KITE. 57 



brown at the base and edges, and dusky or horn-colour at the 

 tip. In extreme age it all becomes of a yellowish colour; 

 cere, yellow; iris, yellow; bristles are found at and about the 

 base of the bill. The head, dull greyish white, light yellowish 

 brown, hoary, or ashy grey with brown or dusky streaks in 

 the middle of each feather along the shaft; the feathers are 

 long, narrow, and pointed. In some specimens the head 

 is rufous. The feathers of the neck are also long and pointed, 

 which give a kind of grizzled appearance to that part; it is 

 light yellowish red in front, each feather being streaked with 

 dark brown, and the tip reddish white; nape, chin, and throat, 

 greyish white; breast, pale rufous brown, each feather with a 

 longitudinal streak of dark brown; back, reddish orange, or 

 rufous brown, with dusky or dark brown stripes in the centre 

 of the feathers, the margin of each being pale, or dusky, 

 edged with rust-colour; the breast is lighter than the back, 

 and specimens vary much in depth of colour in both parts. 



The wings extend to five feet, and, when closed, two inches 

 beyond the tail, the quill feathers are dusky black, from the 

 fifth to the tenth dashed with ash-colour, with a few dusky 

 bars, and white at the base and on the inner webs; the rest 

 are dusky with obscure bars; of the tertiaries some are edged 

 with white: the under surface of the wings, near the body, 

 is rufous brown with dark brown feathers, edged with reddish 

 brown towards the outer part of the wing. The feathers of 

 the greater wing coverts are dusky, edged with rust-colour; 

 the two outer primaries, nearly black; the others greyish brown 

 on the outer web, and paler, barred with blackish brown on 

 the inner: the fourth quill is the longest, the third only a little 

 shorter, the fifth nearly as long, the second a good deal shorter, 

 and the first much shorter than the second; secondaries, 

 greyish black, or deep brown, shaded with purple, the tips, 

 reddish white, the inner webs more or less mottled. The 

 tail is the distinguishing feature in this bird, as the legs are 

 in the Hough-legged Buzzard: it is both wide and long, and 

 very much forked. The bird may by it be 'challenged' at any 

 distance from which it is brought in sight. Its upper side is 

 reddish orange, or bright rust-colour with white tips; and 

 beneath it is reddish white, or greyish white, with seven or 

 eight obscure brown bars. The middle feathers are a foot long: 

 the outer ones between fourteen and fifteen inches. The two 

 outermost, which turn slightly outwards at the tip, are dusky 

 .on the outer webs; the first barred on the inner web with 



