THE BRAHMIXY KITE 193 



addition to the local fauna, and they show their dislike 

 in no uncertain way, as a cockatoo, which recently 

 escaped from captivity in Madras, discovered. The 

 Brahminy kite is very fond of hearing its own voice, 

 which is best described as a disagreeable squeal. It is 

 uttered while the bird is on the wing. 



The nest is built high up in a tree, often a palm-tree. 

 It is not much of a structure if regarded from an archi- 

 tectural point of view ; nevertheless, it is less bulky and 

 less untidy than the nursery of its plebeian cousin, the 

 pariah kite. It is composed of sticks roughly put 

 together and lined with leaves or mud. The eggs are 

 dirty white, sometimes splotched or speckled with 

 reddish brown. The Brahminy kite rejoices in a great 

 variety of names. Many Anglo-Indians call it the fish- 

 hawk. Mr. Thomas Atkins calls it the bramley kite, 

 which is his way of pronouncing Brahminy kite ! 



The Mohammedan name for the bird is Ru-Mubarik, 

 which, being translated, means " lucky face." The bird 

 is so called from a superstition that, when two armies 

 are about to enter into an engagement, the appearance 

 of one of these auspicious birds over the head of either 

 of the armies means victory to that side. Now, since 

 there must be quite a dozen Brahminy kites hovering 

 over every army in the field in India, each side should 

 always go into battle feeling cocksure of success. 

 Garuda is the Hindu name for the bird, which is sacred 

 to Vishnu. That god selected the bird as his vehicle, 

 and it would be impossible to imagine a finer steed; but 

 the bird, of course, is not up to weight. 



Mr. P. V. Trivikrama Rau writes in the " Calcutta 

 o 



