137 A BIRD CALENDAR 



planting the better kinds of rice, or running 

 the plough through fields in which the coarser 

 varieties are growing. 



The aloes are in flower. Their white spikes 

 of drooping tulip-like flowers are almost the 

 only inflorescences to be seen outside gardens 

 at this season of the year. The mango crop 

 is over, but that of the pineapples takes its 

 place. 



At night-time many of the trees are illumined 

 by hundreds of fireflies. These do not burn 

 their lamps continuously. Each insect lets 

 its light shine for a few seconds and then 

 suddenly puts it out. It sometimes happens 

 that all the fireflies in a tree show their 

 lights and extinguish them simultaneously and 

 thereby produce a luminous display which is 

 strikingly beautiful. Fireflies are to be seen 

 during the greater part of the year, but they 

 are far more abundant in the " rains " than at 

 any other season. 



As in July so in August the voices of the 

 birds are rarely heard after dark. The noc- 

 turnal music is now the product of the batra- 

 chian band, ably seconded by the crickets. 



During a prolonged break in the rains the 

 frogs and toads are hushed, except in jhils 



