198 PET BIRDS OF BENGAL 



to June. In architecture this beautiful bird 

 betrays a total want of all aesthetic sense ; 

 for it builds a coarse and clumsy structure, 

 very big in size, — too large, in fact, consider- 

 iiioj its own dimension. The nest is orener- 

 ally placed on some rocky snag or projecting 

 ledge overhanging a stream or waterfall. 

 Nests have also been found on trees. Mr. 

 Basil-Edwardes writes to me from Simla 

 that it comes back to build its nest in 

 the same place every year. The sagacity it 

 displays in site-selection and concealment is 

 a proof of its natural wariness, for it gener- 

 ally fixes upon the most inaccessible places 

 to build its nest. If a tree is chosen, it 

 sin<yles out the tallest and most towering^ 

 one, where in an inaccessible hole, it places 

 its cradle. If the crevice or ledge of a rock 

 is preferred, the rock is generally steep and 

 precipitous so as to eliminate all chances 

 of intrusion. When the nest is not placed 

 in a sufficiently safe and inaccessible place 

 the builder tries to conceal it by choosing 

 materials which would harmonise with the 



