THE KITE. 



Falco milvus. 

 Milvus vulgaris 



ERHAPS no BritislLbird^of 

 pre j; has suffered more from 

 the hostility of the farmer 

 and the gamekeeper than the 

 Kite^ or Glead. At one time 

 it was comparatively commoD 

 and well distributed through- 

 out Great Britain ; but its 

 rai)acity and destructiveness 

 in the matter of young birds, 

 especially of the gallinaceous 

 orders^ has gained it such an 

 unenviable notoriety, that 

 every man^s hand has been 

 against it, and the warfare 

 so persistently carried on has 

 almost produced its extinc- 

 tion. In some of the more 

 densely-wooded parts of the 

 country the Kite is still to be 

 seen ; but its numbers have 

 sadly diminished^ and in a 

 few more 3^ ears it will proba- 

 bly take its place in that 



list, ''^ our rare birds.' 



