Page:The Common Birds of Bombay.djvu/31

 CHAPTER III.

THE KITES, BUZZARDS AND HARRIERS.

an easy and natural ascent we pass from the Vultures to the Kite. This bird also prefers to he saved the trouble of catching its prey, but it has not fallen so far from the freebooting traditions of its

stock as to relish the idea of sitting down upon a defunct cow for its meals. It turns its attention therefore to such corpses as may be carried away and consumed in private, to wit, rats, mice, small birds and even fishes. To find these it must sail at a lower level than the vulture, and it has no equal at