FOR NORTHERN INDIA 85 



hours of light and darkness in May, so that 

 one wonders whether this bird ever sleeps. 

 The second call is usually reserved for dawn, 

 when the bird is most vociferous. This cry is 

 particularly exasperating to Europeans, since 

 it often awakens them rudely from the only 

 refreshing sleep they have enjoyed, namely, 

 that obtained at the time when the tempera- 

 ture is comparatively low. The koel extends 

 into the Punjab and is heard throughout 

 Northern India. 



The third of the cuckoos which enlivens the 

 hot weather in the plains is the Indian cuckoo 

 (Cuculus micropterus). This species dwells 

 chiefly in the Himalayas, but late in April or 

 early in May certain individuals seek the hot 

 plains and remain there for some months. 

 They do not extend very far into the peninsula, 

 being numerous only in the sub-Himalayan 

 tracts as far south as Fyzabad. The call of this 

 cuckoo is melodious and easily recognised. 

 Indians represent it as Bouto-taku, while some 

 Englishmen maintain that the bird says " I've 

 lost my love." To the writer's mind the cry 

 is best represented by the words wherefore, 

 wherefore, repeated with musical cadence. This 

 bird does not usually call much during the day. 



