Og2 MILVUS REGALIS. 



Propagation With us the kite nestles in the in- 

 accessible parts of rocks, or in the forks of large trees. 

 The nest is described as constructed of twigs, and lined 

 with wool, hair, and feathers. I have never met with 

 one, however, but I have examined two eggs reported by 

 a trust-worthy person to have been taken from a kite's 

 nest in Argyllshire, and other two from the continent. 

 Of the former one was bluish-white, the other yellow- 

 ish-white, clouded with reddish-brown. The latter 

 were white with a few dots of brown. The form is 

 broadly elliptical or roundish, the length varying from 

 two inches and three-twelfths to two inches and one 

 and a half twelfths, the breadth in all the specimens one 

 inch and eight-twelfths. Like other hawks, the kite 

 breeds early in the season, but I am unable to aiford 

 any further information on the subject. 



Young. — The young, when fully fledged, do not dif- 

 fer very materially from the old. The head and neck 

 are of a deeper tint, the upper parts of a very rich 

 brownish-red, the lower also of a richer tint than those 

 of the adults, and the central dark markings of all the 

 feathers are larger and blacker, those on the back ha- 

 ving moreover a fine purple gloss. The bars on the 

 tail are more distinct, the colours of that part much 

 darker, and the lower tail-coverts are as in the old 

 bird. The iris is yellowish-brown, and the bare parts 

 of nearly the same tints as those of the adult. 



Progress towards Matluitv — The young, after 

 the period of the first moult, differ very little from their 

 parents. The older the bird grows, the more atte- 



