Birds of Gran Canaria. 591 



broad black longitudinal stripes ; the bars across the tail- 

 feathers are obsolete and the rust-coloured areas on the 

 wing-coverts, hind-neck, and tail are much paler. The whole 

 plumage is much faded — ' worn to rags/ even more than 

 the Maspalomas specimen, but, as in this example, the four 

 outermost primaries are almost new and black, the remaining 

 ones are much frayed and are faded to rusty brown. The 

 outer tail-feathers have all lost an inch or two from their 

 tips. On the hind-neck of this bird are a few feathers 

 which are of a much darker rust-colour, and have much 

 broader longitudinal stripes than the neighbouring feathers, 

 from which they also differ in being almost unworn. Are 

 these new feathers, or feathers which from their position 

 have escaped wear and tear from exposure ? Similarly, at 

 the elbow-joint and on the lower back the feathers shew no 

 signs of wear whatsoever.'' 



Kites are very plentiful in the island ; over almost every 

 village a pair of these fine birds can be seen diligently 

 searching for food. They appear to be found in Gran 

 Canaria both in the winter and summer months. I 

 first saw them in March, and subsequently during all my 

 visits to the island. They are much more fearless than 

 the Buzzard, and occasionally come down as low as Las 

 Palmas, where I have seen them soaring over the sea 

 in company with Egyptian Vultures. I found them 

 plentiful in the Cumbres, and also in the extreme south of 

 the island, where they were much more fearless than in the 

 north. The arrival of a number of fishing-boats on the 

 shore near Maspalomas was the signal for several Kites to 

 appear, swooping down so close to the boats that I could 

 almost have struck them with an oar. 



Dr. Tristram (^ Ibis,' 1889, p. 22) remarks that the Kite is 

 a summer migrant, retiring in the winter. I do not think 

 this is the case, as I have found it in Gran Canaria in 

 December, January, February, and March. Very possibly 

 a partial influx takes place in the spring, and a corresponding- 

 decrease in their numbers is noticeable in the winter months, 

 but even then they are by no means rare. 



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