THE BRAHMINY KITE 193 
addition to the local fauna, and they show their dislike 
in no uncertain way, as a cockatoo, which recently 
escaped from captivity in Madras, discovered. The 
Brahminy kite is very fond of hearing its own voice, 
which is best described as a disagreeable squeal. It is 
uttered while the bird is on the wing. 
The nest is built high up in a tree, often a palm-tree. 
It is not much of a structure if regarded from an archi- 
tectural point of view; nevertheless, it is less bulky and 
less untidy than the nursery of its plebeian cousin, the 
pariah kite. It is composed of sticks roughly put 
together and lined with leaves or mud. The eggs are 
dirty white, sometimes splotched or speckled with 
reddish brown. The Brahminy kite rejoices in a great 
variety of names. Many Anglo-Indians call it the fish- 
hawk. Mr. Thomas Atkins calls it the bramley kite, 
which is his way of pronouncing Brahminy kite! 
The Mohammedan name for the bird is Ru-Mudarik, 
which, being translated, means “lucky face.” The bird 
is so called from a superstition that, when two armies 
are about to enter into an engagement, the appearance 
of one of these auspicious birds over the head of either 
of the armies means victory to that side. Now, since 
there must be quite a dozen Brahminy kites hovering 
over every army in the field in India, each side should 
always go into battle feeling cocksure of success. 
Garuda is the Hindu name for the bird, which is sacred 
to Vishnu. That god selected the bird as his vehicle, 
and it would be impossible to imagine a finer steed; but 
the bird, of course, is not up to weight. 
Mr. P. V. Trivikrama Rau writes in the “ Calcutta 
fe) ‘ 
