vely silent at noonday, but
from sunset until dusk he sings continuously.

Throughout April the little cock sunbirds deliver themselves of their
vigorous canary-like song. The bulbuls tinkle as blithely as ever.
Ioras, pied wagtails, pied chats, and wood-shrikes continue to
contribute their not unworthy items to the minstrelsy of the Indian
countryside. The robins, having by now found their true notes, are
singing sweetly and softly. The white-eyes are no longer content to
utter their usual cheeping call, the cocks give vent to an exquisite
warble and thereby proclaim the advent of the nesting season. The
_towee_, _towee_, _towee_, of the tailor-bird, more penetrating than
melodious, grows daily more vigorous, reminding us that we may now
hopefully search for his nest. Among the less pleasing sounds that
fill the welkin are the _tonk_, _tonk_, _tonk_ of the coppersmith, the
_kutur_, _kutur_, _kuturuk_ of the green barbet, and the calls of the
various cuckoos that summer in the plains of Northern India. The calls
of these cuckoos, although frequently heard in April, are uttered more
continuously in May, accordingly they are described in the calendar
for that month.

The owls, of course, lift up their voices, particularly on moonlight
nights. The nightjars are as vociferous as they were in March; their
breeding season is now at its height.

In the hills the woods resound with the cheerful double note of the
European cuckoo (_Cuculus canorus_). This bird is occasionally heard
in the plains of the Punjab in April, and again from July to
September, when it no longer calls in the Himalayas. This fact,
coupled with the records of the presence of the European cuckoo in
Central India in June and July, lends support to the theory that the
birds which enliven the Himalayas in spring go south in July and
winter in the Central Provinces. Cuckoos, at seasons when they are
silent, are apt to be overlooked, or mistaken for shikras.

Ornithologists stationed in Central India will render a service to
science if they keep a sharp look-out for European cuckoos and record
the results of their observations. In this way alone can the above
theory be proved or disproved.

By the middle of the month most of the rollers have settled down to
domestic duties, and in consequence are less noisy than they were when
courting. Their irritating grating cries are now largely replaced by
harsh _tshocks_ of delight, each _tshock_ being accompanied by