234 The Falcon-like Birds 



so far withstood the ever eroding currents, and this was capped with a slender 

 and fairly tapering column of rock rising directly out of the swirling and foaming 

 whirlpool below. On the top of this natural monument, whose apex appeared 

 to me to be scarcely two feet wide, a pair of Ospreys had placed their nest and 

 were rearing their young amidst the never ceasing roar of the falls directly below 

 them." The nest is ordinarily composed of large sticks, brush, and rubbish 

 of various kinds, such as cornstalks, seaweeds, etc., and lined with cedar bark 

 and other finer material. At first it is of small size, but it is added to year after 

 year, and finally assumes large dimensions, being sufficient in some cases to 

 make several cart loads. The birds are brave in defense of the nest, flying at 

 an intruder and uttering shrill screams. The number of eggs is usually two 

 or three, rarely four, and they show great variety in both shape and color. Some- 

 times they are white and unmarked, occasionally an almost solid chocolate, 

 but mainly they are a buffy white more or less heavily marked with various 

 shades of brown. 



The Kites and Sea Eagles. (Subfamily Milvina.) At first sight it seems 

 a rather strange assemblage to place the true Kites in the same subfamily with 

 the great Sea Eagles, but in spite of obvious external differences the anatomical 

 characters seem to warrant placing them together, while at the same time 

 the extreme forms are connected by others of intermediate characters. It is 

 said that the name of Kite should properly be restricted to the genus Milvus, 

 and even further than this to a single species, the Common Kite of Europe 

 (M. milvus}. This genus is a small one, embracing but six species, all con- 

 fined to the Old World, being birds of moderate size with long, pointed wings 

 and long, forked tails, the outer feathers of the tail being longest. They 

 have relatively a rather weak bill, the culmen straight at base, then curved, 

 and without any notch, while the tarsus is short and the feet provided with 

 sharp, often quite long claws. They are birds of strong but graceful flight, and 

 may often be seen sporting in the air much after the manner of Swallows. 



The Common Kite, or Glead (M. milvus), is a more or less abundant bird of 

 central and southern Europe, and was once a familiar sight in the British Islands 

 and even in the streets of London, but owing to ceaseless persecution it is now 

 confined as a breeding bird to a few pairs in Scotland and Wales. It is about 

 twenty-five inches in length, with the upper parts reddish brown, the feathers 

 with pale edges, those of the head and neck being grayish white streaked with 

 brown. The under parts are rust-colored with longitudinal streaks of brown. 

 The female is similar, but has the upper parts a deeper brown and the head and 

 neck white. 



Hudson says the Kite is one of the finest of the diurnal birds of prey: " The 

 great extent of his sharp-pointed wings and his long, forked tail fit him for 

 an aerial life. In appearance he is a swallow-shaped Eagle, and few birds 

 equal him in grace and majesty of motion when he soars at a vast height. Like 

 the Eagles, Buzzards, and other strong fliers among the raptores, he soars for 

 exercise and recreation, and, vulture-like, when soaring he is ever on the watch 

 for a meal, and, vulture -like, he will feed on garbage, for though of so noble an 



