46 WANDEEINGS OF A 



at the stern, within a few feet of the water, picking up what- 

 ever they could lay their bills on. 



This noisy hird assembles in numbers, and assails one 

 on entering a grove with a deafening clamour of cawing and 

 croaking. The only alternative is to show a gim, when they 

 decamp with aU possible speed. 



Its nest is buUt of twigs, and is lined with wool or any 

 other soft substance. As many as twenty may frequently 

 be seen in one tree. The Indian jackdaw has aU the 

 craft and more familiarity than any of its congeners, as 

 it rivals them in the beauty of its glossy gray and black 

 plumage. 



We sometimes observed varieties with white markings 

 on the wings and back, but these were dispersed throughout 

 separate flocks, and did not seem to form any characteristic 

 of what might be called a race. 



A voyage up the Indus, after a lengthened sojourn at 

 Kurrachee, is very exhilarating. To the lover of nature there 

 are few better fields for research. Let him choose the cold 

 months, when the river is well stocked with wild-fowl, and he 

 wiU find ample occupation. 



How different is the scene in June, when the inundation 

 has taken place, and nothing is to be seen but a vast sheet of 

 water, tenanted only by a few indigenous animals, such as 

 the Indian alligator and pelicans — the greater part of the 

 migratory birds have fled to the far north, and are rearing 

 their young on the banks of the lakes of Central Asia. Again, 

 as the hot season declines, long trains of cranes, storks, spoon- 

 bills, etc. etc., make their appearance ; and in a few days 

 every creek and shallow seems alive with myriads of these 

 interesting wanderers. The scenery is constantly varying. 

 At times the river looks like an almost boundless waste of 



