Birds of the Jhetum District. 
239 
the Plover family. The destruction of eggs of this spenics 
must be very heavy ; the normal clutch consists of four, 
yet I have only once met with it ; all the other nests I 
have found have held only two or three eggs and I have 
waited a day or two in each case to see whether more 
would be laid. I suppose in most instances the first €gg 
or two laid had been destroyed . 
A single Greenshank noted flying overhead in the 
evenings . 
Maj' 14. — A pair of Red-headed Merlins {Acsaloii chicqi(im) were noted 
at a nest in a Sliisliam tree on the canal bank. I climbed 
up to the nest which was a rough structure of sticks lined 
with tufts of coarse grass, but it vas empty. It appeared 
to be new and unused, but the daie is rather late for them. 
During the last few days I have been seeing a few 
large Bee-eaters and to-night found a large number of them 
prepared to roost in a small grove of thoin trees. 1 shot 
a specimen for identification and found it to be the lovely 
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (MeTops pcrsicits). By the end 
of the month they became very general and abundant . Large 
numbers roost nightly in the tall grass jungle by a pond 
on the Cattle Farm. 
A female Pied Bush Chat (Pratincola rapirata) seen, 
the first noted here. 
May 16. — During a heavy dust storm in the evening I saw 3 Martins 
flying northwards, and luckily secured one, to find it the 
typical English House Martin, Hirundo urbica urh'ca : they 
were of course migrating birds, but I cannot understand 
what they were doing here. 
I came upon a pair of the Ashy Wren -Warbler (Prinia 
socialis), which were undoubtedly courting. One had a 
short tail, the other a long one ; they were hopping about 
in a bough of a Kikur tree, bending and bowing in a 
manner that showed off the great muscular power of their 
legs to advantage, as they were able to assume with ease 
positions out of the erect. The tail was held high over 
the back in a Wren -like fashion. All the time both birds 
(I think) kept up a kind of wheezy chipping song, punctu- 
ated by a kind of click. 
In the early morning a Cormorant (Pha!acrocora.v 
carho) passed over my bungalow. 
Maj' 17. — A pair of Small Minivets (Pericrocotus pcrcgrinm), 2 AVhitc- 
necked Storks (Dissura episcopus), some Night Herons {Nye- 
ticorax griscus), and some Yellow-eyed Babblers {Pi/ctorhis 
sinensis) noted. 
Blyth's Reed Warbler (Acrocephaliis dnmi'forum) noted : 
A few odd birds of this species were noted on various dates 
during the greater part of the month ; there were also a 
