of the Calcutta District. 67 



it, but he found only the broken shells of two or three 

 Falcons' eggs. As he clhubed up, the birds screamed and 

 dashed through the boughs and around the tree, every now 

 and then making feints at him, much to his alarm. I once 

 saw one of these Falcons pounce on and fly off with a Blue 

 Jay from close beneath the legs of the horses in a ticca- 

 gharry, the Jay having swooped down on to an insect on the 

 ground just in front of the horses^ heads. 



104. TiNNUNCULus ALAUDARius. (Kcstrel.) 

 A winter visitor, but not plentiful. 



105. Gyps indicus. (Long-billed Vulture.) 



Resident, but only locally distributed. At Mogra, on the 

 E. I. Railway, they are plentiful ; but about Titaghur they are 

 scarce compared with the numbers of Pseudogyps bengalensis. 

 A few breed near Khardah in tall " tar " palms. 



106. Pseudogyps bengalensis. (White-backed Vulture.) 

 Very plentiful, resident, and universally distributed. Just 



before the time comes for repairing their nests they often 

 collect in immense flocks and wheel about in the sky, not 

 appearing to be assembled together by the attraction of any 

 food. They commence repairing their nests as early as 

 September, and break off large boughs covered with leaves 

 for this purpose. The large casuarina-trees around Titaghur 

 and in Barrackpore Pai^k are favourite breeding-sites, but I 

 have besides found their nests in mango, peepul, banyan, 

 and tamarind trees, and in " tar ^' and date palms. The 

 greater number lay in November and the nests usually con- 

 tain young in February. Often the old bird will sit so 

 close on the egg that it is impossible to drive her off with- 

 out the aid of a stick, and even then I have seen one refuse 

 to move further than the edge of the nest. When tlie nest 

 has been once robbed, the bird often lays again soon after. 



In the young bird the eyes are dark blue. 



Anyone who has watched these birds sailing about 

 without apparent aim in the upper air cannot fail to be con- 

 vinced that they discover their food by sight — each bird 

 circling about at a great height, intently taking note of all 



f2 



