MiLvus. 237 



irliitc, the.li' />ii)i.s b''iag coc'Ti'jI iin./h jliie hiafk lidirs : eii.r-cmv.r/s durk hi-otvii, yiarrmv!// .ifrrakud niith 

 lildck, their bases ivJiitish ; throat iliill ichite ivitJi iinrrox) lifacki.i/i shaft streaks, the apical, portion of 

 some of the feathers on the sides sliffltt/i/ fvashed with rufous : remainder of the under surface rufous- 

 hroivn, with distinct blackish shaft streaks, broader on tlie upper breait, narrower on the abdomen ; 

 thi(/hs and under tail-coverts rufous-bro/vn, with, narrow blackish shifts .■ bdl black, dark slate colour 

 at the base ; cere ijellotvish, : leys and f.et i/ellowish : iris do.rk bronjn.. Total leuijth in the flesh '20' 5 

 inches, iviiig 111, oul'-r tail-feathers 10-5, central tailf'eatliers .V-.',7, /)(// /■.;, tarsus 2'1 . 



Adult female. — Similar in plumaye to tlie male. 



Distribution. — North-western Australia, Northern Territory of Soutli Austraha, Oueensland, 

 New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Central Australia, Western Australia. 



/T^HE Fork-tailed or Allied Kite is generally distributed, in favourable situations, over the 

 J- f^'reater part of the Australian Continent. While resident throughout the year, and 

 breeding in some districts, it is entirely irregular and nomadic in habits in other parts of the 

 country, appearing in vast flocks one season, and then absent perhaps for many years. It 

 occurs principally in the inland portions of the States, and in New South Wales seldom 

 appears in the coastal districts, except during one of the above referred to irregular visits. 

 There are specimens in the Australian Museum Collection obtained by the late Mr. Alexander 

 Morton, at Port lissington, in the Northern Territory of South Australia; by Mr. George 

 Masters at Eastern Creek, twenty-five miles west of Sydney, and by the late Mr. K. H. Bennett 

 at Yandembah Station, in the Lachlan District, New South Wales. On the opposite side of 

 the continent the late Mr. T. H. Bowyer-Bower obtained specimens near Derby, North-western 

 Australia in i886, and ten years later Mr. G. A. Keartland noted it in the same locality, while a 

 member of the Calvert Exploring Expedition, and Mr. Tom Carter observed it inland while 

 resident at l^oint Cloates, where he found it breeding. 



Its food consists of small mammals and reptiles and largely of insects ; also offal obtained 

 at slaughtering places in country districts. It is the reverse of shy, and ventures where very 

 few other species will to satisfy its hunger. In the " Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New 

 South Wales "* Messrs. J. D. Cox and A. G. Hamilton referring to this species remark : — " We 

 have known this bird to swoop down and carry away the meat off a dish, as it was being taken 

 from the kitchen to the house." 



There is hut little variation in a number of specimens examined from different parts of 

 Australia, the preceding description being taken from an adult male shot near the nest by the late 

 Mr. K. H. Bennett. 



While resident at Ripple Creek, Herbert River, North-eastern Queensland, Mr. J. A. Boyd 

 wrote me as follows under date nth May, 1894: — " It is strange how late Milviis affinis are 

 breeding. .\ pair of Kites are busy building a new nest; one bird brings sticks, and the other 

 stops inside and fixes them ; unfortunately this year they have chosen a somewhat slender limb, 

 which I fear will not bear the weight of a blackfellow." Writing later on the 8th August, 1894, 

 he remarks : — " Two nests of Milviis affinis climbed to to-day by an Aboriginal ; both had young." 



Captain Sturt remarked :1 — "The Allied Kite (Milviis afiitisjis common over the whole 

 continent of Australia. They are sure to be in numbers at the camps of the natives, which they 

 frequent to pick up what may be left when they go away. They are sure also to follow any 

 party in the bush for the same purpose. About fifty of these birds remained at the Depot 

 [North-western New South Wales] , with about as many Crows, when all the other birds had 

 deserted us ; and aftbrded great amusement to the men, who used to throw up pieces of meat for 

 them to catch in falhng. But although so tame that they would come round the tents on hearing 



* Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, Vol. IV.. 2nd Ser., p. 39S (18S9). 

 t Exped. Centr. Austr , Vol. II.. App., p 15 (1S49). 



