A Bird Calendar for Northern India | Page 4

with a squirrel in its talons.
Bonelli's eagle, when sailing through the air, may be recognised by the
long, hawk-like wings and tail, the pale body and dark brown wings. It
soars in circles, beating its pinions only occasionally.
The majority of the tawny eagles (Aquila vindhiana) build their nests in
December. By the middle of January many of the eggs have yielded
nestlings which are covered with white down. In size and appearance
the tawny eagle is not unlike a kite. The shape of the tail, however,
enables the observer to distinguish between the two species at a glance.
The tail of the kite is long and forked, while that of the eagle is short
and rounded at the extremity. The Pallas's fishing-eagles (Haliaetus
leucoryphus) are likewise busy feeding their young. These fine birds
are readily identified by the broad white band in the tail. Their loud
resonant but unmelodious calls make it possible to recognise them
when they are too far off for the white tail band to be distinguished.
This species is called a fishing-eagle; but it does not indulge much in
the piscatorial art. It prefers to obtain its food by robbing ospreys, kites,
marsh-harriers and other birds weaker than itself. So bold is it that it

frequently swoops down and carries off a dead or wounded duck shot
by the sportsman. Another raptorial bird of which the nest is likely to
be found in January is the Turumti or red-headed merlin (Aesalon
chicquera). The nesting season of this ferocious pigmy extends from
January to May, reaching its height during March in the United
Provinces and during April in the Punjab.
As a general rule birds begin nesting operations in the Punjab from
fifteen to thirty days later than in the United Provinces. Unless
expressly stated the times mentioned in this calendar relate to the
United Provinces. The nest of the red-headed merlin is a compact
circular platform, about twelve inches in diameter, placed in a fork near
the top of a tree.
The attention of the observer is often drawn to the nests of this species,
as also to those of other small birds of prey and of the kite, by the
squabbles that occur between them and the crows. Both species of crow
seem to take great delight in teasing raptorial birds. Sometimes two or
three of the corvi act as if they had formed a league for the prevention
of nest-building on the part of white-eyed buzzards, kites, shikras and
other of the lesser birds of prey. The modus operandi of the league is
for two or more of its members to hie themselves to the tree in which
the victim is building its nest, take up positions near that structure and
begin to caw derisively. This invariably provokes the owners of the
nest to attack the black villains, who do not resist, but take to their
wings. The angry, swearing builders follow in hot pursuit for a short
distance and then fly back to the nest. After a few minutes the crows
return. Then the performance is repeated; and so on, almost ad
infinitum. The result is that many pairs of birds of prey take three
weeks or longer to construct a nest which they could have completed
within a week had they been unmolested.
Most of the larger owls are now building nests or sitting on eggs; a few
are seeking food for their offspring. As owls work on silent wing at
night, they escape the attentions of the crows and the notice of the
average human being. The nocturnal birds of prey of which nests are
likely to be found in January are the brown fish-owl (_Ketupa

ceylonensis) and the rock and the dusky horned-owls (Bubo
bengalensis and B. coromandus_). The dusky horned-owl builds a stick
nest in a tree, the rock horned-owl lays its eggs on the bare ground or
on the ledge of a cliff, while the brown fish-owl makes a nest among
the branches or in a hollow in the trunk of a tree or on the ledge of a
cliff.
In the Punjab the ravens, which in many respects ape the manners of
birds of prey, are now nesting. A raven's nest is a compact collection of
twigs. It is usually placed in an isolated tree of no great size.
The Indian raven has not the austere habits of its English brother. It is
fond of the society of its fellows. The range of this fine bird in the
plains of India is confined to the North-West Frontier Province Sind,
and the Punjab.
An occasional pair of kites may be seen at work nest-building during
the present month.
Some of the sand-martins (Cotyle sinensis), likewise, are engaged in
family duties. The river bank in which a colony of