-throated sparrows, orioles, red turtle-doves and
paradise flycatchers is complete by the end of October. The above are
by no means the only birds that undergo local migration. The great
majority of species probably move about in a methodical manner in the
course of the year; a great deal of local migration is overlooked,
because the birds that move away from a locality are replaced by
others of their kind that come from other places.

During a spell of exceptionally cold weather a great many Himalayan
birds are driven by the snow into the plains of India, where they
remain for a few days or weeks. Some of these migrants are noticed in
the calendar for December.

In October the annual moult of the birds is completed, so that,
clothed in their warm new feathers, they are ready for winter some
time before it comes. In the case of the redstart, the bush-chat, most
of the wagtails, and some other species, the moult completely changes
the colouring of the bird. The reason of this is that the edges of the
new feathers are not of the same colour as the inner parts. Only the
margins show, because the feathers of a bird overlap like slates on a
roof, or the scales of a fish. After a time the edges of the new
feathers become worn away, and then the differently-hued deeper parts
begin to show, so that the bird gradually resumes the appearance it
had before the moult. When the redstarts reach India in September most
of the cocks are grey birds, because of the grey margins to their
feathers; by the middle of April, when they begin to depart, many of
them are black, the grey margins of the feathers having completely
disappeared; other individuals are still grey because the margins of
the feathers are broader or have not worn so much.

October is the month in which the falconer sallies forth to secure the
hawks which will be employed in "the sport of kings" during the cold
weather. There are several methods of catching birds of prey, as
indeed there are of capturing almost every bird and beast. The amount
of poaching that goes on in this country is appalling, and, unless
determined efforts are made to check it, there is every prospect of
the splendid fauna of India being ruined. The sportsman is bound by
all manner of restrictions, but the poacher is allowed to work his
wicked will on the birds and beasts of the country, almost without let
or hindrance.

The apparatus usually employed for the capture of the peregrine, the
shahin