n parental duties. The
breeding season of these birds begins in October or November and ends
in February or March. The nest, which is placed high up in a lofty
tree, is a large platform composed of twigs which the birds themselves
break off from the growing tree. Much amusement may be derived from
watching the struggles of a white-backed vulture when severing a tough
branch. Its wing-flapping and its tugging cause a great commotion in
the tree. The boughs used by vultures for their nests are mostly
covered with green leaves. These last wither soon after the branch has
been plucked, so that, after the first few days of its existence, the
nest looks like a great ball of dead leaves caught in a tree.

The nurseries of birds of prey can be described neither as picturesque
nor as triumphs of architecture, but they have the great merit of
being easy to see. January is the month in which to look for the
eyries of Bonelli's eagles (_Hieraetus fasciatus_); not that the
search is likely to be successful. The high cliffs of the Jumna and
the Chambal in the Etawah district are the only places where the nests
of this fine eagle have been recorded in the United Provinces. Mr. A.
J. Currie has found the nest on two occasions in a mango tree in a
tope at Lahore. In each case the eyrie was a flat platform of sticks
about twice the size of a kite's nest. The ground beneath the eyrie
was littered with fowls' feathers and pellets of skin, fur and bone.
Most of these pellets contained squirrels' skulls; and Mr. Currie
actually saw one of the parent birds fly to the nest 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 un