176 A BIRD CALENDAR 



which says that honesty is the best policy, 

 swoops down on the buzzard with intent to 

 commit larceny, and becomes entangled in the 

 nooses. Then both buzzard and falcon fall to 

 the ground, struggling violently. All that the 

 bird-catcher has to do now is to walk up and 

 secure his prize. 



October marks the beginning of a lull in the 

 nesting activities of birds, a lull that lasts until 

 February. As we have seen, the nesting 

 season of the birds that breed in the rains 

 ends in September, nevertheless a few belated 

 crow-pheasants, sarus cranes and weaver-birds 

 are often to be found in October still busy 

 with nestlings, or even with eggs ; the latter 

 usually prove to be addled, and this explains 

 the late sitting of the parent. October, 

 however, is the month in which the nesting 

 season of the black-necked storks (Xenorhynchus 

 asiaticus) begins, if the monsoon has been a 

 normal one and the rains have continued until 

 after the middle of September. This bird 

 begins to nest shortly after the monsoon rains 

 have ceased. Hard-set eggs have been taken 

 in the beginning of September and as late as 

 2jth December. Most eggs are laid during 

 the month of October. The nest is a large 



