1004 JOURNAL, BOyiBAY I^ATURAL mST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVI. 



Not in the least shy, as a rule. On a tree it can 

 be at once recognised by its comparatively small 

 head, from any other bird of prey of the same size. 

 The head almost invariably looks sleek, as though 

 each feather had been plastered down, and its 

 attention is usually attracted to the branches of 

 trees on its own level and above and seldom on the 

 ground, or over some adjoining plain, as is more 

 often the case with most Raptores. 



This species, in flight, rather resembles the Spizaeti 

 and can seldom show itself in the open without 

 having all the crows and mynahs in the neighbour- 

 hood shrieking at it and king- crows attacking 

 it. Blanford says " its flight is direct and rather 

 hurried than quick, and it seldom flies far, except 

 when soaring." If disturbed from its perch, it 

 simply hurls itself into space, flies low until it 

 reaches the tree it intends to alight on, and then 

 rises suddenly into the branches, rather like a 

 Goshawk. The beats of the wings are quick and power- 

 ful. It soars well, usually in the spring and early 

 summer, and is very noisy. The wings, when 

 soaring, are held more or less on the same plane as 

 is the body and not well back, as in the Spizaeti, 

 and are somewhat longer and narrower than in that 

 species. The bars on the wings and tail are very 

 conspicuous as a rule. 



It lives for the most part on the larvfe of wasps 

 and bees and honey and is said to rob the eggs of 

 small birds. I have never succeeded in bringing 

 this species down to the net, although I have tried it 

 frequently, with quails, sparrows, rats, snakes and 

 even mole-crickets, although I know it occasionally 

 kills lizards -and on one occasion I disturbed one on 

 the ground which flew ofl' bearing a mynah in its 

 claws. Since writing the above I have had one come 

 down for a quail. 



I remember reading a very interesting account of 

 the doings of one of these birds, in captivity, many 

 years ago. Unfortunately I cannot even now re- 

 member in what book or magazine I saw it, and was 

 under the impression it appeared in the Journal of 

 the B. N. H. Soc, but as I have been through prac- 

 tically every number since the early Nineties and 

 can t find the account, I must be mistaken. The 

 part that I particularly noted was a description of this 

 bird flying oft' its master's hand in pursuit of some- 

 thing invisible to the man. He, however, followed 

 in the direction as fast as he could, and discovered 

 his bird attacking a huge bee-hive. The bees prom- 

 ptly swarmed round him, but did not appear to worry 

 him much, and all the bird did was to ruflle his 

 feathers and go on with his meal of honey or larvae. 

 Later on he got back the bird and, to his amazement, 

 discovered that the bird had collected a considera- 

 ble number between his feathers, which he continued 

 to pull out occasionally and eat, for a couple of days 



