i2i A BIRD CALENDAR 



booms from almost every thicket. The iora, 

 the coppersmith, the barbet, the golden- 

 backed woodpecker, and the white-breasted 

 kingfisher continue to call merrily. The pied 

 starlings are in full voice ; their notes form a 

 very pleasing addition to the avian chorus. 

 Those magpie-robins that have not brought 

 nesting operations to a close are singing 

 vigorously. The king-crows are feeding their 

 young ones in the greenwood tree, and 

 crooning softly to them pitchu-wee. At the 

 jhils the various waterfowl are nesting and 

 each one proclaims the fact by its allotted call. 

 Much strange music emanates from the well- 

 filled tank ; the indescribable cries of the 

 purple coots, the curious " fixed bayonets " 

 of the cotton teal and the weird cat-like mews 

 of the jacanas form the dominant notes of the 

 aquatic symphony. 



In July the black-breasted or rain-quail 

 (Coturnix coromandelica) is plentiful in 

 India. Much remains to be discovered re- 

 garding the movements of this species. It 

 appears to migrate to Bengal, the United 

 Provinces, the Punjab and Sind shortly before 

 the monsoon bursts, but it is said to arrive 

 in Nepal as early as April. It would seem 



