THE BRAHMINY KITE. 201 



and made of sticks, and it is used by the same birds year after year. It is 

 generally situated near the summit of a tall tree on the banks of a creek. 

 The eggs, three in number, are dull white. 



Genus HALIASTUK, Selby. 



575. HALIASTUR INDUS. 

 THE BRAHMINY KITE. 



Falco Indus, Bodcl Tail. PI. Enl. p. 25. Haliastur indus,Jerd.B. 2nd. i. p. 101 ; 

 Hume, Rough Notes, ii. p. 316 ; id. Nests and Eggs, p. 51 ; Sharps, Cat. Birds B. 

 Mus. i. p. 313 ; Hume, S. F. iii. p. 35 ; BL B. Burm. p. 64 ; Gates, S. F. v. 

 p. 142; David et Oust. Ois. Chine, ^. 15; Legge, Birds Ceylon,ip.76; Gurney,Ibis, 

 1878, p. 460; Hume $ Dav. S. F. vi. p. 22 ; Cripps, S. F. vii. p. 251; Hume, 

 S. F. viii. p. 82 ; Scully, S. F. viii. p. 227 ; Bingham, S. F. ix. p. 145 ; Oates, 

 S. F. x. p. 181. 



Description. Male and female. Head, neck, upper back, breast and 

 upper abdomen white, each feather with a distinct dark shaft-line ; the 

 first six primaries with the basal half chestnut and the terminal half 

 black ; with these exceptions the whole plumage is chestnut, darkest on 

 the back and palest on the tail, which is albescent at the tip ; the shafts of 

 all the feathers except those of the tail are very dark brown. 



The young have the head, neck and lower parts pale rufous-white, the 

 shaft-lines distinct and the feathers centred paler ; the back, rump and 

 upper tail- co verts are dark brown strongly tinged with maroon ; the tail 

 is brown, tipped fulvous ; the quills are dark brown, inclining to rufous at 

 the base of the inner webs ; the upper wing-coverts fulvous -brown. In 

 December birds may be found in every stage of plumage, with a mixture 

 of old and new feathers, the young being then in the act of assuming the 

 adult plumage previously to breeding. 



Iris brown ; bill and cere dark brown ; legs greenish yellow. 



Length 18 inches, tail 7, wing 15, tarsus 2, bill from gape 1'4. The 

 female is considerably larger. 



The Brahminy Kite is found abundantly over the whole of British 

 Burmah except in the thick forests of the higher hills. 



It extends to India and China, and is also found in Cochin China and 

 a portion of the Malay peninsula. To the south it is replaced by H. inter- 

 medius, a very closely allied race, in which the shaft-stripes on the head and 

 breast are narrower and less distinct. 



This well-known bird is a constant resident in Burmah and extremely 



