Mr. W. E. Brooks on the Milvus govinda of Sykes. 283 



"vvitli it tlian the typeSj because the types are diverse^ and prove 

 nothing but that Sykes did not distinguish between M. govinda 

 and M. affinis. The dimensions of the larger bird of the two 

 agree with the description ; and we must therefore regard the 

 larger species as M. govinda of Sykes^ of which M. melanotis 

 and M. major are synonyms. 



I have read Mr. Gurney^s paper in the January number of 

 ' The Ibis ' for 1879; and with most of his conclusions on this 

 subject I am entirely at variance. Mr. Gurney informs us 

 that he has followed the example set by Messrs. Sharpe and 

 Hume in calling a comparatively small Kite M. govinda. It 

 is a pity that three eminent ornithologists should go astray; 

 but I can^t follow them with Sykes's original description 

 before me, and I hope they will be left alone in their error. 



Mr. Gurney speaks of intermediate birds between M. mela- 

 notis and M. affinis. 1 have never seen such a thing. There is 

 a very clear line between the great Hill-Kite and the common 

 Kite of the plains ; and let it be remembered that one bird 

 is a migrant and the other is not. Each bird is subject to 

 immense variation, both as regards size and colour ; but when 

 once they are well understood, there is no difficulty what- 

 ever. As a rule, the superior surface rufous, the white patch 

 under the wings, together with the light under tail-coverts 

 and light under surface of the tail, mark the larger Kite. Oc- 

 casionally it is without the white patch under the wdng ; but 

 this is rare. The young of each species in first plumage are 

 very distinct. I ought to have noticed the dark ear-coverts 

 of the larger Kite when speaking of its characteristics. 



M. affinis, the lesser Kite, varies extremely. There are 

 numbers of entirely dark birds to be had in India, showing not 

 a speck of white on the under surface of the wing. These are 

 the very old birds. I am not sure whether both sexes get 

 thus dark, or only one. I have seen such dark birds paired 

 with lighter ones. In the second year the wings are varie- 

 gated with white underneath; and in this stage they are the 

 M. palustris of Anderson (P. A. S. B. 1873, pp. 142-147). 

 I can't say bow long it takes for a light bird to become a 

 dark sooty-coloured one. The very great difference as regards 



y2 



