120 THE BIRDS OP CALCUTTA. 



of sight altogether and permanently, an extreme form of 

 the diversion which could hardly have been pleasing to the 

 parsimonious prince, for the birds had cost a thousand 

 pounds to procure, being so remarkably good that they 

 had taken nine Kites running without a miss. 



With the advance of sanitation and the decay of fal- 

 conry the English Kite began to be looked on solely as a 

 nuisance. Cuffs and collars were not safe when he was 

 furnishing his nest, as Shakespeare knew, and many young 

 chickens fell victims to his insidious attacks. At the 

 same time, there has been no reason to shoot and trap him 

 so mercilessly as has been done, making the Kite one of the 

 rarest of British birds. But as the Indian Kite has the 

 whole of India to range over, and goes even as far 

 as Australia, no amount of sanitation, poultry-breed- 

 ing, or game-preserving, is likely to bring him anywhere 

 near extermination. Talking of the Kite's residence, 

 it is curious that Jerdon alludes to a story that they 

 leave Calcutta almost entirely during the rains, which, 

 Dr. Blanford says, is perfectly correct. How such an 

 idea could have arisen I do not know. I have always 

 noticed Kites in the rains, and have never heard that 

 they ever were in the habit of leaving Calcutta then. 

 This Kite is not usually migratory, unlike the big Kite of 

 the hills (Milvus melanotis) which may be distinguished by 

 its white instead of yellow feet, white patch under the 

 wing, and larger size, the male hill-kite being as big as or 

 bigger than the female of our low-country bird. Females 

 in Kites, it should be observed, are larger than males, 

 following the usual but inexplicable rule of birds of prey. 



