198 BIRDS OF EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA 



dark central streaks ; beneath chestnut broadly streaked black ; 

 primaries with white on inner web of under surface. Bill blackish 

 horn, bluish at base. Cere, skin round eye, legs and feet yellow. 

 Iris whitish yellow. Wing 475-530. Tail fork 70-86 (H.). Tarsus 

 51-55. Bill 29. Young : underparts buff with rufous margins. 



Breeds.— Brh'ish Isles (Wales) ; Europe south from aljout 

 61° N. in Scandinavia ; in Russia west of Dnieper to Tula and 

 Moscow Govts., and in S.E. to Don Basin ; N.W. Africa, 

 W. Canary Islands ; also Asia Minor and Palestine ; rare in 

 Balkan Peninsula. Migratory in north. Winters in S. Europe 

 and N. Africa. 



Milvus migrans migrans (Boddaert). Black Kite. 

 Fr. Milan noir ; Ger. Brauner Milan ; /fa/. Nibbio nero. 



(^ 9 Resemble " milvus " but less white on head, and little 

 or no rufous on remainder of upper parts except on wing coverts ; 

 tail less forked, brown barred darker ; beneath much duller chest- 

 nut, primaries grey or mottled on inner webs below, under wing 

 coverts and axillaries chestnut. Bill black. Legs and feet dull 

 yellow. Cere yellow. Iris yellowish brown. W^ing 445-465. 

 Tarsus 52-57. Bill 26-29. Tail fork 30-35. Young : dark brown 

 with buff tips giving a spotted appearance. 



Breeds. — Russia from 63° N. to extreme south and east, 

 Poland, Germany, Switzerland, S. France, Spain and Portugal; 

 N.W. Africa ; also through Austria and Hungary to Balkan 

 Peninsula, but not Greece ; W. Asia. Winters in tropical Africa. 

 Rare visitor Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, 

 Britain. 



M. migrans aegyptius (Gmelin). Resembles "migrans" but 

 crown more rufous with narrow streaks, and rather more rufous 

 on upper parts. Bill yellow in adults. Tail more deeply forked. 

 Wing 430-458. Tail fork 35-47 (H.). 



Breeds. — Egypt, Arabia, Jordan Valley. Apparently resident. 



Milvus lineatus (Gray). 



Resembles " M. migrans migrans" but head brown, ear 

 coverts dark, inner web of outer primaries white at base (con- 

 spicuous in flight) ; underparts browner, less rufous, abdomen 

 and under tail coverts much paler than breast. Wing $ 445-485, 



