ii9 A BIRD CALENDAR 



pageant of insect life, then, is an ever-changing 

 one. To-day one species predominates, to- 

 morrow another, and the day after a third. Un- 

 pleasant and irritating though these insect 

 hosts be to human beings, some pleasure is to 

 be derived from watching them. Especially 

 is this the case when the termites or white- 

 ants swarm. In the damp parts of Lower 

 Bengal these creatures may emerge at any 

 time of the year. In Calcutta they sw#rm 

 either towards the close of the rainy season 

 or in spring after an exceptionally heavy 

 thunderstorm. In Madras they emerge from 

 their hiding-places in October with the north- 

 east monsoon. In the United Provinces the 

 winged termites appear after the first fall of 

 the monsoon rain in June or July as the case 

 may be. These succulent creatures provide a 

 feast for the birds which is only equalled by 

 that furnished by a flight of Ipcusts. In the 

 case of the termites it is not only the birds 

 that partake. The ever-vigilant crows are of 

 course the first to notice a swarm of termites, 

 and they lose no time in setting to work. 

 The kites are not far behind them. These 

 great birds sail on the outskirts of the flight, 

 seizing individuals with their claws and trans- 



