152 



Gen. LXXIII. MILVUS Lacep. (1799). 



Type by tautonomy Falco milvus L. 



Tail forked, but difference between longest and 

 shortest feather less than difference between tips 

 of primaries and tips of secondaries. Size moder- 

 ate (length 24-25 mm.) 



|247. Milvus milvus milvus (Linn.), S.N., i., p. 89 

 (1758). [Europe, Asia, Africa — type loc. 

 S. Sweden, apud Hartert.] 

 Common Kite. 



Wing ad. 480-525, tail 350-380 mm. ; 

 plumage above brown with rufous margins, 

 the wing-coverts paler ; primaries black ; 

 rump dark brown ; upper tail-coverts 

 rufous ; tail rufous, tipped with fulvous, 

 the outer feathers partly barred with dark 

 brown on inner webs ; head, face and throat 

 whitish streaked with dark brown ; chest 

 pale rufous, with dark central streaks and 

 paler edges ; below bright rufous, with 

 dark central streaks ; bill horn colour ; 

 cere and feet yellow. 



247a. Milvus milvus fasciicauda Hart., Bull. 

 B.O.C., p. 89 (1914). [S Santo Antao, Cape 

 Verd Is., in Tring Mus.] 

 Cape Verd Kite. 



Wing S 445-460, $ 475-490 mm. ; tail 285- 

 320 mm. ; tail less forked, depth of fork 

 only about half as great ; all the feathers, 

 including central pair, barred. 



1*248. Milvus migrans migrans (Bodd.), Tabl. PI. 

 Enl., p. 28 (1783). [ex. Daub., pi. 472 

 Buff on, etc., type loc. France, apud Hart.] 

 Black Kite. 



Wing S 430-440, ? 460-475 ; tail S 260, 

 $ 270 mm. ; above dark brown, much 

 paler and greyer on head and hind neck and 

 throat, which are much streaked with dark 



Europe, 

 breeding from 

 S. Sweden, S. to 

 Spain, also 

 Marocco, Algeria 

 Tunisia, 

 Asia Minor, 

 Canary Is. ; 

 in Brit. Is. 

 confined now to 

 Whales. 



Cape Verd Is. 



(resident). 



E., C. & S. 

 Europe, N. to 

 Finland, S. 

 to Mediter- 

 ranean and 

 N.W. Africa ; 

 Asia Minor, 

 Persia, C. Asia ; 

 cas. Brit. Is. 



1 



