It is unnecessary to state that the perennials—­the crows, kites, doves, bee-eaters, tree-pies, tailor-birds, cuckoo-shrikes, green parrots, jungle and spotted owlets—­are noisy throughout the month.

The king-crows no longer utter the soft notes which they seem to keep for the rainy season; but, before settling down to the sober delights of the winter, some individuals become almost as lively and vociferous as they were in the nesting season.  Likewise some pairs of “blue jays” behave, in September and October, as though they were about to recommence courtship; they perform strange evolutions in the air and emit harsh cries, but these lead to nothing; after a few days of noisy behaviour the birds resume their more normal habits.

The hoopoes have been silent for some time, but in October a few of them take up their refrain—­uk-uk-uk-uk, and utter it with almost as much vigour as they did in March.

It would thus seem that the change of season, the approach of winter, has a stimulating influence on king-crows, rollers and hoopoes, causing the energy latent within them suddenly to become active and to manifest itself in the form of song or dance.

In October the pied chat and the wood-shrike frequently make sweet melody.  Throughout the month the cock sunbirds sing as lustily and almost as brilliantly as canaries; many of them are beginning to reassume the iridescent purple plumage which they doffed some time ago.  From every mango tope emanates the cheerful lay of the fantail flycatcher and the lively “Think of me ...  Never to be” of the grey-headed flycatcher.  Amadavats sing sweet little songs without words as they flit about among the tall grasses.

In the early morning and at eventide, the crow-pheasants give vent to their owl-like hoot, preceded by a curious guttural kok-kok-kok.  The young ones, that left the nest some weeks ago, are rapidly losing their barred plumage and are assuming the appearance of the adult.  By the middle of November very few immature crow-pheasants are seen.

Migration and moulting are the chief events in the feathered world at the present season.  The flood of autumn immigration, which arose as a tiny stream in August, and increased in volume nightly throughout September, becomes, in October, a mighty river on the bosom of which millions of birds are borne.

Day by day the avian population of the jhils increases.  At the beginning of the month the garganey teal are almost the only migratory ducks to be seen on them.  By the first of November brahminy duck, gadwall, common teal, widgeon, shovellers and the various species of pochard abound.  With the duck come demoiselle cranes, curlews, storks, and sandpipers of various species.  The geese and the pintail ducks, however, do not return to India until November.  These are the last of the regular winter visitors to come and the first to go.

The various kinds of birds of prey which began to appear in September continue to arrive throughout the present month.