CALCUTTA Sl'AUROW-TIAWK. 195 



The Calcutta Sparrow-Hawk, or Brown's Hawk, is 

 well known as the Shikra, and is common throughout 

 the whole of India. "It frequents," says Mr. Jerdon, 

 ("Birds of India," p. 49, vol. i,) "open jungles, groves, 

 gardens, and avenues. It either takes a low stealthy 

 flight along the edges of a wood, garden, or hedgerow, 

 and pounces on any unwary bird or lizard, or soars 

 high in circles, and pounces down when it sees any 

 prey. Its general food appears to be lizards, but it 

 frequently seizes small birds, rats, or mice, and some- 

 times does not disdain a large grasshopper. It is more 

 commonly trained than any other Hawk in India. It 

 is very quickly and easily reclaimed, and though not 

 remarkable for speed, can yet seize quails and par- 

 tridges, if put up sufficiently close. It is, however, a 

 bird of great courage, and can be taught to strike a 

 large quarry, such as the common crow, the small 

 grey hornbill, the crow pheasant, ( Centropus,) young 

 pea-fowl, and small herons." 



"The Shikra breeds on trees from April to June, 

 making a large nest of sticks, and has usually four 

 eggs, white, much blotched with reddish brown." 



The adult male has the upper plumage dark slaty 

 brown, becoming at the end of the fourth or fifth 

 year more "pale ashy grey," (Jerdon;) rusty on the 

 shoulders and upper part of the scapularies; upper 

 tail coverts and tail paler. The first two tail feathers 

 unicolorous, the rest barred on their inner webs Avith 

 black and greyish fawn, the tips of the feathers 

 fawn-colour. Primaries dark brown, barred at their 

 base Avith brown on a fawn-coloured ground. Upper 

 wing coverts and scapularies dark brown; the tertiaries 

 white, variegated and broadly tipped with brown; 

 cheeks rusty; chin white, with a longitudinal stripe; 



