576 FALCONID^. 



Ceylon, and Burma run smaller (wing in females about 16*5 to 

 17"5), and those from Austi'alia are smaller still. 



It will be seen from the synonymy that I do not separate 

 M. qffinis, the Australian bird, found also in India, and distin- 

 guished by smaller size and by the absence of any white mottling 

 at the base of the inner webs of the primaries. Every gradation 

 may be found in India between birds with a large ^^'hite patch 

 beneath the wing (M. joalustris, Anderson) and those without any 

 white, and the latter, if of small size, are identical with Australian 

 specimens. Burmese birds are, as a rule, darker than Indian, 

 both above and below, but the character is not constant, and 

 Australian birds resemble those of India, not those of Burma, 

 in colour. 



Distribution. Throughout India, Ceylon, and Burma, chiefly near 

 human habitations, and throughout the Oriental region to Australia. 

 On the Himalayas this Kite may be found to an elevation of about 

 12,000 feet, but is uncommon above about 8000. 



Habits, 6fc. In this case, as with the other familiar birds of India, 

 it is very difficult to improve upon Jerdon's admirable description 

 of the habits. He writes : " It is one of the most abundant and 

 common birds in India, found at all elevations up to 8000 feet at 

 least, especially near large towns and cantonments, and its vast 

 numbers and fearlessness are among the first objects that strike 

 the stranger from England, where birds of prey are so rare. 

 Every large town, cantonment, and even village has its colony of 

 Kites, which ply their busy vocation from before sunrise to some 

 time after sunset. Every large camp, too, is followed by these 

 usefid scavengers, and the tent even of the single traveller is 

 daily visited by one or more, according to the numbers in the 

 neighbourhood. As is well known. Kites pick up garbage of all 

 kinds, fragments of meat and fish, and generally the refuse of 

 man's food. When a basket of refuse or offal is thrown out in 

 the streets to be carted away, the Kites of the immediate 

 neighbourhood, who appear to be quite cognizant of the usual 

 time at which this is done, are all on the look-out, and dash down 

 on it impetuously, some of them seizing the most tempting 

 morsels by a rapid swoop, others deliberately sitting down on the 

 heaps along with crows and dogs, and selecting their scraps. 

 On such an occasion, too, there is many a struggle to retain a 

 larger fragment than usual, for the possessor no sooner emerges 

 from its swoop than several empty-clawed spectators instantly 

 pursue it eagerly, till the owner finds the chase too hot, and drops 

 the bone of contention, which is generally picked up long before 

 it reaches the ground, again and again to change owners, and 

 perhaps finally revert to its original proprietor. On such occasions 

 there is a considerable amount of squealing going on. 



" The vast numbers of these Kites in large towns can hardly 

 be realized by strangers. They are excessively bold and fearless, 

 often snatching morsels off a dish en route from kitchen to hall. 

 At our seaports many Kites find their daily sustenance among 



