In April cavities in trees and buildings suitable for nesting purposes are at a premium owing to the requirements of magpie-robins, brahminy mynas, common mynas, yellow-throated sparrows and rollers.  Not uncommonly three or four pairs of birds nest in one weather-beaten old tree.

Bank-mynas, white-breasted kingfishers, bee-eaters and a few belated sand-martins are nesting in sandbanks in cavities which they themselves have excavated.  The nests of the kingfisher and the sand-martin have already been described, that of the bank-myna belongs to May rather than to April.

Bee-eaters working at the nest present a pleasing spectacle.  The sexes excavate turn about.  The site chosen may be a bunker on the golf links, the butts on the rifle range, a low mud boundary between two fields, or any kind of bank.  The sharp claws of the bee-eaters enable the birds to obtain a foothold on an almost vertical surface; this foothold is strengthened by the tail which, being stiff, acts as a third leg.  In a surprisingly short time a cavity large enough to conceal the bird completely is formed.  The bee-eater utilises the bill as pickaxe and the feet as ejectors.  The little clouds of sand that issue at short intervals from each cavity afford evidence of the efficacy of these implements and the industry of those that use them.

Two of the most charming birds in India are now occupied with family cares.  These are both black-and-white birds—­the magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis) and the pied wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis).  The former has already been noticed as the best songster in the plains of India.  The pattern of its plumage resembles that of the common magpie; this explains its English name.  The hen is grey where the cock is black, otherwise there is no external difference between the sexes.  For some weeks the cock has been singing lustily, especially in the early morning and late afternoon.  In April he begins his courtship.  His display is a simple affair—­mere tail-play; the tail is expanded into a fan, so as to show the white outer feathers, then it is either raised and lowered alternately, or merely held depressed.  Normally the tail is carried almost vertically.  The nest is invariably placed in a cavity of a tree or a building.

The pied wagtail always nests near water.  If not on the ground, the nursery rests on some structure built by man.

A visit to a bridge of boats in April is sure to reveal a nest of this charming bird.  Hume records a case of a pair of pied wagtails nesting in a ferry-boat.  This, it is true, was seldom used, but did occasionally cross the Jumna.  On such occasions the hen would continue to sit, while the cock stood on the gunwale, pouring forth his sweet song, and made, from time to time, little sallies over the water after a flying gnat.  Mr. A. J. Currie found at Lahore a nest of these wagtails in a ferry-boat in daily use; so that the birds must have selected the site and built the nest while the boat was passing to and fro across the river!