FOR NORTHERN INDIA 158 



are the white (Motacilla alba), the masked (M. 

 per sonata) and the grey wagtail (M. melanope). 

 In Bengal the first two are largely replaced by 

 the white-faced wagtail (M. leucopsis). The 

 names " white " and " grey " are not very 

 happy ones. The white species is a grey bird 

 with a white face and some black on the head 

 and breast ; the masked wagtail is very difficult 

 to distinguish from the white species, differing 

 in having less white and more black on the 

 head and face, the white constituting the 

 " mask " ; the grey wagtail has the upper 

 plumage greenish-grey and the lower parts 

 sulphur - yellow. The three species arrive 

 almost simultaneously, but the experience of 

 the writer is that the grey bird usually comes 

 a day or two before his cousins. 



On one of the last ten days of September 

 the first batch of Indian redstarts (Ruticilla 

 frontalis) reaches India. Within twenty days 

 of the coming of these welcome little birds it 

 is possible to dispense with punkas. 



Like the redstarts the rose-finches and 

 minivets begin to pour into India towards 

 the end of September. The snipe arrive 

 daily throughout the month. 



With the first full moon of September 



