170 FALCONIFORMES CHAP. 
is somewhat gregarious and sluggish, and feeds on offal, small 
mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians, insects and their larvae. 
The nest is a mass of sticks, rags, paper, and rubbish generally, 
placed in a tree or rarely in a rock; the three, or exceptionally 
four, eggs being like those of the Buzzard, but duller and with 
more lilac tints. JI/ilvus migrans, the Black Kite, once recorded in 
England, extends throughout Central and Southern Europe, and 
probably to China, breeding in North-Western and migrating to 
Southern Africa. The upper parts are dark brown, the under 
parts rufous, and the head whitish, the two latter being streaked 
with dusky; the bill is black and the tail moderately forked. 
Barely separable from this bird are J/ilvus aegyptius of Africa, 
Madagascar, South-East Europe, and West Asia, with yellow 
bill; JL afinis, of Papuasia and Australia, possibly reaching 
Ceylon; JZ melanotis, extending from India to Lake Baikal, 
China, and Japan; and the smaller JZ govinda of somewhat 
similar range. The third and fourth have a white patch beneath 
the primaries. The last-named, or Pariah Kite, is the scavenger of 
Hindostan, and is even bolder than its congeners; the habits, 
however, are similar, as are those of the Australian Lophovetinia 
isura, separated from JZilvus on account of its square tail. This 
species has a fine crest, and differs, moreover, in its browner crown 
and greyer rectrices with whitish coverts. 
Gypoictinia melanosternon of Australia has a black head and 
lower surface, chestnut occiput, nape, and thighs, and brownish- 
or rufous-black upper parts, the wings and rounded tail being 
marked with greyish white. Like a Kite in manners, it eats 
snakes and lizards, and is said to destroy Bustard’s and Emeu’s 
egos.’ Llanoides furcatus, the lovely Swallow-tailed Kite, caught 
once in England, and ranging from the Middle United States 
to Brazil, is black, with purple and green reflexions, white head, 
neck, rump, inner secondaries and under parts, bluish bill and 
feet. With splendid powers of wing, it may be seen gliding 
rapidly through the air, skilfully quartering the ground, or 
circling aloft with its long forked tail outspread, to perform 
doublings and evolutions of every description. It catches bees 
or other insects in one claw and eats them as it flies, or 
snatches up a lizard, snake, or frog, to be. devoured at leisure, 
small birds and grubs varying the diet. Flocks are often seen, which 
1 Cf. North, Nests and Eggs of Australian Birds, Sydney, 1889, pp. 11-13. 
