melodious 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 t