( 5* ) 

 THE PARIAH KITE. 



Kites are true weather prophets in Burma, disappearing at the 

 break of the rains, only returning in the middle of October after th*; 

 mansoon is over I thing there must be two kinds of common kites, 

 one, a heavy, untidy-looking bird, with a good deal of white on the 

 undersides of its wings, and the other a more compact, dark brown 

 bird, with finer and narrower wings, which have no white on 

 the undersides. The former is by far the commonest bird round 

 Rangoon, congregating in large numbers towards sunset, and roosting 

 together on certain favourite trees. The latter or smaller bird is 

 easily distinguishable on the wing by its more graceful shape, and 

 is the only one I have seen breeding round Rangoon, and in the 

 Shan States. The larger bird cannot be the Large Indian Kite 

 (No. 1230. M. melanotis) as they are much too small, at least those 

 1 have measured do not come up to the measurements of that 

 bird. 



Burmese name Zoon. 

 (No. 1229. Milvus govinda.) 



THE HARRIERS 



May be easily recognized by their graceful flight, and may often 

 be seen during the cold weather quartering the ground in a systema- 

 tic manner, quietly skimming over paddy-fields and suddenly pouncing 

 down on their prey. They are medium sized birds, with weak feet 

 and legs, and have a small ruff of feathers round their face and eyes. 

 They are all migratory, arriving during the cold weather, and leaving 

 for the north in May. Four kinds have been recorded from Burma. 

 The most noticeable being the large grey and black variety, which is 

 often to be seen when out snipe shooting, and is the male Pied 

 Harrier (No. 1236. Circus melanoleucus) the hen being a brown 

 bird. 



Buzzards are rare birds in Burma and have not often been recorded 

 from this Province. 



THE HAWKS. 



The hawks are well-known for their courage, many of them having 

 been trained from time immemorial, and ciffer from the falcons 

 in having a short rounded wing, of which the fourth or fifth flight 

 feathers are the longest. They capture their prey by suddenly 

 pouncing on it from some point of vantage, and do not generally 

 strike it down on the wing. Hawks and Falcons are remarkable 

 for the females being larger and more courageous than the males. 



Burmese name Thein and Gyo-thein. 



THE SHIKRA. 



Is our commonest hawk and is at first sight very like the Knglish 

 Sparrow-Hawk. It differs from the true sparrow-hawks which are 

 remarkable in having exceptionally long toes, whilst the Shikra has 



