THE KITE 187 
individual differences of the two former being forgotten 
in face of a common foe. 
A kite’s nest is a very untidy affair. It is composed 
of coarse twigs, is sometimes lined with mud, and 
almost invariably contains a number of disgustingly 
dirty rags, some of which are utilized as lining for the 
nest ; most of them, however, appear to be regarded as 
ornaments, since they are allowed to hang down and 
flap in the wind. Rags are by no means the only 
trinkets to be found in the nest. Brickbats, and, in 
Northern India, pieces of Aunkur help to add to the 
beauty of the structure. 
Kites usually build their platform-like nests in the 
fork of a strong branch of a tree, but they sometimes 
nest on mosques, temples, and old buildings. December 
and January are the commonest nesting months, A 
kite’s nest is not a difficult object to see, being about 
three times the size of a football. The eggs are white 
in colour, splashed with red or brown. Two seem to 
be the usual number of a clutch. 
I have already remarked that kites are not possessed 
of a vast amount of brain-power, and when nesting their 
stupidity knows no bounds. A Calcutta kite was once 
discovered trying to hatch a pill-box! This perform- 
ance is, however, eclipsed by that of the kite which 
Mr. Littledale found sitting tight upon a hare’s skull. 
One can only surmise that these objects must originally 
have been stolen as ornaments for the nest. But the 
kite, having a short memory, soon forgot the history of 
the foreign object and then mistook it for an egg. 
Greater proof than this can scarcely be adduced to 
