A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF NEPAL. 227 



55.—Haliastur Indus, Bodd. 



Male. — Length, 18"5 ; expanse, 48 ; wing, 14*3 ; tail, 8'8 ; 

 tarsus, 1*9 ; tarsus feathered in front, 0*7 ; bill from gape, 

 1'5 ', bill at front, 1"25; closed wings short of tail, 0*9 ; weight, 

 lib. 2*5ozs ; length of cere, 0-44, 



Female. — Length, 19"2; expanse, '50 ; wing, 15"35 ; tail, 9*15 ; 

 tarsus, 2 ; tarsus feathered in front, 0"75 ; bill from gape, 1'4 ; 

 bill at front, 1" 23 ; closed wings short of tail, 0"6 ; weight, lib 

 3*5ozs ; length of cere, 0*45. 



Bill pale greenish horny, bluish at base; cere clear yellow ; 

 gape and margins of eyelids plumbeous ; eyelids fleshy white ; 

 irides golden yellow in male, yellowish brown in female ; 

 feet greenish yellow ; claws black. 



Mr. Hume in " Rough Notes^' gives the bill of this bird as 

 black, and Mr. Sharpe (Catalogue I, p 314) says that the adult 

 bird has the cere and bill blackish brown. My specimens were 

 fully adult, and had the bill and cere coloured as above noted. 

 Both birds (shot in the valley of Nepal in August) have the black 

 shaft stripes on head, neck and breast very well marked ; the 

 shafts of the tail feathers, on the lower surface only, are white. 



The Brahminy Kite is very common in the plains and Tarai 

 of Nepal where it may be constantly seen hunting over rice 

 fields and marshy ground. In the valley of Nepal it was 

 observed in March, August and September in the neighbourhood 

 of tanks and hunting over rice-fields exactly after the manner 

 of a Circus. It can only be considered a straggler to the valley, 

 1 think. 



56.— Milvus govinda, Sykes. 



Five males. — Length, 23 to 24'7; expanse, 56 to 61"5 ; wing, 

 17-7 to 19-1, ■ tail, 11-5 to 12-5 ; tarsus, 2 to 2-2 ; tarsus feather- 

 ed in front, 0-9 to 1*3 ; bill from gape, 1-7 to 1*8 ; bill at 

 front, 1"45 to r55 ; closed wings from 2-2 short of end of tail 

 to 0*3 beyond; weight, lib. llozs. to 21bs. 



Three females. — Length, 24"3 to 26; expanse, 60 to 61; 

 wing, 18-7 to 19-8; tail, 12-3 to 13; tarsus, 2-15 to 2-25; 

 tarsus feathered in front, 1*15; bill from gape, 1*75 to 1"9; 

 bill at front, 1 "53 to 1*55; closed wings short of tail, 1*6 to 

 O'l ; weight, lib. 15ozs. to 21b8. 2ozs. 



Bill black ; grey horny at base of lower mandible ; cere and 

 gape greenish yellow ; irides hazel to dark brown ; feet lemon 

 yellow, in three specimens not mature greyish cream colour ; 

 claws black. 



Four nestlings shot from '2,'^tk April to 1st May. — Length, 

 22 to 23-5 ; expanse, 49-5 to 54; wing, 16 to 17-5 ; tail, 10 to 



