188 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS 



times, will show their stomachs to be well laden with 

 destructive insects or their caterpillars. The female hawks, 

 like owls, are much larger than the males, though in this 

 case it is not well marked. The birds are to be found in pairs, 

 excepting when a horde of caterpillars are travelling across 

 the land. On such an occasion, Mr. Gould says, several 

 hundreds will flock to stay the ravage, even though their 

 view of the matter be quite a different one to ours. 



Nest. — Open, cup-shaped, and large, made of sticks and 

 lined with fibres or light twigs. The position of the nest 

 may be high on a swaying branch, or near the ground in a 

 stunted tree. 



Eggs. — Two or three for a sitting ; the ground colour may 

 be very pale chestnut with blotches of strong reddish-brown 

 upon it, or the blotches may be light and one end of the egg 

 have a whitish ground. Length, 2 inches; breadth, 1*5 

 inches. 



BLACK-SHOULDERED KITE, 



Elanus axillaris. Lath. 



El'a-nus axs-il-a'ris. 

 Elaims, a genus of birds ; axilla, arm-pit. 



Elanus axillaris, Gould, "Birds of Australia," fol., vol. i., 



pi. 23. 



Geographical Distribution.— Areas 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9. 



Key to the Species.— General appearance greyish- white ; shoulder 

 black ; axillaries white ; bare part of tarsus in front less than 

 middle toe. 



There are several kinds of kites. This one is found 

 practically all over Australia. Some little care is necessary 

 to distinguish it because of a close ally (E. scriptus, Gld.) 



