PALCONIDJi; 



MILVUS 



337 



cheeks, chin, and throat grey with dark brown shaft lines, rest 

 of the under surface sepia-brown becoming rufous-brown on the 

 abdomen, thighs, and under tail-coverts, with dark shaft streaks 

 throughout ; tail feathers ashy below. 



Iris dark brown ; bill, cere and gape bright yellow ; legs yellow ; 

 claws black. 



Length 21-5 ; wing 16 ; tail 9-25 ; culmen ]-4; tarsus 2. 



The female resembles the male and is of about the same 

 dimensions. 



The young bird has the feathers of the back more or less tipped 

 with ochre ; the crown rufous, shading into buff ; the under surface 

 brown broadly striped with ochre down the centre of the feathers, 

 shading into whitish on the abdomen ; bill black. 



Fig. 114. — Milvus cegyptius. x 



Distribution. — The Yellow-billed Kite is only found in South 

 Africa during the summer months from October to March, and this 

 seems to be the case throughout Africa. It is widely spread all 

 over our area and though somewhat scarce in Cape Colony is 

 common enough everywhere north of the Orange river. Beyond 

 our limits it is spread all over Africa, Arabia, Palestine, and Asia 

 Minor, extending in south-eastern Europe as far as Dalmatia and 

 Greece. 



The following are the chief recorded localities and dates : Cape 

 Colony — Ceres and Caledon (Layard), Eobertson, February (S. A. 

 Mus.), Orange river, summer (Bradshaw), - Kimberley (Holub), 

 Port St. John's, November (S. A. Mus.) ; Natal — Common through- 



22 



VOL. Ill, 



