336 KITE. 



much addicted to migration. At long intervals single birds or pairs 

 — wanderers from the Continent — are observed in the eastern por- 

 tion of Great Britain ; but as the Kite is not often permitted to 

 pass westward, the gaps left by the destruction of our indigenous 

 and resident birds have little chance of being filled. In Ireland, 

 according to the late Mr. More, it has only been observed five or 

 six times. 



To Heligoland the Kite is a very rare visitor. In Scandinavia it 

 is not known to breed north of lat. 6i°, whence it emigrates on the 

 approach of cold weather ; as it does also from Denmark and 

 Germany, where it is common in summer. In Russia it is not 

 found to the east of the Governments of Tula and Orel, or of the 

 river Dneiper. Over the rest of Europe it is generally distributed, 

 and in the Mediterranean basin it is resident, as it is in the 

 Canaries. It is not rare in North Africa as far east as Tunis, but 

 in Egypt it is represented by M. cegyptiiis ; it breeds, however, in 

 Palestine and Asia Minor, though more abundant there in winter. 



The nest, which is usually placed in a tree — though in North 

 Africa it has been found in crags — is composed of sticks, mixed with 

 a variety of rubbish — such as bones, fragments of newspapers and 

 old rags, as well as the " lesser linen " for which the Kite's pre- 

 dilection was well known to Shakespeare. The eggs, laid in April 

 or early in May, and rarely more than 3 in number, are dull white 

 or very pale blue, spotted, blotched, and sometimes streaked with 

 reddish brown: measurements 2"25 by 175 in. The food is offal, 

 small mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs, and fish ; but though the Kite 

 is detrimental to very young game and poultry (especially when it 

 has to satisfy a brood), and is emphatically a " snapper-up of uncon- 

 sidered trifles," it is not a powerful species. On the wing the wide 

 circles of its flight are remarkably graceful ; either side of the out- 

 spread tail being raised or depressed at will, and serving to govern 

 the bird's course. In the "search for prey a large extent of ground 

 is daily covered. The cry is a shrill whhv, heh-heh-heh. 



The adult has the head and neck white, striped with black \ mantle 

 rufous-brown ; primaries blackish ; tail rufous and much forked ; 

 under parts rusty red, striped with dark brown on the breast ; under 

 side of wings whitish, with a dark patch (very conspicuous in 

 flight); legs and feet yellow; iris yellowish-white. Length about 

 25 in., wing 20 in. The male is a trifle smaller than the female, but 

 his colours are brighter and his tail is longer and more forked. The 

 young are paler and more mottled on both upper and under parts. 



