Mr. E. L. Layard on the Ornithology of Ceylon. 103 



buted, and to feed on various substances. I shot one at Jaflfna 

 with half a hzard, Calotes viridis, in its maw, and Mr. Mitford 

 procured another at Ratnapoora feeding on bees, which it cap- 

 tured sometimes on the wing and sometimes by darting at the 

 nest. It was attended by its mate, and the two sat together on 

 the dead branches of a tree, raising and depressing their crests. 



16. MiLvus GovixDA, Sykes. Para prandu, Mai., lit. Pariah 

 Kite; and Calu prandu, Mai., lit. Black Kite, in conti-adi- 

 stinction to Chem prandu, the Red Kite, H. Indus. 



The greatest resort of this species is the estuarj' ignorantly 

 called the " Jaflfea Lake," and the shallow bay of Calpentj-n. On 

 the large extent of mud left bare by the receding tide, the 

 "black kites" of Europeans find abundance of genial food, con- 

 sisting of all kinds of dead fish, mollusca, and decaying animal 

 matter, which they seize with their claws, darting from a great 

 height. Nor do they confine their attention to the lonely sea- 

 shore. Fighting y^-ith the pariah dogs, they play the part of 

 scavengers in the filthy native towns, and early in the morning 

 before the streets are tenanted they earn an honest livelihood. 

 They are, however, bold enough to make frequent depredations 

 on the fish-stalls, and in one instance I saw a lad about thirteen 

 years old struck to the ground by the sudden pounce of a kite, 

 who bore off a good-sized fish from a basket the boy was carry- 

 ing on his head. 



But their great feast is when the returning fleet of fishing- 

 boats are Hghtened of their scaly cargo, or when the well- filled 

 nets are drawn on shore. High overhead with quivering cry sail 

 the " black kite," its usual companion the " red kite," and often 

 the " sea eagle," Blagrus leucogaster; below, the beach is strewed 

 with fish, crabs, turtle, cuttle-fish, &c. As the fishermen unload 

 their boats, naked urchins catch up perhaps a gaudy Chaetodon, 

 or perhaps a strangely-shaped fish with an imder jaw projecting 

 far beyond the upper ; the pariah dogs prowl about and steal 

 a piece of shark, or nip off the head of a cat-fish ; whilst the 

 kites now rising, now falling, cull their favourite morsels in the 

 way of Cephalopods and garbage of all kinds. I have often 

 watched some fifty or sixty thus engaged, when the smell of fish 

 drjing in the sun for native consumption, the vociferations of 

 the natives, and the quaiTelling of children and dogs, rendered 

 the scene one never to be forgotten. 



The black kite builds in similar situations to the red kite, and 

 lays two eggs of a rather rounder form, marked vN^ith a band of 

 minute brownish freckles, the band occurring sometimes at one 

 end, sometimes at the other. 



