THE RED KITE 209 



eggs frequently repose on, or touch, some specially 

 fancied trophy, as, for instance, a large sheet of 

 paper or a dead kitten, though in time these give 

 way to fresh adornment ! 



The eggs usually number two or three, a " four ' 

 is extremely rare. I once heard of five young, but 

 I hardly know whether to credit the tale. Some- 

 times a single egg only is laid. They are larger in 

 every way and more elliptical than the eggs of the 

 Buzzard, which in many other respects they 

 resemble. A characteristic type is of a whitish or 

 yellowish- white ground, finely spotted, streaked, 

 and scratched pretty evenly over the whole surface 

 with yellowish-brown, dark red and rust-colour, 

 the inferior markings, which are usually scant and 

 scarce, being lilac-grey and purplish. Another type 

 is the colour of skim-milk, richly blotched, smudged, 

 and freckled, chiefly at one end, with reddish- 

 brown, chestnut, and grey : a third is filmed all 

 over with purplish-grey : a fourth is of a dirty dead 

 green, zoned with blood-red and dark brown : 

 while a fifth is spotless. The scratchy markings 

 are almost peculiar to the eggs of the Kite : of the 

 scores of Buzzard's examined by me very few have 

 shown any such proclivity. Eggs of the same 

 clutch are seldom of one type, and one is often larger 

 than the others. The shell is rather rough, coarse, 

 strong and thick. They are laid every third or 

 fourth day, and incubation certainly does not 

 always commence with the first laid. Incubation, 



