The Black-winged Kite has been found breeding in North Africa, South Africa, and in 

 Western India. Dr. A. E. Brehm, who met with it breeding in North-east Africa, says (J. f. O. 

 1853, B, p. 94) that the nest is flat, large, and strong, very carefully built, and well lined with 

 hair and roots. It is usually placed in the thick tops of lemon-trees or in the thorny ' nabak ' 

 bushes, seldom above 12 feet above the ground. The young are very carefully tended by their 

 parents, who feed them almost exclusively on mice. They are fledged in about a month's time, 

 and when caught are easily tamed. At Sudan, Dr. Brehm says, it breeds a couple of months 

 earlier than it does in Egypt. Captain Shelley, who also met with it breeding in North-east 

 Africa, writes (I. c.) as follows : — " We sought carefully for the nest of Elanus cceruleus, having 

 often met with the birds in pairs remaining the whole day in certain rows of mimosa trees, which 

 they would not leave ; and at length we were rewarded ; for on the 28th of March, having seen 

 a bird flying along a row of these trees, we walked up to the spot and presently heard the cry of 

 its mate, which we thus discovered sitting on its nest placed at the top of a young mimosa about 

 20 feet from the ground. The nest contained four eggs about the size of a Kestrel's, and varying 

 considerably in colour, some being as dark as those of the Kestrel, while others show much of the 

 white ground between the blotches. While we were blowing the eggs under the tree, the bird 

 returned and sat in the nest repeating the cry which had at first called our attention to it. On 

 the 30th of March, at Boash, we found another nest of this bird, situated on the end of a bough 

 at the top of a high mimosa. Owing to the difficulty in reaching it, we unfortunately broke the 

 four eggs it contained. They were hard sat-on, but in colour exactly resembled the nestful we 

 brought back from Egypt." It has only lately been found breeding in India; and some 

 excellent notes are published in ' Stray Feathers ' (i. pp. 21-26) by Mr. Blewitt and Mr. Adam 

 on its nidification. Mr. Blewitt, who found it breeding in the Sumbulpoor district, says that no 

 doubt it breeds in all the tracts that are sparsely wooded and extensively cultivated with rice ; 

 and probably, as it is somewhat common in the Sambulpoor district, this may also be the case 

 in the Baipoor district. He describes the nest as being circular, composed of small sticks and 

 twigs, with the egg-cavity, about an inch deep, neatly lined with fine grass. The normal 

 number of eggs he considers to be three. He took the eggs on the 20th December. Mr. Adam, 

 who found it breeding at the village of Kuchrodda, about six miles south of the town of 

 Sambhur, found the nest on the 7th August in a lasora tree [Cordia mycca), and describes it 

 as follows: — "The nest was situated on the very top of the lasora tree, and was from 25 

 to 30 feet from the ground. In shape it was circular ; and, with the exception of two or 

 three pieces of sarpat grass (Saccharum sara), there was no attempt at lining. It was about 

 ten inches in diameter ; and the egg-cavity had a depression of about two inches. The twigs 

 of which the nest was composed were of a uniform size throughout ; and I could distinguish 

 twigs from the following plants, which were growing close by, viz. jarberri (Zizyphus nummu- 

 laria), bunna (Edivardsia mollis), khep (Crotalaria burhia), ihoghru (Tephrosia purpurea). All 

 these twigs were very loosely and openly laced together." The eggs he describes as closely 

 blotched with dark red on a creamy white ground and without gloss, thus closely resembling 

 African-taken specimens in my collection. There is no doubt that the eggs of this species are 

 almost invariably much blotched with colour, though some naturalists have erroneously described 

 them as being white. I have a series of a dozen collected at Berg river, South Africa, by 



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