FOR NORTHERN INDIA 49 



specific name for this tiny earth-brown bird, 

 which is devoid of all kind of ornamentation. 

 Its voice is as homely as its appearance a 

 harsh but plaintive twee, twee, twee. It weaves 

 a nest which looks like a ragged loofah with a 

 hole in the side. The nest is usually placed 

 low down in a bush or in long grass. Some- 

 times it is attached to two or more stalks of 

 corn. In such cases the corn is often cut before 

 the young birds have had time to leave the 

 nest, and then the brood perishes. This 

 species brings up a second family in the rainy 

 season. 



The barn-owls (Strix flammea) are now 

 breeding. They lay their eggs in cavities in 

 trees, buildings or walls. In northern India 

 the nesting season lasts from February to June. 

 Eggs are most likely to be found in the United 

 Provinces during the present month. 



The various species of babblers or seven 

 sisters begin to nest in March. Unlike bulbuls 

 these birds are careful to conceal the nest. This 

 is a slenderly-built, somewhat untidy cup, 

 placed in a bush or tree. The eggs are a 

 beautiful rich blue, without any markings. 



The hawk-cuckoo, or brain-fever bird (Hiero- 

 coccyx varius), to which allusion has already 



