east african birds. • 913 



Falconid^. , 



Falco ruficollis Swains. 



A male Red-necked Falcon shot at 8 a,.m. was found to have 

 the remains of a mouse, and the leg of a grasshopper in its stomach 

 (Izikisia, 16. xi. 21). 



Falco subbuteo subbuteo Linn. 



Hobby Hawks are very common here just now, their coming 

 synchronizing with the arrival of the rains. A female shot 

 to-day had its stomach very full of termites (Simbo, 14. xi. 21). 



Cerciineis tinnunculus tinnunculus Linn. 



The European Kestrel is very numerous here. In the stomnch 

 of one were parasitic nematode^ which Dr. Baylis says are 

 referable to Acuaria {Bisjyliarynx) sp., possibly A. [D.) recto- 

 vaginata (Molin) (Morogoro, 24. i. 18). 



Cerciineis naumanni Fleisch. 



A pair of Lesser Kestrels were killed witli one shot. The 

 stomach of the female was distended with black ants, whilst there 

 were xary few in that of the male. 8 a.m. (Izikisia, IG.xi. 21). 



Elaxus Cyi:RULEUs Dcsf. 



My collector found a pair of Black-shouldered Kites building 

 at Tindiga in June 1920, but on his revisiting the place in July 

 fovind thnt the tree had been cut down by local natives with a 

 view to destroying the nest; two eggs were lying smashed upon 

 the ground. Lice {Philopterus sp.) were found on a specimen 

 shot at Nairobi. 



MiLvus migrans parasitus Daud. 



Returning to camp long after dark, probably between 7 and 

 7.30 p.m., my attention was attracted by a huge flight of birds 

 which passed low over our heads with much noise and whistling 

 cities, and commenced settling in a baobab-tree some two hundred 

 yards behind me. They were coming from an easterly or south- 

 easterly dii-ection, and there must have been quite three hundred 

 of them. Having no idea what they were, I sighted two against 

 the sky and killed four with one shot. The stomachs contained 

 (i.) a scarab and a great many small grasshoppers, (ii.) a single 

 grasshopper, (iii.) two grasshoppers, (iv.) empty. I visited this 

 tree agniu to see if it might be the nightly rendezvous of all the 

 local kites for roosting pui-poses, but there weie none to be seen 

 (Sogayo, 27. x. 22). 



A great many kites are about the camp, and to-day one was 

 picked up in an exhausted state with the skinned body of a mouse 

 (^thrown out by the skinners) fixed to both upper and lower 



