294 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HLST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVII. 



are very easily tamed and can be taught to " wait on " 

 at great heiglits and have been used in the pursuit of 

 larks, etc., a good deal. 



This species breeds in the Himalayas and the finding 

 of the nest has been recorded (in the Journal of the 

 B. N. H. Soc.) from various places. Lt.-Col. Rattray 

 found a nest on Mii'anjani in the Murree Hills and Mr. 

 A. E. Jones records nests from Simla (Vol. XXIV, 

 page 359). 



I have seen the bird in Kulu and in the hiEs behind 

 Dharmsala in mid-summer, so presumably it breeds 

 there though I have not, so far, found the nest. 



The nest is built in trees but the Hobby does not 

 appear to be averse to appropriating an old crow's 

 nest as this is what Mr. Jones had to say with regard 

 to his find — " The nest was on the outskirts of a 

 deodar forest placed 65 feet up a deodar {Cedrus deo- 

 darus) at an elevation of 6,000 ft. The nest was un- 

 doubtedly built by crows (C. macrohynchus) but the 

 hobbies had added a ' fence ' of thorny twings round 

 the brim. The Iming was fine rootlets, hair, grass 

 and small pieces of twine. A few of the hobbies' fea- 

 thers adhered to the nest. The eggs were slightly 

 incubated. Two eggs are of a dull salmon-pink ground, 

 evenly and finely speckled with liver red and some 

 blotches of the same shade sparsely distributed over 

 the surface. The third egg is a uniform bright brick 

 red with a few indistinct blotches of a deeper shade 

 collected at the larger end. The gizzard of the bird 

 contamed portions of a bird." 



Genus FAiiCO. 

 No. 1261. Falco severus. The Indian Hobbv. 



Characteristics. 



Colouration. 



Size small, wing about 111- ; tarsus under li ; mid- 

 toe without claw about T 35 ; "breast deep rufous, 

 unspotted in adults." 



Very similar to the preceding species ; the top and 

 sides of head and the back of the neck black, shading 

 to a dark slaty grey on the back. The tail dark gi-ey 

 with a blackish subterminal band, blackish, in the 

 yomig with grey cross-bands. 



" Chin, throat, and sides of neck white tmged with 

 rufous ; rest of lower parts, including the under wing- 

 coverts, deep ferruginous red." (Blanford). 



" Young birds are brownish black above, with light 

 rufous edges, broadest on the secondaries, upper tail- 

 coverts and tail ; a few rufous feathers scat- 

 tered over the nape ; breast, abdomen, and under 

 wing-coverts, deep rufous with black spots." (Blan- 

 ford). 



" Bill plumbeous ; irides deep brown ", cere, gape 

 and oribital skin lemon yellow ; legs and feet deep 

 yellow (Cripps). (Blanford). 



