56 WANDERINGS OF A 



grinds his little hand-mill to make flour for his badgeree 

 cakes, which, with a slight addition of curry, are washed 

 down hy the muddy water of the Indus. Yet in point of 

 strength, and power of endurance, few surpass him. 



The Indian owl {Athene hrama) is numerous in the 

 jungles. 



The first time I met with the raven (Oorvus corax) in 

 the East was on the banks of the Jndus, some distance above 

 Suckur. 



Daily during the remainder of the boat voyage, and until 

 we reached Ferozepoor, numbers of ravens, crows, jackdaws, 

 and bald-headed eagles, assembled on the debris of the cattle 

 slaughtered for our use. 



On these occasions I witnessed the daring sallies of the 

 govind-kite. One afternoon, in particular, when the 

 steamer was drawn up by the river's bank, a native was 

 eating his " curry," when down dropped a kite, and, by 

 means of its talons, actually tore the wings of a fowl from his 

 mouth, devouring the capture as it sailed away. Great was 

 the poor man's . amazement, but his wife, who seemed to 

 understand the habits of the govind-kite better than her 

 husband, seized a stick, which she brandished over his head 

 during the rest of the meal. 



On a subsequent occasion, during our voyage up the 

 Sutluj, we halted on a wet and sandy beach for the purpose 

 of cooking. As the soldiers and their wives were returning 

 to the vessel, carrying their plates of beef and rice, a flock of 

 kites assailed them ; darting, like so many arrows, on the 

 laden platters, and bore off the contents. The sight was 

 ludicrous in the extreme. One woman, from the clayey 

 nature of the soil, was unable to extricate her feet, and 

 * It is ill eveiy respect identical with the European bird. 



