I20 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS 



3'('!irs a<j^() llio Kite \v;is hy no inojinH a rare bird ; 

 I'loiii wliat we can ^j^atlu'r, the bird wan a by no 

 uienns unfaniiliai' object in the rural scenes of 

 Kn^land, Mo.-itin*^ liiijjli i)i air above the fields and 

 woods, indiil<^in<r in those magnificent flights which 

 justly trained I'oi" it tlie name of dead or Glide 

 Hawk. Turnc'r tells us that the Kite even 

 snatcheil I'ood from the hands of children in our 

 towns — a fact whieh provt's how little subject to 

 persecution the bird nuist have been, and how 

 bold and impudent it became in consequence, 

 liut. as the present century sped its course, the 

 preservation of <j^ame became more «;eneral and 

 more strict, fireainis were improved, and the Kite 

 nnist very rapidly have decreased in numbers. 

 The decay of hawkino- nmst also have had an evil 

 eH'ect ; for the Kite was a prized (juarry, and 

 ])reservcd accordingly. As the bird became rarer, 

 the collector of e<^gs and skins must also be 

 included as an exterminating agent; whilst in 

 Scotland the bird was being ruthlessly killed for 

 the sake of its tail feathers, which were highly 

 prized for the purpose of making salmon ilies. 

 The result of all this persecution is that the Kite 

 has become one of the very rarest of our indigenous 

 birds. It is still left to us, still lingers in one or 



