460 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



THE INDIAN PARIAH KITE (M1LVUS GOVINDA) : 

 A RECORD OF OBSERVATIONS MADE DURING 

 THE NESTING PERIOD. 



By J. S. Costello. 



An unique opportunity having presented itself for watching 

 the habits of this bird during nesting, it was suggested that I 

 should take notes of all the observations I made. The spot 

 selected for the nest was the corner of a narrow abutting wall just 

 below a window casement, so that I could without any difficulty 

 have a close view of it at all times. 



The nest I found was a heterogeneous medley of branches, 

 bones, twigs, old pieces of cloth, leaves, and a few bones. This 

 is curious in the light that the nests of most birds, with perhaps 

 the exception of the Indian Crow, are usually composed of the 

 branches and twigs of trees. I am unable to say definitely how 

 long the process of completing the nest took, but it must have 

 been over a week, as I had for many days noticed a gradual 

 increase of the above-mentioned refuse, though at the beginning 

 I had no idea as to how it originated. The event occurred in 

 January, from which I infer that it is during the spring months 

 of the year that this species of Indian Kite lays its eggs. 



Unfortunately, in the present case I have not been able to 

 determine the exact day on which the eggs were laid. I found 

 two in the nest. To all appearance they resemble a large-sized 

 fowl's egg. I noticed that the female did not incubate con- 

 tinuously all day. Occasionally I have seen it perched on the 

 terrace of the building, occupying a position whence it could 

 plainly see its nest, and when I opened the window it would 

 come sweeping down, or, if in the nest, fluttered away, 

 shrieking all the time, and circling about in front of its nest. 

 This it would continue to do until the window was closed, 

 when it settled down peacefully in its nest. On two or three 

 occasions I went on the terrace to ascertain how it would 



