K IT E .
Milvus regalis (.Pall.).
KITE.
MILVUS REGALIS {Pall.).
Accipiter regalis, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. i. p. 356 (1811).
Falco milvus, Linn. S. N. i. p. 126 (1766); Naum. i. p. 333.
Milvus ictinus, Savigny, Syst. Ois. de l’Egypte, p. 28; Yarr.
ed. 4, i. p. 92; Dresser, v. p. 643.
Milvus regalis, Macg. iii. p. 265.
Milvus vulgaris, Hewitson, i. p. 36.
Milan royal, French; rothe Milan, Gabelweihe, German1
Milano real, Spanish.
This beautiful bird, which, within my recollection, was
by no means uncommon about our home in Northamptonshire,
and abundant in some of the great woodlands
of Huntingdonshire, as in many other parts of
England, is now very rare in Great Britain. Certain
districts of South and North Wales are still ornamented
by the occasional visits of the Kite, and I feel sure that
all lovers of birds must have shared my disgust at a
recent announcement in the ‘ Field ’ that no less than
five of this species had been slaughtered within a small
area of the Principality since the beginning of this year
(1889). I believe that a few Kites still annually visit the
Highlands of Scotland, and can only hope that the protection
afforded in one praiseworthy instance that has