A MISNAMED BIRD. 57 



every evening. Whether they act thus because they 

 hold that lung exercise is conducive to sleep, or whe- 

 ther they are merely recounting the adventures of the day, 

 I know not. Certain it is that all shout at once, and the 

 result pandemonium. I have never been to Saugor, but 

 feel very sorry for those people who are stationed there, for 

 in Jerdon it is written : "At Saugor all the parrakeets, 

 mynas, crows, bee-eaters, &c., of the neighbourhood, for 

 some miles around, roost in company in a large grove of 

 bamboos ; and the deafening noises heard there from before 

 sunset until dark, and from the first dawn of day until 

 long after sunrise, give to the listener the idea of 

 numberless noisy steam engines at work." May the parrots 

 and crows of our station never strike up a friendship with the 

 mynas. Nest-building and family cares cause the mynas 

 to leave the bamboo-clumps during the hot weather, so that 

 the members of the club are left in peace for a few months. 



In every company certain birds act as watchmen or sen- 

 tries, not only for their own species, but pro bono publico. 

 In India the mynas have taken upon themselves this office. 

 A sharp note from a myna, followed by the sudden hur- 

 ried flight of all the birds near by, crows always except- 

 ed, is a sure indication that a hawk is hovering at no great 

 distance. The search for food does not take up the whole 

 of a myna's time. It seems to find ample opportunities for 

 recreation. Some of its games are amusing to watch. In 

 one of them five or six birds take part. One of the little 

 company perches upon the branch of a tree, whereupon the 

 remainder simultaneously try to jump on its back ; the 

 attempt ends in them all falling en masse for a distance of 

 some five feet, when they recover themselves and fly off in 

 different directions. Next, one of the flock alights, and the 

 bird who happens to be nearest to him tries to hop on top 

 of him, but the first bird slips away in time, flying off with 

 the second myna in hot pursuit ; and so the game continues. 

 Mynas are wont to build their nests under the eaves of 

 houses, or in holes in walls or trees. Their nests, however, 

 8 



