286 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVII. 



open ground, below which is a small lake and below 

 that again the Cantonments. Further away to the left 

 is a \illage mth a wide extent of cultivation, and down 

 below there is an unrestricted view of the low-lying 

 hills of Kangra and the plains. 



On a much lopped oak tree, at one corner of the 

 chfEs, the Shaheen is to be found any afternoon, 

 between the months of March and the middle of 

 May. 



Thereafter she vanishes to re-appear again in 

 September. Her pet tree commands a magnificent 

 view and no pigeon can fly anywhere in the Canton- 

 ments, nor dove aUght in the village fields, which 

 escapes her all seeing eyes. 



Periodically she leaves her perch and makes a cir- 

 cuit of the hill, as if bored with nothing to do, return- 

 ing within ten minutes or quarter of an hour, to her 

 own perch. 



From this coign of vantage it is a treat to see her 

 give chase. If you watch her on her j)erch for a few 

 minutes you will see her head bob uj) and down as 

 though focussing the eyes on some distant object. 



Suddenlj', with a spasmodic movement her "^vings 

 half open and she gets lower on her perch, as though 

 preparing for a spring. Thus she sits for a few seconds 

 with her wings still half open, being blown about in 

 the breeze, her eyes fixed straight ahead of her and 

 downwards and the head shoots up and down as though 

 on springs. As suddenly she changes her mind, draws 

 up her wings and sits bolt uj)right, but only for an 

 instant. Again her wings half open and her mind is 

 made up and off she goes. With fast beating wings 

 she rises steadity, but in a different direction to that 

 in which she had preAdously been looldng. Up and 

 up she goes then suddenly turns and shoots down hke 

 an arrow at incredible speed. The stoop is, how- 

 ever, not that of the trained falcon, mth wings tightly 

 glued to the body, but a succession of such stoops 

 intercepted by moments of wildly vibrating wings 

 hurling and pushing her through the air at ever in- 

 creasmg speed. Down, down she comes missing the 

 top of a rhododendron bush by inches and with a great 

 sv/ish, a streak passes within a few feet and rises 

 straight up into the blue sky, for two or three himdred 

 feet without a cheek, then the wings open wide and 

 the falcon circles two or three times and then flies off 

 to her old perch. 



The Merhn is the only other falcon that follows its 

 quarrj' in this way, and somewhat resembles the 

 ordinary flight of a wagtail or sparrow, except that 

 it is not so undulating but much more direct. 



The Shaheen arrives at her hunting grounds at 

 about four o'clock and if not successful in procuring 

 her dinner earlier, will be seen hunting bats, as a last 

 resort, well after sunset. 



