78 Mr. W. Jesse on the 



occasion watched a pair catch and devour a squirrel 

 (Sciurus palmarum). 



No. 1247. Accipiter nisus. Sparrow-Hawk. 



Basha [II.]. 



A fairly common winter visitor. By those who do not 

 know the simple way of distinguishing the two genera — 

 viz., the much greater length and slenderncss of the tarsi 

 and toes in Accipiter — this and the preceding species are 

 often confounded. 



No. 12-48. Accipiter virgatus. Besra Sparrow -Hawk. 



Besra [H.]. 



A cold-weather visitor, very locally distributed. Chiefly 

 met with in dense bamboo-brakes, through which it moves 

 with rapidity and ease. It is far from common, and I know 

 nothing about it, save what Reid has written in his notes. 



No. 1249. Pernis cristatus. Crested Honey-Buzzard. 



The Honey-Buzzard is not uncommon, but is very fond of 

 concealing itself in thick trees and hence is not very often 

 seen. I came upon one with a huge piece of comb in its 

 beak, and from one which Reid shot there flowed enough 

 honey to fill a tea-cup. Another that I shot in June 1901 

 got into a dreadful mess from the same cause. A few indi- 

 viduals may remain to breed, but I think that most of them 

 migrate locally to the sub-montane tracts for that purpose. 

 They nest, or at any rate did so years ago, in the avenues and 

 compounds of Saharanpur, which is just south of Dehra Dun. 



4- No. 1254. Falco peregrinus. Peregrine Falcon. 



Bhyri [II.]. 



The Peregrine is a cold-weather visitor and is looked upon 

 with great favour by falconers. It is generally to be seen 

 near j heel-si ties, aud Reid has remarked upon the way in which 

 the bird seems to know the purpose of a gun, sallying forth 

 from its perch after each shot to scan the locality for a 

 dead or wounded bird. Of late years, possibly because 

 much marsh-land has been brought under cultivation, the 

 Peregrine has become rather scarce. 



