surface.

The nursery is attached by means of cobweb to the beam or branch from
which it hangs. It is cosily lined with cotton or other soft material.
The hen, who alone builds the nest and incubates the eggs, enters and
leaves the chamber by a hole at one side. This is protected by a
little penthouse. The door serves also as window. The hen rests her
chin on the lower part of this while she is incubating her eggs, and
thus is able, as she sits, to see what is going on in the great world
without. She displays little fear of man and takes no pains to conceal
her nest, which is often built in the verandah of an inhabited
bungalow.

As the month nears its end the big black crows (_Corvus
macrorhynchus_) begin to construct their nests. The site selected is
usually a forked branch of a large tree. The nest is a clumsy platform
of sticks with a slight depression, lined by human or horse hair or
other soft material, for the reception of the eggs. Both sexes take
part in incubation. From the time the first egg is laid until the
young are big enough to leave the nest this is very rarely left
unguarded. When one parent is away the other remains sitting on the
eggs, or, after the young have hatched out, on the edge of the nest.
Crows are confirmed egg-stealers and nestling-lifters, and, knowing
the guile that is in their own hearts, keep a careful watch over their
offspring.

The kites (_Milvus govinda_) are likewise busy at their nurseries. At
this season of the year they are noisier than usual, which is saying a
great deal. They not only utter unceasingly their shrill
_chee-hee-hee-hee_, but engage in many a squabble with the crows.