54 MILVINA. ‘ 
very long, the 4th quill longest; tail moderate, broad, and 
slightly rounded ; tarsi short, moderately stout, with a large 
plume of feathers at the knee, covered anteriorly and posteriorly 
with large scute; lateral scales small, reticulate; feet small, 
lateral toes unequal; claws not very unequal, grooved beneath, 
inner and hind-claws about equal; toes rough beneath, with 
sharp points. 
Haliastur indus, Bodd. 
55.—Jerdon’s Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 101; Butler, Guzerat ; 
Stray Feathers, Vol. III, p. 448; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. 
IX, p. 374; Murray’s Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 90 ; Swinhoe 
and Barnes, Central India; Ibis, 1885, p. 58; Hume’s Scrap 
Book, p. 316. 
THE BRAHMINY KITE. 
Brahmani Chil, Hin. 
Length, 18 to 21; expanse, 54 to 57; wing, 15 to 16°75; tail, 
6:5 to 7°5; tarsus, 2 to 2°25; bill at gape, 1:4 to 1°5. 
Adult: head, neck, and body below, as far as the middle of 
the abdomen, white, with longitudinal narrow streaks of dark 
brown; the rest of the plumage rich chesnut-rufous, darkest on 
the interscapulars and back; quills black, chesnut internally 
towards the base ; tail paling towards the tip. 
The young bird is pale brown; the feathers of the head, neck, 
and lower parts lighter streaked, and the upper feathers spotted 
with fulvous or whitish; the tail is dusky, with a tinge of 
maroon. 
The Maroon-backed Kite is found throughout the region, 
abundantly in Sind, but more rarely in Guzerat and Rajputana. 
It is a permanent. resident, breeding on trees in February and 
March. The eggs, two in number, are oval in shape, greyish 
white in color, sparingly spotted with dull brownish-red ; they 
average 2 inches in length by about 1°64 inches in breadth. 
Genus, Milvus, Cuvier. 
Bill short, somewhat straight at the base, tip well curved and 
hooked, upper mandible with a rounded obsolete tooth, or 
festoon ; nostrils oval, oblique ; wings long, 4th quill, or 3rd and 
4th, longest ; tail lengthened, forked or emarginate ; tarsus short, 
plumed above in front, with scutze in front below; posteriorly 
naked to the knee, reticulate ; toes rather short ; claws moderate, 
unequal, and moderately curved ; outer-toe slightly mobile. 
Milvus govinda, Sykes. 
56.—Jerdon’s Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 104; Butler, Guzerat ; 
Stray Feathers, Vol. III, p. 448; Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. 
IX, p. 374; Murray’s Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 90; Swin- 
hoe and Barnes, Central India; Ibis, 1885, p. 58; Hume’s 
Scrap Book, p. 320. . 
