832 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVI. 



down to its claws and take the insect into its mouth 

 or if winged, the wings of the insect will be seen to 

 drop first and then the head may be bent down two 

 or three times, depending on the size of the grass- 

 hopper, until it is all eaten. The unerring aim with 

 ' which it invariably takes off the insect without seem- 



ingly so much as touching the stalk is wonderful. 

 I have never seen it carry off any of the plant, and 

 nor have 1 ever noticed a check, which would be the 

 case if the stem was caught in its talons, together 

 with the insect. 



Though considerably smaller than a kite, this 

 species holds its own with ease and frequently makes 

 a kite give up a tit-bit. It is readily caught and 

 the bait, behind a net, might be anything from a 

 mole-cricket or a frog to a chicken, but the net must 

 be well concealed or have a good back ground of 

 brushwood or trees, as the Brahminy Kite does not 

 come down with the dash of a hawk or a falcon, so 

 has plenty of time to see its danger and swerve. 



Unlike the kites, which will almost invariably 

 sail round once or twice before making a swoop, and 

 are therefore almost impossible to catch in a net, the 

 Brahminy Kite will come absolutely straight from 

 its perch and make for the net without hesitation. 



It is a most disappointing bird in the hand and is 

 much better admired at a distance, where its lovely 

 white and chestnut plumage is a distinct acquisition 

 to the landscape. 



In the hand it will be found very coarse and 

 bedraggled, and nob at all the lovely bird we see in 

 the air. 



The flight is kite-like but the wing is not so often 

 bent as in that of a kite. The young, at a glance, 

 might be mistaken for a kite, but one glance at the 

 tail, which is not forked in the Brahminy Kite, will 

 dispel all doubts. The wing too is broader and appa- 

 rently more rounded in flight than in that of a kite. 

 This species is distributed throughout India and 

 is to be met with quite high up in the Himalayas at 

 times. I saw a pair at Kajiar, between Dalhousie 

 and Chamba, with two fully fledged youngsters in 

 attendance, and have also found them on Himalayan 

 streams at 8 to 9,00U ft. elevation. 



The cry is a shrill squeal not unlike a Kite's. 

 They breed in the spring, building a nest of sticks, 

 lined with leaves, on a tree, and lay usually two 

 eggs, " greyish-white, unspotted or scantily speckled 

 or blotched with reddish brown, and measure 

 about 2-02 by 1-65." (Blandford). 



Genus Buteo. 



No. 1239. Buteo ferox. . The Long-legged Buzzard. 

 Characteristics. Size medium ; tarsus about 3f", feathered for 



about half its length. Naked part, in front, scut- 

 ellate ; wing over 1(/'. 



