184 Mr. 0. Salvin's Five Months' Birds' -nesting 



remarkably devoid of colouring. The Arabs call this bird 

 " Hadayia hamara," or the " Red Hadayia." 



13. MiLvus ATER, (Black Kite.) 



During the breeding-season this species is much more abun- 

 dant in the Souk Harras district than M. regalis. Indeed, with 

 the single exception of the Kestrel {Tinnunculus alaudarius), it 

 is the commonest rapacious bird in the Eastern Atlas. I never 

 saw M. agyptiacus. This latter appears to be a more southern 

 species ; and a very distinct line of demarcation might probably 

 be drawn between the territories of these two near allies. Like 

 the preceding, it selects for the position of its nest the roots of a 

 shrub growing out of a rock, and builds a structure composed 

 principally of sticks, with a lining of rags, wool, &c., while on 

 the surrounding branches are fantastically hung old pieces of 

 burnouses of various colours. I have also seen nests of the 

 Common Kite decorated in this curious fashion. The Black Kite 

 plays the part of scavenger in the districts where it abounds ; and 

 over every French settlement and Arab village several may be 

 seen flying boldly round, on the look-out for any fragment of car- 

 rion that may be lying about. Its fearless and familiar manner 

 and beautiful flight render this bird decidedly one of the most 

 interesting in the country. The eggs are laid from the middle 

 to the end of April, and are more distinctly and deeply marked 

 than those of the other species. A series of the eggs of the two 

 from the same district, placed side by side, present a marked 

 contrast. This bird is known to the Arabs by the name " Ha- 

 dayia soda "—the " Black Hadayia." 



14. Elanus melanopterus. (Black-shouldered Kite.) 



On two occasions, among the Tamarisk trees, near where the 

 Chemora empties itself into the Lake of Djendeli, I saw a bird 

 which I had little hesitation in considering as of this species. 



15. Falco barbarus. (Barbary Falcon.) (Plate VI.) 

 There cannot be much doubt that the small Peregrine of the 



Atlas, the Falco punicus of General Levaillant, is in truth the 

 " Barbary Falcon " of the old writers on Hawking, the founda- 

 tion of the F. barbarus of Linnseus, Gmelin and Latham, though 

 this latter name has generally been supposed to be a synonym 



