Letters, Announcements, b^c. 455 



tliis I found two of their eggs, which almost exactly resemble 

 those of their Enghsh namesake. This habit is the more 

 strange, as the Kites {Milvus govinda) generally succeed in 

 carrying off their newly-hatched young. I ordered the birds 

 not to be disturbed, and watched them with some curiosity; 

 for I had thought that they always frequented the most lonely 

 and barren places for the purpose of breeding. 



On July 1st, 1865, I went up the ladder to the top of the 

 court-house, peeped quietly over the parapet, and saw the Lap- 

 wing sitting on her two eggs. Gently she slipped off and crept 

 lowly along for two or three yards, when she lifted herself up, 

 and, flying slowly, alighted a little lower, on the next ledge, pre- 

 tending to think I had not seen her two eggs, exposed as they 

 were on the heap of mortar. On July 3rd, when the heat on 

 the roof was so intense that one could scarcely bear to touch the 

 plaster, the eggs were hatched ; but on the 6th, when sitting in 

 court in the afternoon, I heard a tremendous outcry of the 

 parents, and sending to the roof I found that the Kites had 

 swooped down and carried off the chicks. This occurs again and 

 again, and yet the birds persist in laying in the same place. 



On July 9th, 1866, I happened to go to the roof of my own 

 house, which is flat and terraced like that of the court-house. 

 There I saw four eggs of this Lapwing lying on the smooth 

 plaster in the middle of the terrace. There was no trace of a 

 nest, save a curious line of little bits of plaster, forming an 

 irregular circle six or eight inches in diameter ; but the pieces 

 collected were not numerous. My man suggested that they 

 were placed to prevent the eggs rolling about with the wind in 

 the parents' absence ; and this seems to be very likely. These 

 eggs were never hatched, although the parents were most atten- 

 tive, but were, one by one, carried off by the Crows {Corvus 

 culminatus) , which are ever on the look-out for the eggs of other 

 birds. 



Again, one day in July 1867, 1 was with your correspondents 

 Mr. W. E. Brooks and Mr. Allan Hume on a trolly on the 

 railway, when the former pointed out many Lapwings' nests on 

 the metalling of the road, close to the very rails on which trains 

 were constantly running. The line is ballasted with broken 



