KITE 



required annually to pay for the protection, yet they will practise 

 the very meanest underhand tricks to obtain possession of the 

 eggs. I expect these men would think twice before picking their 

 neighbour's pocket, yet where the Kite and some other rare birds 

 are concerned, they do not hesitate to do it, for the collector who 

 will now take a clutch of Kite's eggs is, to put it in plain 

 P-nglish, an unprincipled thief, and should be branded as such by 

 all who know of the fact. 



Some of the nests have been watched, night and day, by 

 special watchers, and real success has been the result during the 

 past few years, but, of course, to carry on this work satisfactorily 

 a large sum of money is needed. I am just starting a fund, to be 

 known as the ' Birdland Protection Fund,' and if any of my 

 readers would like to subscribe to this, I can promise them that 

 every farthing received will go towards the protection of one or 

 more of our rarest breeding birds. 



Only a few weeks ago I was looking upon some of the 

 Welsh Kites in their wild mountain home, and to watch their 

 magnificent flight as they sailed and soared over their nests was a 

 sight never to be forgotten. Early one morning the male bird 

 was seen circling over the nest, then he gave a short whistle, and 

 the hen, who had been patiently sitting all night, heard the call, 

 and immediately left her eggs, flew majestically away, and her 

 mate took his turn at sitting. On another occasion, at the rising 

 of the sun, he brought her a love-gift in the form of a small 

 rabbit, and, flying slowly past, he dropped it on the nest by the 

 side of his mate, and she very quickly rose from her eggs and 

 partook of a fresh and no doubt tasty breakfast. 



One Welshman told me, with an air of extreme sincerity, that 

 Kites were the most respectable birds he knew of, for they paired 

 for life, and were not like some other birds which had a number 

 of wives ! 



81 R 



