KITE. 69 



cage-trap were expertly caught by them." — Magazine of 

 Zoology and Botany^ vol. ii. p. ] 72. 



This bird has now become comparatively rare in England; 

 extensive forests or well-wooded districts affording it the 

 only chance of escape from the increasing desire to preserve 

 game, and the consequent war of extermination carried on by 

 gamekeepers against birds of prey generally. 



The nest, formed of sticks and lined with various soft 

 materials, is usually placed in the forked branch of a tree in 

 a thick wood. Two, and sometimes three eggs, of a short 

 oval form, measuring two inches two lines in length by one 

 inch nine lines in breadth, of a soiled white colour, marked 

 with a few reddish brown spots over the larger end, are laid 

 early in the season. The nest and its contents are some- 

 times vigorously defended : a boy who climbed up to one had 

 a hole pecked through his hat, and one hand severely wound- 

 ed, before he could drive away the parent bird. 



In the southern counties of England the Kite is rare : 

 Montagu saw but one in Devonshire in twelve years. Dr. 

 Moore considers it rare still, but records two or three 

 captures ; and Mr. Couch mentions two instances of its 

 appearance in Cornwall. The woods about Alconbury Hill 

 are even now the breeding-places of the Kite. Mr. Water- 

 ton has noticed this bird and its habits in Yorkshire ; and 

 Mr. Selby states that though rare in Northumberland and 

 Durham, it is more frequent in Westmoreland and Cumber- 

 land. Dr. Heysham, in reference to the last-named county, 

 says that the Kite breeds in the woods near Armathwaite, 

 and also in those near Ullswater. 



The Kite is not uncommon in Denmark, Sweden, and 

 Norway, from spring till autumn ; but during the winter very 

 few remain there. It inhabits Russia, Siberia, and the coun- 

 try about Lake Baikal. In the southern part of Europe, 

 though rare in Holland, it inhabits the forests of Germany, 



