340 NOTES ON SOME BIRDS COLLECTED ON THE NILGHIRIS. 
54.—Circus eruginosus, Lin. The Marsh Harrier. 
This Harrier is not uncommon on the Nilghiris and their 
slopes. Usnally it keeps about marshy ground, but not unfre- 
quently it may be seen hunting over the grassy side of a hill, 
or dry cultivated ground. It is a bold fearless bird, and I have 
on more than one occasion seen one strike at wounded Snipe 
and Quail. Young birds are much more commonly met with 
than adults. 
55.—Haliastur ‘indus, Bodd. The Brahminy Kite. 
This species is not very numerous on the Nilghiris, It is 
much more common in the Waynaad, and one or more may be 
found in almost every paddy-field. Jerdon has given such an 
excellent description of the habits, &e., of this bird, that 
I can add nothing. A few pairs may always be found about 
the swampy shores of the lake at Ootacamund. If the nest or 
eges of this species are touched, often, if the nest is merely 
looked into, the birds will, as a rule, forsake the nest, breaking 
any eggs that there are in it. 
56.—Milvus govinda, Sykes. The Pariah Kite. 
From December till the commencement of the rains in 
June this species is common about Ootacamund, but very few 
are to be seen during the 8S. W. Monsoon. I have noticed the 
’ Kites about here very closely, but I haven’t seen either the 
~ large melanotis, Tem. and Schl. or the small afinis, Gould. 
Very tew indeed dreed on the Nilghiris. 
57.—Pernis ptilorhynchus, Zem. The Crested 
Honey Buzzard. 
Ihave never noticed this species on the plateau of the 
Nilghiris, or on the more elevated portion of the slopes, but 
it occurs on the lower portion of the slopes and through the 
Wynaad. I procured two females, one at Manantoddy and the 
other at Bandipur in Mysore, in both of which the crest was 
much more developed than in the mass of birds from Upper 
India. 
Both specimens had been feeding on honey and young 
pean ; and in one was the half-digested remains of a young 
snake. 
59.—Elanus ceruleus, Desf. The Black Winged 
Kite. 
. This species is rare on the hills. Some years ago I shot 
one at Neddivuttum, and my shikaree got another below 
