73 
The nest was in one of the highest clusters. The male was 
sitting on the broad bare bough, about 6 feet below it, tearing 
a Roller (Coracias Indica) to pieces, and I may mention, that 
when examined, this bird proved to have had the whole head, 
neck, and upper part of the body eaten ; the wings, tail and lower 
portion of the body were altogether uninjured. I shot the male, 
and he fell flat on the bough. A man was sent up, who threw 
the male down, still there were no signs of the female, and I called 
to the man to search the nest for eggs. As he placed his hand 
at the side of the nest, which he could only just reach, the 
female suddenly appeared from the hollow of the nest, and stood 
upon its margin. The man drew back rather startled, the 
female turned towards the inside of the nest, gave a vicious 
drive at it with her bill and flew off. On taking the eggs, it 
appeared that she had driven her powerful bill into one of them, 
making a triangular hole, each side of which, measured about 
half an inch. he female must have seen her mate shot, and 
have felt, perhaps from the man still coming to the nest, after 
securing the male, that he intended to rob it. Did she break the 
eee herself in anger? The egos were nearly ready to hatch 
off. Had she perchance some glimmering idea that she might 
let the chick out and thus save it? Itis impossible to say: but a 
whole party of us witnessed the fact, and it seems worthy of 
record. What struck me fully as much in this case was, that 
though the male was in the act of tearing the Roller to pieces, 
and though the whole ground, for many yards round the tree, 
was strewed with feathers of Pigeons, Doves and Rollers, a pair 
of Doves, (7. Risoria) had a nest with young ones, in another 
leafy cluster of this same tree, and another pair were sitting 
calmly on two bare sprays, not 15 feet from where the male, whom 
they could not help seeing, was devouring his prey. Had the 
Roller always been his prey, one might have understood their 
fearlessness, but around the tree, lay the feathers of, I should 
say, at least fifty individuals of their own species. That the 
Faleons must designedly have spared their fellow-tenants is clear ; 
the two birds, however wary and watchful, could never have built 
their nest, hatched their young, and partly reared these latter in 
safety, within 30 feet of the Falcons’ nest, unless these latter had 
allowed them to do so absolutely without molestation ; for had 
one of the pair only been once set upon or pursued, they would 
assuredly have deserted the nest. The natives declared that 
this pair of Doves, were left by the Falcons as decoys; and that 
the other pair were strangers, who would probably soon have 
fallen victims to the confidence engendered by seeing the resi- 
dent birds rearing their young in security. I can really give 
