Russia north of the Caucasus. 311 



Southern and Central Russia^ and is not uncommon in the 

 middle portion of Northern Russia, from the Upper Volga 

 to Archangel, and from Lake Onega to the Dvina. In Fin- 

 land it is only an occasional visitor to the northern and 

 north-eastern shores of the Gulf of Finland, and was never 

 obtained in any other part of the country, being very rare 

 near the western coast of Lake Onega. From the Dvina to 

 the Ural Mountains its breeding-limit is unknown ; but in 

 the last-mentioned mountains it is found as far north as the 

 Bogoslovsky Ural. 



Eastwards from the Ural Mountains the Black Kite is 

 found as far as Semirechje; but, on the authority of Mr. 

 Severtzov, it is rare in that country in comparison with 

 Milvus govinda, which is distributed as far west as the Ural 

 Mountains. The proportionate number of the two species 

 in the country between the Ural Mountains and Semirechje 

 is distinctly contrasted, Milvus govinda being rare near the 

 eastern slopes of the Ural, and becoming more and more 

 common as it approaches Semirechje; Milvus ater being 

 common in the Ural and near it, but becoming more and 

 more rare in proportion as it retreats from the same country. 



In the Ural Mountains, amongst the typical specimens of 

 the Black Kite are found many specimens of a Kite with 

 intermediate characters between the two extremes — Milvus 

 ater and M. govinda ; and a specimen of the same character 

 was obtained in the Government of Kostroma, where Milvus 

 govinda had never been found. East of the Ural Mountains 

 are found specimens which are between the intermediate 

 form and one of the two extremes, Milvus govinda • but speci- 

 mens between the intermediate form and the other extreme, 

 Milvus ater, have never been obtained, though the latter is 

 distributed throughout that country as well as its more 

 eastern representative. On that ground it is very possible 

 that these specimens are not produced by the interbreeding 

 of the two extremes, but represent the not extinct inter- 

 mediate form between Milvus ater and Milvus govinda, which 

 are only subspecifically distinct. 



In the western parts of Russia the Black Kite breeds, 



