534 
I owe to Capt. G. F. L. Marshall, R. E., the following inter- 
esting note, on the nidification of this species, in the Saharun- 
poor district, which renders further remarks of my own on the 
subject unnecessary. “The Crested Honey Buzzard builds in 
May, the young being usually hatched in the beginning of 
June. The season for building is, however, spread over a long 
period, as in one case, I noticed a bird building on the 23rd 
March ; the nest was completed by the end of April, but the 
first egg was not laid till the 12th May, and the second egg on 
the 14th; I took the nest on the 15th. 
“The nest is situated in the stout fork of a tree, generally about 
two-thirds of the way up; of the ten nests I have taken, one 
was in a Toon tree (cedrela toona) and all the rest in sheeshum 
trees (Dalbergia Sissoo.) The nest is cup-shaped in the first 
instance, but so filled up with the lining, as to appear more 
like a flat platform. It is a compact structure, composed entire- 
ly of twigs, neatly put together and lined with a thick layer of 
dead leaves, chiefly Sheeshum leayes, almost filling up the hollow 
space; in one instance I found the nest lined with perfectly 
fresh green leaves, and as there were two eggs in it, the lining 
must have been partially renewed after the eggs were laid. 
The outer diameter of the nest is about sixteen to eighteen 
inches, and of the egg receptacle about ten inches ; the depth of 
the structure, including lining, is about nine inches. 
“The eggs, wo in number, are deposited in the middle of the 
platform, the colour varies greatly, from a white ground, more 
or less blotched with every shade of reddish brown, to a red-. 
dish brown ground, clouded and blotched with a darker shade. 
Some are exactly like gigantic Falcon’s eggs, while others again, 
closely resemble richly blotched Kite’s eggs: in shape they are 
mostly very round. ‘The shell is thin, and rather brittle, and 
smoother than is usual among the Raptores. 
“The bird is rather familiar in its habits, and by no means 
shy ; I took three of its nests, from compounds in the station of 
Saharunpoor, and three more from the compounds of the Canal 
Chokees. It seldom flies far and is easily approached. When 
the eggs are near the hatching point, the bird sits excessively 
close ; | have found it impossible to drive it off by throwing 
stones, and on one occasion the female only flew when my hand 
was actually on the nest, though she had been struck pretty 
sharply by several of the stones. The male bird assists in build- 
ing and is more wary than the female. 
“On one occasion, I noticed a male bird with a stick in its 
claws fly into a tree and return without it. I went up to the 
place, and noticed the commencement of the nest; while I was 
