BIRDS IN THE MILLET FIELDS 183 



— ^most unobtrusive of little birds. The hen is dressed 

 in reddish brown, and, when apart from her lord and 

 master, it is scarcely possible to distinguish her from 

 several other lady chats, unless, of course, the observer 

 be so ungallant as to shoot her. The upper parts of 

 the cock are reddish brown in winter, black in summer. 

 There is a large patch of white on each side of the 

 neck. The breast is orange red, the lower parts 

 russet brown. But what with the young cocks as- 

 suming gradually the full adult plumage, and the 

 adults changing from the plumage of one season to 

 that of the next, no two of these birds seem to be 

 exactly alike. The bush chats feed upon the small 

 insects that live on the mUlet plants. 



Lastly, mention must be made of various species 

 of pipits and warblers, who feed on insects down in 

 the depths of the millet field. 



Such, then, are the principal of the dramatis persona 

 of the gay little scene that is enacted daily in the 

 millet field. But, stay — I have forgotten a very im- 

 portant class of personages — the birds of prey. In 

 India these are, of course, very numerous, and many 

 of them, more especially the harriers, habitually 

 hunt over open fields, gliding on outstretched wings 

 a few yards above the crops, ready to swoop down 

 upon any creature that has failed to mark their ap- 

 proach. Great is the commotion among the birds 

 in the millet when a harrier appears on the scene. 

 The voices of the smaller birds are suddenly hushed, 

 and their owners drop on to the ground, where they 

 are hidden from view by the crqp. The mynas. 



