FOR NORTHERN INDIA 57 



the case of the crested lark) placed on the 

 ground in a hole or a depression, or protected 

 by a tussock of grass or a small bush. 



On the churs and sand islets in the large 

 Indian rivers the terns are busy with their 

 eggs, which are deposited on the bare sand. 

 They breed in colonies. On the same islet are 

 to be seen the eggs of the Indian river tern, 

 the black-bellied tern, the swallow-plover, the 

 spur-winged plover and the Indian skimmer. 



The eggs of all the above species are of 

 similar appearance, the ground colour being 

 greenish, or buff, or the hue of stone or cream, 

 with reddish or brownish blotches. Three is 

 the full complement of eggs. The bare white 

 glittering sands on which these eggs are 

 deposited are often at noon so hot as to be 

 painful to touch ; accordingly during the day- 

 time there is no need for the birds to sit on 

 the eggs in order to keep them warm. Indeed, 

 it has always been a mystery to the writer 

 why terns' eggs laid in March in northern 

 India do not get cooked. Mr. A. J. Currie 

 recently came across some eggs of the black- 

 bellied tern that had had water sprinkled over 

 them. He is of opinion that the incubating 

 birds treat the eggs thus in order to prevent 



