﻿VI. 

 ON THE BAY A, OR INDIAN GROSS- BEAK, 



BY AT'HAR ALI KHAN OF DEHLI. 



THE little bird, called Baya in Hindi, Berbcra in 

 Sanscrit, Babul in the dialect of Bengal, Cibum 

 Persian, and Tmawwit in Arabic, from his remark- 

 ably pendent nest, is rather larger than a sparrow, 

 with yellow-brown plumage, a yellowish head and. 

 feet, a light coloured breast, and a conic beak, very 

 thick in proportion to his body. This bird is exceed- 

 ingly common in Hindustan : he is astonishingly sensi- 

 ble, faithful, and decile, never voluntarily deserting the 

 place where his young were hatched, nowise averse, 

 like most other birds, to the society of mankind, 

 and easily taught to perch on the hand of his master. 

 In a state of nature he generally builds his nest on the 

 highest tree that he can find, especially on the Pal- 

 myra, or on the Indian fig-tree ; and he prefers that 

 which happens to overhang a well or a rivulet : he 

 makes it of grass, which he weaves like cloth, and 

 shapes like a large bottle, suspending it firmly en the 

 branches, but so as to rock with the wind ; and plac- 

 ing it with its entrance downwards, to secure it from 

 birds of prey. His nest usually consists of two or 

 three chambers ; and it is the popular belie that he 

 lights them with fire-flies, which he catches alive at 

 night and confines with moist clay, or with cow- 

 dung : that such flies are often found in his nest, 

 where pieces of cow-dung are also stuck, is indubit- 

 able; but, as their light could be of little use to him, 

 it seems probable that he only feeds on them. He 

 may be taught with ease to fetch a piece of paper, 



