Sherman — Birds by the Wayside 271 



visited. It may be sufficient here to say that no bird student 

 should fail to visit it. 



Enough of the abundance and fearlessness of the birds was 

 seen to create a feeling- of certainty that it is a land where 

 one would gladly tarry for the sake of bird study. From the 

 books we may learn of the many species that build their nests 

 in, close to, or upon the walls of human habitations, and in 

 addition to these the number of hole-nesting species appears 

 to be unusually large. Of such are the Starling, Roller, Hoo- 

 poe, Magpie Robin, Brown-backed Robin, Common and 

 Brahminy Mynas, Southern Yellow Tit, Grey Tit, Parrots. 

 Crimson-breasted Barbet, and Woodpeckers, all of them nest- 

 ing in holes in trees or buildings, while in holes in banks 

 there nest the Bank Myna, Common Bee-eater, and' the King- 

 fishers. When properly managed with boxes having peep- 

 holes fcr observations, the home life of hole-nesting birds be- 

 comes easy to watch and eminently opportune for thorough 

 investigation. To watch the progress of the nest life, from 

 egg laying until the fledgling leaves the nest, at no greater 

 distance than sixteen to twenty-two inches from the eye has 

 been my privilege with four hole-nesting species : the North- 

 ern Flicker, the Screech Owl, the Sparrow Hawk, and the 

 House Wren, and deep designs a-re planned for laying bare 

 the privacy of several others. Similar methods could easily 

 be adopted for watching the home life of Indian birds ; and 

 there naturally arises the wish for a thousand years in order 

 to give a few decades to the study of bird life in India. 



