19 1 8,] Nidification of some Indian Falconidre. 53 



the cliff fell away very precipitously, yet holding enough 

 •soil to encourage a dense growth of oaks and other trees. 

 FDrtunately it was on this side of the ridge that the Black 

 Eagles had selected a tree on which to build their nest, and 

 clambering down the rocks I was soon at the foot of the 

 tree, and in another five minutes was up to the nest. 



Up to this point in the proceedings the parent birds had 

 taken but little interest beyond wheeling round and round 

 the tree and uttering their shrill, rather melancholy call. 

 As, however, I got to the nest, both birds swooped down 

 time after time to within a few feet of me, and once indeed 

 the fem.ile almost struck me in passing. Leaving the egg, 

 I then descended, and before I was half-way down, the female 

 was back again in the nest and crouching over her egg. 



Later, when I went to take the egg, the birds were much 

 fiercer, and commenced their attacks directly I began to 

 climb their tree, so that after trying to get up myself, I had 

 to come down, and shoot the female before I could tackle 

 the nest. Both birds swooped at me repeatedly, but the 

 female again and again came within inches of ray head, 

 whereas the male never came within two or three feet. A 

 fall at that height would have meant certain death, and it 

 would have been quite impossible to have carried the egg 

 down and also shield oneself, so that the murder of the 

 parent bird was absolutely necessary. 



This nest must have been over four feet in diameter and 

 about eighteen inches deep, with a well-made depression in 

 the centre lined with a pad of green leaves and the ends of 

 green branches. The leaves were nearly all those of the 

 " elephant creeper,'^ and were so large that it only took 

 about a dozen to make a thick, cool pad. The branches 

 were just the small ends of oak twigs with the green leaves 

 still adhering. 



In the body of the nest the sticks were of considerable 

 size, some of tliem fully an inch in diameter, and many of 

 them over three feet in length. JSIost of these appeared to 

 be dead sticks and branches either picked up by the birds 

 off the ground, or torn off dead boughs. The sticks which 



