326 Records jj the Indian Museum. [Vol. XXII_ 



above one of them and looked down at it. The bat turned up 

 its muzzle and bit the eagle on the leg, and the eagle flew away. 



The food of the Fishing Eagle consists on Barkuda largelj'- of 

 the fish Triacanthus brcvirosfris, the harmless sea-snake Chersv- 

 drus granulatiis and the swimming-crabs Scylla serrata and Nep- 

 tumis pelagicus. To judge from remains at the base of the trees 

 on which the nests are built and on other parts of the island, 

 Triacantlms is the most important item, but this fish has a very 

 solid skeleton and only part of it is as a rule eaten by the birds, 

 while the snakes are as a rule swallowed whole and their skeletons 

 can rarely be distinguished. T. brevirostris is, perhaps, the most 

 abundant fish in the lake. It is a laterally compressed active 

 fish of the suborder vSclerodermi and goes about in shoals which 

 often swim near the surface. It possesses powerful and poison- 

 ous spines both on its back and at the sides of its body. The 

 snake is a ver}- sluggish species. It never leaves the water and is 

 found only in the open lake. Doubtless the eagle catches it as 

 it rises to the surface and protnides its head and neck, as it often 

 does. The two crabs are both powerful swimmers, but the Nep- 

 tnmis is more frequently seen on the surface than the Scylla, 

 which is actually the more abundant of the two in the lake. Its 

 remains are also more abundant, in spite of its more retiring 

 habits, among those of the eagle's victims. Siluroid fish of the 

 genera Arius, Macrones and Plotoius are also captured occa- 

 sionally, and these are essentially bottom-haunting fish. As the 

 water of the lake is usually turbid, it is rather strange that the 

 eagle can catch them. How it does so I do not know. 



As I have pointed out elsewhere, the remains of the food of 

 this bird may provide interesting material for the palaeontologists 

 of some future epoch. They are congregated not only round the 

 trees on which they nest but also lie scattered over the whole island, 

 the prey being not infrequently dropped intact, perhaps when its 

 captor is chased by a crow. 



Haliaslur Indus (Bodd.). 



Frequently observed fishing round the island, on which at 

 least one pair bred in 1919 and 1920. 



Astur badius (Gmel.). 



A pair of Shikra bied on the island in a Banyan tree in 1919. 

 I saw one of them sitting among the foliage of another Banyan 

 besides a dove's nest and darting out at the parent bird as it 

 returned. The dove, however, escaped. 



Crocopus phoenicopterus (Lath.). 



Large flocks of this pigeon visit the island during the rainy 

 season to feed on the figs of Fictis bengalensis, F . infectotia, F. 

 obtusa and F. globosa. They do not come, however, until the 

 rains are well established (in July) even though the figs are often 

 ripe in April. Specimens seem to agree with the northern rather 

 than the southern species of the genus. 



