Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-03-22
| WILD LIFE OF INDIA
INTERESTS PRINCE
Strange Birds Are Swooping
Here and There, Even
in Towns.

London. March 21.--The correspon-
dent OF the Times. with the Prince OF
Wales. writing from one OF the camps
In India. says one of tho fasclnations
OF that land is its wild life. 1t Is n novel
experience to be having tea on n
racecoursc lawn. when great kite
swoops down. and with n rush and
swirl OF wings. picks the largest of
the sugar coated cakes from the table
and is of with Il again into tho blue.
In clubs | have become used To crows
coming in and sitting on the chandelier
in the writing room and making what
sound like insulting remarks until you
throw balls OF paper at them. In
large shops you may see tame mon
gooses running about the floor, much
more efficient than any cat, In Luck
now l az nearly as possible killed n
jackal with my motor car On mere dog
would have been doomcd). and on a
road In the punjab "A small deer chin
kara. raced ahead of me for mile. a.
a hare will at home.
But Il IN the birds that strike tho
visitor most, and are most bewilder.
ing: and OF the birds the crow-~ths
gray crow. for there is another raver
like black "corbie"--is most shameless,
and omniprcsent. Ry ono OF tho eccen
tricities Of scientific nomenclature IN,
Indian crow narrowly escaped bcin,
known as the shameless one Coryui
impudicus. But 1t did escape; and II nov
parades MS Corvus splendcns; and n,
other bird could possibly have don,
such n thing, Wiser" It has beer
called. than any man"-quovis HON
Inc sCientior--and it Is the embodimen
Of sanctimonious slyness. silent ant
secretlVe when bent on larceny. an,
at other times Clamorously proclaim
ing its Virturcs TO the world, so thA
all over India. whatever other nois
is going on. there Is. ~ you listen. nj
ways audible an under current.
background. q running accompaniment
OF Cawing.
Denl,ens Of the Air.
Next 10 the crows are the kites. tn
great scavengers tower jealous. Il ma
he, in the matter OF sugar coated cake
and such things). even ss thoy ono
were we know. the scaVengers OF Lor
don. IL is impossible not 90 regret the
disappearance, FOR the mere beauty ,
their flight. No bird. gull ar eagl
moves with such apparent cTortlcs'
ness; none offers so fascinating
study as do the kites steering method
with "a tail SO mobile that you ma
frequently see Il turned apparent
exactly vertically 20 the plane os q
body and wings, II needs clever stee
ing 10 swoop from the sky and light
pick a cake of a plate between ~
people sitting at Il small tea table.
And next 10 the kites the Nulturc
sCavcngcrS also. and therefore spare
looking beautiful as thcy circle. higl
or than the kites, tn the sky hut horr
, AZ close quarters and most horrid
, all when feeding in. parties ON son
dead horse or other Carriop. You mas
! walk up to n eorged birt-gray back
I vllture, king Vulture or neophron
, until you could almost Kick IL. wins
, il Will scramble mmpishly few var
p away. But most dreadful is the vultu
\ in certain cities where there is OF
place-one only--where you are su
r to see them in plenty. The comm,
4 StaNtntlNt OF tuEeL ana utltN lu'
leave 10 the crows and kites. paris
dos and jackal. Their loathsome fee
ing place Is at the Towers OF SilenC
where the dead of the Parsis are g
posed 10 the sky. For the Parsis W
, not. desecrate the holy elements
contact with mortality; not the ear
by buryinE their dead. the water
giving them 10 the flood, or the q
5 by burning them. SO. CirCling !n q
air and perched on trees and hou
tops. you Will see the Nultures gau
cred where the Towers OF Silence a.
But the other birds-paddy bird
, cattle. egrets. drongos. bulbuls. maj
y pie robins, parrots, bee eaters and u
3 rest, \ bee eater, all besutiful en
0 erald and bronze sheen. sat on my te
q ropes one morning some eight or nil
feet from me. and J watched IL cate
;, with quick flycatcher-llke swool
D some half dozen bees or plum
D hluebottles in succession. and sur
: ly" l said 10 myself. the love
c creature has had breakfast enough
q Thcn il caught one Of the largest siz
red dragoufies. Il took some minut
Of beating it against the ropes befc
: the bird succeeded in getting q
= fragonfiy right way on for swallo'
= ing Then it did IT, Where Z
dragoufy can possibly have fou