BIRDS OF PREY AND OWLS 



467 



being found in numbers not only in the rural districts, but in London itself, where, as old 

 records of the fifteenth century show, it occurred in such numbers near London Bridge as to 

 excite the wonder of foreigners visiting the city. These birds found an abundance of food in 

 the garbage of the streets, and also of the Thames itself — "an observation," remarks Mr. Finn, 

 " which throws a lurid light upon the city sanitation." 



In the days of falconry the kite was royal game, not, however, b\' legal enactment, but 

 by reason of the fact that none but specially trained falcons could secure a prey with such 

 wonderful powers of flight. Consequently the price of a falcon which had attained this degree 

 of skill was beyond the purse of any but a king. 



Save on the wing, the kite is not a handsome bird, its general colour being of a pale 

 reddish brown ; but those who have had the good fortune to watch its flight are one and all 

 impressed. Cowper admirably expresses the general admiration in the lines: — 



Kites that swim sublime 

 In still repeated circles, screaming loud. 



The kites may be distingLiished from other members of the tribe by their forked tails. 

 Somewhat of a scavenger, as we 

 have already hinted, the kite 

 feeds also upon such small game 

 as moles, frogs, young birds, 

 rabbits, snakes, and fish. Its 



partiality for young birds caused T 



it to be much dreaded in the j 



farmyard in the days when it 

 was common; and when, with 

 the introduction of modern and 

 improved firearms, game-preserv- 

 ing became more strenuously 

 prosecuted, its doom was sealed, 

 for a ceaseless war was waged 

 against it, which ended only with 

 its extermination. 



Nearly allied to the Kites, 

 the Honey-buzzards next claim 

 attention. The name Honey- 

 buzzard is a misnomer, for honey 

 forms no part of the bird's food. 

 This species exhibits, however, a 

 quite remarkable partiality for 

 the immature stages of wasps 

 and bees, the nests of which it 

 tears in pieces with its feet, so 

 as to lay bare the coveted 

 morsels, devouring them on the 

 spot, perfectly regardless of the 

 stings of the infuriated insects, 

 which seem unable to penetrate 

 its feathers. When its favourite 

 food is not to be had, it will 

 feed upon corn, earth-worms, 



beetles, slugs, small birds' eggs, 

 and moles— a diet sufficiently 



Phatt bj SchoUilii Ph to. Co.] 



SECRETARY-BIRD 



In full plumage the tail of this bird is much longer 



[P.r 



