s and then suddenly puts it out.
It sometimes happens that all the fireflies in a tree show their
lights and extinguish them simultaneously and thereby produce a
luminous display which is strikingly beautiful. Fireflies are to be
seen during the greater part of the year, but they are far more
abundant in the "rains" than at any other season.

As in July so in August the voices of the birds are rarely heard after
dark. The nocturnal music is now the product of the batrachian band,
ably seconded by the crickets.

During a prolonged break in the rains the frogs and toads are hushed,
except in _jhils_ and low-lying paddy fields. Cessation of the rain,
however, does not silence the crickets.

The first streak of dawn is the signal for the striking up of the
jungle and the spotted owlets. Hard upon them follow the koels and the
brain-fever birds. These call only for a short time, remaining silent
during the greater part of the day. Other birds that lift up their
voices at early dawn are the crow-pheasant, the black partridge and
the peacock. These also call towards dusk. As soon as the sun has
risen the green barbets, coppersmiths, white-breasted kingfishers and
king-crows utter their familiar notes; even these birds are heard but
rarely in the middle of the day, nor have their voices the vigour that
characterised them in the hot weather. Occasionally the brown
rock-chat emits a few notes, but he does so in a half-hearted manner.
In the early days of August the magpie-robins sing at times; their
song, however, is no longer the brilliant performance it was. By the
end of the month it has completely died away.

The Indian cuckoo no more raises its voice in the plains, but the pied
crested-cuckoo continues to call lustily and the pied starlings make a
joyful noise. The oriole's liquid _pee-ho_ is gradually replaced by
the loud _tew_, which is its usual cry at times when it is not
nesting.

The water-birds, being busy at their nests, are of course noisy, but,
with the exception of the loud trumpeting of the sarus cranes, their
vocal efforts are heard only at the _jhil_.

The did-he-do-its, the rollers, the bee-eaters, two or three species
of warblers and the perennial singers complete the avian chorus.

Numbers of rosy starlings are returning from Asia Minor, where they
have reared up their broods. The inrush of these birds begins in July
and continues till October. They are the forerunners of the autumn
immigrants. Towa