264 MILVUS. KITE. 



roundish. Legs short, robust ; tibiae short ; tarsi very short, 

 roundish, feathered anteriorly for more than a third, then 

 covered with a few large scutella, on the sides and behind with 

 angular scales ; toes of moderate length, strong, the first and 

 second nearly equal, the third much longer, the fourth more 

 slender than the rest, a little longer than the second, and con- 

 nected with the third by a pretty large basal web ; all covered 

 above in nearly their whole length with large scutella, laterally 

 and beneath with prominent tubercular scales. Claws long, 

 well curved, tapering, compressed, very acute, convex on the 

 sides, concave beneath ; the first and second largest, and nearly 

 equal, the third longest, and having an inner sharp edge. 



Plumage soft, rather blended; slightly glossed. Cere bare 

 on its upper part ; space between the eye and bill closely 

 covered with small, slender, bristle-tipped feathers, of which 

 the base is downy. Feathers of the head, neck, and breast 

 oblong and pointed, of the outer part of the tibia elongated, as 

 are the lower tail-coverts, of the abdomen softer and loose, of 

 the upper parts broadly ovate and rounded. Wings extremely 

 long, broad, narrow, but rounded at the end ; the third quill 

 longest, the fourth almost equal, the first short ; the primary 

 quills of moderate strength, broad, toward the end tapering, in- 

 curved, with the tip rounded, the outer five having the inner 

 web cut out. The secondary quills thirteen, long, broad, 

 rounded, with a minute tip. Tail very long, broad, forked or 

 emarginate, of twelve broad feathers. 



The genus Milvus, of which the species are not numerous, 

 is very intimately allied to Pernis, from which it is distin- 

 guished by the still more elongated wings and tail, the bristly 

 nature of the covering of the loral space, and the more curved 

 claws. It approximates to the genus Elanus, which has the 

 wings and tail extremely elongated, and differs further in hav- 

 ing the tarsi destitute of scutella. The Kites are remarkable 

 for their gliding and buoyant flight. They prey on birds, 

 small quadrupeds, reptiles, insects, sometimes fishes, and occa- 

 sionally eat the flesh of dead animals. Only one species occurs 

 in Britain, in some districts of which it is still rather plen- 

 tiful. 



