— 70 — 



Kilindini and, like the gulls, snapped up everything edible thrown 

 into the water from the ships. 



All observations of this kite prove that it is extreme- 

 ly daring and audacious, for when I rowed over the gulf to 

 study and procure collections in the palm-groves on the shore 

 opposite Mombasa it occasionally happened that the birds 

 approached to within a few meters of the boat even. 

 Tot. lenght, wing, height of bill, '^^s^* "J^J;" tarsus, tail, 



530 mm. 410 mw. 17 mm. 25 mm. 57 mm. 250 mm. d* 

 540 mm. 420 mm. 17 mm. 24 mm. 53 mm. 255 mm. d* 

 550 mm. 440 mm. 17 mm. 25.5 mm. 57 mm. 270 mm. 9 

 I have gone through the large series of this species found 

 among the collections in the Berlin Museum and append below 

 some of the wing-measurements exhibited by these individuals. 



Mombasa cf ad. 430 mm. 



Magogoni cf ad. 438 mm. 



Mahenge d* ad. 410 mm. 



Langenburg 9 ^d- 430 mm. 



Gonda 410 mm. 



Kisikri d* ad. 440 mm. 



Misa 9 ^^- 420 mm. 



It appeared that the measurements are always lower for 

 South African and Central African specimens, but the dark or 

 the light brown dress is not characteristic for these, for there 

 are nearly as many light individuals as dark ones, shot at about 

 the same time of the year. 



Grant (Ibis 1915, p. 248) and Banner man (Ibis 1915, 

 p. 231) have separated this sub-species from the true 31. aegyp- 

 tins Gm. because they had found that specimens from Southern 

 Africa are darker and smaller. All my specimens from Mombasa 

 undoubtedly belong to this M. aeg. parasitus, partly on account 

 of the darker colour of the dress, partly on account of the low 

 value of the various measurements. Besides, as they were shot 

 in Mombasa it might be more correct to assume that, unless 

 they were born or had lived all their life in these regions, they 

 had come along the coast from the south. Of course, it is not 

 impossible that they should have come from the north, but the 

 distance they would then have to cover is considerably longer 

 than the former and as the native birds of Africa are not good 

 fliers, their powers of flight not being highly developed by means 

 of migrations and exercise in flying long distances, but are more 

 or less stationary or in any case confined to certain districts, 

 it seems to me much more probable that they should have come 

 from the south. 



All of them had brown irides, yellow bill andl yellow cere, 

 legs citron-yellow, thus difi'ering from the preceding true M. 

 aegyptius both in colour and measurement. 



