KITES 15 



finally sail off, whistling plaintively, in quest of 

 further supplies. 



The heaps of debris, that used every evening 

 to adorn the sides of suburban roads awaiting the 

 coming of the scavengers' carts, were the sites of 

 many entertaining conflicts, but in these it was 

 usually the kites who played the part of robbers. 

 Pariah dogs were, of course, always present, attended 

 by mobs of crows, who formed rings around them, 

 hopping warily about and every now and then 

 venturing to secure a savoury morsel. The dogs 

 did not seem to heed this, but objected strongly 

 to the rude onslaughts of the kites, who at 

 intervals came sweeping silently and swiftly in from 

 behind and bore away treasures of garbage from 

 beneath their noses. This was past endurance, and 

 gave rise to ill-tempered barks and growls, and now 

 and then to a savage rush when some particularly 

 dainty morsel was abstracted a very short-sighted 

 indulgence in temper, as it left the field open to 

 the incursion of other robbers, who dashed in 

 scolding and colliding with one another in the effort 

 to secure a due share of the plunder. 



In ordinary circumstances kites are by no means 

 ill-tempered birds, and, in spite of their great 

 abundance and its attendant struggle for existence, 

 serious quarrels seem seldom to take place among 

 them. Now and then, however, a squabble does 

 arise, and then a very fine show of flight is to be 



