THE SCAVENGER-IN-WAITING 27 



of the matter seems to be that when it rains very 

 heavily the streets of the city on the Hooghly are washed 

 comparatively clean, and all the food of the " sailing 

 glead " is swept out into the country, so the kites go 

 after it, but they return as soon as the rain stops. 



The nesting season for the kites is at any time when 

 they feel disposed to undertake the cares of the family. 

 The books tell us that it begins in January. This is 

 correct. Where they go wrong is in asserting that it 

 ends in April. I should rather say that it ends in 

 December. It is true, however, that in Northern 

 India the greater number of nests are constructed in 

 the first three months of the calendar year. 



The completed nest is about the size of a football, 

 and is an untidy mass of twigs, rags, mud, brickbats, 

 and such-like things. It is usually placed high up in a 

 tall tree, not quite at the top, on a forked branch. 

 It is not a great architectural triumph, but it serves its 

 purpose. Two eggs are usually laid. These have a 

 white ground blotched with red or brown. Kites 

 object to having their nest pried into, so that he who 

 attempts to steal the eggs must not be surprised if 

 the owners attack him. 



