THE PARASITIC KITE 33 



the frequent stooping of the head down to the 

 food it holds in its feet is another interesting 

 action that can be watched clearly without the aid 

 of field-glasses, as it passes close overhead. The 

 tail of the young is not so forked as in the 

 adult, and the general plumage duller coloured 

 all over. 



The Black Kite, Milvus migrans^ is said to be 

 a very rare bird in Egypt, but I certainly think it 

 is commoner than some imagine. It is very similar 

 in general appearance to the last, and unless seen 

 very near is hard to identify. On 13th January 

 1908 I was fortunate, however, in seeing some 

 three or four at the river-side at Karnak, beaten 

 down low by a high wind, with completely black 

 beaks and very dark rich black-brown plumage. 

 Mr. Erskine Nicol, who was with me, also noted 

 them. Shelley says, "The general shade of the 

 plumage is blacker. The dark streaks down the 

 centres of feathers on throat and crop are broader 

 than in the Egyptian Kite, and the bill is entirely 

 black." 



Length, 23 '3 inches. 



