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 nuinljers 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 oljservation," remarks Mr. Finn, 

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



In the days of falconry the kite was royal game, not, however, by legal enactment, but 

 by reason of the fact that none but sfiecially 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 distinguished 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 

 it to be much dreaded in the 

 farmyard in the days when it 

 was common; and when, with 



the introduction of modern and 



improved firearms, game-preserv- 



in"- 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, jicrfectly regardless of the 



stinfTs 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, „,,„,,.„ c,.,,„/,„,,v w.oto. coi [ft.,s»,.'s &v«,i. 



beetles, slugs, small birds' eggs, 

 and moles— a diet sufficiently 



Hioto III/ SckolasUc Photo. Co.] 



SECKETARY-BIRD. 

 la full plumage tlie tail of this Ijird is much longer. 



