. Bombay ducks; an account of some of the every-day birds and beasts found in a naturalist's Eldorado . oth does. Thetransformation into the imago or adult occupies lessthan three weeks. As there is no cocoon, one might,if the creature could live in the light, watch the won-derful metamorphosis actually taking place, but lightappears to kill the pupa. About seventeen days afterthe &^^ had been laid I dug out another pupa. It hadassumed the adult wasp-like form, was almost white incolour, and looked what it was—an unfinished wasp. Over the last cell I tied a piece of muslin to makea cage into w
. Bombay ducks; an account of some of the every-day birds and beasts found in a naturalist's Eldorado . oth does. Thetransformation into the imago or adult occupies lessthan three weeks. As there is no cocoon, one might,if the creature could live in the light, watch the won-derful metamorphosis actually taking place, but lightappears to kill the pupa. About seventeen days afterthe &^^ had been laid I dug out another pupa. It hadassumed the adult wasp-like form, was almost white incolour, and looked what it was—an unfinished wasp. Over the last cell I tied a piece of muslin to makea cage into which the imago would have to fly onleaving the nest, but I might have spared myself thetrouble. Twenty-five days after the closing of the cell,I noticed that a hole had been gnawed in the muslin,and, looking into the nest, I saw a hole through theroof of the cell and knew that the wasp had flown. Shehad been able to adapt herself to circumstances. Shehad used her jaws, with which instinct had taught herto rasp away the roof of her cell, to cut a hole in themuslin, and thus gained her PLAINTIVE CUCKOO CUCOMANTIS PASbEKINTS) INDIAN CUCKOOS IN the matter of cuckoos India can give points tothe British Isles. The good folk at home seeonly one species of cuckoo, and that spends lessthan half its time on the British shores ; we inIndia, on the other hand, can boast of an avifaunain which the sub-family cuculince is represented by nofewer than thirty species. Lest the above statement should excite the righteousindignation of British ornithologists, let me hasten tosay that it is not strictly true, that it requires a littlemodification. Species of cuckoo, other than the common or gardenCuculus canorus, have been seen in England outsidethe Zoological Gardens. Three bold species have, atdivers times, visited the shores of Albion, and warmwas the reception each received. Thanatology is a science carried to perfection in theHomeland. So-called naturalists shoot, at sight, everys
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirdsin, bookyear1906
