THE KITE. 



OP the falcon tribe the Kite is the best 

 known, and the most ignoble. He may be dis- 

 tinguished from others of the same class, by his 

 forked tail, and the slow circular eddies which 

 he describes in the air previous to pouncing on 

 his prey. He appears, indeed, to rest himself 

 upon the air without making the smallest effort 

 in flying. As, however, almost every bird of 

 flight is able to elude his pursuit, he subsists 

 only on accidental carnage ; and may be con- 

 sidered as an insidious thief, who, on finding a 

 small bird wounded, or a young chicken strayed 

 from its mother, improves the moment of ca- 

 lamity to his own advantage. Sometimes in- 

 deed his hunger urges him to acts of despera- 

 tion. One has been seen to fly round and 

 round, for a while, to mark a clutch of chick- 

 ens, and then suddenly dart upon the unresist- 

 ing little animal, and carry it off; the parent 



(44) 



