ALEXANDER THE COPPERSMITH 249 
ance, and greatly detracts from its beauty. Jerdon states 
that these naked patches are inflated when the bird 
emits its note. I have not been able to verify this, for 
the bird, when it pours forth its monotonous song, likes 
to conceal itself in tall, leafy trees. 
To return to the nest in my compound. It was 
excavated in a bare branch of a pzfal tree (Ficus 
religtosa) about ten feet above the level of the ground. 
The entrance to the nest pointed upwards, but was so 
well shaded by the foliage above that it was not flooded 
by some heavy rain that fell before the young birds 
were fledged. 
Upon one occasion I watched the mother leave the 
nest, and then took up a position immediately under it, 
in order to ascertain whether she would venture in with 
me so near at hand. In a few minutes she returned, 
but, seeing me, alighted on a branch above that con- 
taining the young birds. There she sat and contem- 
plated me. She next flew to a neighbouring branch, 
then back again. After thus behaving for about three 
minutes she summoned up her courage and flew into 
the nest. I could almost have touched her as she did 
this, so close was I. She made no pretence of con- 
cealing the whereabouts of the nursery, for, not only 
did she enter it before my eyes, but as soon as she was 
inside, she and the youngsters began talking loudly. 
In this case maternal anxiety seems to have got the 
better of prudence. On another occasion I saw a 
parent bird enter the nest with something in its beak. 
I wanted to have a good look at it as it emerged, so ran 
up close to the nest, but, as I did so, trod on some dried 
