90 THE KITE, 



THE KITE. 



ALTHOUGH abounding in the mountainous regions of 

 Scotland, the kite is not confined to them : I have fre- 

 quently met with it in the Lowlands, and it is common 

 in Wales. To look at the elegance of its form and the 

 grace of its movements, the keenness of its eye, the 

 strength of its wings, and the aptitude of its claws for 

 seizing prey, one would suppose the kite to be a very 

 mischievous bird ; but none of the hawk tribe are less so : 

 even the buzzard, albeit no great adept, is much its su- 

 perior in the art of destruction. The kite has no quick- 

 ness of flight, yet is admirably fitted for his mode of life. 

 Subsisting in a great measure on carrion and reptiles, his 

 keen eye and unwearied wing are of the greatest service 

 in discovering his food. Fish, when he can get it, he 

 considers a dainty morsel, and may be most successfully 

 trapped with this bait. I found out his weak point, by 

 noticing the avidity with which he would devour the re- 

 fuse of the net the day after a draught. I have watched 

 him with delight, sailing aloft with such perfect ease, 

 that the only perceptible motion was that of his tail, 



