SheRxA'Ian — Birds by the Wayside 247 



INDIA IN JANUARY. 



The voyage from New York to Bombay consumed an en- 

 tire month. This length of lime was due to stops of one day 

 each at Madeira, Gibraltar, Algiers, Monaco, and Cairo, and 

 two days at Naples. A few birds were seen at each of the 

 places, and f-rom the Suez Canal, overlooking Lake Men- 

 zaleh, was witnessed one of the most wonderful displays of 

 bird life seen on the entire trip, but this was in Egypt, and 

 the account of it belongs to the story of that country. 



India was crossed twice by rail ; the first crossing was 

 made on the special mail train from Bombay to Calcutta 

 through Jubbulpore in one unbroken jou-rney, the second 

 was through Benares, Lucknow, Cawnpcre, Agra, Delhi, 

 Jaipur, and Mo'unt Abu, with stops at each of these places. 

 The two routes are separated in places by several hundred 

 miles. Some species of birds, that v\'ere cjuite numerous in 

 one region were not observed in others. This is true of the 

 Black Drongo (Dicnirns oter) , one of the birds most fre- 

 quently seen on the southern route, it failed to be seen at 

 any time in the most northerly part of the trip : that about 

 Agra. Delhi, and Jaipur, but it appeared again farther south 

 about Mount Abu and Bombay. 



The Black Drongo, nicknamed the King Crow, has black 

 plumage and a long forked tail. Binoculars reveal to us that 

 the iris of its eye is ced, giving it a rather wicked appearance. 

 After the manner of many other flycatchers it perches con- 

 spicuously on telegraph wires and fence-posts. In temper it 

 resembles our Kingbird, which accounts for the " King " 

 part of its sobriquet, and the books tell us that it is a valient 

 fighter of the Crows ; also that its methods of catching in- 

 sects and building its nest are such as we observe in our 

 Kingbird. Of the several cousins of this bird only the White- 

 bellied Drongo (Dicriirus cccrutescens) was seen. He is a 

 striking fellow in appearance with the keen contrasts of his 

 colors. 



Another bird frequently seen along this first route was the 

 Indian Roller {Coracias indica). This species, partial to 

 both fence-posts and telegraph-wires, seems to favor the 



