse cries and 

 rasping screams which emanate from these 

 birds as they fling themselves into the air and 

 ascend and descend as though they were being 

 tossed about by unseen hands ? 



Their wonderful aerial performances go on 

 continually in the hours of daylight through- 

 out the months of March and April ; at this 

 season the birds, beautiful although they be, 

 are a veritable nuisance, and most people grate- 

 fully welcome the comparative quiet that 

 supervenes after the eggs have been laid. The 

 madness of the March hare is mild compared 

 with that of the March roller. It is difficult to 

 realise that the harsh and angry-sounding cries 

 of these birds denote, not rage, but joy. 



The great exodus of the winter visitors from 

 the plains of India begins in March. It con- 

 tinues until mid-May, by which time the last 

 of the migratory birds will have reached its 

 distant breeding ground. 



This exodus is usually preceded by the 

 gathering into flocks of the rose-coloured 



