THE BIRDS 01 PREY 01 THE PUNJAB. 829 



noiselessly from above and sent well over half the 

 contents of the plate flying to the ground, much to 

 the delight of a miserable " pi " dog which cowered 

 alongside. Yet with all their daring, 1 know no bird 

 more difticult to catch than a kite. It is useless to 

 put up a net for the most hungry of kites, even with 

 the most tempting of baits behind it. 



The kite will circle round once or twice and 

 "move on." The ordinary nooses which seldom fail 

 to catch a falcon will only catch a kite if set in 

 longish grass where they are absolutely invisible, 

 and then only if several of them happen to be about. 



The best way of catching one is to drop three or 

 four pieces of meat about a lawn and over the 

 most inconspicuous and uninviting piece, place a 

 couple of horse-hair nooses, mixed up with bits of 

 straw and attached to a long bit of concealed string. 



The flight of the Kite is unmistakable. The 

 forked tail is enough in itself to proclaim any 

 member of Milvus from afar, but even if this useful 

 appendage happens to be wanting, there is no 

 mistaking the bird. The wings are very frequently 

 bent from the first joint, and the primaries, as 

 often as not, are seen to be on a lower level than 

 the body. The flight itself is very light and the 

 circles are irregular and erratic. 



They build usually on trees, but not infrequently 

 on buildings, making a nest of twigs, lined with 

 grass and rags and lay 2 to 4 eggs, pale greenish 

 white, blotched, or spotted with brown or reddish 

 brown and measure according to Blanford, 2'19" by 

 1-77 ". 



I have given the description of this species from 

 the "Fauna of British India" in full, as the above will 

 answer equally well for the next two species, with 

 but little difl'erences. This and the next species are 

 by no means easy to recognise one from the other 

 and though the types of each present no very great 

 ditiiculty, one frequently comes across specimens, 

 which are probably hybrids, and might pass 

 for either. A kite which answered to the 

 description of melanotis in the air, has conformed 

 to the measurements of govinda, in the hand. The 

 breast markings of the kites vary considerably and 

 occasionally a very light coloured bird, with dark shaft- 

 stripes, almost resembles the breast of a "Spizaeti, 

 except that the dark shaft-stripes of the kite are 

 broader. 



In the air, this species can usually be recognised 

 from the next species, by not having the moon- 

 shaped pattern of whitish or bufl', on the wing under- 

 neath, which is a conspicuous feature of melanotis, 

 but even this distinguishing mark is by no means a 

 sure guide, and may be found indistinct where it 

 should stand out, and certainly present where not 

 expected. 



