138 GAME BIRDS OF INDIA AND ASIA. 



West India, and common in the moister districts 

 of Bengal and Burma. Indeed, it migrates to 

 some extent in search of damp situations, arriving 

 in Lower Burma in May to be in time for the rains, 

 though in Bengal it is commonest in the cold wea- 

 ther. Its haunts are in rank grass on wet land, 

 and it is often found round paddy-iields. In India 

 and Burma it breeds in June and July, but in Cey- 

 lon during the three months previous to these. At 

 these times it is found in pairs, but at other times 

 in coveys. The nest is in the usual hollow in the 

 ground, grass-lined, and contains not more than 

 half-a-dozen eggs, rather bigger than one would 

 expect such a small bird to lay, being about an 

 inch long. They are drab in colour, with more or 

 less of a minute brown speckling. Not much else 

 seems to be known about this little creature in the 

 wild state, but its habits have been carefully stud- 

 ied of late years by certain good observers, mem- 

 bers of the Avicultural Society, who have kept and 

 bred it in confinement in England. It turns out to 

 be a most interesting pet, hardly enough to bear our 

 English winters in an outdoor aviary, and a free 

 breeder if growing grass can be provided for it to 

 nest in. The cock is a most attentive husband, 

 calling his hen to take any tit-bit he may obtain, 

 after the gallant fashion ot the common fowl. He 

 occasionally utters a tiny crow, resembling a minia- 

 ture imitation of the "brain-fever-bird's" note. 

 The hen is a prolific layer in captivity, and a good 

 sitter and mother, and the chicks are easy to rear, 

 and the most charming little creatures imaginable ; 

 they are literally not larger than the big black bees 

 we are all so familiar with in India, and they can 

 squeeze through half-inch mesh wire-netting ! Al- 



