FOR NORTHERN INDIA 87 



until the bird seems to have got fairly into its 

 stride, when it pulls up with dramatic sudden- 

 ness. Tickell thus syllabises its call : Turtuck, 

 turtuck, turtuck, turtuck, turtuck, tukatu, 

 chatatuck, atuckatuck. 



Another sound familiar to those who sleep 

 out of doors at this season is a low, soft 

 " what," repeated at intervals of about a 

 minute. 



The writer ascribes this call to the collared 

 scops owl (Scops bakkamoena). Mr. A. J. 

 Currie, however, asserts that the note in 

 question is that emitted by spotted owlets 

 (Athene brama) when they have young. He 

 states that he has been quite close to the bird 

 when it was calling. 



A little patient observation will suffice to 

 decide the point at issue. 



It is easy to distinguish between the two 

 owls, as the scops has aigrettes or " horns," 

 which the spotted owlet lacks. 



The nightjars help to swell the nocturnal 

 chorus. There are seven or eight different 

 species in India, but of these only three are 

 commonly heard and two of them occur 

 mainly in forest tracts. The call of the most 

 widely-distributed of the Indian goatsuckers 



