XV. 



THE KING-CROW. 



T NDIA is the land of interesting birds. For beauty of 

 song its avi-fauna must yield the palm to that of Eng- 

 land, while its birds cannot vie in brilliance of plumage 

 with the feathered inhabitants of some tropical countries ; 

 but in all other respects Indian birds are unequalled. There 

 is more genuine amusement to be derived from watching half 

 a dozen Indian crows for an afternoon than from a month's 

 observation of birds in most other countries. If any one 

 doubt this, let him read any number of books on the birds of 

 other countries, and then decide whether, as regards charac- 

 ter, there exist any birds in the same street with Indian crows 

 and mynas. The truth is that in India a man is forced to 

 be a naturalist in spite of himself. The birds and beasts 

 simply refuse to be ignored. It is a physical impossibility 

 to avoid them. Often they compel one to watch them when 

 one is least inclined to do so. To take an example. Quite 

 recently I arrived at a dak bungalow late on a very hot 

 night. My bed was placed on the verandah. Shortly 

 after dawn I was awakened by a tremendous commotion. 

 The cause of it was this. A pair of mynas had built their 

 nest in one of the deep recesses between the beams under 

 the roof of the bungalow. The bearer had placed my bed 

 in the direct line of flight from the outside to the nest. Now 

 the myna is not a great flier. A swift can enter its nest at 

 the most impossible angles. Not so a myna. He can only 

 approach in a straight line. I had thus unwittingly cut off 

 the usual passage to the nest, and the parent birds were 

 making most frantic efforts to enter it at an angle. In this 



