434 Mr. M. J. Nicoll — Contributions 



the middle toe project beyond the claw of the other two 

 toes^ whereas in A. brevipes only one joint does so. 



MlLVUS MIGRANS iEGYPTIUS. 



Milvus (Eyyptius Shelley, p. 196. 



I liave a specimen of a "Black Kite" shot in April 1910 by 

 ]\Ir. Balboni, and in November 1911 I saw another. For the 

 present I refer them to the above-named race. Although the 

 specimen in my collection has a jet-black bill, I have similar 

 examples from Giza. The coloration of the bill seems to 

 vary considerably, from jet-black to clear yellow, irrespective 

 of age or season, though it should be noted that all 

 seemingly adult birds with black bills which have so far 

 passed through my hands are in worn or poor plumage, and 

 are usually infested with feather-lice. It seems probable 

 therefore that only really perfectly conditioned birds have 

 the yellow bill, and that the young bird assumes the yellow 

 bill at its first moult. 



This Kite is only a straggler to the Wadi from the Nile 

 Valley, as there are no trees tall enough to offer suitable 

 places for nesting. 



Perxis APivoRUS (Linn.). 



Pernis apivorus Shelley, p. 199. 



On June 2nd, 1910, Mr. Balboni shot an adult male 

 Honey-Buzzard, which he forwarded to me in the fiesh. 



The occurrence of this bird in such a place as the Wadi 

 Natron is sufficiently remarkable in itself, but that it should 

 occur in June is still more strange. It may be that it was a 

 non-breeding bird, or possibly it had lost its way. 



Falco peregrinus Linn. 



Falco pereyrinus Shelley, p. 186. 



On several occasions during my visit in March, I saw 

 large Falcons which I believe to have been of this species, 

 as they probably were. On November 26th, 1911, while 

 returning from the extreme north of the Wadi, Mr. Balboni 

 and I rode up to Avithin a short distance of a fine adult 

 male Peregi'ine. It was clearly identified, but our col- 

 lecting guns were too small to obtain it. 



