ALEXANDER THE COPPERSMITH 251. 
saw indications that the time was at hand when the 
youngsters would trust themselves to the air, for their 
voices became more powerful, and the visits of the parent 
birds to the nest grew less frequent. As they began to 
wax strong, the youngsters would take it in turn to look 
out of the window of the nest and contemplate, with 
awe-struck eyes, the wondrous world. 
At first they did not fear me, but would watch me 
with great curiosity; after a few days, however, curiosity 
gave way to fear, the birds seemed to learn that man 
was an enemy to be shunned, for they would disappear 
as soon as I approached the nest. One day I passed 
by and saw no little bird looking out, nor did any 
sound come from the nest. In vain did I wait to hear 
the well-known cry. Then I realized that the young 
barbets had begun in earnest to fight the battle of life. 
Barbets are said to nest in the same hole year after 
year. It is not easy to prove this assertion; indeed, 
the only way of doing so would be for some person who 
has a fixed abode in India to catch a bird whose nesting 
place was known and to tie a piece of cotton to its leg, or 
give it some other recognition mark, and then wait and 
see whether it nested in the same hole next year. 
Jerdon states that the same nest is repeatedly used, 
and that each year fresh excavations take place, so that 
the original cottage in which the whole family once 
pigged must in course of time develop into what a 
house-agent would call a “palatial mansion.” 
So closely do the habits of the coppersmith resemble 
those of the green barbet, that the above account of 
the nesting operation might apply equally well to either 
