THE INDIAN PARIAH KITE. 461 



behave, and then my advent caused immediate alarm. Both 

 the male and female Kites would hover about excitedly just 

 above my head, and if I approached, however cautiously, too near 

 the spot where the nest was, they swooped down quite close 

 to me, as if threatening to attack. 



The male bird invariably sat on the terrace, probably 

 keeping sentry over the nest against possible invaders of its 

 kind. I have never found it in closer proximity to the nest. 

 At certain times in the day it was not there, being away most 

 probably in search of food. I have noticed the absence of the 

 female too for short periods, doubtless on the same errand as 

 its mate. 



On the morning of the 4th February, i. e. after an incubation 

 of about three weeks' duration, I found that one egg was hatched. 

 The young one was somewhat larger than a newly-hatched 

 chicken. It had the usual amount of downy feathers, of an 

 ashy hue, distributed over the body. The beak was very promi- 

 nent, exhibiting markedly the characteristic curve of its species. 

 When any kind of noise was made within its hearing it would 

 feebly flutter its tiny wings, and behave as do young birds when 

 a morsel is offered to them. The mother-bird was generally 

 away in the mornings in search of food — a fact I knew from 

 the circumstance that upon its return I invariably found bits 

 of bone and other offal lying near the nest. The male was 

 always somewhere near during these intervals of absence of 

 its mate, for no sooner did I show myself at the window, 

 then it would appear hovering about in front of the nest in 

 a threatening manner, and, with its shrill piercing tones, 

 endeavour to frighten me away. This it would never desist 

 doing until I disappeared. 



On the morning of the 7th I found the other egg was hatched, 

 i. e. on the third day after the first one. This bird was smaller 

 than its companion, which was all the difference that could be 

 traced, and it appeared that they did not show nearly so much 

 vitality as the young of other birds do directly after the}' 

 have emerged from their eggs. They were usually to be seen 

 nestled together asleep, and only when being fed or disturbed 

 did they utter their feeble cries. I was not able to deter- 

 mine exactly whether the mother fed its young at regular 



