Proceedings. 71 



a sore, returning more than once to the charge, to the evident 

 discomfort of the pony. 



Probably the most abundant bird in India, as in England, 

 is the House Sparrow. Sparrows are hold enough with us, 

 but the Indian Sparrows are yet more venturesome, flying in 

 at open doors or windows, and hopping familiarly about the 

 drawing-rooms, even venturing within a yard of your feet. 

 They seem to think the ceiling-cloths specially placed for 

 their convenience, so they pick holes round the punkah- 

 hooks and skirmish through the upper regions in search of 

 grubs or cocoons, even choosing sometimes to nest out of 

 sight between the ceiling-cloths and the thatch. The cock 

 Indian Sparrow [Passer Indicus) has an ash-coloured crown, 

 like our bird's, and many close scrutinies failed to show me 

 any difference in plumage, except a greater brightness and 

 cleanness. The authorities, however, have detected some 

 sKght distinctions, and have decided that it is a separate 

 species. 



Overhead, when I looked out in the early morning from 

 the hotel-windows in Bombay, Kites and Swifts were circling. 

 The common Pariah Kite {MUvus Gocbula) makes itself 

 useful as a scavenger in every town and village, aiding the 

 Vultures, Jackals, and Crows. Instances are not scarce in 

 which Kites have swooped down and carried off meat from a 

 basket on the cook's head, or have deprived an unwary 

 traveller of a chicken he had just sat down intending to 

 lunch upon in the open air. At Sohagpur, men sometimes 

 catch a Kite by placing a chicken within arm's length of them 

 as they sit with their back to the sun. Anon the shadow of 

 a Kite appears, and as the bird swoops at the chicken, the 

 native, warned by the approaching shadow, seizes the Kite 

 and takes him captive. The cry of the Kite is described by 

 Jerdon as a "prolonged, tremulous squeal." It is not unlike 

 the neigh of a horse. 



Two sorts of Swift are seen in Bombay. The Indian Swift 

 (Cypselus affinis) is a brown-black bird, with white rump, 

 chin, and throat. It is smaller than our Swift. The other 

 is the little Palm Swift (Ci/pselus batassiends), a smaller bird 



