ASSAM, SYLHET AND CACHAR. 17 



again with closed wings, and up again, and so on for several 

 times in succession. When alighting on a branch the crest 

 is always raised. On the 24th June, 1881, I secured a nest 

 with two young ones. The nest was a mere pad of twigs, 9 inches 

 in diameter and 4 inches deep. On the top of the pad were a 

 number of dead leaves, which might have been green when 

 first placed there, as some of the twigs forming the nest had 

 leaves attached to them. The nest was placed in a fork of 

 small " Jamoon" {Eugenia jamholana) tree, in thin forest on 

 the edge of a " pathar," and about 30 feet off the ground.— 

 J. E. C] 



In British Burmah, I only know for certain of its having 

 been found in the central and southern portions of Tenasserim 

 and in Arakan. 



59.— Elanus caeruleus, Desf. 



Practically unknown in the hills, but probably numeri- 

 cally the most abundant Raptor in the Kopum Thull and 

 the Manipur basin. 



About the end of February they were about in families, and 

 one day near Langtabal, the old capital, I came upon two old 

 birds and four young ones (the latter full grown but with 

 the entire upper plumage white tipped), each perched on one 

 of the outer sprays of an isolated bamboo clump. The wind 

 was blowing and they were being swung about, but they sat 

 as if enjoying the swing. I shot the old male as he sat, on 

 which the old female flew away, but the four young ones kept 

 darting down distinctly trying to lift the body of their father 

 that was lying breast uppermost on the short green turf on 

 which it fell. Then I shot one of the young ones, but still 

 the other three kept darting down, trying to rouse the fallen 

 birds. This kept on for several minutes, and even Avhen I 

 walked up and picked up the slain, the three survivors kept 

 hovering round me and darting down to my hands — on the one 

 hand perfectly fearless, on the other without any attempt 

 to strike me. Not satisfied with this they and the mother 

 who joined them but kept out of shot followed me, hovering 

 round and round at a gradually increasing distance for fully 

 a mile. 



I never saw any birds of prey behave thus before. Generally 

 they were very tame, and, as a rule, let you pass the tree 

 on which they were sitting as close as you liked without 

 moving. Very often even, though you stopped within 20 yards 

 and stared at them, they would not take the trouble of rising. 

 Throughout the plains portion of Cachar, Sylhet, and the valley 



3 



