472 



boats, carrying their plates filled with beef and rice, a flock of kites 

 assailed them, darting like so many arrows on the laden platters, and 

 bearing away the contents : the sight created great mirth iu those 

 who had dined. One poor woman, from the clayey nature of the soil, 

 was unable to extricate herself, and stood there with out-stretched 

 arms, begging for assistance as each successive kite darted down on 

 her plate, until they completely devoured her dinner. It is won- 

 derful the unerring accuracy with which these birds dart on their 

 food : as soon as a piece of flesh is thrown on the ground, down darts 

 a kite and seizes it with his talons, devouring it as it sails away ; 

 and so daring and undaunted are they, that, in the case of the poor 

 washerman, his wife was obliged to stand over him with a stick, which 

 she waved over his head during the remainder of the meal. 



The Kite's nest is built of twigs lined with wool or any soft sub- 

 stance. The eggs are white, with rust-coloured streaks on the larger 

 end. They generally build near the native towns and villages, par- 

 ticularly on the chunar trees in the Valley of Cashmere. They 

 commit great havoc among young poultry and tame pigeons, which 

 they torment to death by chasing them, until, worn out, the pigeon 

 falls to the ground, and is soon despatched by his relentless enemy. 



13. Circus .eruginosus (Linnaeus). 

 Moor Buzzard. 



India. Common. 



14. Circus swainsonii, Smith. 

 Punjab ; Scinde. Pretty common. 



15. Circus montagui, Vieillot. 



Punjaub and lower range of the Western Himalayas. Common. 



16. Poliornis teesa (Franklin). 



Around Poonah in the Deccan pretty common ; not seen in the 

 Punjab or Western Himalayas. 



17. Elanus melanopterus, Daudin. 

 Scinde and Punjab. Favourite food, mice. 



18. Circaetus gallicus, Gmelin. 



Bombay, Bengal. Common in the Punjab, particularly in the 

 north-west, near Rawul Pindee. 



19. Falco peregrinus, Linnaeus. 



Used by the Mahrattas for hawking. Inhabits Scinde. I found 

 a nest on a tree on the banks of the Indus below Ferozepore, con- 

 taining two young. On dissecting a specimen shot in Scinde, I found 

 large coils of a species of Round Worm of about the thickness of a 

 packthread, and 8 to 12 inches in length. Although the abdo- 

 minal cavity was infested with them, the bird appeared plump and 

 in good condition. 



