[ 33 1 
The Vultures inhabit I he tropical and subtropical parts 
of the Eastern Hemisphere* and though they abound throughout 
India and Northern Burma, they are of rare occurrence in the 
northern parts of the Malay Peninsula, and none have so far 
been recorded from the South, There are none in the collection. 
The Hawks and Eagles are a large and cosmopolitan 
family. Their general Malay name is ' Burong lang.' The 
most common of the local forms is the Besra Sparrow Hawk 
{Accipiter virgatus), called 'Burong sewah belalang ' or ' Burong 
lang rajawali ' by the Malays. Boys here greet it with the 
rhyme 
" Lang lang rajawali 
Malam malam churi kuali," 
In India this bird is trained for hawking* much as the some- 
what larger Common Sparrow Hawk (Accipiter msus) was for- 
merly in England, —The Christmas Island Hawk {Astur mtalis) 
is common on that island. It exceeds, if anything, the other 
birds of that place in its stupid curiosity, allowing itself to be 
knocked down with sticks, A group of four of them is exhibi- 
ted. — The Serpent Eagle or Lang borek {Spilorms bacha\ feeds 
upon snakes and lizards. It ts easily distinguished by its long 
crest and the large white spots on its shoulders and lower 
parts,~The White-bellied Sea Eagle, Burong lang siput or 
B. lang Jaut {Haliaetus kucogaster) is the largest of local 
Eagles, It feeds on fish and water birds. It is frequently seen 
at the Impounding Reservoir, Thomson Road, from , which 
locality two not quite mature specimens are exhibited, their 
under parts being mottled white and brown. The old ones are 
pure white below, like the two magnificient specimens from the 
Bindings, presented by Mr. R.J. Wilkinson,— Another common, 
but handsome bird is the Brahminy Kite or B- lang merah 
{Haliiutur indus), often seen in the harbour and elsewhcrct so 
conspicuous with its chestnut-red wings and white head, neck 
and breast. It too lives chiefly on fish. It is consecrated to 
the Hindu God Vishnu. — The Pariah Kite {Milvus govinda) is 
exceedingly common in India, nearly as much as the crow* and 
acts there as scavenger in towns and villages. But it is rare on 
the Malay Peninsula. — The Slender-billed Pern or Asiatic Bat 
Hawk {Machaeramphus alcmus), the B. lang malam of the 
Malays, Is a handsome bird, with a long crest and bl^ck plumage. 
Only its throat and the middle of its breast are white. It shows 
itself mostly at dusk.— The Honey Buzzards live on the larvae 
of bees and wasps which they tear out of the corabs, and as 
protection against the stings of the adult insects they have 
