FIRST LIST OF THE BIRDS OF THE SOUTH KONKA.N. 17 



small basins or depressions which occur here and there on the 

 tops of the laterite hills, you see diminutive rice crops, and 

 wherever the crumbling of the laterite gives a few inches of 

 stiff ferruginous soil, a few stalks of Nachni {Eleusine coracana), 

 Vari (Panicum rniliare), Harik (Paspalum scrobiculatum), and 

 the golden-blossomed Til (Guizotia oleifera)m&y be seen. To rear 

 these slender crops a vast amount of labour is expended. Soil is 

 frequently brought from a distance to fill into the cavities of 

 the rocks. All the dry brushwood and grass available is col- 

 lected and burnt on the surface of the fields. Cow dung, goat's 

 dung, decayed fish, and any other manure procurable is added to 

 the ashes. Then, after repeated ploughings and harrowings and 

 brushings, the seeds are sown in a carefully prepared nursery, 

 and the seedlings afterwards transplanted with incredible 

 labour. On the steeper slopes, where ploughs are out of the 

 question, and where men can scarcely crawl, the pick is used 

 instead, and the seed sown broadcast, after the usual burning 

 of grass and brushwood. 



Of course the same change, though to a lesser degree per- 

 haps, is observed everywhere after the monsoon has set in. In 

 the towns and villages the old laterite walls become covered 

 with thick masses of ferns — the baked rice fields in the 

 valleys are transformed into cool green terraces — the decidu- 

 ous trees, leafless and withered during the hot weather, are 

 again clothed with fresh verdure, while rills and cascades 

 innumerable splutter down every hill side. 



The species of birds which abound most on the laterite table- 

 lands near the coast are Spizalauda malabarica and Pyrrlm- 

 lauda grisea. Doves (Turtur suratensis), Shrikes {L. erytliro- 

 notus), Buschats (Pratincola caprata and indica) are also com- 

 mon, and of course Buchanga atra is everywhere. Courier, 

 Plovers, Yellow Wattled Lapwings are found occasionally, aud 

 Stone Plovers rarely, while flocks of Golden Plover habitually 

 resort to these stony uplands at high tide during the cold 

 weather. 



Between the seaboard, where the laterite crops so plenti- 

 fully to the surface, and the pure trap range of the Ghats, 

 lies an intermediate belt where both trap and laterite are 

 irregularly exposed. This portion of the country is less rocky 

 than near the coast, and more undulating, while the hills 

 are higher and less bare. The uplands are more generally 

 cultivated, and the valleys are, on the other hand, less fertile ; 

 as near the coast, the village homesteads, lying in the glades 

 and hollows, are well wooded with mango, tamarind and jack 

 trees. But the general aspect of the country is, during the 

 dry season, hardly less rugged and sterile than the seaboard. 



