MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 397 



and only a day or two old. As the down plumage is not described in the 

 Fauna of British India I append a description. 



13^A April 1913, Camp Chakwal Tahsil. I found a nullah near my camp 

 which ended in a miniature cliff basin — the sides being formed of low 

 sandstone cliffs worn into ledges. As I looked down into the basin from on 

 top of the cliff a Lugger tiercel dashed away from one of the ledges below 

 me ; however the only nest I could see was an untidy Neopheon's on which 

 the old bird was brooding a single egg. Walking round the cliff' on one side 

 of the basin 1 caught sight of the Lugger Falcon squatting on a ledge of 

 the opposite cliff. I could not make out what she was doing as there 

 was no nest and beside her was something white. Field glasses were 

 taken out and shewed that she was brooding young birds in down ; 

 crossing over I was able to walk up the debris at the base of the cliff 

 to within a few feet of the ledge — the bird not moving until a stone 

 was thrown up. The ledge was then reached and 5 young birds in 

 down but with the quill feathers sprouting well were found lying on the 

 sand and pebbles that strewed the ledge. There was no vestige of a 

 nest and there was no nest in the nullah from which they might have 

 been removed. The nestings were noisy when moved and inclined to 

 resent being touched. I took one of them and reared it successfully, 

 so for purposes of reference I have recorded below a full description 

 of the 1st plumage. 



nth Ajjril 1913, Banks of S. JJielum. Went to examine a nest of Halicetus 

 leucorijphus which had been reported. I arrived to find it an enormous 

 structure at the top of a large cotton tree which was only scaled with the 

 greatest difficulty. When I arrived a Lugger Falcon was perched near the 

 nest and she kept on coming back to the tree and perching and calling, 

 or making vicious stoops at the Parrakeets and doves that were in the tree. 

 Indeed I felt sure that she had a nest near and would have suspected her 

 of appropriating the Eagle's nest, had not my informant assured me that 

 he saw the Eagle at the nest daily — so much for the veracity of the native ! 

 When the nest was reached it was found to contain the Lugger's two 

 eggs — moderately incubated. She had not troubled to remove various 

 relics of the real owners of the nest — a fish skeleton, and the beak and 

 portion of the leg bones of a Heron. 



For the sake of completeness in describing the various nesting sites used 

 by this falcon I include the following nest though it was not found in 

 Jhelum District. 



25th February 1912. Jellalabad, Ferozepore District. — Close to my camp 

 there was a nest of the Lugger Falcon in a kikm tree ; this was a large 

 bulky structure placed on a sloping bough at no very great distance from 

 the ground ; contained 3 fresh eggs. The male was caught in a net baited 

 with a live bird ; the female continued to haunt the nest after the eggs 

 were taken. 



Description of Down Plmnage. — Colour of skin plumbeous bluish-grey ; 

 moderately well covered with white down, very slightly tinged with grey ; 

 young quills contained in blue black cases. Iris, brown ; bill, cere, and 

 eyelids, dull plumbeous blue; tarsus and feet, dull plumbeous grey ; claws 

 blackish, egg tooth, very small, white. 



Descriptioji of first jilumage. — Age about one month. The entire head 

 and neck are pale buff' with a creamy almost pinkish tinge and marked 

 with dark-brown as follows : — the forehead with very narrow shaft streaks ; 

 the crown with broad shaft streaks, the feathers being almost entirely 

 brown in two patches above the supercilia ; a narrow line above the eye 

 below the bare ledge ; a slight patch below the front of the eye, continued 

 below the gape in moustachial streaks that meet the dark breast ; a broad 



