139 A BIRD CALENDAR 



pee-ho is gradually replaced by the loud 

 which, is its usual cry at times when it is not 

 nesting. 



The water-birds, being busy at their nests, 

 are of course noisy, but, with the exception of 

 the loud trumpeting of the sarus cranes, their 

 vocal efforts are heard only at the jhil. 



The did-he-do-its, the rollers, the bee-eaters, 

 two or three species of warblers and the 

 perennial singers complete the avian chorus. 



Numbers of rosy starlings are returning 

 from Asia Minor, where they have reared up 

 their broods. The inrush of these birds 

 begins in July and continues till October. 

 They are the forerunners of the autumn im- 

 migrants. Towards the end of the month 

 the garganey or blue-winged teal (Querquedula 

 circia), which are the earliest of the migratory 

 ducks to visit India, appear on the tanks. 

 Along with them comes the advance-guard 

 of the snipe. The pintail snipe (Gallinago 

 stenura) are invariably the first to appear, 

 but they visit only the eastern parts of Northern 

 India. Large numbers of them sojourn in 

 Bengal and Assam. Stragglers appear in the 

 eastern portion of the United Provinces ; in the 

 western districts and in the Punjab this snipe 



