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century, when Don's ' Fauna of Forfarshire' was published, the Black Kite is recorded by that 

 writer as occurring ' on heaths and low hills ' in his district. At that time the common Kite 

 was a well-known and even plentiful species in the county of Forfar, a district of Scotland which, 

 from its great variety of scenery (woods, glens, and mountain-ranges), can still boast of many 

 rare birds ; and I have little doubt that Don, from his general intelligence and accuracy, was 

 right in his recognition of a second species." 



It has not been recorded from Scandinavia; nor have I ever heard of its occurrence in 

 Finland ; but it occurs in Northern Russia, where Mr. Meves met with it at Sermaks, the Bay 

 of Onega, and Archangel ; and Mr. Sabanaeff says that it is generally distributed and common 

 throughout Central Russia, except in the Smolensk Government, where it is somewhat rare. 

 He found it generally throughout the Perm Government when exploring in the Ural. In North 

 Germany it is a summer visitant, being found, Borggreve states, in the eastern and central parts, 

 and appears to be wanting elsewhere ; but I have seen it in Western Germany, and it is by no 

 means uncommon in the portions of Baden which skirt the Rhine, where I have seen several in 

 the air at the same time ; and Von Homeyer points out that Leisler, Borkhausen, Meyer and Wolf, 

 all record it as breeding near Frauenberg a. M. It has not been met with in Denmark proper, 

 so far as I can ascertain ; but it occurs annually on Heligoland, and there is a specimen in the 

 Leyden Museum which was obtained in Holland ; and De Selys thinks it probable that it occa- 

 sionally visits Belgium, especially in the Ardennes district, as it occurs and breeds near Metz, 

 and has been observed in Luxembourg. It occurs and occasionally nests in Lorraine, and is 

 found regularly in Champagne, being also common near Bordeaux and the Pyrenean districts ; 

 but in Provence and South-eastern France it is rare, though it is an annual visitant to the banks 

 of the Isere. Professor Barboza du Bocage includes it in his list of the birds of Portugal with a 

 query ; but it is found in Spain during the summer season, and is quite common in many parts. 

 I saw many not far from Madrid ; and Lord Lilford says (Ibis, 1865, p. 177) that it is " common 

 in Andalucia, and nests in the neighbourhood of Seville in church-towers and ruins." Colonel 

 Irby writes (Orn. Str. Gibr. p. 48) as follows: — "They are entirely migratory, the earliest day on 

 which I observed them crossing the Straits being the 5th of March, then in great numbers, 

 other days on which large flights passed being the 26th, 27th, and 28th of that month, some on 

 the 23rd and one on the 29th of April, and six or seven on the 5th of May. The latest date of 

 the return migration was the 9th of October. It is more abundant in the vicinity of Seville and 

 where there are pine-woods ; and very few pairs remain to breed about Gibraltar." 



Passing eastward, again, I find that, according to Bailly, it breeds in Savoy, about the Lake 

 of Bourget, and Mont Saleve, near Geneva. In Italy it is rare, although it has at one time or 

 another been obtained in nearly every province, and there are records of its having nested in 

 Liguria, Romagna, and the eastern Riviera. Doderlein says that it is of very rare occurrence in 

 Sicily, and occurs only in the woods in the interior of the island, and he is uncertain as to 

 whether it is met with in Sardinia; but Mr. A. B. Brooke writes (Ibis, 1873, p. 150) as 

 follows: — "There is one specimen, stuffed, at the Museum at Cagliari, which I was assured 

 positively by Signor Cara had been killed in the island. I myself, however, neither procured 

 nor saw this bird in a state of nature " in Sardinia. Mr. C. A. Wright records it as very rare in 

 Malta and Gozo. 



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