FOR NORTHERN INDIA 186 



shaped flocks of these fine birds may be seen 

 or heard overhead at any hour of the day or 

 night. 



The nesting activities of the fowls of the air 

 are at their lowest ebb in November. Some 

 thirty species are known to rear up young in 

 the present month as opposed to five hundred 

 in May. In the United Provinces the only nest 

 which the ornithologist can be sure of finding 

 is that of the white-backed vulture. 



Some of the amadavats are still nesting. 

 Most of the eggs laid by these birds in the 

 rains yielded young ones in September, but it 

 often happens that the brood does not emerge 

 from the eggs until the end of October, with 

 the result that in the earlier part of the present 

 month parties of baby amadavats are to be 

 seen enjoying the first days of their aerial 

 existence. A few black-necked storks do not 

 lay until November ; thus there is always the 

 chance of coming upon an incubating stork 

 in the present month. Here and there a grey 

 partridge's nest containing eggs may be found. 

 As has been said, the nesting season of this 

 species is not well-defined. 



The quaint little thick-billed mites known as 

 white-throated munias (Munia malabarica) 



