THE BUiDS OF PREY OF THE PUNJAB. 



289 



Measwrements. 



Habits, etc. 



of head white, with a few dark shafts beneath the eye; 

 upper plumage from the nape brown with an ashy 

 tmge ; quills the same ; inner webs of primaries, 

 except near the end, with broad white bars, tail 

 brown, middle feathers unbarred and pale tipped, 

 outer feathers with whitish bars on the inner webs and 

 white tips ; lower parts white, a few dark streaks, 

 wanting in very old birds, on the breast, and spots 

 on the abdomen; flanks and outer thigh-coverts 

 chiefly brown. (Blanford). 



'' Young bu-ds are almost brown throughout, the 

 chin and throat white, and some white on the fore- 

 head, sides of head, breast and lower tail-coverts, 

 buff instead of white on quills and inner webs of tail 

 feathers. There is a gradual disappearance of the 

 brown on the lower parts with successive moults." 

 (Blanford). 



" Bill greyish blue, the tip blackish ; cere yellow in 

 adults, greenish grey in young birds ; irides dark 

 brown ; legs and feet yellow, pale plumbeous to dull 

 greenish grey in the young (Hume) " (Blanford). 



Length of female about 18 inches ; tail 8 ; wing 14 ; 

 tarsus 2 ; mid-toe without claw 1 ' 8 ; bill from gape 

 r25: of a male, length 16 ; tail T'o; wing 12*5. 

 (Blanford). 



The Laggar Falcon is widely distributed throughout 

 India and is generally to be found in open plains, over 

 scrub and thin jungle and the vicinity of cultivation 

 and villages. It ascends the lower hills to an altitude 

 of about 3,000 ft. but is seldom seen near heavy for- 

 ests. It preys on a variety of small birds, from part- 

 ridges downwards and may often be seen hunting bats 

 in the evening. Laggars usually hunt in pairs and 

 are past masters in following s^Dortsmen near a snipe 

 jheel, or when after quail. I witnessed a beautiful 

 chase one day after a snipe, in the Kangra valley, but 

 the snijie got away in the end. 



Mr. Hume describes how a pair of these birds followed 

 him every time he went out quail shooting near their 

 haunts and used to stoop at the quails his party put 

 up. '■ This did not happen once or twice " says Mr. 

 Hume, " or even during one or two seasons, it was 

 regularly the case for the four or five successive years, 

 that I remember the birds returning to their favourite 

 tree." 



I have noticed this <raiY more than once, in places 

 which are often shot over. 



In the air the Laggar can usually be recognised by 

 his very white breast and dark and white pattern on 

 the under surface of the wing, and of course by the fact 

 that two are generally seen together. The Tunmiti 

 or Red-headed Merlin is the only other of the po nted 

 long-winged birds wliich hunt in couples, and this 

 species also has a white breast, but there is a vast dif- 

 ference in the size and the Laggar looks U t mes 

 bigger. 



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