THE HONEY-KITES. I 77 



Neotropical Region especially by the Double-toothed Kite- 

 Falcons {IJarpa^us). 



The Honey-Kites are found throughout temperate Europe 

 and Asia as far as Japan, and occur throughout the whole of 

 India, Ceylon, the Malay countries and islands, and China. 

 They visit Africa only on migration, and are unknown in the 

 Australian Region. 



The members of this genus have the lores densely feathered, 

 and the plumes of the face are very short and scaly in appear- 

 ance, the feet are weak, and the toes are not suited for killing 

 prey in full flight. The nostril is an oblique oval of a some- 

 what irregular shape. The wings are long, and the tail is 

 rounded as in Elanus. There is a peculiar softness about the 

 plumage of these Honey-Kites, which is shared by the mem- 

 bers of the genera Baza^ He^iicopernis^ and Harpagiis, and shows 

 that these Birds of Prey are related to each other, forming, in 

 fact, links between the True Kites and the True Falcons. 



I. THE HONEY-KITE. PERNIS APIVORUS. 



Falco apivorus^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 130 (1766). 

 Fernis apivorus, Macg. Brit. B. iii. p. 254 (1840) ; Newton, ed. 

 Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 121 (1871); Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. 

 i. p. 344 (1874); Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 3, pis. 365, 366 

 (1875); Seeb. Brit. B. i. p. 69 (1883); B. O. U. List 

 Brit. B. p. 100 (1883); Saunders, Man. Brit. B. p. 328 

 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. Brit. B. part xxvii. (1893). 

 [Plate XLIX.) 

 Adult Male. — General colour above brown, with slightly paler 

 margins to the feathers, which are black-shafted ; on the nape 

 a spot of white, caused by the white bases to the feathers ; 

 greater coverts and quills darker brown at their ends, exter- 

 nally shaded with grey, and having two broad bars at the base, 

 which is whitish below ; the inner webs, particularly of the 

 secondaries, with slight greyish frecklings ; upper tail-coverts 

 rather paler brown than the back, barred with white near the 

 base, and having obsolete white tips ; tail pale brown, narrowly 

 tipped with whitish, the base also mottled with white; the 

 tail-feathers crossed with three bands, one near the base rather 

 paler brown, one in the middle and one just before the tip of the 



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