12 COMMON BIRDS OF THE YANGTZE DELTA. 



April, and the European cuckoo soon follows. Both birds 

 stop calling after July; and some, at least, remain until Sep- 

 tember. Both birds are parasites, making no nests of their 

 own, but depositing their eggs in the nests of other birds, 

 leaving the young to be raised by their foster-parent. 



The big hawk-like bird that soars over us every day is 

 the black-eared kite (Milvus melanotis) or the lao ying oi 

 the Chinese. He is generally dusky-brown marked with 

 yellowish-grey, the relative amounts varying considerably. 

 On the under side of each wing is a large light-coloured 

 patch, which shows plainly when he is flying ; this to- 

 gether with his forked tail serves to distinguish him from 

 any other similarly coloured birds of prey which may pass 

 over us. In spring the light and dark in the plumage 

 show more contrast, and at that time the dark patches 

 which give him his name may be readily seen. This kite is 

 the scavenger amongst our Chinese birds, feeding almost 

 entirely on offal. He ife a strong flier, and though rather 

 sluggish in his movements, will deftly snatch any floating 

 bit of food from tne water without wetting a feather. He 

 usually alights to take food from the ground. Magpies and 

 crows chase him at will in the air, but once he alights to 

 feed they are careful to keep at a respectful distance. I 

 once saw a kite feeding on some refuse along the edge of the 

 Yangtze with a dozen crows stalking all around him, but not 

 venturing in reach untii he had feasted and sailed off'. Then 

 they pitched in and noisily cleaned up the scraps. The kite 

 remains with us all the year, nesting in ruined pagodas and 

 large trees. He shows a special preference for the large 

 maiden-hair or gingko trees around the temples. 



There are two doves commonly seen, the Chinese- turtle 

 dove or the bu ku {Turtur sinensis) and the blue turtle 

 dove or the pan chiu {Turtur rupicola). Both are slate-grey 

 above with a lighter mottling, and a delicate vinaceous- 

 pink below, both have brownish-black wings and tail tipped 

 white below. The grey of the Chinese dove is rather brownish 

 and that of the blue dove more bluish, but there is very 

 little difl'erence. The distinguishing mark is in the black collar 

 or patch at the side of the neck. In the Chinese dove 

 the black feathers are each marked at the tip with a small 

 white circle having a black centre. In the blue dove these 

 feathers are simply tipped with light grey. It is the Chinese 

 dove which lives and nests in our yards. The blue dove 

 prefers the pines on the hills, though sometimes in the winter 

 it too becomes more sociable. In some sections the ruddy 

 ring dove {Turtur humilis) is fairly common. It will be 

 readily recognized by its smaller size and the rich rufous 

 colouring of the whole upper parts. 



