THE PARASITIC KITE 33 
the frequent stooping of the head down to the 
food it holds in its feet is another interesting 
action that can be watched clearly without the aid 
of field-glasses, as it passes close overhead. The 
tail of the young is not so forked as in the 
adult, and the general plumage duller coloured 
all over. 
The Black Kite, Milvus migrans, is said to be 
a very rare bird in Egypt, but I certainly think it 
is commoner than some imagine. It is very similar 
in general appearance to the last, and unless seen 
very near is hard to identify. On 13th January 
1908 I was fortunate, however, in seeing some 
three or four at the river-side at Karnak, beaten 
down low by a high wind, with completely black 
beaks and very dark rich black-brown plumage. 
Mr. Erskine Nicol, who was with me, also noted 
them. Shelley says, “The general shade of the 
plumage is blacker. The dark streaks down the 
centres of feathers on throat and crop are broader 
than in the Egyptian Kite, and the bill is entirely 
black.” 
Length, 23:3 inches. 
