M?\ R. B. ShcD'pe's Catalogue of Accipitres. 77 



The specific name of '' affinis " was given by Mr, Gould to 

 the Milvus inhabiting Australia, which appears to me to be 

 identical with specimens that I have examined in the British 

 and Norwich Museums from East Timor and Macassar, as 

 well as with one in the British Museum from Cochin China : 

 all these specimens agree with those which I have seen from 

 Australia in having the underside of the primaries of a dark 

 brown, either entirely whole-coloured, or varied only by a 

 very slight and almost imperceptible mottling of grey or 

 greyish white, never amounting to a white patch "^. 



The following are the principal measurements of seven of 

 these Kites (all adults) which I have recently examined : — ■ 



Wing. Tarsus, 



in. in. 



In the Collection of Lord Tweeddale. 



South Queensland 15-8 2 



Port Albany, North Australia 16-8 1-9 



In the Nonvich Museum. 



Sydney 16-8 1-9 



East Timor, $ 15-4 1-9 



East Timor, $ 15-9 1-8 



Macassar, § 16-5 2 



Macassar, $ 16-9 2t 



In addition to the localities above mentioned, Mr. Sharpe 

 states that M. affinis ranges " as far north as Chusan,^' and 

 Count Salvadori that it has been obtained in Yule Island, 

 near New Guinea. 



The Kite inhabiting Ceylon and the smallest specimens of 

 Indian Kites so closely resemble the typical M. a-ffinis that I 

 have long been in the habit of referring them to that species ; 

 but their average size is slightly larger, and the great majo- 

 rity of specimens have more or less white on the under sur- 

 face of the primaries, frequently presenting a decided white 



* Conf. David et Oustalet, * Oiseaux de la Chine,' p. 16 (sub Milvus 

 yovindd). 



t The following wing-measuremejits of M. affinis are given by Captain 

 W. V. Legge, in his valuable work on the Birds of Ceylon, p. 81, for 

 comparison with those of the Kite of that island, viz. : — three from Aus- 

 tralia, respectively 15, 15-2, and 15*8; two from Timor, both 16'5 ; and 

 one from Macassar, 16'6. 



