336 FALCONID.E MILVUS 



ing the tip of the tail, the differences between the primaries and 

 secondaries exceeding the fork of the tail ; tail strongly forked ; 

 tarsus feathered for about half its length, the bare portion covered 

 with large transverse scutes in front and with small hexagonal ones 

 on the sides and behind. 



The kites, of which some six species are described, are spread 

 all over the Old World from Europe to Australia. Two species are 

 recorded from south Africa, one of them somewhat doubtfully. 



Key of the Species. 



A. Bill yellow, only the feathers of the chin and 



throat grey with dark shafts M. cec/ypiius, p. 336. 



B. Bill black, feathers of the crown and nape as 



well as the chin grey with dark shafts M. korschun, p. 338. 



534. Milyus segyptiu^. Yellow-billed Kite. 



Falco aegyptius et F. forskahli, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i, p. 261 (1788). 

 e Parasite, Levaill Ois. A' Afr. i, p. 88, pi. 22 (1799). 

 Falco parasitus, Daud. Traite ii, p. 150 (1800). 



Milvus parasitus, Burchell, Travels, i, pp. 501, 502 (1822) ; Smith, S. A. 

 Quart. Journ. i, p. 390 (1830) ; Gurney, Ibis, 1859, p. 239 [Natal] ; 

 Layard,B. S. Afr. p. 25 (1867) ; id. Ibis, 1869, p. 363 [Berg river]. 

 Milvus forskahli, Gurney in Andersson's B. Damar aland, p. 22 (1872). 

 Milvus aegyptius, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. i, p. 320 (1874) ; id. ed. Layard's 

 B. S. Afr. pp. 49, 798 (1875-82); Gurney, Ibis, 1879, p. 71; Oates, 

 Matabeleland, p. 298 (1881) ; Holub fr Pelzeln, Orn. Siid-Afr. p. 

 30 (1882) ; Shelley, Ibis, 1882, p. 238 [Mashonaland] ; Butler, 

 Feilden, and Reid, Zool. 1882, p. 169 [Natal] ; Ayres, Ibis, 1886, 

 p. 284 [Potchefstroom] ; Fleck, Journ. Ornith. 1894, p. 393 [Gt. 

 Namaqualand] ; Shelley, B. Afr. i, p. 147 (1896) ; Woodward Bros. 

 Ibis, 1898, p. 221 ; Soiverby, ibid. p. 574 [Mashonalandj ; Wood 

 ward Bros. Natal B. p. 149 (1899); Marshall, Ibis, 1900, p. 259 

 [Salisbury] ; Alexander, ibid. p. 435 [Zambesi] ; Woodward Bros, 

 ibid. p. 519 [St. Lucia Lake] ; Reichenow, Vog. Afr. i, p. 609 (1901). 

 " Kuiken-dief " (i.e., chicken thief) of the Colonists. " Untloyiya " of 



Amaxosa (Stanford). 



Description. Adult. General colour above, sepia-brown, the 

 head and neck thickly streaked with darker, the back and rump 

 also with darker shaft markings ; shoulders and lesser wing-coverts 

 paler brown, other coverts and wing-quills darker, almost black ; 

 tail strongly forked, coloured like the back with indistinct traces of 

 eight to ten darker bands and a slight paler tip ; forehead, lores, 



