88 
NATURE NOTES. 
screech loudly when they are approached, and peck with con- 
siderable force. The natives dash forward to seize them with 
great caution, and usuall}^ lay hold of the neck, when they at 
once despatch them — or, as they say, render them “ Hallal,” in 
the orthodox Mahomedan fashion. 
In some parts of the country the natives use hawks to catch 
these birds, and those usually flown at them are called “ bhairi ” 
{Falco calidus), and the “ churgh ” {Falco saker). In rare in- 
stances the “ baz,” answering to our goshawk [Astur palum- 
harius), is trained for the purpose ; but so difficult and tedious 
is the task of teaching them, that when successful it is customary 
for the rajah of the country to give a handsome reward to the 
fortunate trainer. The tiercelet, or male of the “ baz,” is a 
much smaller bird, and is never trained for the purpose. The 
natives call this hawk the “jura.” 
The ryots naturally have their legends connected with these 
cranes, as indeed they have with the parrot, crow, and other 
birds of the country. Doubtless many of your readers are 
acquainted with these, from the various interesting folk-lore 
tales that have been published from time to time. 
One little tradition shall here suffice ; — A peafowl of the 
district accosted one of these cranes, and began to taunt him 
with his roving, gad-about propensities, saying, “ Either your 
country must be a good-for-nothing place to live in, or you must 
be a greedy lot not to be content with what you have there.” 
The crane replied, “ You bibble-babble, it is neither one thing 
nor the other, but rather that we have been brought up to believe 
that there is no part of God’s earth kept exclusively for any one, 
so we go where we like under His protection ; but as for you, 
you rusticate in a corner and are therefore devoid of sense.” 
This legend, it is said, had its effect on a rajah of the country 
who lived many years ago, and who expressed himself in these 
words: — “ Truly these birds come to us as guests, and must be 
hospitably entertained as such, and henceforth the order is that 
none of these ‘ perdeesies,’ or foreigners, shall, under any cir- 
cumstances, be molested.” And the order was strictly obeyed 
during his reign. 
J. F. A. McNair. 
A Tame Great Tit. — During this winter a great tit came frequently to the 
window for coco-nut and nuts, and was so wonderfully tame that he would come 
inside on the sill to take pieces of hazlenut, and at last would take bits out of 
our fingers ; he was not at all particular as to who gave him the nut, and he 
would take it from quite strangers. He came many times a day, and would 
often let us know he was there by peering into the window, and sometimes by 
fluttering close to the pane. He did this for about four or five weeks, and then 
his visits became less frequent and finally ceased, and as far as we could tell, he 
was but one of the many great tits who were constantly at the window for fat 
and other good things. We sadly feared that his nut food must have disagreed 
with him, and that it was an afflicting case of “ wild nature killed hy kindness.” 
Frensham. L. F. M. 
