lyo 



ALLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY. 



wing. Its well-known powers of soaring used, in former days, 

 to make it an object of pursuit for Falconers, and it is said 

 that on some occasions both the Kite and its pursuer soared to 

 such an immense height as to become invisible, and neither Fal- 

 con nor quarry w^ere ever seen again. The cry of the Kite is 

 like that of its tropical brethren, a "mewing" one, but it is not 

 heard in the same constant and irritating querulous manner, 

 as is the case with the Govinda Kites in India, or the Egyptian 

 Kites in Egypt. With the Red Kite the cry is principally 

 heard in the breeding-season. 



In most of its ways the Red Kite is very Buzzard-like, and 

 like that species, it captures its prey more by surprise and 

 stealth than in open flight. Its diet is varied, consisting of 

 the smaller mammals, birds, reptiles, and frogs, and also fish, 

 but the remains of hares which have been found in the nest of 

 the Kite are probably those of animals killed by some more 

 powerful depredator, and carried off by the Kite after the animal 

 has been despatched and partially eaten by its original captor. 

 The same may be said of the Grouse, which the Kite is stated 

 to snatch on occasion, for one can hardly imagine a weak-footed 

 bird like the Kite capturing a powerful bird like the Red 

 Grouse, if the latter were in its full strength ; and it is, there- 

 fore, most likely that only diseased or wounded birds fall 

 victims to the Kite's rapacity. Besides being a scavenger, it 

 w^ill also take young birds of all sorts, and in the old days, 

 when the species was common, it obtained a bad name as a 

 destroyer of young chickens. 



Uest. — From all accounts this is chiefly remarkable among 

 the nests of the Birds of Prey for the scraps with which it is 

 ornamented. It is generally placed in a tree, though in certain 

 places it has been found on rocks, as in Northern Africa, for 

 instance. As to the rubbish with which a Kite decorates its nest 

 of sticks, here are some of the items recorded by Mr. See- 

 bohm as found by him in those he visited in Pomerania ; 

 " old rags, parts of newspapers, a piece of embroidery, part oi 

 an old stocking, some moss, goat's hair, rags, lumps of hair 

 from a cushion, brown paper, wool, pig's hair, &c." 



'Eggs. — From two to three in number ; pale greenish-white oi 

 white, many of them with spots and blotches of reddish-brown 



