324 Records of the Indian Musenni. [Vol. XXII, 



dead Chital {Cervus axis), or other dead bird or mammal. When 

 large masses of dead weed are washed ashore^ as is often the case, 

 they are carefully examined by both crows, which capture the 

 small Isopod and Araphipod Crustacea with which they swarm. 

 Sandhoppers (Orchestia pLitensis and Talorchestia martensii) also 

 form their prey and I have seen a C. splcndens hovering over the 

 water and finalh' picking a dead fish from a mass of weeds with its 

 beak. The strangest method they have, however, of obtaining food 

 is that of robbing young Fishing Eagles, a procedure that they 

 have developed into a regular conspiracy, in which both House 

 Crows and Jungle Crows are implicated. Not only do they mob 

 the old eagles whenever they see them and frequently chase them 

 out over the lake, but when there are young birds in the eyrie, 

 they collect in large numbers on the branches round it every 

 evening towards dusk. When the old birds return, carrying fish, 

 crabs or snakes for the young, the crows allow them to deposit 

 the food in the nest and then chase them awa}-. I have seen a 

 single C. splendens chasing an eagle, which fled before it. The 

 crows then share the provender with the young eagles, and it is 

 not until they begin to grow sleepy, which they do rather early, 

 and retire to roost, that the parent eagles can return to the nest, 

 bringing more food for their despoiled young. 



Acridotheres tristis (Linn.). 



Except the two crows, the Myna is the only laud bird com- 

 mon on the island, on which it lives in small flocks and breeds, 

 chiefly in holes in the trunks and branches of dead Banyan trees 

 (Ficus bengalensis). Like the crows, it obtains a good deal of its 

 food from the lake, as it accompanies them in the search for small 

 Crustacea among dead weeds on the shore. Flocks also fly across 

 the lake from the mainland to roost on the island every evening. 



Copsychus saularis (Linn.). 



vStray individuals of the Dyal bird are occasionallj- seen in 

 thickets in the rainy season. 



Arachuecthra asiatica (Latham.). 



At least one pair bred on the island in the season of 1920. 



Ceryle varia, Strickland. 



The Pied Kingfisher is often seen fishing off the island when 

 the water is low and occasionally' perches on the shore. 



M crops viridis (Linn.). 



This bee-eater is not resident on the island but small flocks 

 of it occasionally fly over from the mainland and establish them- 

 selves for the day on some large tree with spreading branches, 

 usually a Ficus bengalensis or F. infectoria. Their object, to 

 judge from the scattered wings under their perch, is to feed on 

 butterflies, particularly on Papilio polyle-,, which is very abund- 



