Mr. R. Swiuhoe's Ornithological Notes made at Chefoo. 429 



settlement, there were some fine trees, in which tliere stood 

 the domed nest of a Magpie and the small open nest appa- 

 rently of a Blue ]\[agpie. Both of these appeared to be occu- 

 pied by Red-legged Falcons ; and there were some two dozen of 

 them about. The trees were diflScult to climb, and we could 

 get no native to attempt them ; so we contented ourselves 

 with shooting a male and female, and a young male in moult. 

 The old male had very large testes, the young male smaller 

 ones ; but evidently both Avere engaged in breeding. The fe- 

 male had small eggs containing yelk. Their stomachs were 

 crammed with bits of grasshoppers saturated with a pink 

 juice. 1 must here remark that the food of this Falcon is 

 by no means restricted to insects. My former experience in 

 Talien Bay (see Ibis, 1861, p. 253) shows that they are no 

 strangers to bird-flesh ; and even in Chefoo they arc reared 

 and trained for hawking small birds, for which they would 

 certainly be useless were they purely insectivorous. On the 

 22nd August 1 bought from a native two yearlings of this 

 species that were being so trained. Their ceres and legs were 

 yellow, the former dull ; their irides black. 



6. Black-eaked Kite. Mi/vM5 me/awo^is, Tcmm. &Schleg. 

 Fauna Japonica. 



Kites did not appear abundant about us till July. They 

 were probably engaged up to then in breeding about the cliffs 

 of the islands to seaward. I was told that they were always 

 to be seen at tliis time over the lighthouse island, Kung-kung- 

 tan ; and Mr. Campbell sent me word that nothing bred on 

 the cliffs of his island but Hawks of this description. On a 

 visit to our settlement on the 4th October he shot one of 

 these so-called Hawks, and brought it to me. It was an 

 adult male, measuring 25 inches in total length; wing 16^, 

 falling 5 short of tail-tip; under tail-coverts also 5^ short of 

 same. Tail 12 inches, not much forked, the outermost rectrix 

 1 inch longer than the centrals. Belly and breast ochreous, 

 witli pale streaks ; its iris was brown, and the base of the bill 

 greener than usual. Feet bluish white, with a very slight 

 tinge of yellow . 



