110 BLACK-WINGED KITE. 



districts. Its general food is insects, (chiefly grasshop- 

 pers and locusts,) lizards, and mice. I shot one in 

 Goomsoor which was devouring the carcass of a dove; 

 this however appeared to have been dead some time, 

 and I doubt if it was killed by the Kupasee. It often 

 frequents long grass and grain-fields, over which it may 

 be seen to hover like the Kestrel." 



Mr. Hodgson says, "The Chanwa or Black-wing 

 quests chiefly in the morning and evening, feeding 

 upon small birds, insects, and mice. It does not usually 

 seize upon the wing, though its hunting be for the 

 most part by continual questing. Commonly it is seen 

 skimming the cultivation like a Circus, occasionally 

 poising itself on the wing for the purpose of getting a 

 distincter view of some mouse, small bird, or insect 

 which has stirred on its beat, and upon which, when 

 clearly perceived, k stoops perpendicularly with the 

 speed of lightning. After a while it will resort to some 

 low roost, and when relieved commence another excur- 

 sion, or perchance sit and watch there for its prey. 

 Its forward flight is easy, low, and silent, but very 

 effective in evolution when exertion is required to cap- 

 ture such nimble game as mice, which constitute its 

 ordinary food. 



It frequently whips off insects from the stalks of 

 standing grain, and this feat is of course accomplished 

 on the wing. 



I have also seen the Chanwa pursue Cuckoos and 

 Sparrows with uncommon energy, but I never witnessed 

 it strike a bird in the air. 



The Chanwa doubtless can and sometimes does seize 

 its feathered prey on the wing." 



It will be seen from the above that the food of this 

 bird is not, as stated by Temminck, exclusively insects. 



