THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 187 



capable of such a movement by a strong air-current, is still a 

 physical puzzle. That, however, such is actually the case is sup- 

 ported by countless observations. The subject has been entered 

 into more fully in the before-mentioned chapter of the part of this 

 book which deals with Migration in general 



22. Common Kite [ROTHER MILAN]. 

 FALCO MILVUS, Linn. 1 



Heligolandish : Bott-iihl uied iittklept stert = Blizzard with forked tail. 



Falco milvus. Naumann, i. 333. 



Common Kite. Dresser, v. 643. 



Milan Eoyal. Temminck, Manuel, i. 59, iii. 30. 



This bird too, though quite common on the neighbouring 

 mainland, counts here among the rarer occurrences ; it is scarcely 

 seen once or twice in the course of a year, and only three 

 examples have been shot during the last fifty years. That in my 

 collection was obtained on the 29th of November 1874, when 

 wintry weather had already set in ; another was shot in June, after 

 it had been for some days feasting on the little Guillemot-chicks 

 on the rock. The third example was shot many years ago in 

 April or May. The few other examples which have been observed 

 occurred in April and May. 



The Common Kite breeds in more or less considerable numbers 

 from the Canaries to the Ural, nesting in Scandinavia ug to 60 N. 

 latitude. 



Contrary to the movements of the Honey Buzzard, whose 

 autumn migration takes place in a decidedly westerly direction, 

 that of the Common Kite seems to be equally fixed on a southerly 

 line of passage ; for if there existed the least inclination westwards, 

 the bird would certainly reach here very often from the neighbour- 

 ing Schleswig-Holstein, where it is a common breeding bird, and 

 from southern Sweden, where it nests in considerable numbers. 



23. Black Kite [SCHWAKZER MILAN]. 

 FALCO ATER, Linn. 2 



Falco ater. Naumann, i. 340. 



Black Kite. Dresser, v. 651. 



Milan noir. Temininck, Manuel, i. 60, iii. 30. 



I received a bird belonging to this species during the first years 

 I was collecting, but as it was a poor example I gave it away 



1 MUvus ictinus, Savigny. 2 Milvus migrans (Bodd.). 



