74 Mr. "\V. Jesse on the 



specimen that I have seen is an adult ? , shot by Reid in 

 the district. 



No. 1228. Haliastur indus. Brahminy Kite. 



Bahmini chil [H.]. Fish-Hawk [Martiniere boys]. 



This Kite, with its handsome maroon plumage and white 

 head and shoulders, is common during the cold weather, but 

 seems to migrate to a certain extent between April and 

 July, probably to wetter localities. A few remain to breed, 

 but I appear to be almost the only person who has been lucky 

 enough to get authentic eggs in Lucknow. On April 16, 

 1898, I took one addled egg from a nest in which there was 

 a young bird. The structure was much like that of Milvus 

 govinda, a rough mass of sticks lined with mud. It was 

 situated about three-quarters way up a bare mango-tree, in a 

 tope near the Aishbagh station. The parents were greatly 

 perturbed, but I did not touch them. On March 24, 1900, 



1 got two more fresh eggs from the same tope, but the nest 

 was on another tree, and was, if my memory serves me, 

 lined with straw. These eggs are dirty white, one having a 

 very few r faint red specks. They measure l"95 /r X 1'57", 



2 00" x 1 G2", 1-94" x 1-62" respectively. According to Reid, 

 this bird is particularly partial to crabs. 



No. 1229. Milvus govinda. Common Pariah Kite. 



Chil [H.]. Hawk [Martiniere boys]. 



Kites swarm in Lucknow, as they do in all Indian towns. 

 They seem rarely to trouble the poultry-yard, though no 

 doubt they occasionally carry off a chicken. Their principal 

 food is offal of all sorts, and, with the Vultures and Crows, 

 they act as scavengers. They are very bold. On one 

 occasion my khansaman was walking across the compound 

 with a bone on a plate, when down swooped a Kite and 

 seized the bone, which, however, it dropped, knocking off the 

 man's turban. On another occasion a Kite carried off a tame 

 squirrel from the shelter of its master's arms. 



The breeding-season lasts from December to May, but 

 most eggs arc taken in March and early April. At this 

 season they are especially daring, and readily attack those 



