The barn-owls (Strix flammea) are now breeding.  They lay their eggs in cavities in trees, buildings or walls.  In northern India the nesting season lasts from February to June.  Eggs are most likely to be found in the United Provinces during the present month.

The various species of babblers or seven sisters begin to nest in March.  Unlike bulbuls these birds are careful to conceal the nest.  This is a slenderly-built, somewhat untidy cup, placed in a bush or tree.  The eggs are a beautiful rich blue, without any markings.

The hawk-cuckoo, or brain-fever bird (Hierococcyx varius), to which allusion has already been made, deposits its eggs in the nests of various species of babblers.  The eggs of this cuckoo are blue, but are distinguishable from those of the babbler by their larger size.  It may be noted, in passing, that this cuckoo does not extend far into the Punjab.

As stated above, most of the shrikes go a-courting in March.  Nest-building follows hard on courtship.  In this month and in April most of the shrikes lay their eggs, but nests containing eggs or young are to be seen in May, June, July and August.  Shrikes are birds of prey in miniature.  Although not much larger than sparrows they are as fierce as falcons.

Their habit is to seize the quarry on the ground, after having pounced upon it from a bush or tree.  Grasshoppers constitute their usual food, but they are not afraid to tackle mice or small birds.

The largest shrike is the grey species (Lanius lahtora).  This is clothed mainly in grey; however, it has a broad black band running through the eye—­the escutcheon of the butcher-bird clan.  It begins nesting before the other species, and its eggs are often taken in February.

The other common species are the bay-backed (L. vittatus) and the rufous-backed shrike (L. erythronotus).  These are smaller birds and have the back red.  The former is distinguishable from the latter by having in the wings and tail much white, which is very conspicuous during flight.

The nest of each species is a massive cup, composed of twigs, thorns, grasses, feathers, and, usually, some pieces of rag; these last often hang down in a most untidy manner.  The nest is, as a rule, placed in a babool or other thorny tree, close up against the trunk.

Three allies of the shrikes are likewise busy with their nests at this season.  These are the wood-shrike, the minivet and the cuckoo-shrike.  The wood-shrike (Tephrodornis pondicerianus) is an ashy-brown bird of the size of a sparrow with a broad white eyebrow.  It frequently emits a characteristic soft, melancholy, whistling note, which Eha describes as “Be thee cheery.”  How impracticable are all efforts to “chain by syllables airy sounds”!  The cup-like nest of this species is always carefully concealed in a tree.