The Kite is not uncommon in most parts of Europe, from
the southern districts of Norway to the shores and islands
of the Mediterranean. In Sweden, though one of the earliest
birds to arrive in spring, it is said by Herr Wallengren not
to breed north of lat. 61°, and it is not known with certainty
to occur in Finland. Pallas says that it is common in the
more southern provinces of Russia, and winters on the
Lower Volga, but Professor Sundevall declares that this
statement is a mistake, and that it does not occur so far
to the east as, for instance, the Government of Kharkof,
north of the Sea of Azof. In Palestine and Lower Egypt
it is abundant in winter, and in the former a few remain
to breed. I t is also common in Algeria, both in the Dayats
of the Sahara, and among the rocks of the Atlas, and according
to Dr. Bolle is resident and abundant in the Canaries.
The specimen figured measured twenty-six inches in length.
Wing, from the anterior bend to the end of the longest
quill, nineteen inches; the longest tail-feather fifteen inches.
Its beak is liorn-colour, cere and irides yellow; the feathers
of the head and neck greyish-wliite, streaked along the
shaft with ash-brown ; those of the back and wing-coverts
dark brown in the middle, broadly edged with rufous; the
inner web of some of the tertials edged with white : the
primaries nearly black: upper tail-coverts rufous; tail reddish
brown and deeply forked, the inner webs barred with
dark brown; the outer feathers the darkest: the chin and
throat greyish-white, streaked with dusky; the breast, belly
and thighs, rufous-brown, each feather with a median streak
of dark brown : the wings beneath, rufous near the body, with
dark brown feathers edged with red-brown on the outer part ;
under tail-coverts rufous-white : the tail beneath greyisli-
wliite, with dark b a rs ; the tarsi and toes yellow; the claws
black.
The females are rather larger than the males, and have
the head greyer, with the body beneath more rufous.
A CCIP JTRES. FA LCONIVÆ
M il v u s m ig e a n s (Boddaert*).
THE BLACK KITE.
T h e B lack K it e is supposed by some ornithologists to
be one of those species which are gradually extending their
geographical range, and being also a rather widely distributed
European bird, little excuse seems to be needed for
including it in this work, though as yet only a single instance
of its occurrence in the United Kingdom is known with certainty.
This instance was recorded by Mr. John Hancock
in ‘ The Ibis ’ for 1867 (p. 253), as follows :—
“ A fine mature male example of the Black Kite, Milvus
migrans (Bodd. 1783) (Falco ater, Gmel. 1788), came into
my possession in a fresh state on the 11th of May, 1866.
* Falco migrans, Boddaert, Table des Planches Enlumineez, p. 28, no. 472
(1783). ■
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