396 Journal of the Asiatic Society of BengaL [June, 1907. 



•' Fatehgar]) (N.W.P.), 9tli January and 4th February, eggs ; 

 Allahabad, 27th March, eggs ; Hansi, 5th and 28tli April, eggs ; 



the Punjab, May, eggs." The turumti attracts attention to its 



nest by its continuous angry cries when chasing away any kites 

 and crows that dare to ai^proach within a certain distance. The 

 young sometimes leave the nest before they are fully grown and 

 follow the parent-birds, uttering plaintive cries. Young birds 

 are caught in the Pan jab when they are strong on the win^ and 

 able to fend for themselves. ' Eyesses ' of course can easily be 

 obtained and * flown at hack ' for amusement, but * eyesses ' are, 

 of course, harder to train than wild-caught birds, and when 

 trained are inferior. 



In a wild state, tl)e Red-headed Merlin preys on small 



birds. I have seen it kill and eat bats in the dusk. Piobably, 

 too, it eats locusts. 



In the Panjab it is genei*ally trained to fly at the Indian 

 Roller ^ {Goracias tndwa). I have also taken with one, a few 

 European rollers {Coracias garrula)^ a quarry that is generally 

 supposed to be too difficult for it. In the Kapurthala State it used 

 occasionally to be trained to take paddy- birds at a time when there 

 was a great demand for 'aigrette feathers.' In some parts of 

 the Panjab it used to be trained to doves and hoopoes. The 

 latter bird, though a slow flier, is said to show better sport than 

 even the roller, and to shift from the stoop with marvellous 

 adroitness. The Turumti also kills mainas with the greatest 

 ease, and is said to be occasionally flown at quail and partridges. 

 It would certainly take partridges, for it is perhaps the pluckiest 

 of all the falcons, and when excited or angry does not seem to 

 know what size means. 



I have known one, disappointed at the lure, to bind to the 

 pagrl of the falconer, chattering angrily the while. The same 

 bird, tired of stooping at the lure, fastened on to a pony that 

 was grazing close by, and though the pony rushed off, the hawk 

 did not loosen its hold. 



I once bought a very good turumti that killed rollers well : 

 it had been trained to a large white lure made of paddy-birds' 



1 Called sahzah in Kupurthala, chdhdn in the Derajat, nU-lcardsh in 

 Kaahtoir, and ml-lcanth or *' bine-throat " in Oudh and by Hindus generally. 

 It is a messenger of Sita Ji, and is sacred to Shiva ; the sight of it is 

 auspicious to a dying Hindu, or, on Dnsserah, to any Hindu, Hence fowlers 

 catch it for Hindaa to liberate. 



It is easily and qnickly caught in a hdl-chatrl with a ghu*dn or " mole- 

 cricket " as a bait : Jerdou says that a field-mouse is sometimes substituted, 



Paddy-birds {Ardeola grayii), and night-herons (Nycticorax griseus)^ for 

 ' trains; are usually caught on their nests in the following manner :— A 

 fcoop of thin willow or other wood is made, six or seven inches in diameter. 

 Another wooden hoop is fastened like a croquet hoop in an upright position 

 to this, the height of the standing hoop at its highest point being eight or 

 nme inches. Four horse-hair nooses, made of several horse hairs twisted 

 together, are suspended in line from the upright hoop so that each noose 



^T^ ^"TI^^l^ ^^^ °^^®^' "^^^ *^^P ^^^^ prepared is placed on the nest of 

 the paddy-bird, which is snared by the neck on re-entering its nest. 



4 r 



