HALIASTUB INDUS. 79 



about the fishermen's nets; about 4 or 5 p.m. they commenced to fly away one after the other to the north, 

 and, passing over the " Salt Lake," retired for the night to the forest between there and Peria Kulam. 



Altogether the habits of this bird are as singular as they are interesting, and tend to place it more among 

 the Kites than the true Sea-Eagles. Jerdon very aptly remarks, it may be considered either an aberrant form 

 of Haliaetus leading to the Kites, or an aberrant Kite leading to the Sea-Eagles : and this is the position 

 claimed for it in Mr. Bowdler Sharpe's ' Catalogue/ 



Nidification. — This species breeds in Ceylon in February and March, nesting in trees on the shores of salt 

 lagoons or paddy-fields. All the nests I have seen have been rather bulky structures, about the size of that of 

 Herodias alba, made of tolerably large sticks, and placed in a top branch of moderately-sized trees. The 

 number of eggs is usually two ; but mention is made in Mr. Hume's book on Indian oology of four in one 

 instance. The ground-colour is dull white, and the markings, which are scanty, consist of faded reddish or 

 reddish-grey dots, sometimes scattered over the surface, and occasionally confined to the obtuse end ; the 

 spottings in some are mixed with small streak-shaped blots; and one egg, taken by Mr. Mac Vicar in the 

 Western Province, has the appearance of being " dusted " all over with minute pale reddish specks. Five 

 Ceylonese specimens varied in length from 2 - 04 to T88 inch, and in breadth from V7 to T54. 



Layard states that this Kite makes several false nests, and that the male occupies one of them while the 

 female is incubating her eggs near at hand. The chick or nestling has a querulous twittering cry. Concerning 

 its nidification in India, Mr. Hume writes, " It almost invariably makes its nest in the neighbourhood of water, 

 building a rather large loose stick-structure, scarcely if at all distinguishable from those of the Common Kite 

 (M. govinda), high up in some large mango, tamarind, or peepul tree. The nest, which is from 18 inches 

 to 2 feet in diameter, and from 3 to 5 inches in depth, with a rather considerable depression internally, is 

 sometimes perfectly unlined, at other times has a few green leaves laid under the eggs, as in an Eagle's nest ; 

 but most commonly is more or less lined, or has the inner part of the nest intermingled with pieces of rag, 

 wool, human hair, and the like." 



