BEAUTIFUL BIRDS 105 



very busy times with the Malagasy ; almost all other work must 

 give way to the getting in of the harvest ; the fields are every- 

 where dotted over with people reaping ; most of the poorer 

 people we meet are carrying loads of freshly cut grain on their 

 heads, or baskets filled with the unhusked rice, and large 

 quantities are spilt along the roads and paths. Some of the 

 chief embankments swarm with rats and mice, which must pick 

 up a very good living at this time of the year. Other creatures 

 also take toll from the harvest, especially the Fddy, or cardinal- 

 bird, the bright scarlet plumage of the cock-bird making a very 

 noticeable feature of the avi-fauna during the warmer months. 

 This colour is not seen on the wings, which are sober brown, but 

 is brilliant on head, breast and back ; it fades away in the 

 winter months, returning again as the breeding- tune comes round. 

 The white egret, which we saw on the coast, is equally in 

 evidence in Imerina, and sometimes flocks of two or three 

 hundred of them may be seen in the rice-fields and marshes. 

 When living at Ambohimanga we used to notice that in the 

 winter months a large number of the Vorompdtsy were accus- 

 tomed to assemble on the open down towards sunset ; and on a 

 signal apparently given by one of them the whole flock rose 

 and flew slowly away to roost in the large trees to the north- 

 west of the town. The white-necked crow is also plentiful, and 

 is perhaps the most commonly seen bird in Imerina. On one 

 occasion when walking with a friend near Ambdhimanga, he 

 had his gun and shot one of a small flock of crows near us. For 

 a few seconds there was a dead silence, and then all the others 

 filled the air with hoarse cries and came dashing round us so 

 closely that I feared they would injure our eyes, so angry did 

 they seem with those who had killed their companion. One of 

 the most beautiful birds to be seen is the Vintsy, or kingfisher, of 

 lovely purplish-blue, with yellow and buff breast and belly. 

 With short blunt tail and long beak, it may be seen perched on 

 the rushes or other aquatic plants, or darting over the streams 

 and marshes, flying in a curious jerking manner, like a flash of 

 purple light, pursuing the insects which form its food. 



From what has been already said about rice-culture it may be 

 easily understood that it occupies a large amount of the time 

 and attention of the Malagasy. The digging and preparation 

 of the ground ; the sowing in the ketsa plots ; the uprooting of 



