A TREE-TOP TRAGEDY 147 



seized with the Bridge craze and are then perfectly con- 

 tent to sit for hours at the card table, so at certain 

 seasons are birds overcome by the incubating mania. 

 If my view of the matter be correct, and I think it 

 must be, a sitting bird is no more an object for our pity 

 than is a Bridge maniac. But this is a digression. 



Let us hie back to our kite and her family of young 

 ones in their lofty nursery. For a time all went well 

 with them. But one day the sun of prosperity which 

 had hitherto shone upon them became darkened by 

 great black clouds of adversity. I happened to pass 

 the nest at this time and saw about twenty excited 

 crows squatting on branches near the nest and cawing 

 angrily. The mother kite was flying round and round 

 in circles, and was evidently sorely troubled in spirit. 

 She had done something to offend the crows. Ere long 

 she returned to her nest, whereupon the crows took to 

 their wings, cawing more vociferously than ever. As 

 soon as the kite had settled on the nest they again 

 alighted on branches of the tree, and, each from a re- 

 spectful distance, gave what the natives of Upper India 

 call gali galoj. She tolerated for a time their vulgar 

 abuse, then left the nest. This was the signal for all 

 the crows to take to their wings. Some of them tried 

 to attack her in the air. For a few minutes I watched 

 them chasing her. After a little the attack began to 

 flag, I, therefore, came to the conclusion that the corvi 

 were recovering their mental equilibrium, and that the 

 whole affair would quickly fizzle out, as such incidents 

 usually do. Accordingly, I went on my way. Return- 

 ing an hour later, I was surprised to find the crows still 



