JUNGLE FOLK

PREFACE

It is not of the bigger jungle folk that I write—of lions, tigers, leopards, bears, bison, or even deer and antelopes; for of these it is vouchsafed to no man—not even to the shikari, who spends years in the jungle—to obtain more than an occasional fleeting glimpse.

The subjects of my theme are the lesser fry—vivacious mynas, noisy babblers, vociferous cuckoos, silent herons, beautiful pittas, graceful wagtails, elegant terns, melodious rock-chats, cheeky squirrels.

A cheery crowd are these. The man who passes his days in India without knowing them misses much of the pleasure of life.

D. DEWAR.

CONTENTS

PAGE

I. Of Indian Birds in General 3

II. Respectable Cuckoos 9

III. The Brown Rock-Chat 16

IV. The Scavenger-in-Waiting 21

V. Indian Wagtails 28

VI. The Teesa 32

VII. Falconry in India 37

VIII. Hawks in Miniature 45

IX. The Roosting of the Bee-Eaters 51

X. Owls 56

XI. A Bundle of Iniquity 62

XII. The Interpretation of the Actions of Animals 68

XIII. At the Sign of the Farash 72

XIV. The Coot 78

XV. The Beautiful Porphyrio 84

XVI. The Cobra 89

XVII. The Mungoose 94

XVIII. The Swan 99

XIX. Kites of the Sea 104

XX. River Terns 110

XXI. Green Bulbuls 116

XXII. Cormorants 121

XXIII. A Melodious Drongo 126

XXIV. The Indian Pitta 132

XXV. The Indian White-eye 137

XXVI. Goosey, Goosey Gander 143

XXVII. Geese in India 149

XXVIII. A Swadeshi Bird 154

XXIX. The Indian Redstart 160

XXX. The Night Heron 165

XXXI. The Cement of Bird Masons 171

XXXII. Indian Fly-Catchers 178

XXXIII. Insect Hunters 184