164 THE BIRDS OF CALCUTTA. 



fortunate for the Paddy-bird that he does rot bear 

 plumage of the first quality, but still he gets indented 

 on to a certain extent. But under the Act that has 

 now been made about bird protection, he will receive 

 all the immunity he needs, for herons are easy birds 

 to legislate about, owing to their distinctness, 

 which makes them always distinguishable, and their 

 unanimity in the matter of places and season for 

 breeding. It is just possible, indeed, that protection 

 may be overdone in case of these fish-eating birds> 

 though not very likely, as they are themselves 

 esteemed as food by some natives. It seems, 

 however, that the BufE-backed Egret {Bubulcus 

 coromandus), which forms so picturesque an object in 

 the landscape as he stalks by the dark buffaloes, is 

 tabooed by certain fastidious Mussulmans, because he 

 picks ticks off pigs ! Th is pretty bird has considerably 

 advanced in shaking off heron traditions — 

 or sunk, as the rest of the family may possibly say. 

 Not only does he live on ticks and grasshoppers 

 instead of fish, but he walks about a lot, and is sociable 

 all the time, though this is probably only accidental, 

 and due to the fact that several find one beast 

 convenient both as a preserve and a beater for game. 

 Similarly one may see on the maidan tanks several 

 Paddy-birds standing about casually on the weeds 

 and mud, but nothing is more obvious than that 



